[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed

by Mary D. Brooks

  Silence greeted Zoe’s entreaty and she took a deep breath. She glanced at the doorway where she was expecting the orderly to come any minute to take Eva away.

  “I can’t lose you, Evy. We have so much to do and we have babies to make. You saw the vision of our babies and I know it’s true. You have to stay with me to make that hap..pen,” Zoe stammered and she angrily wiped the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. She leaned over and tenderly kissed Eva’s lips. “You promised me. I love you so much and we’ve been through so much. You can’t let a paint bucket take you out. That’s just so stupid. You survived Aiden and you survived Larissa. You can’t let a paint bucket do what all the rest couldn’t. That’s just so stupid. You can’t die on me. You can’t go first. You promised me. A promise is a promise, Evy.”

  “Zoe.”

  Zoe didn’t want to look away from Eva’s face, but she did and saw Stella waiting with the orderly. “I don’t want to lose her.”

  “You won’t lose her.” Tessa entered the room and put her arm around Zoe and gently led her away. Zoe stopped at the doorway and looked back at Eva. “You promised me, Evy, don’t welch on me.”

  She stood back and watched as Eva was wheeled away. She wanted desperately to follow and be with Eva but she stayed back.

  ***

  Zoe hated waiting but that’s what she had been doing for quite some time. Earl had fallen asleep on one of the lounge chairs. She glanced at his uncomfortable sleeping position and shook her head. Earl, their dear friend who had left his classes early and had been with her the entire time. Elena and Friedrich had come by and stayed until they had to go home for Rebecca. Debbie was still at the hospital, and she had paced the entire length of the waiting room only to go back and pace some more. David had come by and stayed for an extended period. Theo was sleeping on the floor. A nurse had come in and given him a pillow and a blanket and that’s where he had decided to stay. Zoe couldn’t sit still long enough so she paced, smoked, and repeated the process.

  She turned around to stub out the cigarette butt and saw Tommy coming down the hallway still wearing his nurse’s uniform. He made a beeline for her and, without saying a word, brought her into his arms.

  “She’s going to be fine, Zo, she is.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Zoe said, her voice breaking with emotion as she hugged Tommy. For those unfamiliar with their lives, Tommy and Zoe appeared to be a young loving married couple, but it was a ruse. A ruse that worked for everyone and mattered little to those who were not family.

  Tommy tenderly wiped the tears from Zoe’s cheek. “She is going to be alright. Do you know why?”

  “Why?”

  “She’s got me as her nurse,” Tommy quipped. “And she’s got Ma as her doctor.”

  “She looked like a truck had smashed into her,” Zoe quietly said. “She survived everything the bastards did to her and she survived Larissa, and now this? She can’t die over a stupid bucket.”

  “She won’t. They are fixing the leak in her head and she will be fine. It could have been much worse if she had got hit here.” Tommy touched Zoe’s temple.

  “That’s what Aunt Stella said.”

  “We need to monitor her and I will be keeping a close watch when she comes back. Ma has organized for Alexandra to be her day nurse. You trust her, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course I do, and she knows about Eva, right? She knows about Eva’s medical history? It’s important she knows. I don’t want anyone other than you and Alexandra nursing her. No one else.”

  “It will be just us, and Ma has Eva’s medical records that she got from Uncle Wilbur.”

  “You will be with her at night?”

  “Yes, I will look after her as soon as she comes back from recovery. I won’t let her get scared, alright?”

  Zoe nodded. “Her brain is bleeding.”

  “Yes, it is, but the surgeon will fix that. It’s going to take some time but Eva will be as good as new. She’s going to be so drugged up for a while, but she’s going to pull through. Let’s hope we don’t have invisible rabbits to deal with. We will both end up killing Jasper if that’s the case.”

  Despite the serious nature of their conversation, Zoe smiled at the mention of one of Eva’s hallucinations while on strong painkillers when she was in hospital in Aiden. Tommy’s recollection of Eva’s rabbit story in Larissa had made Zoe laugh so much she ended up on the ground.

