Steady Hands | E.D.

Chapter 7

"I got shot, and the bullet is still inside me."
   Well, shit. I tried not to think about the pain I was about to feel. I nervously reached two fingers into the bullet hole. If I don't get this bullet out, I have no chance of surviving. Not that I'm scared of dying, because I'm not. I spent my whole life experiencing death, and I wouldn't be mad if I died. But ever since I met Ethan, a small part of me has wanted to survive. So I'm standing in an on-call room, taking this bullet out of my stomach for Ethan.
   I took a deep breath and shoved my fingers through the hole. I tried to stop from screaming by biting my other arm, but some noise still came out. The pain was excruciating. I searched around blindly until I felt it lodged into something. I'm not sure what it's stuck on, but I need to get it out. I bit my arm harder and pulled it out as fast as possible. I let out a painful whimper as a tear slid down my cheek.
   "Okay, you got the bullet out, good job. The worst part is over." I whispered to myself, trying to stay calm. "Now I need to pack the wound to stop the bleeding. Wow I'm bleeding a lot." I then realized my surroundings. There aren't any gauze or bandages or anything I could use to stop the bleeding successfully. "Okay, it's okay. I'm on an O.R. floor. I just need to get to an operating room and then I'll be okay. There will be people there to help me." I continued to encourage myself.
   I grabbed a sheet from one of the beds and tied it around my stomach as tight as possible, causing me to wince. Here goes nothing, again.
   I sneakily opened the door and peaked out. Nobody in sight. The closest operating room is down the hall to the right. I can make it. I started taking slow steps, feeling a piercing pain with every movement. I bit my cheek to keep from making a sound. After what felt like forever, I reached the corner. I peaked over to the right, and luckily there was nobody there. Just a little farther.
   I started feeling woozy. The white sheet was now completely red. I'm losing blood, fast. I could feel the color being drained from my face. Next thing you know, my face was on the floor. I tried as hard as I could to stand back up, but I couldn't. It was as if I lost all strength. Using everything in me, I dragged myself towards the door, leaving a trail of blood behind me. I got to the door and knocked, even though that's a long shot that somebody would actually open it. To my surprise, it swung open instantly.
   For a few seconds, all of the pain in me turned to relief. I looked him in the eyes and I felt like everything was going to be okay now.
   "Scarlet?! Oh my god you were shot, don't worry everything is going to be okay." Ethan's unmistakable voice said in a soothing tone. He picked me up and carried me onto the operating table. There was nobody else in there.
   "Where- where is your t-team?" I stuttered out as I felt more blood oozing out of me.
   "I came early because I wanted to prepare myself. It was going to be a really long surgery. Scarlet- you're losing a lot of blood." He replied, clearly worried.
   "I- I got the bullet out." I choked out. Tears were now spilling from my eyes. I don't even know why I was crying. Ethan stroked my cheek as he gave me a sweet smile.
   "This is going to hurt, but I'm gonna have to get in there and stop the bleeding." He whispered. I nodded my head. I'm terrified, I hate pain the most out of anything. He held me down with one hand, and grabbed the scalpel with his other hand. He's holding me down? This is definitely gonna hurt.
   He started extending my wound so that he could open me up. I thought taking out the bullet was bad, but it's nothing compared to this. I started screaming bloody murder as he tried to put his hand over my mouth. He stopped for a second and leaned over to me.
   "Scarlet, please, please be quiet. If he hears us he will come this way. I'm sorry, I hate hurting you. This is the worst thing in the world for me. But I need you to shut up. So I'm going to put a towel in your mouth. I'm sorry." He was getting choked up as he placed a towel in my mouth. He continued on with his procedure as my muffled screams made him cringe.
   I just wanted the pain to stop. I love him, so much, but is love really worth this much pain? I started crying and trying to break free from his grip, but he kept me down and his hand remained steady. He was crying just as much as me. I knew this was torture for him. It's torture for both of us.