Logan's Story: A Sand & Clay Prequel by Sarah Robinson

begged him but he already had one hand on the door.  
    “Please, Logan, I love you.” She burst out, feeling the foreign words spill out of her mouth in a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving her. She had never said those words to anyone before. Logan paused and turned his head to the side, looking down at his shoulder, then slowly exhaling.
    “If you really meant that, you would have said it in the park. Not now. Not ever again.” He finished, choking out the last words, and closing the door between them.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
     
    Logan stared at the bleak hospital wall as he sat next to his mother’s bed while she slept.  He had sent his father home for a few hours to shower and change since he had spent every minute here with his wife for days. He hadn’t slept since before his trip to New York yesterday and his eyes were burning with exhaustion, begging them to close. His brain was playing a cruel trick and replaying his fight with Gina again and again, preventing him from anything even remotely close to restful.  
    “Mr. Clay?” A tall, thin doctor with short blonde hair walked into the room carrying a metal clipboard and sporting a white doctor’s coat over his blue scrubs.
    “That’s me.” Logan turned around and stood up, raising his hand and walking toward the doctor.
    “Oh, I was looking for Mr. Mickey Clay?” The doctor looked surprised to see the younger version there instead.
    “That’s my father, he is just at home showering and picking up some stuff for Mom.  How’s she doing? Any news?” Logan asked, his jaw tightened preparing for something negative.  
    “There is nothing new with your mom’s condition since we are still waiting for an available kidney. Honestly, she won’t be able to be off that machine until then because her only remaining kidney after the accident has been overworked and is only at 5% functioning, if not less.” The doctor looked down at his chart as if to verify what he was saying, but in reality, he just hated seeing pain on people’s face.
    “Oh.” Logan mustered up after a moment of silence and ran his hand through his hair, looking bewildered.
    “Unfortunately, I am here on slightly different news. Your father’s blood test was negative. We checked it again, like he asked, but it’s definitely negative.” The look of pity on the doctor’s face made Logan’s stomach churn.
    “What are you talking about? What’s wrong with my dad?” Logan was confused as to what blood test his father needed.
    “Nothing, he is perfectly healthy. His blood just isn’t a match for donating a kidney to your mother. I am really sorry, I know how badly he wanted it to be but it’s just not a viable option.” The doctor explained further.
    “Test me. Please test me. Right now. Where do I go?” Logan immediately understood and jumped at the opportunity.
    “Well, hold on, sir. This isn’t something that you just jump into. There are a lot of risks in that procedure. If you are a match and you decide to donate your kidney, you are risking being in her same situation in ten, twenty, thirty years.
    It’s impossible to predict but it is very risky, just like any elective surgery would be. It’s not something that you can go back and change either.  Once it’s done, it’s done and you will be walking around with one kidney for the rest of your life.” The doctor put one hand up as if to caution Logan from any rash impulse he might be having.  
    “I don’t care, I understand. Just test me. Like you said, the worst case scenario is that I’m not a match.” Logan said.
    “Well, no, the worst case scenario is that you are a match, you donate your kidney, and then you end up in the same or worse situation as your mother. I don’t think you are hearing what I am telling you.” The doctor tried to reiterate his concerns.
    “What’s going on?” Dylan Moore walked into the hospital room unexpectedly to see the tension between Logan and the doctor. He went