Chapter Two

At the hospital, time moved really fast. Jake took a Doctor’s phone and called his mom. He explained what happened to her, and she rushed quickly to the hospital. When she got there, she hugged an already crying and traumatized Jake and told him Maya was going to be fine. Mrs. Anderson called her husband, but he didn’t answer. The doctors worked hard, moving up and down with their voices tense. “She has  lost a lot of blood, one of the doctors told Mrs. Anderson, hence we need a transfusion as soon as possible!”

Mrs. Anderson stood up with no hesitation because she knew the type of blood that runs through the Andersons’ veins. Hence, she needed no blood test to prove otherwise. The Doctors ran a test regardless and told her something which sent shivers down her spine. “Call your dad, Jake. “ Jake took his mother’s phone and called his dad several times, but he didn’t answer. The tense Jake then called his office, and his father’s secretary, Jane, picked up and told Jake his father was in a meeting and didn’t want to be disturbed. Jake was taken aback. “This is more urgent than a damp meeting, we are talking about my sister’s life right now, I said, handing the phone over to my father,” Jake yelled. His mom turned around and told him to take it easy, but Jake didn’t have it. Mrs. Anderson then drove to Mr. Anderson’s office to drag him back to the hospital. When she arrived, she walked straight to where he had the meeting and smacked him in front of everyone.

The entire room went dead silent, and slowly, everyone present left the room to give the two some space. “Your daughter is dying at the hospital, your only daughter, for heaven’s sake, and this is what you are thinking about? Money? Work? “ Mrs. Anderson said while crying. Mr. Anderson then called his secretary and asked her to reschedule the meetings he had for the day. They both drove to the hospital. When Jake set his eyes on his dad, he was mad. He asked his dad why he ignored everyone’s calls in such a serious situation. Mr. Anderson apologized and went straight to see the doctor. The Doctor told him that he needed to run a test to see if his blood matched that of his daughter. Mr. Anderson hesitated; he, too, knew the blood that ran inside the Andersons. He felt something fishy was happening, but he ran the blood test regardless. But when the doctor returned, his facial expression was grave . “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “None  of you has the same  blood as  hers.” “Your blood doesn’t match hers. “ 

The room went dead silent for a moment;  even the sound of the fan on the ceiling was deafening. 

Mr. Anderson frowned.  “This can't be right at all. He said. We’re both O positive; we as a family should be O positive. So how is Maya’s blood different?”Mr. Anderson asked. 

The doctor hesitated for a while and then said. “Maya’s blood type is AB negative, Mr. Anderson .”

Mrs. Anderson’s face went pale white. Mr. Anderson slowly turned to look in her eyes, searching for answers deep within without breaking at all. Mrs. Anderson looked back at him, trembling, wanting to speak, but no words came out. She looked back after she couldn’t contain the weight of his eyes again; he looked betrayed. They both wanted to speak, but neither wanted to name what they wanted to say because they were outside. Jake looked at his parents, confused. “ Doctor , Mr. Anderson called out , without breaking his look from his wife . Check our son’s blood type too. Maybe he might be a match. Mr. Anderson said. The doctor nodded his head and went to take a blood sample from Jake. He told them the results were going to be out soon. 

Outside the hospital, the rain had begun to fall; it was soft, steady, and soothing. But deep inside, Mr. Anderson knew that a stranger’s blood flowed inside Maya’s veins. This meant that the  Anderson family would never be the same again. It was getting dark, Jake had school the next day, so Mr. Anderson asked that the results be sent to his office early the next morning. The doctor agreed, and they turned to leave. “What of the little girl, the doctor asked. “Do what you can to keep her alive, “ Mr Anderson replied. We’ve got a long week ahead of us. He added. 

The Andersons’ house went from echoing with laughter to echoing with the exchange of words and a line of heated arguments; the walls trembled with each word said aloud. 

“Are you sure that you’ve  never cheated on me?” Mr. Anderson asked as his words cut out through the house's silence.  

Mrs. Anderson turned around and looked sternly into his eyes, wide and angry. “How can you even think about saying something like that to me ?” she shouted, trembling. “The fact that I worked in a club before we married doesn’t make me a cheat, doesn’t mean I’m cheating on you either !”

