Chapter 28: 28


    The air ambnce arrived shortly, and Nichs was moved from the pce to the hospital in town.


    Kinsley joined him in the helicopter. She did not want him to go alone. His parents would be driven in


    and meet them there.


    When they reached the hospital, Kinsley was at his side as the staff moved Nichs to a private room.


    It worried Kinsley that he never woke, never stirred once during the transfer. Hisplexion was flush,


    almost white, and he was perspiring like he’d run a marathon in the sweltering heart. As she waited for


    the nurse, Kinsley ced her hand on his forehead and frowned with concern. He was very hot to the


    touch.


    A nurse came in, and Kinsley stepped aside to allow her to do her job. The woman took all his vital


    signs, as Kinsley suspected Nichs had a very high fever. The nurse gave him something


    intravenously to help with the fever. After an hour, the doctor came in and examined Nichs once


    more. Prying his eyes open and shing light in both, then checking his reflexes by running the tip of


    his pen along the bottoms of Nichs’ feet to see if he would flinch. He did not, and Dr. Horton’s frown


    grew. “Nichs ispletely unresponsive,” Dr. Horton told her.


    “What does that mean?” Kinsley asked.


    “He is in aa.”


    Knisley’s heart almost stopped. “Coma?” She gasped in horror. “Radiation therapy can do that?”


    “No, this is not a result of the therapy,” he assured her. “It is something else. It is possible the disease is


    progressing.”


    “The therapy was supposed tobat the progression, not speed it up.”


    “It is a rare disorder. We know very little about it, and really any and all treatment is just guesswork at


    best,” he said as he recovered Nichs’ feet with the bottom of the nket. “He has no reflexes when I


    touch his feet. It concerns me if he doese out of thisa, he may no longer be ambtory.”


    “You mean…”


    “If he bes well enough to leave the hospital, he will do so in a wheelchair.”


    Her heart sank. That news was going to devastate Nichs. She loved this man, but part of her almost


    hoped he did not wake up. It might be kinder to just let him go peacefully in his sleep. She was so


    conflicted.


    When Naya and Samuel arrived, Dr. Horton filled them in on their son’s present condition. Naya sat


    down in the nearest chair and sobbed. The doctor promised to do his best to wake Nichs. He was


    running every test he could think of, and if he had to, he would run them all twice until he found out


    what had caused Nichs’ heath to degrade so quickly.


    They all sat with Nichs for hours. Late into the evening, Teegan and Matthew arrived to check on


    how their brother was doing. Kinsley looked at Matthew, unable to hide the suspicion on her face. She


    could not sit here with this man. She was going to go get a drink from the vending machine. She would


    not leave Nichs alone with Matthew, but with the rest of the family in the room, she believed he


    would be safe.


    She stood up from her chair. “I am going to raid the vending machine. Would you like anything?” She


    asked Naya. The woman shook her head no.


    Kinsley walked down to the end of the wall, where the vending machines were next to the fire stairwell.


    She was looking over the selection when Matthew walked over and stood next to her. He smiled at her,


    and she tried to ignore him. “How are you doing?” He asked.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    “Given my fiancé may die before we get married… I am fine.”


    “You know you should not put this crap in your body. It is full of preservatives and other chemicals,” he


    said with a concern she did not think was genuine. “Why do not we go down to the cafeteria and find


    you something healthier to feed to my niece or nephew. I will buy.”


    She looked at the junk in the machine. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should eat something better.


    She was hungry, after all. “I will get my own meal; thank you,” she said, heading for the stairwell. It was


    closer than walking back to the elevator. Kinsley pushed the door open and stepped into the stairwell.


    She let the door swing shut behind her, but then Matthew caught it before it closed and stepped into the


    stairwell with her. “Really, I do not need you to tag along,” she snapped at him as she turned to confront


    him.


    Suddenly Matthew offered her a cruel smile that made her blood run cold, and then both his hands


    came up, and Matthew shoved Kinsley hard. She fell backwards. Kinsley reached for the railing, but


    she missed it. Landing on her back Kinsley rolled feet overhead as she hit every step on her way down


    the stairs.


    When she reached thending, she was in great pain. Her head hurt, and she felt dizzy. Kinsley looked


    up to see Matthewing down the stairs. She tried to get on her feet so she could run, but she was


    having trouble getting up. Matthew reached thending, and as she was hunched over, attempting to


    get on her feet, Matthew kicked her in the stomach and shoved her again, sending Kinsley down the


    next flight of stairs.


    Hitting her head, Kinsleyy on thending, groaning in pain. Through her blurry haze of pain, she


    could see Matthewing down the stairs. As he reached her, Matthew bent over and grabbed Kinsley


    by the shirt, lifting her to her feet. Then he threw her down the next flight. Kinsley hit her head again,


    and now blood dripped in her eyes. She could barely see as Matthew came down the stairs and stood


    next to her. She could not move. She did not have the ability to move. She looked up to see him


    looking down at her. Matthew pulled back his foot and kicked her in the face, and everything went


    ck.


    ***


    Matthew stood over Kinsley’s motionless body. He was hoping the fall would have killed her. He leaned


    over to ce his fingers to her throat, hoping to find no pulse. Before he could check, he heard the


    sound of the stairwell door below them open. Someone wasing, and he could not be caught


    standing over the body. He looked at Kinsley and then rushed back up the stairs. Hopefully, she was


    dead. If not, he would finish the jobter.


    Matthew stopped a few flights up when he heard whoever had entered the stairwell find Kinsley. They


    could hear two voices. Matthew looked over the edge but could not see them. “Quick, call a nurse. I


    think she is still alive,” one of them said, and Matthew frowned. He needed a n-B.