A Father’s Test
A Father’s Test
By mid-afternoon, Kai had a fever that spiked so high Shayla panicked. She rushed him to the emergency room, barely able to hold back tears as she watched him fall asleep in the car seat on the way there.
The doctors moved fast when they saw his condition. Blood tests, IVs, a CT scan. Shayla sat in the cold waiting room, hands shaking, heart pounding in her chest. She had called no one yet. Not even Anthony.
After nearly two hours, a pediatric specialist approached her with a clipboard and a concerned expression.
“Ms. Shayla,” he said gently, “your son has a rare blood condition. It’s treatable, but he’s going to need a transfusion urgently. His levels are dangerously low.”
“Okay,” Shayla said, blinking fast. “Okay, I can donate, right? I’m his mother.”
The doctor nodded but sighed. “We’ve typed his blood. He has AB-negative. It’s incredibly rare. We’ll test you, but even if you’re not a match, we need to find someone who is—fast.”
Shayla agreed immediately, and they ran her blood. But an hour later, the answer was no—she wasn’t a match.
Her mind was spinning. “His father,” she whispered. “Anthony. I have to call Anthony.”
The Call
Anthony was halfway across town, sitting in his truck in a grocery store parking lot, scrolling through photos of Kai that he rarely let himself look at anymore. He missed his son more than he let anyone know, and the distance from Shayla had been eating him up inside.
When his phone rang and Shayla’s name popped up, he nearly dropped it.
He answered in a heartbeat. “Shayla? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t even ease into it. “It’s Kai. He’s in the hospital. He’s sick—he needs blood. He needs a transfusion, and I’m not a match.”
Anthony’s stomach dropped. “What hospital?”
She told him. He didn’t even hang up properly—he was already speeding down the road.
The Hospital Room
Anthony arrived at the hospital in under 20 minutes. Shayla met him in the hallway, her eyes red, her hands clasped tightly.
“He’s sleeping,” she said softly. “They gave him medication to keep him calm. He’s really pale, Anthony. I’m scared.”
Anthony felt like the walls were closing in. “I want to donate. I’ll do whatever he needs. Just... just let me fix this.”
They rushed him to the lab. The nurse drew his blood while he sat stone still, praying with everything in him.
Please let me be a match. Please, God.
After a tense wait, the doctor returned with a strange expression on his face.
“You’re not a match,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Anthony’s mouth opened. “What? That can’t be right.”
The doctor glanced at Shayla, then back at him. “I know this is sensitive, but would you both be willing to sit with our counselor and go over the blood results? This may involve deeper questions.”
Anthony turned to Shayla. She avoided his gaze.
“Shayla?” he asked. “What’s going on?”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Anthony… I didn’t know for sure until now.”
“You’re saying I’m not his father?”
She nodded, trembling. “I thought you were. All this time, I really thought you were.”
Anthony staggered back a step. He felt like the floor had been ripped from under him. But he didn’t scream. He didn’t walk out. His eyes flicked toward the room where Kai lay sleeping.
“He still needs blood,” he said after a long pause. “And I don’t care whose blood runs in his veins. He’s my son.”
Shayla covered her mouth, sobbing.
A Second Chance
While the hospital searched for a donor, Anthony sat by Kai’s side. He held his small hand and whispered stories, brushing the boy’s hair from his forehead. He refused to leave, even when the doctors told him there was nothing he could do physically.
He called every friend, every contact, every possible person he could think of that might match AB-negative. He even posted online and shared Kai’s story.
The response was overwhelming.
By morning, a young man named Elijah—who had once worked with Anthony at a community center—came in to donate. He was a match. A perfect match.
Kai received the transfusion, and over the next two days, he began to regain color, his fever broke, and his energy started to return.
The Unbreakable Bond
Even though Anthony wasn’t Kai’s biological father, something in him had changed forever during that night. He had stayed when he could have walked away. He had fought for the boy he raised and loved—and that meant everything.
Shayla, humbled and broken by the truth, sat with Anthony days later.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“I’m not mad,” Anthony said, surprising even himself. “I just want what’s best for him. And if you’ll let me, I still want to be in his life. I still want to be his dad.”
She looked at him, eyes wide. “You would do that?”
“I already did,” he said with a small smile. “And I’d do it again.”
Let me know if you want to continue this story—like how Shayla responds long-term, if Kai’s real father shows up, or how Anthony’s journey goes from here.
Comments
Post a Comment