“Then explain all this to me !” he shouted, slamming his hand on the table and pushing the stuff on it down. “Explain how Maya’s blood doesn’t match ours at all, and trust me, if Jake’s own doesn’t match too, you won’t like what will happen in this house. You’ll have to explain how Maya carries a blood type neither of us could have given her. How, how  Helena ?”

Mrs. Anderson’s lips shivered; she realized nothing she had told Peter ( Mr. Anderson ) would convince him. She fell on her knees, tears running down her face. She tried to speak, but before she could even say anything. She stammered, “ I don’t know Peter, I don’t know, she said as she started to shiver, her hands trembling, her legs shaking. She only hoped that Jake’s blood matched theirs. Then they can solve the other mysteries behind Maya’s blood. 

Just then, from the doorway, they heard a sound. They both turned around quickly. The same Jake stood there, frozen and mute, his face white and pale, his eyes widened with shock.

“Jake,  ” his mother said while trying to stand up and walk to him. Jake just turned and ran away straight to his room. Mrs. Anderson stood up quickly, trying to go after him. 

“Jake, Jake! Wait, my son, it’s not what you think !” she cried as she ran after him. Jake entered his room and slammed his bedroom door shut really hard. Mrs. Anderson stood at his door, knocking,  begging, and pleading. “Please, Jake, please open the door! Let’s talk about this !”But Jake said nothing to her. Her voice trembled as tears fell from her eyes. She knocked for minutes, but the door never opened. After some time and long silence, she gave up and walked away, with her sobs fading away as she walked into her room. Mrs. Anderson went to Mr. Anderson and asked him to talk to Jake. But Mr. Anderson ignored her. She sat there as a mother and felt nothing but pain in her heart. A few minutes after Jake’s mom had left, another knock was on the door. Jake checked who it was and opened the door slowly. .it was Agnes, Jake’s favorite maid. Agnes was the only one Jake ever trusted. Ever since he was a child, Agnes has been by Jake’s side.  After opening the door for Agnes, Jake went to sit at the edge of his bed and folded his arms. Agnes approached him and asked, “What is wrong, my boy? Agnes then pulled a chair and sat close to Jake, trying to comfort him. Jake’s voice came out in the form of a whisper. “I heard them, Agnes. Dad said… Mom cheated on him. That’s why Maya’s blood is different. So it means she isn’t my sister. Agnes’s heart almost broke when she heard his words. She reached out and held his hands gently. “Jake, what if the doctor is wrong? What if the doctor made a mistake? I’ll go and speak to your parents. So we can have another test done elsewhere. ”Jake shook his head vehemently. “It’s not necessary, Agnes. The results will be the same no matter what .”

Agnes looked at him as she tried to fight the tears in her eyes. “Listen to me, my boy, listen to me, Jake. No matter what happens, don’t ever turn your heart away from Maya. When she finally wakes up, she’ll need you now than ever. You’ve always been her protector, you’ve always been by her side, you’ve always fought for her. How do you think she’ll feel if she wakes up and finds out the one person she trusted most doesn’t love her anymore?”

Jake took his hands from Agnes and said, “But she’s not my sister.”

“You can’t say that until you are sure of it, my boy knows,” Agnes said firmly. “Until then, we have to pray that she gets better and she gets strong, and we have to pray that the truth, whatever it is, comes out peacefully, bringing peace, not pain and rejection. And please my son, go and  apologize to your mother. She’s breaking inside. Have you thought of how she’s feeling inside, having one child at the hospital and being accused of something she might not even have a single idea of? You have no idea how heavy a mother’s heart can be in times like this .”Jake turned away, lying back on the bed. His voice came out cold, distant. “I’ll apologize when the results prove she’s my sister.”

Agnes sighed. Deep down, she knew Jake was an arrogant boy, and if he wasn’t ready to listen to even her, then their efforts were a waste until the results were revealed. Agnes stood up to leave, turning her face and brushing a tear from her cheek. “Goodnight, Jake, " she said as she closed her door. 

“Goodnight,” he whispered at her, closing his eyes as the first tear fell silently down his face. Just then, lightning struck, and rain started to shower over the Anderson mansion, which was now thrown into chaos, doubt, and confusion.