Audrey rushed to the hospital with tear-stained eyes. She could hardly breathe. “JR?! JR?! She screamed frantically trying to find the man she loved. Her chest hurt, her heart hurt, but she knew she had to be strong. When JR wakes up, he needs to be surrounded by positive energy, despite the fact that she had something against ¾ people in the room. “Where’s JR?” she asked.

Lola Gets walked to her, and held her hand. “He’s in surgery.” She said between sobs.

Audrey stopped thinking for a moment; she stopped breathing, stopped existing. She remembered being held up by Tita Angela and Lola Gets. There was sobbing everywhere in the room. Marlene was in the corner of the room crying hysterically for the son who was at risk; Lola Gets was trying to stay calm, but was crying silently while holding onto a rosary, praying for JR; Ramon was slouched in a chair biting his nail like he was nervous; and Greta had her head between her knees. Audrey understood that this could be difficult for her, especially since she had feelings for JR, but he didn’t return them. Audrey sat in her chair, watching the four people in the room. But something was wrong and she couldn’t pin point it. Maybe it was because Dave wasn’t here for his brother’s support, or maybe it was something smaller like that; maybe it was because JR wasn’t there to stop her from crying.

All the times she pushed him away because she thought she was doing both of them a favour with moving was just thrown in her face with what was happening. She closed her eyes; maybe it was just a dream. Maybe if she wished hard enough, everything would be back to normal, and none of this would’ve happened: the breakup, the slap, the yelling; all of it could just disappear. But Audrey wasn’t four years old anymore, no could fix this problem, it couldn’t just disappear. She was all alone now, and she needed to be the strong one now, the strong one to hold everything together, the strong one to make everything okay. Audrey promised that the second he woke up, she was going to tell him how she felt, that she loved more than anything and she needed him in her life; that all the fighting and everything that happened in the couple of weeks meant nothing, and she was going to do anything to fix it.

The doctor walked into the waiting room and took off his mask. This is why they call it the waiting room. It was the room where you wait, wait for hope and faith to take place, which is exactly what they were doing now once the doctor came in. They were waiting for their prayers to be answered. “Garcia?”

Marlene wiped her eyes and nodded. “Doctor, how’s my son? Is he okay? Can we see him?”

The doctor put his hand on her shoulder. “Your son just completed a massive surgery and he needs extensive rest and physical therapy to get better. He’s in the ICU, and you can see him soon, but he’s unconscious, so he may not hear what you’re saying.” Marlene nodded. “There’s something else I want to discuss with you. The bullet ruptured his kidneys and he needs a transplant. Now the timing for this surgery is running out. I give him a week before the complications start to be life-threatening, so he’s gonna be put onto the top of the waiting list, but if you have anyone who you know is willing to donate who has the same blood-type, please tell us immediately. The faster, the faster his recovery. Now if you excuse me. I’ll check on him in a little while. The worst is over...for now.” He signed a couple of papers, and looked around the room. “Visiting hours are for family only. You can see him in ten minutes.”

Audrey went to the chapel and prayed for the love of her life. How different things had just become. Just a couple of months ago they were planning their wedding and now he was in a hospital fighting for his life.

Twenty minutes later, she walked by his room and it was empty, except for a nurse who were probably checking his vitals. The nurse walked out and saw Audrey. “Are you family?”

Audrey’s eyes were puffy and red. “I’m his...”

“Doctor, it’s okay. Please let her in.” Marlene said behind her.

Audrey gave her a weak smile and nodded a thank-you. She opened the door and saw his body lying to still on the bed. There was tube in his mouth which was helping him breathe and his face was so pale. She never saw him this vulnerable before. She walked to the side of his bed and put her hand on his hand. She wanted him to squeeze her hand or lift a finger just so she’d know he was still alive, but nothing. She sat on the chair, and lifted his hand and kissed it. “I’m so sorry,” she wept. She laid her head against his hand on the bed.

Suddenly all the fighting and the arguing came back to her, haunting her. What if he didn’t know how sorry she was, what if he didn’t know how much she loved him and he didn’t want to fight anymore because he thought she didn’t want him. She looked up at his frozen face and combed his hair back with her fingers. She stood up and kissed his forehead. “JR, I love you so much. I need you, please fight; fight for me; fight for us.” She whispered.

An hour later, Audrey returned back to the room, but they were already pushing his bed. She was confused. “What – where are you bringing him?”

“He’s being put into a private room. His vitals look good and he seems to have gotten stronger within the last hour. He no longer needs to be in the ICU.” The doctor answered.

Her arms were crossed and she watched them wheel him into the elevator. When she turned back around to face the room JR just finished occupying, she saw Dave standing there with a worried expression. Audrey swallowed a lump rising in .

