The October Amaryllis

Chapter 115 - May 20th, 2020 - 8:41 A.M.

I was in my room when the staff told me someone wanted to talk to me on the phone. Right away, anxiety flooded my body.

If it's Dante, I won't even answer...

I ran outside, grabbed the phone, and said, "If this is Dante, I'm not interested."

"What if it's Grace?" she softly asked.

"Grace? Is it really you?" I asked emotionally.

"Mhhm. I heard you're in the hospital right now."

"Well... you heard right. I'll be stuck in this dump for a while. I swear I'll see you when I get out. I miss you," I said, nearly in tears.

"You were always there for me; I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Grace, I'm human trash. I don't know wh-"

"Okay, you know what? How about you shut up? You're the one good thing in my life, and yet here you are acting like you're a murderer or some crap. You're not a bad person. Get that out of your idiotic head, Clive!" she yelled.

"Heh, you ain't changed one bit," I said, chuckling.

"Oh, I have. I'm 5'9 now."

"What?! You were like 5'2 the last time I saw you!" I exclaimed in shock.

"I was, I grew a little," she teased.

"You're taller than me, for crying out loud!" I exclaimed.

"Ha, you shorty!" she exclaimed before blowing a raspberry.

"Grow up, kid," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Kid...? I'm a month younger than you, dude. I'm not seven anymore."

"No, but mentally you are," I retorted with a grin.

"Ughhh, I hate you sometimes..."

"Well, I hate myself all the time," I said half-jokingly.

"Don't hate yourself; you have a purpose in this world," she said optimistically.

"What's my purpose?" I asked curiously.

"Well, your purpose is to b-" she spoke before hanging up. I'm an idiot because I completely forgot how Grace would always end our conversations this way; it was a running gag of hers.

For once, I felt great. The call let me know I wasn't abandoned, and that there were people in the world who genuinely cared about me.

What could be better?