2. the beginning #5
Aaron expects as much, but he still feels his heart shatter inside of him. He squeezes his mother’s hand helplessly before asking, "What blood issue?"
Dr. Derrick looks at both of them in confusion. "It’s nothing; don’t worry about it." His mother tries to brush it off.
"Doctor, what blood issue?" Aaron insists.
"Look, blood type O- isn’t easy to come by, and thanks to Laura, we’ve nearly depleted our entire supply. It’s the only one she can receive, plus we have other O- patients we need to think about," Dr. Derrick says.
"Then let me donate to her!" Aaron says immediately.
"Sure, but didn’t you donate a couple of weeks ago? I wouldn’t advise you to do it again right now, especially since you need to be ready to donate your stem cells for her any moment now if there’s an opening in the public health system." The doctor reminds him.
That is not happening. The last time they checked, in the public system, for a government-funded transplant, Laura was in 200,456th in line. Their only hope is to raise enough money for a private hospital operation.
"I’ll do another blood donation for her tomorrow, okay?" Aaron says determined.
The doctor sighs, "I can’t stop you. But my advice would be for you to have her transferred to another public hospital with more O- blood."
"No," Laura says quietly. "Let’s face it... my body will give out long before I can get any operation. Yesterday, I could barely walk from my bed to the bathroom. I don’t have any of my own blood in my veins anymore. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this."
Aaron feels as though someone just stabbed a knife into his chest. It tightens, and he can’t breathe. "No. No, Mum, you can’t give up. You can’t just.. you can’t leave me."
"I’m sorry, Dr. Derrick, can you give us a moment?" Laura asks.
The doctor casts her a glance and sighs again before leaving.
"Honey, when you showed me your university registration letter, you set my heart at ease. You and I, we’re a team, we have been since your dad died.
I was worried because you really took his death hard, so I was scared to leave you alone with no one to take care of you, but you’re going to be fine now.
You’ll go to school. You’ll be the best damn Analyst this country has ever known, and you’ll live, be happy.
" She tries squeezing his hand this time, tears in her eyes, but Aaron can barely feel it with how weak she is.
Damn it. Isn’t this what he wants? For her to feel secure leaving him, for her to go in peace? For her to stop worrying about him? But he can’t stop his eyes from watering as he wraps his arms around her thin frame. "Mum, please, just hold on a little longer… I’m not ready…"
"Aaron," she whispers weakly, "I’m tired."
He understands her. Truly. So, all he can do is hold her and fight back the tears.
He wants to tell her he’s found his brother, and perhaps he can help them, but honestly, what good is it to get her hopes up when Xander is still unreachable out of town?
For a wild moment, Aaron wonders if Rion’s black card will pay the entire €195,000 for the operation before berating himself for even thinking about betraying Rion’s trust like that.
He should just accept that his mother is not long for this world. So, his heart is still aching when he leaves her sleeping in her hospital room, going to catch his breath outside in the waiting room.
Aaron thought that he'd accepted that his mother's haemoglobin count would keep deteriorating until she died without surgery. For a long time, they’ve been all that each other has, and he cannot imagine life without her.
He gets the strong urge to call Rion and ask him to come hold him again, telling him everything is going to be okay.
He feels like he’s about to break down so he goes into the nearest bathroom on this ward and starts crying.
Helplessness fills him even as his eyes brim with tears because the person who loves him more than anyone else in the world is on the verge of death; she has sacrificed so much for him but he is still powerless to do anything for her.
The tears will not stop flowing, and more than anything, Aaron detests the fact that he is alone in enduring this.
No one is helping him carry this cross, and it is weighing him down.
The only thing he keeps wishing for in his mind is his father.
He wishes his father was here, doing what a father is supposed to do, being by Aaron’s side, taking care of him in his time of need as he should.
The bathroom door opens, and Aaron quickly wipes his tears. "Sorry, I’m just finishing up; I’ll be out in a-" Aaron says, turning to the newcomer, only to stop short when he sees who is standing there. "Rion…?"
"Oh, Aaron," Rion says, leaning against the door, eyes on him. "We need to stop meeting like this."
Rion could be here for something else, some unrelated reason, but shit seeing him is good for Aaron’s heart. Aaron doesn’t know if his prayers have been answered or not, but suddenly, he’s not alone. Someone is here for him, and that is all it takes for Aaron to throw himself into Rion’s arms.