Beats of the Heart [MxM]

1. Forward Cut

***Trigger Warning. There will be talks of suicide in this chapter***

••••••12 Years ago••••••

"Why would you bother calling him, mom?" Miles asked in an exasperated voice. The deep timbre was something that didn't match his age.

Nina sighed heavily. She was frail and thin, lying on the hospital bed. Her once thick black hair was gone, and her bright green eyes dulled. The shadows under her eyes reflected the exhaustion of her fight. She had been battling her monsters for ten years now.

Although she was tenacious, cancer was a stubborn beast, and a year ago, she was told that she had eight months to live. Now, she was living off borrowed time.

Miles struggled for most of those ten years. He worked multiple jobs and juggled school so she could get the care she needed. Now all Miles had was a mountain of debt, a useless scholarship to a college he didn't want to attend, and a dying mother.

"Miles, he's your father."

Miles scoffed. "The first thing that asshole said to me was, 'Are you sure you're my son?' and then made a big deal about a paternity test."

"I know, but—"

"I was nine."

He could remember the venomous look his 'father' had when they received the paternity test results. He sneered and hissed out some comment about how he will cut them a check. Nina refused and asked him to leave. He complied and stayed out of their lives.

Larry Anderson—a stereotypical nouveau riche douche.

She pursed her lips, "I didn't say he was a good father."

Miles sat down by her bed and held her hand. "He only shares some blood with me, a donor of sorts. You have been both my mom and dad this entire time. I don't need some rich dick to claim that parental title when he had no hand in my upbringing."

"Darling... I just don't want you to be alone."

"I have you."

"Not for long," she said as she turned her head away. She obviously felt more pain saying this than what the cancer was doing to her body.

Miles released a sobering breath and kissed her hand softly. He was 18, just barely an adult, and he couldn't bear to part with his mother—his best friend. He had spent so much time devoted to her and had no idea what to do without her. He would be completely alone when she left. However, he couldn't show her that pain.

"If the worse happens, mom, I will still have you," Miles said quietly. "Even if all I have are memories... I will still have you."

Tears streamed from her eyes, and her shaky hand wiped them away. "I have had a good life, Miles. Do you believe that?"