Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

LIVY

Matthew sits up in his hospital bed with a massive smile on his face as the doctor leaves the room. His surgery was two days ago and went off without a hitch. The doctor has just confirmed that his body is so far not rejecting his new kidney, which has been one of my concerns going into this. To say I'm relieved is an understatement.

There is every chance that he will be able to live a normal life from now on. Sure, he will be on daily medication to ensure his body doesn't reject the organ, but compared to hours of dialysis and constant hospital stays, this is a godsend. I can feel my eyes well up, thinking of how much freedom Matthew will now have, all the things he will be able to do that he couldn't before.

"Mum," Matthew groans, rolling his eyes at the emotion I'm showing. "Don't cry!" I giggle at the exasperated look he is giving me.

"I'm just happy." I tell him earning another eyeroll from him.

"Doesn't mean you need to cry," he mumbles, though I know he is feeling just as emotional as me and is trying not to show it. This is why we moved to Perth, in the hope of Matthew getting the kidney he needed. Granted, I assumed his father would be our saving grace, and it didn't exactly pan out that way, but I'm not sure our anonymous donor would have shown up in Brisbane. They may never have even known about Matthew.

Which has my curiosity peeking, now that the surgery is behind us. Who is this mystery person and how did they know about Matthew? There was a small part of me that wondered if it was Ethan, if he had lied about his blood type and decided to give up his organ without me knowing. It would have fit in with what happened the night before the surgery, if he was trying to protect us from his father.

But, with him being shot, I know for sure it wasn't him. So, who could it have been? All of our friends we have in Perth have come to visit us, even Kate has popped in a few times, and given that the donor would still be in hospital for a couple more days to ensure there are no complications on their side, I know it's none of them.

I know I should let it go, the donor obviously not wanting anyone to know who they are, but this person has literally given Matthew his life, it's hard not to want to find them and hug them. The only thing I can do, which I've done anytime I have seen a doctor or nurse, much to Matthew's embarrassment, is express my gratitude through them, hoping that they pass it on to Matthew's benefactor. They have all assured me they will, but it just doesn't seem like enough. Maybe I can send a fruit basket?

"Get out of your head Livy, the person who donated, did it out of the kindness of their heart. They don't want balloons, or flowers or your baked goods." Mia pipes up from the other side of Matthew's bed, pulling me from my thoughts. I hate that she knows me so well.

"I wasn't going to send them any of those things." I mumble, not at all lying, they hadn't come to mind.

"Fruit basket?" Mia asks with a smirk and I roll my eyes, looking away with a slight blush causing her to laugh. I look over to Matthew, who is straining to keep his eyes open and take his hand in mine.

"Get some sleep, we will let you rest for a bit." I tell him, he offers me a sleepy smile, his eyes finally closing as Mia stands and gathers her things. I stand and lean over, kissing his forehead before leaving the room.

I'm yet to leave the hospital for more than an hour, staying beside Matthew overnight and really just going back to Jane and Jordan's house to shower, but I do give Matthew some space during the day to rest without me hovering, usually just going down to the hospital café, or chilling in one of the many waiting rooms before wandering back over to him.

"Why don't you leave for a bit? Get some fresh air and sunshine, I'll stay here." Mia offers. I bite my lower lip, not really wanting to be too far from Matthew but knowing that Mia would never let anything happen to him. She has been by my side, raising Matthew with me, if she wasn't here, I probably wouldn't even leave to shower. Still, the parental guilt of not being by his side gnaws at me.

"Matthew will be fine; I will call if anything happens. Just go, get a coffee, sit in a park... go see Ethan," she mumbles the last line earning yet another eye roll from me. I haven't seen Ethan since he woke up, not daring to face him when he's conscious. It's one thing to pour my heart out to his sleeping form, another thing entirely to see him face to face. As much as I have so many questions for him, I'm terrified of the answers. I'm terrified of the feelings he provokes in me, and that it will just lead me to another broken heart.

"I'll go get some fresh air," I say, walking past Mia and towards the elevators that will take me down to the ground floor. Mia just grins and gives me a thumbs up, taking a seat in the waiting room and pulling out her laptop. I really am grateful to Mia, for dropping everything to be by my side yet again. After she found out information about Ethan's father, of which I know she hasn't told me everything, she has been on me about talking to Ethan. She's adamant that we got it wrong, that he isn't the player we thought he was.

I agree with her, that everything now points to him just trying to protect me, but eleven years of thinking is hard to change. She's also constantly hinting at us getting back together, which I think is utterly ridiculous. It has been over a decade, whatever we had is long gone, all that is left is what ifs. Any emotion that he does spark in me, is just left over from my teenage years, it's not real, it never will be real.

The most that can be expected from Ethan and I, is if we co-parent together. That's if he wants a relationship with Matthew at all.