Chapter 1
“There you are,” Opal started, catching sight of Erica.
Erica nodded deftly, despite the fact that she refused to look at her friend. She was sitting in the pediatric ICU waiting room, waiting for her son to finish his treatment so that she could be with him. They didn’t let her stay with him anymore, and so she’d sit and wait until the second she could be with him again.
“I was wondering where you’d disappeared too,” Opal commented as she walked toward her friend, “Jack and the rest of the family are looking for ya.”
She nodded again, flicking her glance to Opal as she took a seat next to her. “I had to make a phone call.”
“Honey, are you alright?” Opal asked, noting her voice sounded distant and withdraw, “I mean I know they just told you how bad it is, but you seem…”
“He’s dying,” She pushed out, biting back tears, “He’s six years old, and he’s dying. It’s not fair.”
Opal shook her head, “No it’s not fair. It’s not fair at all. But you can’t give up hope. They’ll find a donor.”
Erica nodded, “It’s my job as his mother to protect him,” She started, turning her head so that she could look Opal in the eyes, “to do everything in my power to save him.”
“If you could swap places with him, Erica, we all know you would,” Opal offered sympathetically, “But right now its in God’s hands.”
“I told you,” She threw back, “I am not going to sit back and watch him die. Not if I can help it.”
Opal cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at her friend, “What are you talking about? Erica, what did you do? Who did you call?”
“I wasn’t going to do it unless he needed a donor,” She started, “I mean, it wasn’t like that call could have saved him before this.”
“Erica?” Opal questioned, “What did you do?”
Erica shook her head and let her eyes drift close, “I didn’t know until last year…” She started, trying to ready herself to say it out loud of the first time. “If they wouldn’t have given all the reports for his records, if his blood type wouldn’t have been included…I may never have known.”
“Known what, Erica…” Opal questioned again, not at all looking forward to whatever it was Erica was about to tell her.
“When Jack and I got back together, after Bianca’s rape, after Miranda, after all of that…” She started, “We had a rough go of it. Nothing ever went right, and we were apart more then we were together.”
“I know how hard that was for you, honey, but you two worked through all of that. And now you have a beautiful son for all of it.”
She winced slightly at Opals words, but nodded anyway. “The second time we broke up during that first year. We said some terrible things to each other. He said he never wanted to see me again, that he’d send my things to the Valley Inn…” She shook her head, pushed out a hard breath, “I believed him. Jack doesn’t say things like that unless he means them.”
“Why are we talking about this?” Opal asked curiously, shaking her head, “What’s it got to do with anything?”
“I went to the Valley Inn that night, so that Jack could have some space,” She forced her eyes open and looked at Opal, “I was having dinner in the dining room that night, all alone,” She said through a dry laugh, “David noticed me eating alone when entered the dining room..”
“David as in David Hayward?” Opal asked, her voice filled with slight shock, “I haven’t heard that name in years.”
“He asked if I’d like some company,” Erica pushed out.
“Erica,” Opal blew out this time, knowing that look on her friends face.
“It didn’t mean anything. It was just one night. It was just sex,” Erica replied, with a shrug.
“You slept with him…” Opal said, in shock, “I know that Jack wouldn’t like that if he found out…”She started after a few seconds of stunned silence, “but I mean you were…”
“Opal,” Erica interrupted, “that was almost seven years ago. My son is six and I was pregnant with him…”
“Oh my god,” Opal exclaimed as the pieces fell into place, “Matthew is…”
“Matthew is David’s son,” Erica answered dryly.
“My god,” Opal said again, still to in shock to form any coherent thoughts.
Erica shook her head, “I never even thought. It was just that one time. Jackson and I were back together within a few days, and David left for Malaysia…”
“You called him,” Opal half asked, half said their entire conversation beginning to make sense.
Erica nodded, “Odds are he’s a match. He can be Matthew's donor,” Erica offered through a smile.
“Did you tell him the truth?”
“Of course,” Erica replied, “He wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“Does Jack know?” Opal asked, her voice so filled with shock that the words were almost inaudible.
“No,” She shook her head in reply, “he has no idea and I don’t intend to tell him until we’re sure that David is a match.”
“Erica,” Opal said shaking her head.
“I am going to save my son,” Erica tossed back, her voice firm and filled with determination. “David is my best chance for that to happen. Whatever happens to my marriage, so be it, as long as I save my son nothing else matters.”
To be continued
David wakes Erica with a kiss
