'Your Son's a Hero!' Dad Gets Call from Hospital at Night, Finds His Car Missing — Story of the Day

A 16-year-old boy looks up to his father, who works as a policeman. While the teenager aspires to be like him, the man doesn't want his son to join the police force; until he receives an unexpected call from a hospital telling him what his son has done.

"Hi, is this Tim's father?" Roger heard an unknown woman's voice from the other end of the call at 3 a.m. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to recognize her voice to no avail.

"Yes, but who am I speaking to?" he asked in a groggy voice.

"I'm a doctor on duty in the emergency ward of your neighborhood hospital," the woman replied. "Your son is a hero! He is unconscious right now, but my team is observing his condition. We will―"

"What?" Roger immediately sprang out of bed and rushed towards the garage but was shocked when he didn't find his car there.

"Hello? Are you still there?" the doctor asked, unaware that Roger had left his phone on the bed.

"Oh no!" the worried father gasped when he saw his empty garage. He rushed outside and stopped the first car he saw on the road, showing the driver his shiny police badge.

A few days earlier...

It was a typical morning for Tim and Roger when they gathered at the breakfast table while the boy's grandmother prepared scrambled eggs. The teenager sat quietly at the table, fidgeting with a fork, while his father looked at him, wondering what kept him so quiet.

Roger believed his wife's sudden death had changed Tim. The widower also felt a pinch of guilt thinking about his beloved wife's demise, because he believed his police job had taken its toll on their relationship. Since that fateful day, his heart was never in his job as a police officer, but young Tim always said he wanted to join the police force.

"Why don't you want to spend time with me, Tim?" Roger asked his son while having breakfast. "Why do you treat me like this?"

Tim looked at his father for a few seconds and then at his meal, picking every bit of egg with a fork and forcing it down his throat. He wanted to say many things to his father. But he thought staying silent was better than hurting Roger's feelings.

"Answer me, Tim. Why do you treat me this way?" Roger's words poked Tim's heart.

"Maybe because the only day of the year you spent with me all these years is my birthday!" Tim retorted and rose to his feet before walking away from the table.

"Hey, finish your breakfast!" Roger tried to stop him to no avail.

When Roger saw Tim grab his bag and stomp towards the front door, he stood up and stopped his son from leaving. "Do you want to drive yourself to school today?" he asked, smiling because he knew what Tim would say.

Tim's heart skipped a beat when Christine confessed she supported him.

The teenager passed his driving test recently and couldn't wait to drive his father's car. He would grab any opportunity to drive on the road and agreed to get behind the wheel.

Once they reached school, Tim waved goodbye to his father and entered his school while Roger drove back home. Later that morning, Tim's math teacher announced their weekly test results, and the boy was delighted to learn that he had scored the highest marks.

Since Tim was a high achiever, his classmates often bullied him by calling him a lot worse than a 'nerd.' They would make fun of his glasses and mock him whenever the teachers would tell him he was an excellent student.

It bothered him, but for the moment, looking at his test score, the teenager was happy. His crush, Christine, however, was upset because she got a bad grade. His heart broke watching her sit in a corner with her head resting on the table, so he approached her during lunch break.

"Hey, Christine!" he said nervously. "I know you got a bad grade, but I can teach you these topics. You'll grasp it in no time, I'm sure. And you can improve your grade next week. What say?"

"Oh, that's so sweet of you, Tim!" she smiled. "I'm up for it. Let's meet in the library after class?"

"Sure!" Tim smiled, trying his best not to seem too thrilled.

After the next class, Tim and Christine met in the library. He sat at the table across from her while trying his best to explain the complex math problems. Suddenly, the boy heard someone call his name.

"You think you would sit in the library with my girlfriend, and I wouldn't know?" Chrsitine's boyfriend, Arnold, stood beside Tim, rolling his sleeves to his elbows.

"Stay away from her, you filthy nerd!"

Arnold was a tall, muscular teenager from one of the wealthiest families in town. His parents were friends with Christine's father, and both families had affluent backgrounds.

"Stop it, Arnold!" Christine snarled and stood up to leave. "Why do you have to bully him all the time? He's just helping me because I asked him to!"

Once Christine stormed out of the library arguing with Arnold, Tim gathered his books and returned home disappointed. He hated it when his classmates humiliated him but could not do much about it.

The following day, Christine invited Tim to her house so he could explain the math problems to her in peace. She assured him no one would disturb them, unaware that her father would humiliate Tim.

Tim taught his crush a few complex mathematical concepts for an hour before he sensed something was wrong. He noticed Christine was distracted and that something seemed to bother her.

"Is everything okay?" Tim asked her politely.

"Oh, Tim," she took a deep breath. "I just don't understand what goes in Arnold's mind. I fought with him after we left the library yesterday. I stood up for you because you weren't at fault, but that didn't sit well with him."

Tim's heart skipped a beat when Christine confessed she supported him. He thought this was the perfect opportunity to confess his love and tell her what he felt about her.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Christine's father angrily barged inside. His eyebrows came together as he looked at Tim, who had just told Chrtistine how much he loved her.

"You! Get out of my house right now!" he yelled at Tim, pointing towards the door.

Feeling embarrassed, Tim stood up and left Christine's bedroom. He went towards the door and wore his shoes when he heard Christine's father yell at her for inviting him to her place.

"I heard what he said to you, Christine," he said. "You shouldn't consider this poor guy anything more than a friend. I think you should reconcile with Arnold right away."

"Do you even know what Arnold did, Dad?" Christine asked. "He humiliated Tim by calling him a nerd. He needs to learn some manners!"

