Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Harper’s POV

The next afternoon, the craft room at the Gadigal centre was in full swing

I was crouched beside the low table, helping Mia trim a butterfly she’d cu slightly crooked and re-glue it straight. Around us, seven or eight kids were bent over their own work-wax crayons and scissors clicking against the wooden surface.

My phone sat on the corner of the table. It buzzed once. I didn’t look at it right away. I finished pressing the butterfly’s last wing flat, wiped my hands on a tissue, and picked it up.

The screen showed Colton’s name.

I blinked. Colton didn’t usually call me. At most he’d send a short text. Unless something was wrong.

I slid the call open and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

Colton’s voice came through,trembling slightly. “Harper… We were in a car accident.”

My hand trembled, and a lump rose in my throat. “What?”

Colton paused. His pace quickened slightly. “The brakes failed. The car hit the guardrail, rolled-” His voice cut off for a second. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. But Ryder…he’s badly injured. He’s in surgery now.’

”

I stood where I was. For a moment my mind was completely blank.

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Chapter 96

Then I looked down and realised my phone had slipped from my fingers and hit the floor, screen-down, with a dull thud.

Mia tugged at the hem of my shirt and looked up at me. “Sister Harper, what’s wrong?”

I bent down and picked up the phone. A thin crack had appeared across the screen, but the call was still connected. I put it back to my ear. My voice was tighter this time.

“Which hospital is he at?”

“Emerald Valley Hospital” Colton gave me the hospital name. Then he said, “… His blood type is rare. The three of us don’t match. The hospital is checking their stock, but time is tight.”

My hand around the phone tightened. “I’m coming over.

“1

“No, you don’t need—” Before he could finish, I hung up and stood.

Mia was still looking up at me. I crouched down, took the half-cut butterfly paper from her hand, and placed it on the table. “Sister Harper has to leave for something urgent. I’ll teach you to finish this butterfly when I get back, okay?” Mia nodded.

When I stood up, my legs went soft for a second. I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and walked quickly out of the craft room.

The next flight was the soonest one I could book-less than an hour before departure.

I bought the ticket from the taxi. At security, I didn’t look at my phone once. Colton’s words ran through my head on repeat. And somewhere in the middle of that loop, I realised that over the past few months, Ryder

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had quietly changed in my eyes. He was no longer just the man who had once hurt me. Instead, I saw the man who knelt at the community center to help children fold paper airplanes, and the brother who had begun to stand in front of me to protect me.

But it wasn’t until this moment that I understood clearly–I didn’t want to lose him.

On the plane, I leaned against the window. The clouds outside were thick and silent. I closed my eyes and repeated the same thing over and over in/ my head.

He’s fine. He has to be fine.

By the time I reached the hospital, it was already evening.

At the far end of the corridor, I saw Grayson and Logan-standing side by side, as if they’d arrived from different places. Neither was wearing a suit jacket. Both had their shirt sleeves rolled up. Their faces were marked by exhaustion and worry.

Grayson saw me first. “Harper-”

Before he could finish, I’d already walked past him. “Where’s Colton?”

Grayson pointed toward the bench beside the door outside the operating

room.

Colton was sitting there, elbows on his knees, head down. He looked up when he heard footsteps. When he saw me, his lips moved-like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

I stopped in front of him. “Where do they do the blood type match test? Take me.”

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