Cinders

~67~ Suprise~2

It's been a week since my football game and I haven't seen Taylor; I'm having a hard time justifying it.

I feel too guilty when I'm with dad because I'm afraid it'll hurt his feelings. Going when I'm with mom is a no-go, because I'm not dumb enough to lie to her...And telling her the truth would just make me an ass.

I'm really missing him though, so I've come up with the next best thing...I mean, I really am a genius and nobody seems to notice.

Mom hasn't been feeling well lately. She's been nauseous, and she's even thrown up a couple times; She thinks she ate something that was bad.

She has shift today, and before she left she looked horrible. I decide to take her some Gatorade, because like stated above I'm a genius: I get to look like the amazing, caring son that I am, and then I have an excuse to see Taylor. Win, win!

Please hold your applause until later

Mom gave me my car back a few days ago, and it's lucky for her that she did or she wouldn't be getting her Gatorade.

I was pretty excited when the keys were placed into my palm...I had felt like I was missing a very important appendage and now I'm functioning properly again.

I may or may not have kissed the steering wheel when I got in for the first time.

I get mom her favorite kind of Gatorade and I make my way to the station. When I get in, mom is doing paperwork at a table.

"Hey bud! What are you doing here?" Mom asks as her face lights up and her smile widens.

As she comes over to me, I can tell immediately that she's feeling awful. She's super pale—paler than usual—and looks exhausted.

"I brought you some Gatorade. You looked like death this morning," I say, giving her a teasing smile.

Tears fill her eyes as she gives me a huge hug and a kiss. "Thank you, baby boy. That's the sweetest thing."

She takes the drink from me and kisses my cheek once more.

"How are ya feeling?" I ask

She should be feeling better by now if it was something she ate. She hasn't felt good in over a week.

"Umm...Not great. I might lie down after dinner."

I just nod and look around. I don't see Taylor anywhere.

"Where's Taylor?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

The subtle tilt of her head and twitch of her lips tells me that she might actually see through my charade after all.

"I'm not sure, check his office."

As she hides a chuckle behind her blue Gatorade, I suppress a groan. She definitely saw through my plan and I'm not as big of a genius as I thought... Good thing you didn't applaud for me.

I go to find Taylor, giving Diego and Keegan high-fives along the way.

I find him in his office, working on paperwork with a stern expression. I wonder what's stressing him out.

I look over and see Jessica on her cot, acting like she's reading. She's actually just using the book to hide the fact that she's watching Taylor.

Are we in a horror movie? This girl is creepy AF.

"Must be nice to get'ta hide out in here all day while everybody else works, slacker."

He looks up at me and his face immediately brightens. "Hey bud!!!" He grins, standing up and wrapping me in the biggest hug.

"I've missed ya," he says, pulling away and studying me. "Have you gotten taller?"

"I think I've officially passed you. You're a shrimp, Taylor."

Dang I miss him

"Whatcha doing here?" He chuckles, but his eyes don't match his face. His eyes are still empty.

"Mom hasn't been feeling well lately. I brought her some Gatorade."

"She hasn't?" He asks, looking surprised. Mom is really good at hiding things when something is wrong, so it doesn't surprise me that he didn't know.

"No—She's been throwing up. She looked horrible this morning and I was worried about her."

"That was a really nice thing to do, bud," he says in a warm tone.

"Thanks for coming to my game. It meant...it meant a lot to me. Sorry I didn't find you afterwards. Mom was having a really good day, and I didn't want....."

"It's all good. I didn't figure you'd even see me. You played great!" He says, pushing my shoulder gently.

"Yeah, it was a good last game."

"Well, just because you're a fancy senior doesn't mean I can't still kick your ass in basketball. Do you have time to play a game?"

"Yeah," I grin. I was hoping he'd ask.

Taylor grins a huge, excited smile and wraps his arm around my shoulder, leading me out of his office. I ignore Jessica, even though she's still there and looking ridiculous as she pretend to be reading.

Taylor sees her too. I catch him glancing at her discreetly and then rolling his eyes.

"Does she do that all the time?" I ask quietly.

He simply nods. "All the time"

~*~

We get to the main area and Taylor recruits Greene, Diego, and Keegan to play with us.

I see mom sitting at the table, smiling—This is the happiest I've been in weeks, and I know she can see that.

I stay for a couple hours, playing H-O-R-S-E and 2 on 2 with the guys. It was a blast.

I felt so free and light while playing—Like things were back to normal, if only for the afternoon. I'm dreading when I have to leave and go back to reality.

My new reality sucks.

"You're getting better at least," Taylor says once the game ends.

"Yeah well we can't all be superstars, huh?" I jab, shoving him lightly as he chuckles.

We get to mom and Taylor knows I'm leaving. He stops when we get to her and pulls me into a hug. "Love you, Liam." He says as he pats my shoulder and leaves without even glancing in mom's direction.

Things must still be pretty awkward between them. They would have to be for Taylor to not even look at her. Mom doesn't act like she notices, but I know she does.

"You can stay for dinner if you want." Mom says, grabbing my hand.

"No thanks, dad is waiting on me," I say as I really look at her. "You sure you're ok? You feel really clammy. Maybe you should go to the doctor instead of finishing up shift."

This isn't food poisoning.

"I'm good, kid. I'm actually feeling a little better right now."

"Ok. Love you." I say as I give her a kiss.

"Love you too. Tell dad I say hi."

I just nod and wave to her. I look over my shoulder and I see mom grab her stomach, like she could throw up. Taylor notices this time, and watches her carefully.

Maybe he can figure out what's wrong with her.