Nerve

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My hand stretched out over the rough material covering the rear seats of the cab, easily finding the smooth skin of my angel and weaving my fingers through his.

He stared numbly out the window. I stared at him.

It was about an hour's drive to the hospital holding his mother, but thankfully, the cabbie was willing to drive us all the way there.

The world seemed to move around us in a blur, and the only thing that remained in focus was him.

Before I really realized it, the cabbie had pulled into the parking lot of a large hospital.

Wordlessly, our fingers slipped apart and we both exited the vehicle, paying the man before making our way towards the building.

Jason stopped just short of the entrance, looking terrified as he stared at his reflection in the large glass panels making up the doors. I stepped in front of him, forcing him to look at me instead of himself. Those electric blue eyes locked onto mine in an instant, and he suddenly seemed very anxious.

"I don't know if I can do this," he breathed as he looked at me unsurely. "I haven't seen her since... since..."

"It's okay, Jason," I put my hands on his shoulders and brought his attention back to me. "She still loves you."

"I need a smoke," he said suddenly, reaching instinctively for his pockets.

I grabbed his wrists to stop him.

"Do you think after all these years your mother wants to see you smelling like cigarettes?" I tried to reason.

He looked at me for a long, hard moment, debating it in his mind. Then, with a heavy sigh, he pulled his arms away from my grip and crossed them over his chest.

"Fine, but right after."

"How about we get ice cream instead?" I suggested.

"We'll see," he grumbled, pushing open the doors and stalking inside.

I followed after him. He briskly walked through the lobby, following signs on the wall until they took him to the correct section of the hospital.

Once we were close, Jason walked up to a receptionist and quietly asked which room his mother was in. Once she told him, he glanced back at me and reached out for my hand.

I slipped my fingers back through his and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

We walked down a narrow hallway, the air smelling uncomfortably sterile. My eyes swept past the numbers plastered beside the rooms to my right.

357

359

361

363

Jason stopped abruptly as a tall, slender girl with long brown hair and bright blue eyes stepped out of the next room. As soon as her eyes landed on him, the clicking of her heels ceased.

"You have some nerve showing up here," she said in a neutral tone with her ruby red lips pulling into a thin line. Her clothes suggested wealth, and although he never did tell me much about his past, I concluded that this was his elder sister. Or half sister, from what I understood. They had he same eyes.

"She's my mother, too, Jess."

Jess's features softened as she stepped forward and pulled her little brother into a gentle hug.

"You better be quick," she told him with a warning tone. "If Daddy finds out you're here, he won't be happy."

I recalled some of what Jason had told me about his mother's husband. Apparently the man had helped raise him when he was little, but he hadn't exactly been thrilled when he found out Jason's mother had cheated on him and that the boy was not his son.

That was when things went downhill for my angel. His mother had sent him to live with his biological father, a beautiful man with questionable mental health. Jason wasn't sure what he had, since as far as he knew he had never been diagnosed with anything, but the man could go from charming and charismatic to hostile in an instant.

He never went into great detail about his time with his father, but somewhere between then and the tree house, he had gotten those scars on his back. I didn't like to think about how that had happened.

Looking back up at Jason, I saw him nod at his sister before he pulled me into his mother's room.

I could hear his breath hitch as he took in the sight of her. She had obviously been undergoing some chemotherapy. She was completely bald and her skin was pale and sickly looking.

"Mom?" He asked in a small voice. The woman peered over at him with weak blue eyes before a small smile spread across her chapped lips.

"Jason?" she asked. "Is that you?"

Jason let go of my hand and stepped further into the room. I remained by the door, not wanting to intrude on their reunion.

"Hi, Mom," he smiled as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed. She grabbed his hand as tightly as she could, her eyes watering as she looked at her son. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," her voice cracked slightly. I could see Jason's eyes watering too, but could tell he was trying to stay strong. "H-how are you here? How did you know?"

"They did a write up on David in the paper," he said told her. "They said something about his wife still being in the hospital, so I looked into it."

"Well I'm glad you did," she said, lifting her hand to trace over his cheek, her lower lip wobbling. "Look at you. You're all grown up now."

"I'm still your little boy," he promised.

A tear slipped down her cheek, "I'm sorry, Jason. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he smiled down at her.

"I love you so much," she cried, using what was left of her strength to sit up and hug him.

"I love you, too," he breathed over her shoulder, rubbing her back as she sobbed into his chest.

In that moment, my heart yearned for my own mother. I never had a chance to say goodbye.

×××
A/N

Okay, before you come at me with pitch forks and torches, let me just... *runs*

I've had such bad writers' block it's not even funny. And on top of that, I'm moving into my first college dorm in four days (my first time living away from home) and my parents are simultaneously getting evicted because we have a crazy landlady. So not only do I have to move my shit, but everyone else's as well!

Also, not sure if anyone's interested, but my birthday is tomorrow (Aug 22) and I will be turning eighteen. (Come at me adulthood! ✋✊👊💥)

When's your birthday?

What do you think about Jason's past? Was it what you expected?

Thanks for the read!
-Anon

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