  “How long is she going to be in hospital for?”

  “I don’t know. We have to wait for Ma to tell you. I will tell you what I’m going to do. I’ve just finished my shift but I’m going to go and sleep in a spare room for a few hours. I’ll be ready for Eva when she’s transferred back from recovery, alright?”

  “Aren’t you going to be tired from two shifts?”

  “No.” Tommy shook his head. “I don’t want Evy to wake up in a hospital room in the middle of the night with a nurse she doesn’t know. That might make things worse up here.” He tapped his head. “That’s the last thing we need.”

  “Thank you, Tommy.”

  “Any time for my wife and her wife,” Tommy whispered into Zoe’s ear, causing her to give him a tired smile.

  “Go and rest.” Zoe patted his bearded cheek.

  Tommy kissed her on the cheek, and then he bid farewell to everyone else in the room and left. Moments later Zoe saw Stella’s reflection in the window and turned around just as her aunt entered the room.

  “Zoe, can I see you for a moment?”

  Zoe stubbed out the cigarette in the nearest ashtray and followed her aunt into an examination room. She sat down on the chair and waited for Stella to sit down as well next to her.

  “How is she?”

  “They’re finished and are wheeling her into recovery.”

  “Thank goodness,” Zoe exclaimed as her hand went to Eva’s cross that was around her neck. She touched the icon before she turned to her aunt. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  “I wasn’t honest with you earlier,” Stella said. “Now that Eva’s out of surgery I need to tell you a few things.”

  “You’re scaring me, Aunty Stella.”

  “I know, sweetheart, and I’m sorry,” Stella replied as the door opened and Tessa walked in and sat next to Zoe.

  Zoe glanced at Tessa and then back at Stella in dread. “What’s wrong with Evy that you are not telling me?”

  “What I didn’t tell you when you came in was that Eva suffered a heart attack which stopped her heart on the way to the hospital.”

  “Now? As we were coming here?”

  “No, after the accident. I didn’t want you to hear it from the nurses and get upset.”

  Zoe put her hand over her mouth and felt like throwing up. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth and swallowed. Tessa put her arm around her and held her as she began to tremble.

  “She died, Zoe.”

  Zoe blinked in shock. The relief she felt moments ago evaporated and was replaced with a feeling of overwhelming dread that infused her soul. “She died?”

  “Yes. If it wasn’t for the paramedics who brought her back, we would have lost her today.”

  “What…ah.” Zoe cupped her cheek and shook her head while trying to process the news. “They started her heart?”

  “They did.”

  Zoe took a deep breath. “Is her heart alright?”

  “Yes, I believe it is but we think it stopped because of the shock, but we will have to monitor her.”

  Zoe leaned back against the chair, feeling utterly drained. “Her heart stopped?”

  “It did. She was dead for several minutes before they got her heart going again.”

  “I would have lost her.” Zoe’s voice broke.

  “But you didn’t lose her. She’s still with us, a bit sore, but she’s still with us. That’s why I waited until now to tell you.”

  Zoe closed her eyes and tried to get a control of the anxiety that was once again gripping her heart. “Where’s she now?”
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  “In recovery. She will be there for a few more hours and then we will take her to her room. Tommy has gone to get some sleep before he starts the evening shift. He wants to be the one to nurse Eva at night.”

  “He just told me before you came in. I’m glad he’s going to be there. What about the day? Alexandra is going to be the nurse, right?”

  “I’ve already taken care of that. Alexandra will be the nurse.”

  “I love Alex and I know she will look after Evy. The only nurse that I want other than Tommy would be Alexandra. Aunty Stella, you would tell me if Eva isn’t going to be alright, wouldn’t you?” Zoe asked and gazed at her aunt in expectation.

  “I won’t lie to you. I withheld the information about Eva’s heart attack because you were not in the right frame of mind to deal with it. Everything I’ve said is what I know. She’s going to be all right. It’s going to take her some time but she will be fine. She’s going to be very sore but this will also pass.”

