Romantic Short Stories

the donor

I swung around into the sofa, setting my bowl of popcorn on my lap. I turned on the TV and immediately clicked onto Netflix to catch up on some episodes of The Walking Dead.

It was about noon on a Saturday in the crisp month of November. Orange and red leaves fell from the trees outside my house. They coated the yard and made the trees look naked. My parents were out doing some errands, so I finally got the house to myself.

Just as I was about to click on an episode of season four, a silver Ford Escape pulled in my driveway. I smiled as soon as I saw him step out of the car, his dark brown hair blowing every which way as he walked up to the door. I jumped up from my spot and swung the door open. My smile fell as soon as I saw his puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

"Lincoln, what's wrong?" I asked quickly. I guided him in the house and onto the couch. He sat down and rubbed his eyes. He sniffled and took a deep breath before starting.

"It's my mom," he said. His blue eyes seemed to stand out from the redness surrounding them.

I didn't say anything. I just hugged him and let him cry until he couldn't make anymore tears. He nestled himself into my shoulder and sat there for a few minutes before getting the courage to speak.

"Her kidney. It's failing. She's getting sicker. It was just a cold at first. Then she just got worse. She's been doing dialysis but it's not enough. She needs a new one but who knows when she'll get one. She could die by then. I'm not ready for her to go," he explained. He started sobbing again, holding onto me.

"It's gonna be okay. We'll get through this. Your mom is a strong woman. She can fight this." I tried to cheer him up but I know my words wouldn't help her recover.

"I hope so, Belle."

We sat there for a while, just holding each other. I felt so bad that he had to go through something like this. I would do anything to make his pain stop.

***

The next day, I woke up extra early in the morning to go to the hospital. I love Lincoln's family like they're my own. I started dating Lincoln when I was fourteen. I'd always known who he was, but I'd never really paid any attention to him until a mutual friend of ours committed suicide. We both grieved over them and eventually developed feelings in the process. He's been my only boyfriend all through high school and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now, we're finally seniors and we'll be graduating in June. His family had always been a huge part of my life. His mom and his sister are probably my best friends. They've guided me through school and helped me with hard decisions. The thought of his mom being gone made me physically sick.

A few years ago, his mom, Jen, was in a horrible car accident. A semi-truck slammed into her car on an icy turn. Somehow, Jen survived the accident, but lost one of her kidneys in the process. She also lost her left hand and tons of broken bones. I couldn't even imagine what Lincoln's family are going through right now. I hoped that I could at least make some kind of effort to help.

I want to give back to Jen and her family since they helped me through so much. They were there for me for everything. Every tennis match, every time I've been hurt, every time I'd call them bawling because of how stressed out I was. It wouldn't help to see if my kidneys were a match.

I opened the huge front door to the hospital and walked up to the front desk. "Hello, my name is Belle Chapman. I came to see if I could donate one of my kidneys."

I got a look from the secretary. But her surprise turned to a smile. "It's always nice to see someone willing to help out. Fill out these papers and bring them up when you're done." I took the hard brown clipboard from the lady and walked over to a kind of soft chair. I filled out everything on the paper before turning it back to her. I just turned eighteen in October, so it was legal to donate my kidney.