I Died to End Their Lie novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: What Jesse Wrote

Mom wiped the table with her sleeve and pulled out the folding chairs.

Dylan sat down across from her with the envelope in both hands.

His mother took the chair beside him and set her plastic folder on her knees.

Dad stayed standing at the foot of the stairs.

I hung above the table where I could see their faces.

"I don't want to take up your time," Dylan said. "I know what happened. It was on the news."

"You're not taking up anything," Mom said.

"I had surgery three weeks ago." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I was blind for seven years. A car hit me when I was nine."

His mother put a hand on his shoulder.

"The first thing I saw was a tree outside the hospital window," he said. "I looked at it for an hour. The nurse had to make me stop."

Mom made a sound in her throat.

"I asked the coordinator who it was. She said she couldn't tell me."

He shrugged.

"I kept asking. One day she said the donor had left a note, and it could go to his family."

"A note," Dad said.

"On the registration form. There's a line at the bottom where you can write a message to whoever gets your tissue. Most people leave it blank."

He slid the envelope across the table.

"I didn't open it," he said. "It's addressed to nobody. But I think you should read it first."

Mom's hands shook so hard that Dad had to take the envelope from her.

He sat down.

He tore the flap.

Inside was a photocopy of a form with a block of boxes.

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