Chapter 306
The sound of the heart monitor buzzing in one even pitch was haunting as I flew into the operating room and over to where Tara lay perfectly still on the bed. Even with the volume almost completely down, it filled my head from the inside. I pressed my ear to her chest, willing there to be some sort of sign that she either wasn’t dead or that this wouldn’t last, but I heard nothing but my own static breath.
Brandon entered the room, followed by Christian, and I vaguely remembered having heard Brandon knock on his office door while I was rushing back to Tara’s side. I prayed Christian would be able to do something, anything to help, but he wasn’t a doctor, and Jamie was out of it. Maybe Cale was available. Maybe I should call him. I moved out of Christian’s way and let him do his own examination.
After he turned the volume completely down on the heart rate monitor, he pushed me further aside, pressed his head to Tara’s chest, felt for a pulse, and said, “Yeah, she appears to be dead.”
Angered at his nonchalance, I had to fight my own fangs before I asked, “But she could still recover, right? Just like Aaron?”
Christian shrugged. “It’s hard to say.”
I turned to Jamie, who was struggling to open his eyes, but he was still of no use. I turned back to Christian, who looked disinterested, and then returned my gaze to Tara. She was so peaceful and still, just like she had been all day. But I could tell it was different this time, like she was no longer in there at all.
“What do we do?” Dax asked from the other side of her bed. I could see the anguish in his expression.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. Brandon took a few steps closer to me, but Christian was still standing between us. Brandon looked as lost as I felt.
“I say, give it a couple of hours,” Christian replied, stepping around Brandon and heading toward the exit. “If she’s not awake by then, chances are, she’s gone.” He turned back and looked at me, forcing empathy into his expression, even though he clearly couldn’t care less about Tara.
I could only shake my head, thinking of all the people that could be here to help us, why did it have to be him? I pivoted back to Dax, trying to think of something to assure him this wasn’t over yet when a noise by the door caught my attention. As if he’d come out of nowhere, Elliott was there. I wondered how I hadn’t heard his footsteps in the hallway.
“Like a cat,” he said, like he’d read my mind and knew he’d snuck up on me. “Here’s the deal. Aaron’s super busy right now. Cadence is on her way. Should be here in five. Jamie’s IAC is flickering around like he wants to wake up, but he can’t, so give it a few minutes. Try not to panic; we’ll see what happens. Nobody knows better than I do that bein’ dead can be temporary.”
I was just about to ask him who called him when Dax asked, “What does that mean?” I realized in all of the time we’d spent talking, I hadn’t really explained Elliott’s death. It was probably because I had been avoiding mentioning the portal out of habit, though I thought Dax deserved to know all about it. “Have you been dead before, too?” he asked Elliott, his eyes wide while his forehead was trying to pucker in confusion.
“Man, kid, you gotta lotta history to catch up on,” Elliott smirked.
“Elliott was dead for eight months,” I said, knowing there should be a lot of questions about that but figuring they would have to wait.
Dax opened and closed his mouth abruptly, like he really did want to know more but thought better of it under the circumstances. Elliott chuckled but didn’t offer any more information either.
Turning to me, Elliott put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Cass, have a seat. Give it some time. We’ll see what happens. That Tara’s a fighter. She’s lasted this long, right?”
I wanted to believe he was correct, that if she’d managed to make it all night and into the afternoon maybe she hadn’t just left us, maybe she’d be back. But the rational part of my brain, the one that always thought being dead meant you were gone for good, couldn’t quite hope hard enough. Still, I sat down. I wasn’t going anywhere until someone like Jamie or Cale told me the jig was up. I turned to Brandon who was still standing by the foot of the bed. “Wanna join us?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Elliott said, winking at me.
I was actually glad he was going to stay, but I shook my head at his orneriness. Brandon grabbed a chair, too, and the next thing I knew, all four of us were sitting around Tara’s bed, though Dax was on the other side now, nearer to Jamie, and I thought it was strange, as if he didn’t quite belong with us. But he did. Tara would be so happy to see him when she opened her eyes.
The room was completely quiet for about five minutes before my sister’s footsteps in the hallway alerted us all to expect her to come in the door momentarily. I looked over in anticipation, and even though I knew Cadence couldn’t help Tara, I was relieved when she walked in. I was glad someone in charge was there, even if she was no Healer and no expert in this. She had, at least, seen it happen before.
“How is she?” Cadence asked, looking at each of us as she rushed over to Tara’s side. She was carrying a bag with her, but I couldn’t tell what was in it.
“Dead, but other than that, fine,” Elliott replied, and I thought for a moment Dax might be offended, but then I guess he realized it was hard to be angry at someone who had recently been dead when they were talking about death.
“Nothing at all?” Cadence asked, placing her hand on Tara’s chest.
“Unlike your favorite movie, in real life, there’s no such thing as mostly dead or slightly alive.”
I got Elliott’s The Princess Bride reference but didn’t laugh because even that didn’t seem funny at the moment. I was under the impression Elliott thought Tara would be back or else even he wouldn’t be joking.
“Well, we’ll just have to give her some time,” Cadence said, running her hand across Tara’s cheek.
