Mosdenea

Chapter 18--The Doctor of Motorcycles and the Nurse of Colds

My mom was really upset that we decided to leave before New Year's Eve. We decided to head back a few days before because Aaron had some business to take care of. He urged Pierce and I to stay for New Years, but we both agreed to head back with him. Which meant total devastation for my mom. She went through the different phases of sadness, anger, and annoyance.

I would have stayed. To see the fireworks over the lake like I do every year. But I was also starting to feel homesick. Which was weird because theoretically, my home is in Michigan. Now it seemed like my heart was in Miami. Or maybe my heart was simply yearning to be wherever Aaron was. I couldn't tell at this point.

The other reason I decided to go back early with the boys is because they had paid for my plane ticket. I wasn't going to leave them stranded. Much less—leave myself stranded. I could have Buddy-Passed back to Miami if I really wanted to, but the likelihood of that happening during the holidays was really slim.

So I said my goodbyes to my family. I told them I'd call on January 1st. It was the typical false lie like, 'Yeah you can come visit!' To my mom I'd say things like, 'Oh course I'll call you every day!' Most of it—a lie. But a lie that makes everyone happy and believe it'll all end up being ok.

My brothers were sad I was leaving. They said they had a lot of fun with me again like the 'olden days.' I did feel somewhat emotional not being with my brothers but I did get to spend Christmas with them. James had always been my best friend while Will and Matt were always annoying but we'd still somehow get along.

Saying goodbye to Ashley again hurt as well. Even though she had spent most of her holidays with her boyfriend, it was refreshing seeing her. She and James started talking about how they'd want to come and visit during spring break. Spring break for me meant going to the beach like I do every weekend. But for them, it means Miami.

I rode first class with Aaron and Pierce again. The air pressure made Aaron sick. He had already been trying to fight off a cold but the airplane was definitely what set it off entirely. By the time we landed in Miami, his cold was in full swing. When we arrived to our apartment, I told him to lie down on the couch and rest.

While Pierce was unpacking and getting back into being home, I was busy burying Aaron in blankets and giving him cold medicine. Pierce made his brother a nice chicken soup as I settled into Aaron's side as we watched another one of my favorite Malcolm Dean movies.

We were all exhausted and with Aaron being sick, it gave us a perfect excuse to stay inside. The day was beautiful. And hot. But we weren't really up for it. After Aaron fell asleep, Pierce and I decided to make non-alcoholic piña coladas and sit on our balcony to overlook the boats that passed through the canal. We had gone to wearing several layers of clothing to a t-shirt and shorts. I didn't realize how much I missed Miami climate until I was actually back home.

"Thanks for inviting us to your house Parker," Pierce said while taking a sip of his drink. "It was a lot of fun."

I smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

A phone inside started to ring but after a few seconds it went silent. Next thing we know is that Aaron is standing at the sliding door of the balcony. He was sniffling and he wrapped his blanket around him like it was a cape. He looked totally miserable. His hand held out the phone towards Pierce and in a stuffy congested voice he said, "Could you get it. It's Phillip."

Pierce sighed and instantly walked over to Aaron. He grabbed the phone between two fingers—like he was afraid of contracting whatever it was that Aaron had. Pierce walked away, the phone to his face but not touching. "Hey Phillip," I heard him say as he walked into the apartment and probably his room.