~Salvatore's POV
I did not move when the doctor said it. For a second, I just stood there like my body had stopped listening to anything around me. The words stayed in my head, repeating in a way that made my jaw tighten without me even noticing it at first.
"Surgery," he had said as if it was something simple, and as if it was just another procedure. My hand curled slightly at my side before I even spoke.
"Do it," I said flatly.
The doctor looked like he was waiting for something more from me, maybe approval or explanation or emotion that I did not have time to give.
I did not give him any of that.
"Fix her," I added. "Whatever you need to do, do it."
That was when he finally nodded and turned away. Elsie did not want to move.
Even when the nurses tried to prepare her, even when they spoke softly and explained what was happening, her body stayed tense, curled inward like she was trying to protect herself from something she could not see but could still feel.
