He Gave My Blood to His First Love, Then Lost Me Forever

"Doctor, her pressure is tanking!"

"Push another unit of saline. Where is that blood?"

"Blood bank just confirmed. Only one unit of O-negative left. Both patients are crashing."

I lay on the gurney, the metallic taste of copper thick on my tongue. The multi-car pileup had reduced my reality to shattered glass and screaming sirens.

"Zoe," a familiar voice echoed.

Not directed to me. About me.

"Mr. Pierce, you need to step back," a nurse ordered.

"How is she?" Arthur demanded. His tone shook with panic.

I tried to move my fingers. He was here. My husband of three years. We built a successful fashion design firm together. We built a life. He came for me.

"Sir, we have a terrible situation," the doctor said. "Your wife, Zoe, and the other victim, Elaine Monroe, both require immediate transfusions. They share an extremely rare blood type. Rh-negative. We only have one bag."

"One bag?" Arthur asked.

"We are trying to source more from neighboring counties, but it will take hours. We have to choose who gets this unit right now."

"Give it to Elaine."

The words hung in the sterile air.

"Excuse me?" the doctor asked.

"Save Elaine," Arthur repeated, his tone hardening into an absolute command. "She cannot be harmed. Do whatever it takes for her."

I pried my eyelids apart. The harsh fluorescent lights burned my retinas.

Arthur stood three feet away. He wasn't looking at my blood-soaked clothes. He leaned over the adjacent bed, clutching the hand of the blonde woman unconscious on the mattress.

"Mr. Pierce, your wife is your legal dependent. You are her proxy."

"I made my decision," Arthur snapped. "Elaine is my first love. I am not letting her die today. Give her the blood."

"Arthur," I whispered.

The sound barely left my lips.

He didn't turn. He just stroked Elaine's forehead. "Hold on, El. I'm right here."

The heart monitor beside me flatlined into a continuous, high-pitched scream.

Nurses rushed my bed.

"She's coding! Get the crash cart!"

"Charge to two hundred. Clear!"

The electric shock tore through my chest. I jerked on the table.

"No pulse. Charge to three hundred. Clear!"

Arthur's voice drifted from the other side of the room. "Is Elaine stable? Tell me she's stable."

He didn't even ask who the doctors were shocking.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

***

"Mrs. Pierce? Can you hear me?"

I blinked against the dim lighting of a private room. My throat felt like sandpaper.

"Water," I rasped.

A plastic cup touched my lips. I drank greedily.

"Take it slow," the nurse said, pulling the cup away. "You gave us a massive fright."

"I'm alive."

"Barely. We managed an emergency transfer from Mercy General. A helicopter brought the blood just as your heart gave out."

I stared at the ceiling tiles. "Where is my husband?"

The nurse checked the IV drip, avoiding my eyes. "He hasn't come to this floor."

"It's been how long?"

"Fourteen hours since the surgery."

Fourteen hours. Three years of marriage erased by the presence of his first love.

"Is Elaine Monroe alive?" I asked.

The nurse hesitated. "Yes. She stabilized quickly after the transfusion."

"I need my clothes," I demanded.

"Mrs. Pierce, absolutely not. You have three broken ribs and severe internal bruising."

"Bring me my clothes, or I will walk out of here in this paper gown."

"You are in no condition to leave."

"Did he ask about me?" I interrupted. "Did Arthur ask if I made it through surgery?"

The nurse gripped her clipboard tight. "No, ma'am. He hasn't inquired."

I ripped the medical tape off the back of my hand.

"Mrs. Pierce! Stop!"

I yanked the IV needle out. A thick drop of crimson beaded on my skin. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. Agony flared through my torso, sharp and blinding. It meant nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest.

"Print the discharge forms," I ordered.

***

I dressed in the sweatpants and oversized shirt a social worker provided. My own clothes were ruined in the crash. I gripped the handrail in the hallway, forcing one foot in front of the other.

I needed to see him. I needed to look him in the eyes and ask him why.

The ICU was on the third floor. I rode the elevator up, leaning heavily against the metal wall.

When the doors parted, I spotted him immediately.

Arthur sat in the waiting room just outside the intensive care doors. He wore the same suit from yesterday, now wrinkled and stained. His elbows rested on his knees, his face buried in his hands.

I took a step forward. "Arthur."

He didn't hear me. He stood up suddenly and walked over to the coffee machine in the corner, leaving his jacket and phone on the small table.

I dragged my feet across the carpet. I reached the table just as his phone screen illuminated.

A bright banner flashed across the locked screen.

*Elaine.*

My hand hovered over the device. I didn't want to look, but I couldn't tear my gaze away.

The message preview displayed clearly.

*I finally made it back to you.*

My jaw tightened. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

I turned. Arthur stood a few feet away, holding a steaming paper cup. He frowned, his eyes scanning my pale face and the hospital bracelet still wrapped around my wrist.

"I asked you a question, Zoe."

"You told them to let me die."

Arthur set the cup down. "Don't be dramatic. You're standing right here."

"Because they flew blood in from another hospital. Not because of you."

"Elaine needed it more. She was weaker."

"She is your first love."

He stiffened. "Who told you that?"

"You did. In the ER. I heard every word."

Arthur crossed his arms. "Then you know why I had to make that choice. We have a history. She doesn't have anyone else."

"You are my husband, Arthur!"

"And you are a strong, independent woman who always finds a way to survive. Elaine is fragile."

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Fragile? She seems perfectly capable of texting you."

Arthur's gaze snapped to the phone on the table. He lunged forward and snatched it up, shoving it into his pocket.

"You invaded my privacy?" he demanded.

"The screen illuminated. I didn't touch it."

"This is exactly why I didn't come to your room. I knew you'd start a fight."

"A fight? You gave away my blood!"

"I made a medical decision based on who needed it more."

"You made a decision based on who you wanted to save for yourself."

Arthur's hand cracked against the plastic table. "Watch your mouth."

"I almost died today!" I shouted.

A passing orderly shot us a warning glance.

"Keep your voice down," Arthur hissed. "Elaine is resting. She suffered immense trauma."

"So did I!"

"You're standing here yelling at me. You're fine. She's delicate."

I stared at the man I married. The handsome face, the tailored clothes, the familiar scent of cedar and mint. He felt like a total stranger.

"I finally made it back to you," I quoted, my voice dropping to a whisper. "That's what she texted. Were you two seeing each other behind my back?"

Arthur rubbed his temples. "It's not like that. We reconnected a few months ago. As friends."

"Friends don't send texts like that."

"She was confused after the crash. She's emotional."

"Are you in love with her?"

Arthur refused to meet my eyes. He fixed his attention on the blank wall behind my shoulder. That silence was the loudest answer he could have given.

"Zoe, go back to your room. We will discuss this when everyone is healthy."

"There is no 'we' anymore."

"Stop acting like a child."

"I'm leaving," I said, turning my back on him.

"You can't even walk straight! Where are you going to go?"

"Anywhere but here."

I didn't wait for his reply. I limped toward the elevator, pressing the down button.

"Zoe!" Arthur called out.

The doors slid open. I stepped inside and hit the lobby button. As the metal doors closed, cutting off his face, my own phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out. It was an unknown number.

I swiped to open the message.

*If you think surviving the crash means you get to keep him, you're dead wrong.*