Don't Die Yet
2083 Words
Evelyn Mercer
***** Late Afternoon — Blackwood & Co. Books, Seattle *****
Blood always looked worse against white paper.
I stared at the red stain spreading slowly across the page of a returned novel in my hands and immediately snapped the book shut.
My chest burned.
Not sharp enough to knock me down yet.
Just deep. Heavy. Like someone had buried hot metal behind my ribs.
I swallowed hard and looked around quickly.
No one noticed.
Good.
The bookstore smelled like coffee and dust and old pages. Usually comforting. Today it just made me nauseous.
I pressed my sleeve against my mouth before another cough escaped.
Warmth hit the fabric instantly.
Damn it.
Not now.
Not here.
“Eve?”
I looked up too fast.
Mina stood near the front shelves holding a stack of books against her chest. Her eyes immediately narrowed.
“You look awful.”
I forced a dry smile.
“Thank you. You always know exactly what to say to a dying woman.”
Her face fell immediately.
The joke landed badly.
Again.
Ever since yesterday, Mina had been acting strange around me. Softer. Quieter. Like she wanted to say a thousand things but didn’t know where to start.
The memory thing still bothered me too.
She remembered my diagnosis.
But not him.
Not Kairen.
Like her mind had been edited carefully around his existence.
I still didn’t understand how that was possible.
Mina walked closer.
“Did you eat anything today?”
“Half a muffin.”
“That’s not food.”
“It had blueberries. That feels nutritional.”
“Eve.”
“I’m kidding. Relax.”
Another cough climbed up my throat before I could stop it.
I turned away fast.
Pain ripped through my chest violently this time.
Blood hit my palm.
More than before.
Way more.
For one terrifying second, my vision blurred.
Not now.
Please not now.
I grabbed the edge of the counter quietly.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
“Evelyn.”
The voice came from behind me.
Low.
Controlled.
Instantly recognizable.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Mina frowned immediately.
“Why do I suddenly feel cold?”
I turned slowly.
Kairen stood near the entrance.
Black coat.
Dark clothes.
Rainwater still dripping faintly from his sleeves.
People moved around him unconsciously. Not directly avoiding him. Just... shifting away without realizing it.
Like instinct warned them before their minds could.
A man walking near the history section suddenly changed direction mid-step.
A child started crying quietly near the exit.
Kairen didn’t react to any of it.
His eyes settled on me.
Then lowered slightly to the blood staining my sleeve.
His expression didn’t change.
But the atmosphere did.
Pressure filled the room so suddenly my stomach twisted.
Mina rubbed her arms.
“…Why does it feel weird in here?”
I quickly shoved my sleeve down.
“I’m fine.”
Kairen walked closer.
Deliberate.
Measured.
Like every step had already been decided before he took it.
“You are bleeding.”
Mina blinked.
“What?”
“I bit my tongue,” I lied immediately.
Kairen stopped directly in front of me.
Too close.
Too still.
Gold eyes locked onto mine without blinking.
“No,” he said calmly. “You did not.”
The silence after that felt awful.
Mina looked between us slowly.
“Do you know this guy?”
I stared at her.
Right.
She forgot him again.
Kairen answered before I could.
“She knows enough.”
Mina frowned harder. “That didn’t answer my question.”
He ignored her completely.
His gaze stayed on me.
“You are getting worse.”
I laughed weakly. “You say that like it’s shocking.”
Another cough hit me suddenly.
This one bent me forward hard enough to make the room spin.
Blood splattered across the wooden floor.
Mina gasped.
“Eve!”
I heard books hit the ground.
Footsteps rushed toward me.
Pain exploded through my chest so violently I couldn’t breathe for a second.
Then everything tilted sideways.
Strong fingers caught my arm before I hit the floor.
Kairen.
His grip was firm. Cold.
Steady enough to hold my full weight easily.
I tried pulling away instantly.
“I’m okay.”
“You are collapsing.”
“That’s dramatic.”
Blood slid down my chin.
That ruined the argument a little.
Mina looked panicked now.
“Oh my God, okay no, no, we’re going to the hospital right now.”
“I said I’m fi….”
“You literally coughed blood on the floor!”
“Technically the floor coughed blood. I was just nearby.”
“Evelyn.”
Kairen said my name quietly.
That was somehow worse than if he’d shouted it.
I looked at him.
Something in his stare made my chest tighten harder.
Not concern.
Assessment.
Like he was watching a structure c***k faster than expected.
“You will go now,” he said.
“I hate when you phrase things like commands.”
“You are in no condition to negotiate.”
Mina grabbed her bag immediately.
“I’m driving.”
“No,” Kairen said.
She frowned. “Excuse me?”
“I will take her.”
Mina looked offended instantly.
“Absolutely not.”
“She requires immediate treatment.”
“And you look like a serial killer.”
Silence.
Kairen stared at her for exactly two seconds.
Mina stepped back slightly afterward.
Not intentionally.
Her body just reacted before her brain did.
I noticed that.
So did she.
“What is wrong with him?” she muttered.
Kairen ignored her again.
Of course he did.
He looked at me instead.
“Stand.”
“I am standing.”
“Barely.”
Rude.
Accurate.
But rude.
I pushed myself upright anyway.
The movement made black spots flicker across my vision.
Kairen’s hand moved to my elbow immediately.
Not gentle.
Not caring.
Just efficient support.
Like stabilizing damaged equipment.
I hated that it still made my heartbeat stumble.
Mina quickly grabbed my other side.
“We’re going to the hospital,” she said firmly. “And this time you’re not arguing.”
“I could still outrun both of you.”
“You almost died next to the romance section.”
