Chapter 2 A Perfect Match
650 Words
The compatibility results came back sooner than expected.
I was a near-perfect match.
"That's wonderful!" My mother cried, tears of joy spilling down her face. "Vanessa, you're going to be okay!"
My father let out a long breath of relief, then immediately pulled out his phone and started making call after call, arranging the hospital, contacting specialists, and preparing to have Vanessa transferred.
He never looked at me once.
My mother was already planning the surgery as if my consent were nothing more than paperwork. "The surgery needs to happen as soon as possible... Allison, will your office let you take time off? How much time can you get? You'll need some time to recover after the operation, but you're young. You'll bounce back. Once you're back on your feet, you can stay at the hospital for a while and help with Vanessa..."
Vanessa leaned back against the bed, and for the first time all day, color had returned to her face.
Then she looked at me, as if she wanted to say something more. In the end, all she said was, "Allison... Thank you."
I didn't answer.
That was when Gavin came in.
He came in carrying an oversized gift bag stuffed with fruit, vitamins, and protein drinks. The second he entered the room, he went straight to Vanessa's bedside. "Vanessa, I heard the match came through. That's amazing... Don't be scared. I'm going to stay with you through all of this."
Then his gaze swept over me.
His smile faltered for half a second before he looked away.
The sharp smell of disinfectant sent me back to that rainy night three years ago.
I had been lying in an operating room, half-conscious, when I heard the doctors speaking in urgent voices, "Her kidney is badly ruptured! She'll need a transplant immediately!"
In another operating room, Gavin had also been fighting for his life after an accident. He needed a kidney too.
But there had only been one compatible donor kidney available.
I still remembered the doctor asking, "There's only one compatible donor kidney available, and both patients need a kidney. We need a decision now."
Then I heard my father's strained voice. "Give it..." His voice cracked. "Give it to Gavin..."
My mother had been crying. "He's Vanessa's boyfriend. She loves him so much... We can't let anything happen to him..."
And I had slipped back into unconsciousness while I waited. When I woke up, they told me, "Allison, we're sorry... No other donor became available in time. They had no choice but to remove your damaged kidney..."
The memory cut off there.
I picked up the compatibility report and stared at it for a long time.
Then I walked out of the room and found the doctor from earlier.
"Doctor."
He looked up. "Ms. Jarvis? Is there something else?"
I met his eyes. "Can someone donate a kidney if they only have one?"
He froze. "What did you say?"
"If someone lost a kidney in a car accident three years ago," I asked slowly, word by word, "and now only has one left, can she still donate?"
His expression turned sharp. "No! If she only has one functioning kidney, donation is out of the question! It could push her into kidney failure. It could kill her! No transplant team would approve that."
Then I turned, reached into my bag, and pulled out a large manila envelope.
Inside were all of my surgical records from three years ago, my discharge papers, and every follow-up file since then.
I had kept them with me ever since.
When I went back to the room, the door was slightly ajar, and I could hear laughter coming from inside.
I pushed it open and saw that my mother was still smiling.
"Allison? What is it? Are they scheduling the surgery?"
"I'm not donating."
The laughter and conversation in the room died instantly.
- Writer