Dave approached her, and saw the tears form in her eyes. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and make everything okay again, but that wasn’t his job anymore. He knew he needed to come to terms with the fact that he was no longer that person in her life, but he still loved her. He would always her. Instead, he offered her his hand, and she took it. But feeling that small act of comfort that he could offer her wasn’t enough anymore. He took her into his arms and hugged her.

Audrey didn’t resist. She needed a hug more than anything, and if it wasn’t coming from her present love, than she’d have to settle for her past.

They went back to the waiting room. “When Marlene called me, I didn’t know how to think. She was crying on the phone and I couldn’t understand her at first, but then she said JR got shot and that he needs a kidney. As much as I hate JR for what he did to me, I couldn’t hate him. He became more of a brother to me than anything.” Dave confessed. “My mom doesn’t want me to, but I’m considering on being the donor. That’s what brothers do, right? That’s what a twin does?”

Audrey was playing with her fingers, tears falling down her cheek. “We fought right before it happened. He came to the police station and offered to help me, and I turned him away. I yelled at him and I pushed him away.” Her voice shook. “I thought I was doing us a favour, but I led him to that house. If I accepted his offer, he would’ve been with me and none of this would’ve happened. I didn’t even get to tell him how much I love him.” She knew the words were probably killing him inside, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything right now, just as long as he got better.

“Audrey, he’d going to get through this.” But Dave wasn’t sure. He despised comforting the girl he loved for a guy he hated.

She shook her head. “I wanna believe that, I keep telling myself that he will, but I don’t know. He might not. I lost so many people in my life. My Kuya, my grandmother, my mom,” she sobbed, “you. And now JR. I can’t lose him. I can’t lose another person I love. I don’t know how I can move on if I lose him.”

Dave took her hand once again, and saw how torn she was, how already broken she was. Losing JR would absolutely shatter her whole life. He finally saw something he didn’t see when they were together, this absolute desire and longing for one another. He felt it for her, but now he was seeing it and feeling it from her to his twin brother. He knew what to do. He squeezed her hand. “You’re not going to lose him. He’s gonna get better, and you will get the ending you want. I promise you.” He stood up but paused. “Audrey, you didn’t lose me; you can never lose me.” He said with a smile.

Tita Angela convinced Audrey to go home to shower and change since she was there for two days straight. She did what she was asked to do, but when he collapsed on her bed, she fell asleep.

She woke up and it was 11 o’clock at night. She jumped out of bed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had to admit that she felt more awake and the bags under eyes were gone. She took her aunt’s keys and drove to the hospital. Marlene and the rest of the family weren’t there in the waiting room, and JR wasn’t in his room. Maybe they transferred him into a different room again...or maybe he...no...she couldn’t think about it. She forced herself not to think about it. They went through too much to just give up now.

She went to the waiting room and sat there for another hour. Finally Marlene came and she was smiling with the doctor. “Thank you so much,” she shook the doctor’s hand.

Audrey stood up and stared at Marlene full of questions and longing for answers. “Tita, where’s JR?” She asked quietly. She wasn’t exactly happy with her, but she was willing to put it aside until she knew where JR was and if he was okay, it was the least she owed to JR and to herself.

“He didn’t tell you?”

“He didn’t tell me what? Who?” Audrey asked.

Marlene stared at Audrey, “Dave donated his kidney to his brother. They just got out of the surgery and everything went smoothly. They were just placed in recovery.”

Audrey smiled and held her hand against her heart. It hurt, but in a good way.

“Audrey, I’m sorry. I know the way I treated you wasn’t fair, I just didn’t know what to do and...”

She shook her head. “Tita, it’s okay. All I want you to know is that I love JR so much, and I’d do anything for him. But the last thing I want is to hurt other people in the process.”

Audrey walked to JR’s room and waited holding his hand. Three hours later, JR’s hand twitched, and Audrey lifted her head to see the man she loved staring back at her. She couldn’t stop the tears flowing down her face. “You’re okay!” She whispered.

“I fought for you, Audrey.” He said despite the pain she knew he was in. “I fought for us.” He smiled, and she kissed him.

JUST A ONE-SHOT. I DON’T REALLY LIKE DOING ONE-SHOTS, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS NECESSARY SINCE I HATE HOW TAYONG DALAWA WRITERS IS TREATING OUR KIMERALD. HOPE YOU LIKE IT, AND PLEASE READ MY OTHER AND FIRST STORY EVERY WRITTEN: SO CLOSE BY KISMETS003, A.K.A. ME. ANYWAYS, IM UPDATING MY STORY SOON, JUST HIT A LITTLE WRITER’S BLOCK. THANKS SO MUCH, AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. GOOD NIGHT!