  “Dr. Lambros?”

  Zoe looked up to the nurse who had just addressed Stella. “Dr. Livermore wants to speak to you.”

  “Alright, thank you,” Stella said and turned to Zoe. “I want you to say here. I need to check on her and then I’ll come and get you.”

  “But—”

  “Zoe, stay here,” Stella patiently asked.

  Zoe was about to protest but she decided not to and stayed where she was. She looked at Tessa for a moment and then burst into tears.

  CHAPTER 17

  Zoe anxiously waited in Eva’s room while they brought her back up from recovery. Her throat tightened when she saw Eva for the first time in hours when they settled her back in bed. Tessa took Zoe by the hand and led her out of the room against Zoe’s wishes.

  “I want to be in there!”

  “I know you do, but you have to let Stella and the nurses settle her. Alright?”

  Zoe nodded and watched the closed door. “They shaved her head.”

  “Yes, they had to for the surgery.”

  Zoe stayed silent for a long moment. “Eva and I always have the same hair length. If Evy wants her hair shorter, I will cut mine as well.”

  Tessa smiled. “Why do you do that?”

  Zoe looked up at Tessa and smiled through the tears that streamed down her face. “It’s just a silly thing we do,” she replied and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Now I’ll have to shave my head.”

  “What will you tell people?”

  “I’m an eccentric artist. We artists do stupid things for art all the time. I’m doing this because I can and I don’t need a reason,” Zoe replied as she looked up at Tessa. Eva’s aunt put her arm around Zoe and kissed the top of her head.

  “Do you want some help with that?”

  Zoe looked up as she sniffed back the tears. “Yes.”

  “Good. When we go home, you are going to get some sleep and in the morning I’m going to help you shave your head.”

  “I’m not leaving Evy alone tonight… I can’t.”

  “I know you don’t want to leave her, but we have to get approval from the hospital for you to stay here first, and that would be tomorrow morning or,” Tessa glanced at her watch, “later this morning.”

  “That’s Eva Lambros, head of Lambros Steel and heiress to AEMullerStahl. I think they will give her whatever she wants,” Zoe muttered tersely. “Evy says that because she’s rich, she can do stuff like that. If that’s the case, then I say we use that.”

  “I’m sure they will, but they are asleep right now. Tommy will make Eva comfortable and then we will go home.”

  Zoe put her arm around Tessa’s waist and scowled. She didn’t want to leave Eva alone. She knew Eva would never leave her alone.

  ***

  The drive home was quiet as Theo drove the car with Tessa and Zoe through empty streets. It was midnight when Theo stopped at a red light and turned to look at his sister. Zoe was staring at him.

  “I shouldn’t have left,” she muttered again.

  “What would you have done?” Tessa asked once again. They had repeated that same conversation several times so far.

  “Be with her. Evy never left the hospital even when they wouldn’t let her in to see me. She stayed and didn’t leave me. Why couldn’t I?”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “Yes, it is.” Zoe glared at Theo. “She needs me right now and I’m not there.”

  “What good will you be to her if you get sick?”

  “How will I get sick?” Zoe asked tersely.

  “If you don’t rest, you will get sick.”

  “Pah,” Zoe muttered, knowing what Tessa had said was true. She didn’t want to listen to that. What she wanted was to be with Eva. “She’s going to wake and be so confused.”

  “That’s why Tommy is there.”

  Zoe sighed. “I still want to be there,” she muttered.

  Theo drove the car into the cul-de-sac and up into Zoe’s driveway. They left the car and entered the house. As soon as Zoe entered, Ourania came running and rubbed herself up against her leg.

  “Oh, Ourania, I totally forgot about you,” Zoe said as she picked up the cat and hugged her. “I’ll give you something to eat.”

  “Go to bed and I’ll feed her,” Theo gently ordered his sister. The tone in his voice broached no argument. He took the cat from Zoe’s hands and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Go.”

