By the time I got home, my face still burned and my nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. I collapsed on the couch. Everything hurt. I wrapped my hand in a towel and tried to breathe.
Then the doorbell rang.
My heart jumped.
I dragged myself up and opened the door.
It was my mother.
The woman who left me as a baby stood there like time had never passed. She looked smaller than I imagined. Worn down. But when she saw me, she dropped her bag and rushed forward, grabbing me so hard I almost fell.
She cried into my shoulder. “My baby. Lesley. I finally found you.”
My legs gave out. I sank onto the couch with her holding me. Everything felt blurry.
She pulled back, panic flooding her face. “Why are you bleeding? What happened?”
“I have aplastic anemia,” I whispered, pressing the towel to my nose. “I need a bone marrow donor.”
Her face went white. She grabbed my hands like she was afraid I’d disappear. “I’ll give you mine. We’ll go to Europe. You’ll live with me and your brothers. Please, Lesley. Come with me.”
My chest tightened. “You left me,” I said quietly. “You left me and Miya with Grandma. You disappeared. How do I trust you now?”
She froze. “Who’s Miya?”