𝓜𝔂 𝓼𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓲𝓯𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 | Enemies to lovers | 18+

Chapter forty-three

Azalea's pov

I can't believe we did it.
I actually can't believe I'm still alive.

The final three weeks have been pure hell, not only thanks to school but also thanks to everything else.

My friends and especially Aiden kept me from losing my mind tho.

Tomorrow is graduation day and I could weep with joy, at it finally being over.

I still have no clue what I'm gonna do afterward.
I applied to a few colleges, also the one Aiden wants to go to and I actually got accepted by most of them.

I'm currently on my way to the hospital to visit mom.

She's been in the hospital for about two weeks now.

Every time I enter her room it makes me sick to my stomach.

My beautiful mom looks so fragile and weak.

Her hair thinned out and she's got bags under her eyes.
Nonetheless, she's still the most beautiful woman I know.

"Hey, mom."

"Lea baby." She croaks in a weak voice.
My eyes instantly start tearing up at her nickname.

No one besides mom calls me that.

"I brought you some flowers. Tulips, your favorite."

I put them next to her window and readjust them so they sit perfectly.

"That's sweet of you." I walk over to her and kiss her cheek.

"You're glowing today mom, Just as always, but today you look especially ravishing."

She chuckles but it quickly turns into a cough, I just ignore it tho and continue smiling at her.

That's what I'm doing most of these days.

Just ignoring stuff. The stuff that hurts so bad you think you can't breathe.
I'm too much of a coward to meet it head-on.

But well, I'd rather be a coward than deal with reality as dumb as it sounds.

"I thought we could look at some old pictures today. You see I brought all the photo albums I could find, with me." I say "oh and I immediately had to look for my favorite picture, which I found." I grin and hold it up for her to see.

It's me and Soli running away with our faces full of chocolate while mom is chasing us.
I remember, mom always made chocolate-coated fruits, and unfortunately Soli and I found the melted chocolate.

I suppose dad took the picture.

Mom giggles quietly "oh I remember this like it was yesterday. You two always wanted to eat all the chocolate without the fruits. And one day I forgot to put it on the shelves you couldn't reach. You of course didn't let my mistake slide." She smiles while looking at the picture with so much warmth in her eyes.

We continue looking through all the photos, which makes me unbelievably sad but happy at the same time.

I'm so glad we got to make all these memories but I also wish things were still the same.

Do I want to go back in time? I don't think so, I don't think I could live without Aiden and my friends. But I still wish things would've gone differently.

When I snap out of my thoughts I notice mom looking at a photo of dad with longing in her eyes, and my heart almost breaks.

Could they have had a love like Aiden and I share?
Then how would mom be able to live without him?