A Rainbow in Your Eyes

Chapter 7

Leading the security guard away, the doctor kept a hold on Brian’s arm till they were away from Allan and all the noise. Once they were out of the ward, he motioned the guard to leave, then led Brian to the same couches where he had sat earlier.

“Sit down, Son, let’s talk.” He motioned to the nearest couch. With a sigh, Brian sank down, while staring at his feet. The long man stared at him for a moment, to see if Brian would be trying to leave. Once he was satisfied that Brian wasn’t about to jump up and leave, he also sank down across from the boy. “How old are you really, Son?”

The gentleness in the man’s voice made Brian look up, but the empathy in his eyes made him uncomfortable, and he quickly looked down again.

“Fifteen, Sir. But I’m turning sixteen next month, Sir.” The last was said with pride.

For another long moment, the man just looked at him before speaking again. “Why are you here? And how do you know Irielle?”

Slowly, haltingly, Brian told the doctor how he had met Irielle and the friendship they had built. Then, taking a deep breath to gather his courage, he looked up. “She’s important to me, Sir. And she’s so young. I’m just a street boy, but she helped me, and I don’t care if she needs all my blood, Sir. I don’t mind, you can give it all to her, if it’ll save her life.”

“Do you know what a bone marrow transplant is, Brian?”

“No, Sir, not really.”

“Well, in your blood, there are different kinds of blood cells. Some of those blood cells are called bone marrow cells. What they do is take a very small amount of your blood and, if it’s the same as Irielle’s blood, we put it into her. Your blood then becomes her new blood, and she might get better. BUT we never ever take all the blood, son, only a little bit.”

“Oh, okay. But can you do it? Can you take my blood to make her better?”

The doctor watched Brian thoughtfully before answering. “I don’t know yet, son, we will need to check and see. I’ll need to speak to your parents first though.”

“I don’t have no one else, Sir, it’s just me. Just me…” The words trailed off into silence as they spoke.

Another moment of silence followed and then, making a decision, the doctor stood up, looking kindly down at the boy. “Well, it doesn’t help to think of that until we know. I’m going to send a nurse to draw some of your blood. But make sure you aren’t there when her parents leave. I’ll ask the nurses to give you a bed and some clothes. You are not to go near Irielle without me, is that clear?”

“Yes, Sir. I understand! Thank you, Sir!”

It wasn’t long after when the nurse showed up and took him in tow for a bath, a set of fresh clothes and then a blood draw. In the days that followed, the nurses hid him from Irielle’s parents, but when it became clear that having him around helped increase her health, they stopped preventing him from visiting. The nurses liked to hear the little girl’s laughter and the joy the lad brought her. And he quickly became another child in the hospital.

A few days later, Dr Gerard Morgan sat in shock. The test results from Brian had come back. He was a 98% match for Irielle. It was much more than he had expected. Finally, looking up, he met the eyes of her parents.

“Well, what is it?”

The arrogance in Allan’s voice made Dr Morgan grit his teeth. Focusing his attention on Margot instead, he started speaking. “We have found Irielle a match.”

Margot’s gasp resonated with Gerard before her tears started falling.

“What?! Who?! And why are you only telling us this now?!”

Finally, he couldn’t avoid looking at Allan any longer. Shifting his focus to Irielle’s father, he thought before he spoke. “It’s the boy you found in her room.”

“WHAT?! HOW?!” Allen had jumped to his feet as he yelled.

Instead of getting intimidated, Gerard waited patiently for them both to calm down before speaking once more. “According to law, he is a minor and not allowed to donate without parental consent until his sixteenth birthday.”

“He’s said he’s sixteen, hasn’t he?”

“He lied. His sixteenth birthday is in a month.”

“But… but she won't last that long, will she?” This time it was Margot speaking, her voice desperate.

Shaking his head, he was forced to answer the question he didn’t want to. “No. No, she won’t.”

‘Then where the hell are his parents to give consent? Why aren’t they here? I’ll damn f*****g pay them if I have to. God knows if you look at the state of him, they can use the money!”

“He doesn’t have any. His parents are dead. He’s an orphan.”

“Well then. Well then… That changes things.” Allan had suddenly come to a standstill before swinging around to look at Gerard. The icy coldness in his eyes worried the doctor. He never did like the way Allan was always scheming about everything, and something told him that whatever the man was thinking this time, he really did not want to know. “Bring the boy to speak with me. You wouldn’t have brought us here if you didn’t know where he’s at. I will speak with him in private.”

When Brian was led into Dr Morgan’s office, he had not expected to find Allan already there watching him as he entered the room.

“Sit down, Boy!” The older man pointed at a chair, and it was plain that he expected to be obeyed.

For a moment, Brian felt like walking out, but he had to say, he was interested in knowing why Allan had brought him here.

“Sit Son, we need to talk.” It was Dr Morgan that spoke, making Brian start in surprise. He hadn’t expected the doctor to come in and from Allan’s face he hadn’t been expecting the doctor as well.

Only after Brian had taken a seat did the doctor speak, explaining in as simple terms as possible what the results of the tests were and how it would affect Brian.

Brian barely heard them. He had known in his heart that he would be her match. But how to get past what the doctor was telling him? He could only legally give consent to save her when he was sixteen! From what he saw every day, she wouldn’t last that long! She was too sick already.

“Leave us!” Allan’s voice boomed out over the voice of the doctor.

From the doctor’s face it was clear that he didn’t like to be ordered around, but there wasn’t much he could do. Money bought power and Allan had both in spades.

Once the doctor had left, Allan spoke again. “Well, boy, I know what people like you want and I have it. How much do you need me to pay you to do this?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, I… I don’t think I understand?”

“Come on boy. One minute you said your sixteen, the next fifteen. I know why! You want money! It always comes down to the same thing: how much is one willing to pay? So, let’s make a deal. I will legally adopt you and pay for your schooling, even send you to university if that’s what it takes. BUT hear me well! Once this transaction is done, you will never see or contact my daughter again! Is that understood?!”

Brian stood blinking in shock before what the man had offered finally sank in. Allan would make it not only possible for him to save Irielle, but also to go back to school! He had come here just to see his friend, but instead he would walk out knowing she was saved for the rest of her life!

Finally, he spoke. “You have my promise, Sir.”

With a self-satisfied grin, Allan clapped down on Brian’s shoulder. “See now, it wasn’t that difficult. Money is always the answer.”

The last was said with so much disdain that Brian could feel his own hair rise. If only the man knew. He wasn’t doing it for the money! He was doing it for Irielle!