Afterglow, Steven Conklin

one

"I cant believe your guys are leaving tomorrow morning," I muttered, leaning my head on Steven's shoulder as we looked at the stars from my roof.

He let out a puff of air, "I know... we can facetime a lot though, and maybe my mom will let me leave to come see you sometimes."

Smiling, I nodded, "I would like that. For some reason, I have a feeling everything is going to change once we leave."

Without saying anything, Steven entwined his fingers with mine, and wrapped his free arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

-

"It's just a lot, you know. And with Conrad gone, it dumps a lot more on me and Jere," I sighed, flopping backwards onto my bed.

It had been a month and a half since summer ended, and Steven and I were always face timing to keep in touch.

I watched as he shook his head on the call, "Yeah, it sucks that he isn't around to help."

"It's not like I'm mad at him for it," I explained, "I mean, I'm SO proud of him for going to Brown, and he should get to experience life... It's just... I know it's selfish to say, but sometimes it feels unfair that I don't get to have a normal senior year."

Steven hesitated, clearly in though, "That's not selfish, don't feel bad for saying it. I get what you mean. I-I mean, every time we talk you are exhausted from taking care of your mom and paying the bills. It's a lot."

I sent him a sad smile, "Thanks for understanding. I just wish you were here."

Steven nodded, "Yeah, me too. I'm trying to convince my mom to let me leave around Halloween, but it's not going so good. I can tell she's stressed about your mom, and she's always telling me I need to focus on my grades so I can't skip school."

I groaned, "God, please don't say anything about grades. I'm trying so hard to keep mine up with everything going on. Anytime I see someone, they ask about my mom then it's 'have you thought about college yet?'" I said in a mocking voice and Steven let out a small laugh.

"I sent my application into Princeton the other day... talk about stress," He joked.

I sat up with a gasp, "Really? I'm sure you will get in, they would be lucky to have you."

Steven smiled in thanks, "Have you sent in any applications?"

Nodding, I walked over to sit at my desk, "Yeah, they're nothing special, really... At this point the only school I'm actually looking at is Boston University. I want to stay close to my mom, you know?"

"Yeah. Look my moms calling me down to help Belly with something but I'll talk to you tomorrow, Alright? Love you."

"Love you,too," I whispered with a small smile before ending the call.

-

Groaning, I tossed the stack of medical bills onto the table.

The trial seemed to be going alright, it was keeping my mom together, but you could definitely tell she was getting sicker by the day.

To watch your mom act as outgoing and happy as they always did when you know they are in pain... it really takes takes a toll on you.

But of course, I wasn't going to let anyone else know I was feeling that way. The main priority was making sure my mom was getting better.

"Hey," my head snapped to see Jeremiah leaning against the doorway to the dining room, "I can finish the bills if you go make mom a smoothie. I think Connie is coming home later."

I nodded in thanks and stood up from the table which I had been sitting at for hours on end.

Making my way to the kitchen, I grabbed the blender and tossed in some greens, before pouring the drink into a fancy glass and placing a pink umbrella on the rim.

I think the touch made the drink taste a little better, and hopefully made my mom feel like she was in paradise.

Grabbing the glass, I walked up to my mom's room, pushing open the door to see her laying in bed.

My eyes scanned over her own dark rimmed ones, as well as her more slim face, but I put on a happy smile to make her think nothing was wrong.

"Here is your piña colada, my lady," I joked, dramatically handing her the drink before plopping down and cuddling into her side.

She took a small sip, following along with the joke, "Thank you. It tastes just like the ones in Hawaii!"

I laughed at her expression and laid my head on her shoulder, "How are you feeling today?"

Her face faltered, but she covered it up with a smile, "Good! Now that my girl is here... How are you and Steven?"

Blushing, I spoke up after a minute, "Good. He says he's gonna try to come here next weekend. Laurel has been holding him hostage."

My mom let out a laugh, "Don't worry, sweet girl. I will convince her to let him leave."

-

"I cant believe you're here!" I smiled, running to throw my arms around Steven's shoulders.

Steven chuckled, holding onto my waist, "My mom said that Susannah threatened her to let me to leave."

I laughed and pulled away, "Yeah, I might have had something to do with that."

Steven stared down at me with a small, "You have no clue how much torture it is talking to you over the phone... not being able to kiss you."

Processing his words, I quickly grabbed the sides of his face, and pulled him down to close the gap between us in a passionate kiss.

-

"Your mom seems like she's doing good," Steven said as we walked through the city streets, hands entwined.

I knew he was lying to make me feel better, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"Yeah, she's holding up," I said, gripping his hand tighter as a cold breeze blew past us.

"And how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

I let out a small laugh, "You ask me that everyday!"

"Well," he began, "You're always taking care of other people... but someone needs to make sure that you are alright, too"

God, he was too good for me.

Sending him a sad smile, I spoke up, "It's a lot. I'm not the 'bold, outgoing' Lia who hangs out with friends everyday, and goes to parties on weekends, anymore. I need to be home to take care of her and get things done. And yeah, Jere helps, but I want him to have the school year he deserves, so I practically run the whole house."

Steven thought about what I said, and instead of responding, he did what I really wanted him to do, and pulled me into a warm hug that honestly spoke more than words ever could.

At least I knew that he would always be there for me.

-

This is lowkey short and part one of the act is prob only gonna be like two or three chapters, but I hope you like it!