Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind the Tattoos
“Ethan!”
The nurse caught his head before it struck the floor.
The mother dropped the phone onto the seat.
“Is he dead?”
“No. He fainted.”
The nurse checked his breathing.
“His pulse is weak. Keep the aisle clear.”
The driver announced that the ambulance was only minutes away.
No one complained about the delay.
No one checked the time.
The entire bus watched as the nurse pressed the scarf against Ethan’s wound and spoke to him, trying to bring him back to consciousness.
The mother pulled her children close.
Her daughter looked up at her.
“Why did you make him stand?”
The question was simple.
The mother had no answer.
“I thought he was healthy.”
“But he said he needed the seat.”
“I didn’t believe him.”
“Why?”
The woman looked around.
Every passenger was listening.
She lowered her eyes.
“Because he looked strong.”
The little girl glanced at Ethan’s tattoos.
“Because he looked scary?”
Her mother said nothing.
A passenger near the rear noticed one of the designs on Ethan’s arm.
It was not a gang symbol, as several people had assumed.
It was a small purple ribbon surrounded by seven stars.
Beneath it were the words:
FOR MAYA — KEEP FIGHTING.
The nurse gently rolled Ethan’s sleeve higher.
There were dates tattooed beneath the ribbon.
Hospital admission dates.
Treatment cycles.
A bone marrow donor symbol was inked near his wrist.
The nurse stared at it.
“He donated marrow.”
A man beside her frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means he may have been the donor for his sister.”
She examined the recent medical bracelet hidden beneath Ethan’s wristband.
His name was printed beside a hospital identification number.
Underneath it were the words:
POSTOPERATIVE NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY.
“He had spinal surgery,” she continued. “And if he was also undergoing donor procedures, his body has been through more than most people here can imagine.”
The mother slowly sat on the edge of the seat.
Her children had moved aside.
The place she had demanded now seemed impossible to occupy.
The ambulance siren became audible in the distance.
Ethan stirred.
His eyes opened halfway.
“Maya…”
The nurse leaned closer.
“We’re getting you help.”
“No.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“My sister needs me.”
The bus doors opened as two paramedics climbed inside with medical equipment.
One of them examined Ethan’s bracelet and froze.
“You’re Ethan Cole?”
Ethan nodded weakly.
The paramedic exchanged a look with his partner.
“We’ve been searching for you.”
The nurse frowned.
“Why?”
The paramedic lowered his voice.
“Because the hospital believes someone deliberately tampered with his surgical brace before he disappeared.”
Several passengers looked toward the broken metal joint.
The mother stared at it, horrified.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
May you like
Then he whispered three words that changed the situation completely.
“I didn’t disappear.”
