CHAPTER 40: WE’RE GOING TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR TOMORROW (⁠‘⁠◉⁠⌓⁠◉⁠’⁠)

Leo then stood at the window for a long time, his back to the quiet. The apology from Sarah’s father did little to calm the anger and betrayal burning inside him...

It was just a word, and it couldn’t undo the months of lies. He heard her mother’s sobs slowly subside, replaced by her shaky breaths...

Finally, he turned around. His face was hard, his eyes were dead cold. The initial, explosive anger had burned away, leaving behind a grim and focused determination...

"I want to know everything," he said, his voice blank and devoid of emotion. "Right now. What is it, exactly? What did the doctors say? What’s the plan?"

Sarah’s father, looking tired and defeated, gestured toward the living room couches. "Let’s sit down, son. We’ll tell you everything."

This time, Leo didn’t argue. He walked over and sat in an armchair, perched on the edge of the cushion, his body was tense and ready. Her parents sat together on the couch opposite him...

"It’s called dilated cardiomyopathy," her father began, his voice full of emotion. "The walls of her heart’s main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, are stretched and thin. It can’t pump blood as well as it should."

Leo listened, absorbing the clinical terms. It sounded unreal, dreamy, but he knew the reality was the terrified girl upstairs...

"She was diagnosed about six months ago," her mother added, her voice trembling. "She’d been feeling tired, getting out of breath easily. We thought it was just stress from her modeling shoot. But then she fainted one day. We took her to the hospital, and they ran tests."

"The doctor put her on medication," her father continued. "Beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors... things to help her heart work more efficiently and prevent the condition from getting worse quickly. He said that for some young people, the condition can stabilize. That with careful management, she could live with it for a long time."

"Careful management?" Leo repeated, his voice filled with disbelief. "Does ’careful management’ include a surprise sleepover, a day of fishing, and a fistfight in a hotel lobby? Because that was our last twenty-four hours."

Her parents flinched. "No," her mother whispered. "She was supposed to be taking it easy. She promised us she would."

"She wanted to feel normal, Leo," her father said again, his voice pleading. "She was so tired of feeling sick, of being different. That trip... it was her way of trying to pretend, just for a little while."

Leo understood that, he really did. But understanding didn’t make it right. "Pretending almost got her seriously hurt. What about the blood?"

Her mother squeezed her hands. "The doctor warned that it could happen. It’s called hemoptysis. It can happen when the pressure in the heart and lungs gets too high. He said if it ever happened, she needed to get to a hospital immediately."

Leo’s blood ran cold. "And she knew that?"

Her mother nodded miserably. "Yes. That’s why she didn’t want you to see. She was scared you’d drag her to the emergency room, and then everyone would know."

He stared at them, the full weight of their negligence crashing down on him. They had armed her with a secret and a list of terrifying symptoms to hide, and then they had let her go...

"I need to see her," Leo said, standing up abruptly. The conversation was over. He had the facts, as ugly as they were...

He turned and walked out of the living room and up the stairs. He found her bedroom door slightly covered and pushed it open gently.

Sarah was sitting on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She looked up when he entered, her eyes wide and fearful. She looked like a child waiting for a scolding...

Leo’s anger, which had been a shield just moments before, vanished completely. All he saw was her. Scared. Alone...

He closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed, sitting down beside her. He didn’t say anything at first, just sat there, creating a quiet space for her to feel safe...

"I’m sorry, Babe," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I heard you yelling. I didn’t want you to fight with them."

"This isn’t your fault," Leo said, his voice soft and firm.

"Yes, it is," she insisted, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I’m the one who lied. I should have told you. I was just... so scared. I didn’t want you to look at me differently. I didn’t want to be ’sick Sarah.’ I just wanted to be Sarah. Your Sarah. Your girlfriend."

He finally turned to face her, taking her hand in his. It was cold. "You will always be my girlfriend," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "That will never change. Sick, healthy, it doesn’t matter. It’s you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted."

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheeks... "But I lied to you."

"I know," he said. "And I’m not happy about it. I’m angry. But I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at this situation. And I’m scared. I’m really scared, Sarah."

He squeezed her hand. "But we’re not going to do this alone anymore. No more secrets. From now on, we face this together. You, me, your parents... all of us. Okay?"

She looked at him, her eyes searching his for any sign of doubt, but all she found was an unwavering resolve and hope. She nodded, a fresh wave of tears falling down her bright red cheeks. But this time, they weren’t tears of fear. They were tears of self relief...

"Okay," she whispered while sniffing...

He pulled her into a gentle hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder, her body finally relaxing. He held her for a long time, just feeling her breathe.

"We’re going to call your doctor tomorrow," he said quietly into her ears. "We’re going to get a second opinion. We’re going to learn everything we can about this. We’re going to make a real plan."

He felt her nod against his shoulder...

"I’m with you," he said again, a promise that was as much for him as it was for her. "Every step of the way."