Page 126 of Disgrace

John had been right.

Darren was not coming back from this.

A tube down his throat attached to a respirator kept him breathing. His heart only continued to beat because of the oxygen being pumped into his body. His brain was not working, and thus, not allowing his body to breathe on his own.

CT scans, MRIs, and reflective tests all showcased the same thing for Darren. He was, entirely, braindead. He was not going to wake up one day, and he was not going to get better as time passed on.

Ever.

The nurse and doctor moved quietly throughout the room. They worked in tandem which was interesting to watch. As soon as the doctor reached for something, the nurse came right behind him to finish what he left behind. Or better yet, should he need something, the nurse was already there to fulfill his unspoken request.

It was only once their attention turned back on Siena that she straightened a bit more, and waited for their next move.

“You can wait to sign the documents, if you so choose,” the doctor reminded her.

“My lawyer was clear. We went through the proper channels. Darren has no wife, no children, and at the moment, no parent we can make contact with. I am—according to the law, and the judge that signed off on my lawyer’s petition—Darren’s only next of kin. And I made my decision.”

She said all of this with a cold detachment that likely didn’t escape the doctor or nurse’s notice. At the moment, it was the best she could offer them. She had gone through a lawyer to get this finished—it only took about a week when her mother couldn’t be contacted, and did not appeal the decision to make Siena her brother’s next of kin capable of making life or death decisions for his person.

Who knew where Coraline was?

Siena had no idea.

“Could we get started?” Siena asked.

The doctor cleared his throat, and nodded once. “Yes, sure, of course. Once you sign the documents, and witness us turn off the machines, and remove the tube, you will not need to remain in the—”

“I will stay.”

The man gave her a look. “Many don’t prefer to stay and watch, and it can take a while.”

Siena stared back, unaffected. “I will stay.”

Until the bastard’s heart stopped beating.

Until he couldn’t hurt them again.

Until she was safe.

Her sisters.

John.

Siena would fucking stay.

“Okay,” the doctor murmured. “Let’s get started on these final forms.”

The next several minutes were a blur. Siena checking boxes, and signing her signature on too many dotted lines to count. It was all the same thing over and over again, simply reworded a different way, and on a new page.

Did she understand …

Does she agree …

No liability …

“And here,” the doctor said one final time.

Siena scribbled her name a little harder than before.