No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

 Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

We were rescued.

The driver who picked me up to visit Jefferson at the detention facility was among those who saved us. I knew he was one of Ernest's guys.

The car was a wreck; it took breaking it apart to pull Conrad and the driver out. And they even found our phones.

"Hey, this one's still on a call," he handed me the phone.

But it wasn't mine; it was Conrad's. I had used it to call Ernest earlier. Could it be he never hung up?

Taking the phone in a daze, I looked down just as the call ended-67 minutes and 12 seconds.

Ernest had been on the line the whole time. Did he hear everything Conrad and I said?

Not that Conrad and I said much of anything worth eavesdropping on.

Before I could ponder any further, I was whisked away in an ambulance to the hospital for a barrage of tests.

I got off with minor scrapes, but Conrad and the driver were in bad shape-Conrad with hemorrhagic shock, the driver concussed and unconscious. Out of the three of us, I was the least injured.

I knew it was because Conrad had shielded me with his body the whole time.

"Is there any family or next of kin for Conrad Wagner here?" a doctor called out.

Here we were, far from home, with no one from the Wagner family around. I had to step up. "I'm his family. How is he doing?"

"He's lost a lot of blood, and to make matters worse, he has a rare RhD negative blood type. Our hospital doesn't have any in stock, which puts the patient in critical condition. If we can't transfuse him soon, he might... Please, prepare yourself for the worst."

My eyes widened in shock, both at the doctor's grim prognosis and Conrad's blood type.

"Are you his family? What's your blood type? Does anyone else in your family have this blood type?" the doctor inquired.

I swallowed hard, unable to answer

right away. My parents' words echoed in my ears, "Licia, promise us you'll be careful. Don't get hurt, bleed, and never tell anyone your blood type."

Because my blood type, like Conrad's, was RhD negative -rarer than the so-called 'panda blood with fewer than 50 known case's worldwide. It was dubbed 'golden blood'.

If I ever needed a transfusion, finding a match would be nearly impossible.

I had always taken my parents' advice to heart, despite knowing Conrad had once claimed to be AB positive.

"Doctor, could there be a mistake? He told me his blood type was AB," I interjected, hoping for some error.

The doctor's expression darkened. "We've conducted blood tests. How could there be a mistake?"

Indeed, how could there be?

That meant Conrad had lied, perhaps under similar instructions from his parents.

My throat turned dry at the realization. Against all odds, in a world so vast, Conrad and I shared this incredibly rare blood type.

"He's in critical condition due to the

blood loss. If you know anyone else with this blood type, even if they're

not

mediate family, they could

donate," the doctor advised.

My eyelashes fluttered. "That would be me."

"I know you're family," the doctor misunderstood.

"I mean, I have the same blood type. And I'm not related to him by blood," I clarified, meeting the doctor's gaze.

The doctor paused, incredulous. "You're also RhD negative, RhNULL? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. You can test me," I offered, rolling up my sleeve.

I had given my shirt to Conrad to stem his bleeding, now wearing just a tank top, my arms bare.

Though skeptical, the doctor nodded. "Come with me."

Blood was drawn, tests were conducted, and we awaited the results.