Alone

friday

6:13 pm

STELLALUNA

after completing all of the dreadful and tedious homework, i decided i would go check in on aaron.

ring. ring. ring.

chime. bell. chime.

i stood patiently on his doorstep.

his mother stepped outside with a muffled cry. "stella?"

"yess?" i say carefully, nervously gnawing on my already broken lip.

she took a deep breath and seeked comfort in my eyes, yet only found coldness. "aaron told me he doesn't want to see you anymore. he says that it's better this way."

she pats my shoulder awkwardly and slowly backs away, closing the door on the brink of my nose.

^

AARON

my parents are crying. they're also yelling. they don't like seeing me with all of these weird and pained facial expressions.

in a course of a single week, i got to love somebody i've always wanted to love. in a way, i must thank bryan for the situation he placed us in.

of course, he's dead. the one time i want to see him.

my body is in pain, and my eyes blur as i try to stand up and leave my house, not even managing making it down the stairs.

my parents pause their whispered argument and look over at me worriedly.

"where are you going, sweetie?" my mom asks, a smile evidently forced onto her face.

i shrug. "just wanted to live a bit, you know, before death approaches me."

"aaron," my father places his hand on his forehead. "you aren't dying, okay!"

"face it, dad!" i fight the tears threatening to spruce into my eyes because i know how much my father hates when men cry. "i have a blood disease that no one knows of, and the doctor's have absolutely no cure. we all saw what happened to bryan, it's pretty obvious what's going to happen to me."

i choke on my words and my dad replied thickly, moistness gathering around the edges of his eyes, "alright, son. there's no need to get so sappy. if you want to go out, go out."

and so, i took my bundles of wires outside and sat waiting for stella to return to my porch steps. i was too weak to go to her home.

^