“Okay that sounds dramatic when you say it out loud.”
Kairen started walking.
Meaning we were apparently all walking now.
Rain hammered Seattle hard outside.
Cold wind hit my face the second we stepped onto the sidewalk.
The city looked blurred under gray skies and neon reflections.
Cars hissed across wet streets.
People hurried past with umbrellas.
Normal.
Everything looked painfully normal.
Meanwhile I had blood in my lungs and a demon holding my arm like I was a temporary inconvenience.
Life was strange.
Mina kept talking nervously beside me.
Mostly because silence around Kairen seemed to make her uncomfortable.
“So… how do you even know Eve?”
No answer.
“Are you related to her?”
Nothing.
“Do you have a name?”
Kairen finally looked at her.
“Kairen.”
Mina blinked.
“That sounds fake.”
“It is not.”
The conversation died immediately after that.
Somehow he made simple words feel final.
By the time we reached the hospital, breathing already hurt again.
Badly.
The second automatic doors opened, the smell hit me.
Antiseptic.
Bleach.
Cold air.
Memories.
I almost turned around immediately.
Kairen noticed.
Of course he did.
“You dislike hospitals,” he said.
“I dislike dying in them more.”
His expression remained unreadable.
But his hand stayed on my arm.
Not comforting.
Just there.
Like restraint.
***** Thirty Minutes Later — Seattle Memorial Hospital *****
“You should’ve come in sooner.”
Dr. Adrian Kim looked exhausted already.
Probably because I’d spent the last month avoiding every appointment he scheduled.
He stood across from me holding my latest scans while rubbing one hand over his face.
Mid-thirties.
Sharp features.
Tired eyes.
Family doctor long before cancer entered the picture.
Which made this worse.
Because he looked at me like someone trying not to lose patience and grief at the same time.
Mina sat beside me quietly twisting tissues apart in her lap.
Kairen stood near the wall.
Motionless.
The room somehow felt smaller because he was in it.
Dr. Adrian finally looked at me directly.
“Your white blood cell count dropped again.”
I stayed quiet.
“The progression is accelerating faster than before.”
Still quiet.
“Evelyn.”
“I heard you.”
“You’re not taking this seriously.”
I smiled faintly.
“That’s because one of us has to make this conversation survivable.”
Mina looked down immediately.
Dr. Adrian sighed heavily.
“You’re getting weaker faster than expected.”
Kairen spoke for the first time since entering the room.
“How long?”
The doctor looked at him finally.
Something cautious entered his expression immediately.
Like his instincts disliked Kairen before logic caught up.
“…And you are?”
“Kairen.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Kairen didn’t react.
Neither did the air around him.
Which somehow felt worse.
Dr. Adrian frowned slightly before continuing anyway.
“She needs treatment immediately.”
“How long?” Kairen repeated.
The room went still.
Dr. Adrian glanced at me briefly.
Then answered carefully.
“At this rate? Maybe weeks before major complications begin.”
Mina sucked in a breath quietly.
I looked away first.
Weeks.
Funny how humans could reduce entire lives into timelines so easily.
Weeks.
Like spoiled milk.
Like expiring coupons.
Like I wasn’t sitting right there listening.
Dr. Adrian softened slightly.
“We can still try another treatment plan.”
I laughed once.
Weak.
Tired.
“You say that every visit.”
“Because I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“That makes one of us.”
Mina looked like she wanted to cry again.
Kairen remained silent near the wall.
Watching.
Always watching.
Dr. Adrian suddenly looked at the blood staining my sleeve.
His expression tightened instantly.
“How much blood?”
“Not enough to impress anyone.”
“Evelyn.”
“Couple tablespoons maybe.”
Mina looked horrified.
Dr. Adrian muttered something under his breath before standing.
“I’m ordering another scan.”
The second he left the room, silence swallowed everything.
Mina turned toward me immediately.
“You scared me today.”
“I know.”
“You could’ve died.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying it like that!”
Her voice cracked suddenly.
I froze.
Mina covered her face briefly.
“I can’t do this if you keep acting like you already gave up.”
The words hit harder than expected.
Before I could answer, the door opened again.
A nurse walked in holding paperwork.
Young.
Annoyed expression.
Didn’t even look at me properly.
“Room 214 needs clearing within the hour,” she said casually. “If she’s refusing treatment again, there’s not much point keeping her admitted.”
Silence.
Mina stared at her.
I blinked slowly.
That shouldn’t hurt.
But it did.
The nurse finally glanced at me fully.
Then at the blood.
Then sighed.
“You people always wait until it’s too late.”
The room changed instantly.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
The air became heavy enough to feel.
The lights flickered once overhead.
The nurse paused.
Confused.
Kairen slowly lifted his gaze toward her.
No expression.
No movement.
Just attention.
And suddenly the woman looked nervous without understanding why.
“You will speak carefully,” Kairen said quietly.
The nurse frowned defensively. “I was just being realistic.”
“You were being careless.”
His voice stayed calm.
That made it worse.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just controlled stillness.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Even I felt it.
The nurse swallowed hard suddenly.
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Kairen stepped forward once.
That was all.
One step.
The nurse immediately backed into the door accidentally.
Fear crossed her face too late.
“You will not speak to her like she is already dead,” he said.
Every word landed slowly.
Precisely.
“She can still hear you.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Even Mina looked frozen now.
Kairen’s eyes stayed on the nurse.
Cold.
Ancient.
Inhuman in a way that made my skin crawl.
And for the first time since meeting him…
I realized something terrifying.
Kairen anger was not loud.
Kairen anger was quiet enough to feel like death standing politely in the room.
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