Chapter 1: Sisters

How am I suppose to live without my baby sister? Taylor was so sweet, kind, and had a big heart. We went through some much together because we had terrible parents. Our dad was in and out of jail for drug possession and car theft. Our mom is a raging alcoholic and drug user who lands in hospitals a lot because her boyfriend beats her up all the time. When I turned 18 years old, I moved out of our crazy hellhole and legally adopted Taylor. I made sure she did her schoolwork and helped around our tiny apartment. I loved her so much and I was going to miss her so much.

The day she died was the worst day of my life. I was working a double-shift at the hospital(I am an intern) and Taylor called begging me to let her go to a concert. My head was swamped with medical terms so I said yes without thinking where the concert was and who she was going with. My shift was over at 9pm and I went home exhausted. I noticed Taylor wasn't home yet so I tried calling her cell phone. It went straight to voicemail so I left a message. I took a hot bubble bath and it felt amazing. After soaking for over an hour, I got out and put my pajamas on. I checked my phone and I had no missed calls so I was starting to get worried. I called Taylor's phone 3 more times but still no answer. I tried to call one of her friends but they didn't answer either. I was getting pissed and worried that something might be wrong. I sat on the couch and watched the news becoming more anxious as the hours passed. By 12am I was furious and scared at the same time. I must of dozed off because I woke up about an hour later to my phone ringing. I quickly answered it because I assumed it was Taylor. I was ready to curse my sister out but it was my friend Jenna from the hospital.

"Hales, you need to come to the hospital immediately because your sister was in a terrible car accident."

I hung up the phone and quickly got dressed. I practically flew to the hospital and bothered every nurse that walked by and begged to know where my sister was. One of the doctors came over and sat me down. He explained that Taylor was driving home from the concert and collided with a mac truck. The driver of the truck walked away with barely a scratch but Taylor was on life support because she was brain dead.

The word brain dead nearly made me throw up. I couldn't believe that my baby sister was going to die. The doctor asked me to follow him so I could see my sister. I tried to hold back the tears as I was walking down the halls. We entered the Intensive Care Unit and into my sister's room. There were tubes attached to Taylor's body and machines everywhere in the room. This seemed so surreal. I wish I was dreaming a terrible nightmare but I knew this was reality. I had to make a really hard decision. The right thing would be to pull the plug so Taylor wouldn't be in pain anymore. But I wasn't ready to let my baby sister go. The doctor left to give me so privacy. I pulled up a chair and held Taylor's lifeless hand. I began crying hysterically and wished that my parents were normal so they could help me decide. I was in this all alone and I had no idea what the hell to do. I was the brave and strong one, but now I felt scared and weak.

I fell asleep holding Taylor's hand and woke up a few hours later to a nurse.

"I'm sorry to wake you Miss James, but there is someone here who would like to speak to you."

The nurse led me out of the room and into a conference room. There were three people waiting to speak to me. The woman introduced herself as Sharon Meyers, the head of the Organ Donor foundation. The two men were Dr. Fielding and Dr. Brown; they were handling Taylor's case. We sat down and Dr. Fielding began speaking.

"Miss James, we know this is a difficult time for you and we are very sorry. I wish there was more we could do for Taylor, but unfortunately, there is not. We've tested Taylor's motor functions since she was brought in last night and her score was zero for the last three test. It is most likely that she will never wake up. Dr. Brown and I asked Mrs. Meyers to come and talk to you about donating Taylor's organs. This is not mandatory, but, it would save a lot of lives if you did decide."

I could not believe what they were asking me. The doctors couldn't save my sister and I knew they were out of options. So they want to rip my sister apart and take her organs. I knew her organs would save a lot of sick patients but it seemed wrong to me. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the only family I had ever known.

Mrs. Meyers came and sat next to me. "You do not have to decide right away Haley. I know this is a rough time and you are dealing with a lot of emotions. You work here so you know how much Taylor's organs could save a lot of people. Please think about it because we need an answer fairly soon."

After telling me some more medical mumbo jumbo, they let me leave so I could go see my sister.

I asked Taylor what I should do. I knew she couldn't answer me but I had to ask anyway.

"Taylor, I love you so much and I'm not ready to say goodbye. If I let them take your organs, it could save so many people. I want to be a nurse so I don't think I could pass this oppourtunity up. I know you will be alright with this because you are such a nice person and this is the right thing to do."

I squeezed Taylor's hand and kissed her forehead. "I love you Taye and I'm never going to to forget you. Giving your organs away is the right thing to do. So this is goodbye but only for a little while. You will be going to a place where our parents can't hurt you anymore. Say hi to Nana for me when you get to heaven."

I hugged Taylor's lifeless body to my chest and whispered goodbye in her ear. I left the room and went to find Dr. Fielding to tell him that it was alright to pull the plug and donate Taylor's organs.