Jones' Boy

Chapter Three

~ Oliver's POV ~
"So, after some thinking, I decided that it would be best to punish you two," Coach Ballard said to Keith and I. "You'll be going to our game at Tate, but you won't be playing." That was some of the best news I received all week.

"But, coach," Keith began. "How are we supposed to train for finals?"

"That's for the two of you to figure out," Coach said. "You're being placed in the same rooms for the trip to the competition too, if we win." I turned to Keith with a scowl, but he didn't return it. Rather, he smiled.

"Okay," Keith said. "We'll figure something out."

We were dismissed from his office and sent to our first periods with a pass. Tyler greeted me upon arrival and asked how it went.

"That's cruel." He said, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it," I groaned. "I have to spend a whole night with him."

The rest of the day went smoothly after that.

"Hey, Ollie," My mother said as I walked inside our house. "I went to the doctor today." She didn't sound like she had good news.

"What's wrong?" I asked, placing my bag by the door.

"We got the biopsy back, and it turned out to be cancerous," She said sadly. "At the moment it isn't growing or moving, so we don't need to worry. I just thought I would let you know."

I engulfed my mother in a hug and held her for a long time. She had a tumor on her back that had grown to be the size of a golf ball. It grew pretty quickly and stopped, but there was no telling how it would act in the future.

"I love you, mom." I said, releasing her from my grip. She rubbed my arm with a smile and then lead me to the kitchen.

"I made your favorite: spaghetti." She said, pulling a bowl from the cupboard. She then began to pile the food in it and then handed it to me.

"Thanks." I said, taking it gratefully and sitting down at the table with it. We ate while exchanging small talk.

After our meal, I cleaned up and then headed to my room where I then took a shower. It was relaxing, but the thought of mom's tumor made me queasy.

"Hey," I said as soon as Tyler picked up his phone. "My mom's results came back for the tumor."

Tyler's grin dropped immediately upon hearing this. "Did they figure out what it is? Is it bad?" He asked. Tyler had always viewed my mom as his own, especially after his mother took off with some creep.

"Yeah, it did," I said. "It's cancer. It's not a threat at the moment, but I'm still nervous about it."

"Yeah, I don't feel too great about it either," Tyler said. "You should probably just sleep in it tonight. We have practice tomorrow."

We exchanged our goodbyes and then I got comfortable in my bed. I fell asleep pretty quick after that.

"Oliver," My mother called from my doorway. "It's time for school." I groaned but got up nonetheless. After quickly showering, I got dressed and brushed my teeth, then I grabbed an apple for the road.

"I'll see you around 5:30." I told my mom as I exited the house. I lazily threw my stuff into my car and then began my journey to school.

"Why has Keith been staring at you all day?" Tyler said as I munched on my lunch. I hadn't noticed his staring, so I shrugged my shoulders.

"Who knows," I said. "Maybe he's jealous."

"I doubt that," Tyler said with a grin. "The dude is filthy rich, and he has two parents. What is there to be jealous of?" I glared at him, though he was right.

"Maybe he's jealous of the way I look," I said. "He's so plain looking; he has brown eyes and brown hair, and he's ridiculously tall." I'm comparison to Keith's appearance, I had shaggy black hair, green eyes, and I was only 5'8.

"Maybe," He countered. "But have you seen his abs and biceps? I'm not gay, but he is hot as hell." Tyler had always known I was gay and he supported it, but sometimes he came off a little too fruity himself.

"You do realize you're talking about the only person in this world that I hate wholeheartedly," I questioned, watching Keith from the other end of the table. "He could be the most gorgeous person on earth and I still wouldn't envy him."

The rest of lunch went the same, with us bashing on Keith and then bashing on each other about petty things. This included the fact that I was packing more than Tyler, which I knew because we had actually compared sizes before. Friends for life, right?

After school we had practice, so I met Tyler in the locker rooms. We slipped into our training clothes and then jogged out to the field where Keith gave an announcement.

"We'll be going to Tate in two days," He said loudly. "As you all know by now, I- along with Oliver King- will not be participating in the game due to our behavior. It will be in the teams best interest to train with this in mind.

"You've all done well this year, and I expect you all to show those boys what you've got," Keith announced with more enthusiasm. "Put in your best effort and we'll be leading our competition!" The field erupted in cheers and then we began to train.

"Hey," Keith said, following after me on my way to the locker room. "Can I talk to you?" I wasn't sure what he had to say, but I was sure I didn't want part in it.

"Yeah," I said, countering my instinct to turn him away. "Make it quick."

"I heard the news," He said, standing in front of me with his hands on his hips. "Mom is already starting to clean up the guest room for you. I know-"

"What do you mean," I asked, cutting him off. "Why do you need the guest room?"

"What-" he started. "You're coming to live with us. Did you not know that?" What was he talking about?

"Why would I come live with you," I asked, growing irritated. "What are you on about?" My mind was racing, traveling back to mom and her tumor. Did it have something to do with that? What was going on?

"Your mom's cancer, Oliver," Keith said, growing concerned. "You're coming to live with us when she can't take care of you anymore. Did she not tell you this?"

What?

He wasn't making sense. Was mom sick and she didn't tell me?

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked, stepping away from him subconsciously.

"Your mom is sick, Oliver," He said, reaching his hand out to me. "She can't take care of you any longer. Why didn't she tell you?" He seemed to be asking himself more than he was asking me.

I flinched when his hand landed on my shoulder. "She said her tumor wasn't growing," I said, feeling my eyes start to brim with tears. "She said we didn't need to worry about it."

"Shit, Oliver," he said, taking his hand off of me. "I'm so sorry-"

Before Keith could finish, I took off running. I wasn't sure where I was going, but it wasn't home.

My mom was dying and she didn't tell me.