Disjointed Heart

Chapter Twenty Three

November, 1992

Chester was outside even if the weather had cooled down the past few weeks. He shuddered as he rubbed his arms, thinking about the fact that he should have taken a sweater with him instead of the thin jacket that they had provided for each patient. He was looking at the dying flowers in front of him but his eyes were unfocussed since he was trying very hard not to cry.

He had just learned the news today and it had broken his heart. Of course, he had known that Ryan couldn't stay here forever, and that one day Chester would be left alone, but still, hearing it come out of the young man's mouth had been like a physical blow to him.

Ryan was his only friend in here, and now that he would be alone, Chester only feared that everything would become worst. If he could only blink and suddenly be 18, he would.

"Ches, what are you doing here, you'll freeze to death." said Ryan, who had been searching for his friend for the past 20 minutes, only to find him standing in front of their garden.

"This thing will die without you, Shuck." The other man said, hoping that his voice wouldn't give away to the fact that he had been crying.

"You can take care of it, Joe will help you."

Chester only gulped, not wanting to answer anything as his eyes fell on a daffodil that was still hanging on, its yellow color splashing against the other fading flowers. He almost wanted to rip it off and keep it as a reminder of Ryan, but he didn't know where he could keep it without Mark finding out about it...

"I don't think I can." He finally said, and Ryan knew that his friend wasn't talking about the garden anymore.

The older boy looked down at the flower and then up at his friend, "you can, Ches. You're so strong." Ryan placed his hand on the brunette's nape and squeezed it lightly as the younger boy didn't look up from the single yellow flower. "I'll come visit. I promise you I will... I'm sorry I can't stay here." Ryan let his hand fall to the other's arm before he pulled him in for a tight hug.

And that was when Chester lost it. The fear of loneliness finally overcame him, and he collapsed into his only friend's embrace, letting his tears stain his plain white shirt as he gripped so hard at Ryan's middle and nape. He couldn't believe he was about to lose the only person he loved — besides his sister, of course.

As he cried, questions popped up in his mind, making him only shudder and shed more tears. Would Ryan really visit him? Would Ryan even remember him after he left? Chester didn't think he was special at all and he had no idea of how the older boy loved and cared for him so dearly.

Chester had felt lonely before, he had always been that way, but now that he had found Ryan, he didn't wanna go back to feeling like that ever again. It pained his friend to see how affected he was by that, even with the several promises Ryan had made of visiting and keeping contact with him.

"I will never forget you, Ches. I hope you know that." Ryan whispered close to the younger boy's ear and planted a small, feather-like kiss to the side of his neck before breaking the hug to grab something in his pocket. "I... wrote something for you. I want you to keep it... sing it... make a melody for it. Just make it yours, Ches. And promise me you'll only read it after I leave." Ryan said as he handed a folded, crumpled paper to his friend, who looked at it, still shedding silent tears as he bit his lower lip.

"Oh, Ry... I will never forget you, too." Chester managed to spill out before he held the paper close to his heart. "When are you going exactly?"

"In a few hours. My things are all packed so I thought we could spend that time together? I already asked Joe and he said it was okay and that Mark wasn't scheduled today."