This Time, I Played Differently

"This surgery has to be done by Dr. Dover. Call him right away. If he's not here in an hour, the patient won't make it."

That's what they said the first time. And here I was, right back in this moment. Eleanor barely hanging on, her frail body like a breath away from collapse.

The whole room buzzed with panic. I grabbed my phone, heading for the door, but then—it hit me.

Johnny. His blade. The memory of my stomach tearing open like shredded wrapping paper, his grief-twisted face, the searing pain.

A shiver crawled down my spine.

Not this time. Ben loved dodging responsibility, but he wasn't slipping away today.

I hit call. It rang forever before his voice cut in, sharp and annoyed. "What?"

I choked out my words, tears bubbling up. "Honey, it's your mom. She's having a heart attack—right now. They need you to do the surgery. Please, hurry!"

For a second, there was silence. Then his voice turned icy. "Winona, are you seriously pulling this again? Ima and I are shopping, and now you're dragging my mom into your drama? What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not lying. Eleanor is—"

"Ben, I don't feel so good."

That sugary voice cut me off. Ima.

"Ima, are you okay?" His concern shifted instantly to her, then snapped back at me like a whip. "Winona, enough! Stop wishing death on my mom, or you'll regret it."

Click.

The line went dead.

I lowered my phone under the ER staff's awkward stares. Their pity? Unmistakable.

I slapped on a bitter smile.

Last time, I'd stepped outside the ER to call Ben, too worried about upsetting Eleanor. Rookie mistake. Ben had straight-up denied I'd even reached out, spinning some story to dodge blame from the hospital—and Johnny.

Not this time. I made sure everyone saw me call him, no way he could weasel out of it now.

But it still wasn't enough.

I hit redial. Once. Twice. Three times.

By the fourth, my number was blocked.

Still, I leaned close to Eleanor, whispering like I actually believed it, "Hang on. Ben wouldn't leave you like this."

Her eyes flickered, just barely, as the monitor's beeping spiraled into chaos.

The room exploded with movement. Nurses shouting, machines flashing.

Ms. Lockhart, the head nurse, rushed over and practically shoved me out the door. "Her condition's critical!" she snapped. "Whatever it takes, get Doctor Dover here!"

"I've tried! He won't answer—"

"Then use someone else's phone!"

She disappeared back into the madness, leaving me standing there.

Someone else's phone? Fine.

I grabbed two from nearby staff. The second Ben heard my voice, though—click. Hung up. Again.

Ms. Lockhart's words echoed in my head. I'd have to go big.

Wiping away my tears, I opened the city's biggest influencer livestream and splurged on an eye-popping virtual gift to grab their attention.

The streamer, Mr. Hero, perked up immediately.

I leaned in close to my camera, face streaked with tears. "Mr. Hero, I need your help. My mother-in-law is having a heart attack. Only Dr. Ben Dover can save her, but he's ignoring my calls—he's at the mall! If anyone sees him, please tell him to get to the hospital ASAP. She only has forty minutes left!"

I ended with a sob for good measure and sent Ben's photo to him.

But Mr. Hero hesitated. "Um... I get this is serious, but, like, doctors have their own lives too, you know? We can't just go hunting for him based on what you're saying. Plus, this could totally count as, like, invading his privacy..."