  Zoe looked up at him and nodded. Tessa had gone into Zoe’s bedroom and had already turned down the bed. Zoe stood at the threshold and stared at Eva’s side of the bed for a long moment. “I don’t want to sleep in here.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. Not without Evy.” Zoe did an about face and went into the spare bedroom, which also contained a double bed.

  Tessa came up behind her and put her arms around her. “She’s going to be fine.”

  “She wasn’t fine, Tessa. She died,” Zoe whispered, not quite believing she had come so close to losing Eva.

  “She wasn’t fine, but she is now. Stella and Tommy won’t let anything happen to her. She’s not in Aiden; she’s in Sydney. She’s got Stella, who is one of the best doctors I’ve ever met, treating her. She’s got my son, who is exceptional in what he does. When Eva wakes, he will be there to comfort her.”

  “I wanted to be there.”

  “I know, darling, I know, but you also need to sleep. Eva is going to need a lot of love and attention from everyone, but more importantly from you. You can’t do it if you are tired,” Tessa reasoned. “Stella isn’t taking any chances with Eva.”

  “She died. I can’t believe she died.”

  “We have God to thank because she didn’t leave us,” Tessa said as Zoe yawned and melted into her embrace. “Now, can you please just go to bed, and even if you can’t sleep, just shut your eyes?”

  “I won’t be able to sleep.”

  “I know, but just shut your eyes and stop thinking. I’m going to be here. When you wake up, I will shave your head and make you look like a bowling ball.”

  “You will?” Zoe asked wearily.

  “Of course. Theo is going to be sleeping in the Journey room and I’ll be here with you. You won’t be alone. Eva won’t be alone. All right?”

  Zoe nodded and yawned again as the tumultuous day’s events began to take their toll. Tessa left to get ready for bed. Zoe removed her clothes, put on a nightgown from the dresser, and lay down. As soon as her head hit the pillow she felt herself surrendering to the overwhelming need for sleep. She started to sob as the day’s events overwhelmed her.

  ***

  Tommy stood by Eva’s bedside writing in her chart and then looked down at his one and only patient of the night and wondered how Eva had managed to survive the accident. It was surely by divine intervention that she didn’t die from the blow to the head. The now purpling bruise just above her eye could be discerned as it crept out from under the white bandage that encircled her head and travelled down the side of her face.
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  A single bed occupied the average sized room with a heart monitoring system on one side and a bedside table on the other. Other than that the room was sparse, including three chairs near the door and a window that overlooked the garden below. Tommy had opened the window a fraction and pulled back the curtain. He wasn’t sure if Eva was even aware of it because by that stage, the sedatives and pain medication had the desired effect. Tommy also knew the course these would take with his cousin. Having nursed her in Aiden Hospital, he was fully aware Eva would be awake within hours despite the narcotics running through her bloodstream.

  Tommy watched as Eva slowly opened her good eye in the dim light, unaware of her surroundings. He moved to Eva’s good side and looked down. A gentle touch on her hand caused her to turn her head slightly towards him.

  “Hello,” Tommy said and smiled. “Do you know who I am?”

  Eva stared at Tommy for a long moment without saying a word.

  “What’s your name?’

  Eva remained silent.

  Tommy nodded and noted down in his chart. “Do you know where you are?”

  Eva’s eye closed as Tommy waited for the answer, which wasn’t forthcoming.

  “Are you in pain?”

  “Ye...sh,” Eva finally answered.

  Tommy smiled. “I’m going to give you something for the pain, alright?” Eva blinked in the semi darkness and then closed her good eye in response. Tommy looked down and sighed. “Oh, Evy, this brings back too many bad memories for me as well.”

  ***

  Tommy entered Eva’s room several times in the following hours and Eva’s responses were the same. It had been a long night when he came in once again to check on her. He found Eva awake and gently touched her on her hand.

  “Hello,” he said. “Do you know who I am?”

  Eva stared at Tommy for a long moment. “Karl,” she said hoarsely.

  “What’s your name?’