The Kidney He Gave, The Love She Denied

nder the twisted metal of my car, and through the shattered windshield, I saw them. My adopti

her voice filled with a te

"We can only get one o

. She didn't even look

r me, the thousand little betrayals that had chipped away at my soul. As they pulled Noah

was left in the darkness,

I had

Noah and confirmed by Olivia, was that I had been driving recklessly, drunk, and caused the accident

adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, looked at me with

nce, her face a mas

her voice soft. "Noah... he has a rare kidney disease. The

of my kidneys. She' d had a congenital defect, and I didn't think twice. It was a

e last thing I'll ever ask. If you do

giv

nths. I looked at the sister I had loved more than my own life, the

attling sound from

ing. But it was followed by a cold fury.

Ethan. You've alw

mera, telling the world how her ungrateful, drunkard brother refused to save th

compared to the agony in my chest. If only I could go back, I thought. Back to the

art monitor faded int

a sudd

ed. I was standing. Standing. My legs worked.

e walls, the faint smell of antiseptic. It

id, her voice filled with the innocence I once cherished. "The doctor sa

at the first crucial moment.

n my mind. [A new life path has been initiated.

woman who would one day leave me to die. And for the

," I

relief cros

n," I continued,

he promised,

ave seen something new there,

into a silent pool, "we sever all ties. You, me, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. We are s

ightly open. "What? Ethan, don't

on my lips. "This is my only c

voice rising. "Are you trying to make me fee

teen, before I fully understood that being adopted meant she would never see

n had been t

o with that," I said c

walked in. The same Noah from the future, j

o me with a hint of suspicion. He put a hand on his ches

e rushed to his side, her face filled with

forgetting the life-or-death n

. Then he stumbled, grabbing onto th

, her small frame

deliberately pushed a stray chair with his foot, se

t worry about me. Your brother's health is what's im

him with pure ado

felt nothing but a profound, chilling emptiness. It was like watch

omplete and utter fool

m, hidden in the shadows of th

her voice dripping with annoyance. "S

ways been jealous of us. Just agree to his terms. Once he gives you the kidney, he'll

aped my lips, si

you to

ld Ethan was dead, crushed in

an forming in my mind. A plan for