“What do you suggest I do, then?” I ask.

“If you’re serious about being a donor,” Dr. Emeterio says. “I would stay here at the hospital. Should something happen to you, we’ll be in the best position possible to try to save you. But if we can’t and you’re experiencing brain death, then we’ll be in an even better position to perform the surgery.”

“And once I’m brain-dead, my heart will be removed. Then once my heart is removed, I’ll be dead.” Those words leave my mouth, taking the air out of me too. I haven’t cried yet, and I don’t want to crack now, but I see Dr. Emeterio nodding through the periphery of my watery eyes. “Okay, and after Orion is put under, you’ll replace his heart with mine, and he’ll be good.”

“Theoretically, yes. That’s assuming Orion doesn’t reject your heart.”

“I won’t,” Orion says. “Oh, you mean, like, if my body rejects his heart.”

Dr. Emeterio answers with a nod as Orion’s face goes red.

“But Orion and I are matches, right? So shouldn’t it work?”

“Every recipient is different, but on average, there are two to three rejection episodes after a transplant. Some small, some bigger. Some early on, some later.”

In a new world where we know when someone is going to die, we still don’t know how long someone will live.

I shouldn’t stress this so hard. This is going to be Orion’s choice ultimately. I can’t force him to take my heart. But I can’t help but worry. I don’t want my last act of kindness to kill someone.

The door opens, and Dalma rushes in so fast it scares me. As if there’s some ax murderer chasing her like some horror movie and this is how I’m about to die. I almost even brace myself for death, disappointed that it’s arriving sooner than I thought—even sooner, I should say. But this isn’t what’s happening at all. Dalma’s phone is ringing and she passes it to me. The caller ID reads Scarlett (Valentino’s sister), and I can feel the biggest cry of my life building from within.

I rush outside into the hallway while answering. “Scarlett!”

“Hey, Val! I’m sorry I missed your million calls and messages, I forgot to take my phone off silent after driving. Where’s yours? What happened?”

I try making my way back to the waiting room, but I stop dead in my tracks and slide down the wall by the elevator bank. I don’t say anything.

“Val?”