Save me

chapter fifteen

Ayden Grant

Monday. Ugh. I hate Monday's. For many reasons. You have to wake up early to go to school. It's the furthest day from Friday. And they just suck.

I slept in late today, because that's my luck. I got dressed quickly and grabbed my backpack while running out the door. I didn't want to be late to school today. It brought attention to myself. Unwanted attention. I didn't like being the spotlight of the room. It made me feel uncomfortable.

I walked fast to school to get there on time. Luckily I wasn't late and made it to my first period just as the bell was ringing.

Cameron wasn't going to school today to go look at colleges and universities. I didn't know what college I wanted to go to yet. I should probably figure that out soon though.

My day wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. It was kinda boring.

Ding

From: Cameron

Hey, boo. I just got finished looking at colleges. I'm gonna go out with my friends for awhile. I'll see you soon.

I smiled at my phone as I read his message. He was so sweet.

To: Cameron

Okay, I'll see you at home.

My day was almost over. I had two periods left. I couldn't focus on anything today. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular. My mind was scattered today for some reason.

I got home and cooked a frozen pizza because I was starving. I usually didn't eat at school, so I was always hungry when I got home. The pizza was actually good considering it was a frozen Walmart brand pizza.

"Hey honey, we need to have a little talk" Stacey (Mrs. Reese) said to me.

"Uh okay, what about?" I asked her.

"Something important, I wanna wait for Sean (Mr. Reese) to get home though. He should be here within an hour or so. He thought he could get out a little early today." She explained.

"Well I'll be upstairs, until he gets here then." I said. She smiled at me with a sad look in her eyes. What could they wanna talk about? Where they gonna ask me to move out since I was eighteen now? Did I do something wrong?

My mind was filled with so many ideas about what they could possibly wanna talk about with me. Did they find out about me and Cameron? I hadn't even thought about that. If they found we were dating they would probably kick me out. They wouldn't want their son and his boyfriend sleeping together in the same room I assumed.

Knock knock

I quickly jumped up to see who was at the door. It was Sean. "Hey, kid. Wanna come downstairs, so we can talk?" He asked.

"Yeah" I agreed and followed him down the stairs and into the living room. Stacey was already sitting on the sofa and Sean took a seat next to her. I sat across from them and waited for them to tell me what they wanted too.

I was nervous. Actually I was very nervous. I was scared of what they were going to say to me.

"Well Ayden, there's no easy way to say this to someone. Especially a kid. Your mother was given a drug by someone from outside of the rehab center. They aren't sure who but assuming it was someone she knew well. And the drug was heroin, which you know she struggled with addiction for many years. The reason she's there and you and Ryan are here. So, um, she overdosed on heroin last night. They called an ambulance and she was hospitalized but by the time they found her body she had stopped breathing and her organs had began to shut down. She was pronounced dead at the hospital."

I felt numb. No. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. She was my mom. Moms don't die. They don't leave their kids.

"We're here for you, if you need anything. If you wanna talk to somebody. Anything Ayden. We love you just as much as our son." Mrs. Reese pulled me into a hug and held me tight. I didn't hug her back. I just sat there. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say.

"I'm gonna go think." I mumbled and went to go back upstairs. I walked over to my bed and sat down.

She wasn't gone. She still here. She's not dead. She wouldn't leave us. She loved me. When you love someone, you don't leave them.

What's the purpose in living? How can I even live without my mom? She's the only person I had. How could she leave so unexpected? She was there to get help. But she didn't. She died there.

No she didn't die there. She was alive.

I grabbed my phone and called her.

ring ring ring ring the number you have called is not available at this time please leave a message after the beep.

"Hey, mom. You're probably busy right now. Whenever you can call me back. I just wanna talk to you. I miss you so much. I love you mom, goodbye."

She was still here. She was just busy. Yeah, she was just busy I told myself.

Call log:

Mom: 20 outgoing calls within last hour.

ring ring ring ring the number you have called is not available at this time please leave a message after the beep.

"Hey mom. Sorry to call you so much but I just really need to talk to you. It's very important. Call me back as soon as you can. I love you, goodbye."

It's been 3 hours. She still hasn't called back or texted. Cameron walked into the bedroom frantically and saw me. He walked over to me and asked "Are you okay?" He looked sad and concerned. I don't know why, nothing had happened. I was perfectly fine.

"I'm fine. Nothing has happened." I told him truthfully. He gave me a confused look, not saying anything for a minute and then looking down. "You sure?" He asked again.

"Yeah, I'm great." I replied. Maybe I should try again. It was currently 8 o'clock so she shouldn't be busy now.

"Give me a second, I gotta call someone" I told him. I picked up my phone, dialing my moms number once again.

ring ring ring ring the number you have called is not available at this time please leave a message after the beep.

"Hey, mom. Sorry for calling so much. I just wanna talk to you. I thought you wouldn't be busy now but I guess you are. Give me call when you're free. I love you. Bye." I ended the call once again. I felt like a broken record player. I had pretty much said the same thing everytime I called her and it went straight to voicemail.

"Um, I'm gonna go downstairs for a bit. I'll be back up soon" Cameron said looking confused and a little sad. He walked out of the room and I laid back down in bed deciding to go to sleep and try talking to my mom tomorrow.

Ayden's in denial. This was a sad chapter to write. Vote, comment, share your thoughts on this chapter.