"Oh, really?" Christine's father chuckled. "I used to do the same things when I was his age. He's such a smart lad! This is what all nerds deserve!"

"Dad!" Christine protested.

"He doesn't even have a car!" Christine's father replied. "Look at that poor boy. Tim's got nothing, okay? Get over him!"

"Tim is kind and incredibly smart. And I won't stop talking to him! You can't make me!" Christine yelled.

"That's it! I think you deserve to be punished," Christine's father shouted. "I'm going on a trip tonight with Arnold's parents, and you will stay here, locked in. You're grounded!"

"No, Dad!" Christine protested, but her father marched out of her bedroom. Tim heard his footsteps and immediately left his crush's house. He went home and kept thinking about her the entire evening.

Why did she quarrel with her father for me? Tim wondered. He felt she liked him and thought he should ask her on a date. Since he knew Christine's father would leave the house that night, he decided to visit her, unaware of what awaited him outside her home.

Once everyone in the house slept, Tim secretly sneaked into the garage and drove his father's car to his crush's house. He kept thinking about what he would say to her on the way. He had no idea fate wouldn't give him a chance to confess his feelings.

It took Tim half an hour to drive to Christine's estate. She lived on the outskirts of town in a luxurious villa by the forest, and her bedroom was on the first floor. Tim thought he would climb to her bedroom window and knock, thinking it would impress his crush.

Tim slid his phone out of his pocket when her house was a few minutes away and dialed her number to check if she was awake. When she didn't receive his call, the boy assumed she must be asleep and thought that was even better because it would allow him to wake her up.

However, once his car neared Christine's estate, he was horrified to see a blazing fire. Upon driving closer, he realized her house was on fire.

Feeling shocked, he quickly picked up his phone to call 911 but frowned upon realizing his phone had died. He tried turning it on, but the red battery sign shattered his hope of calling for help.

"Oh, no!" he gasped while exiting his car.

Just then, another car pulled over outside the estate, and Arnold stepped out of it. Instead of going inside, he stood there and stared at the house.

"I apologize for what I said that day, Tim," Christine's father said.

"Arnold!" Tim yelled while running towards him. "Arnold! Call 911!"

It seemed like Arnold couldn't hear anything. He just stood there, shocked to see the fire engulf Christine's house, before Tim ran towards him, held him by the shoulders, and shook him.

"ARNOLD?" Tim yelled, trying to bring him back to his senses. "PLEASE CALL 911!"

Arnold returned to his senses and realized Tim was asking him to call the first responders. He immediately dialed 911 and drove off because he was terrified.

Once Arnold left, Tim took off his shirt, grabbed a water bottle from his car, and poured it on the shirt. Then, he wrapped the wet shirt around his face, as he had seen in movies, and started climbing towards the hallway window on the first floor. He knew he had to take action before it was too late.

Upon reaching the window, he broke in and rushed towards Christine's room. He couldn't see much because of the thick black smoke floating in the air, but he managed to locate her. She was lying unconscious on her bed after inhaling the smoke.

Without wasting time, Tim picked her up in his arms, wrapped himself around her, and jumped out of the window, landing on the grass. He instantly lost consciousness, and the first responders arrived at the estate a few minutes later.

A few hours later...

Roger was sitting in the hospital's waiting room after a stranger dropped him there. He had used his police badge to convince the unknown driver to take him to the hospital, since he couldn't find his car in the garage.

Upon reaching the hospital, the doctors told him they found Tim lying unconscious at an estate near the forest and that they were proud of his heroic act. They praised the teenagers for saving Christine's life. She would have died if he hadn't jumped outside the window with her on time.

Fortunately, Tim and Christine had regained consciousness, but they were undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation. Christine's father arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and rushed to meet his daughter. After seeing her, he went into Tim's room and thanked him for saving his daughter's life.

"I apologize for what I said earlier, Tim," Christine's father said.

"Thank you for saving Christine's life. I have no words to praise your bravery!"

Just then, a nurse walked inside the room and told Christine's father about the update she had received from the first responders. "Someone named Arnold dialed 911, but he wasn't there when the first responders arrived," she said.

"What? Arnold left Christine knowing the house was on fire?" the man was shocked.

"Yes, Arnold was there, but he immediately left after calling 911," Tim recalled.

"He had spare keys to the house, for God's sake! I can't believe he left her to die."

"What? He had the keys?" Tim asked in shock. "I had to fetch a baseball bat to break the window! It took me five whole minutes to swing it hard enough to break the glass!"

Christine's parents, Roger, and the paramedic staff laughed after learning about Tim's struggles. Then, Christine's father admitted Arnold was not the right guy for her daughter. He regretted being fixated on having his daughter patch things up with him.

Tim and Christine graduated high school a year later and received offers from the same college in another state. Since Christine's father wanted to thank Tim, he covered the boy's tuition fee, allowing him to pursue a degree in cybersecurity.

Four years later, Tim graduated and soon got recruited by the Police Cybersecurity Branch. His wish to join the police force had finally come true, and he even married Christine a few years later. And Tim's father couldn't be prouder of him!

What can we learn from this story?

• Let your children follow their dreams. Roger never wanted his son to join the police force because he had no idea how passionate Tim was about his dream. If Tim hadn't jumped in to save Christine, Roger would have never realized how brave his son was.
• Money is not everything in life. Christine's father thought Arnold was the right man for his daughter because he belonged to a wealthy family. However, he soon realized that money wasn't enough to define a person's worth. Tim's brave actions changed his perspective and helped him choose the right man as his daughter's groom.

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Click here to read another story about a rich girl who mocks a janitor before her father takes away everything from her and gives her a janitor's uniform.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.