The Ice is Slippery

7

The one place George hated more than his house. The place that consumed so much of his childhood. The place that crushed his heart into tiny pieces over and over and over.

The place where his mother gave him life and the place where he knew her's would end.

He looked at his father's text and everything went silent. Not that muffled ringing like in movies, dead fucking silent. All he could do was stare at his screen with shaking hands and shallow breaths as thousands of thoughts raced through his mind. However, there was one thought he kept coming back to: I can't lose her too. Not now.

Eventually, George was brought back to earth by the blonde boy crouched in front of him, "Where you go?"

I felt like all the air in the room became too heavy to breathe in. He couldn't speak, but he so badly needed his boyfriend's help. The hospital was too far away to walk to and George didn't have a car. Without a word, he turned his phone to show Clay the message. He knew immediately.

When George's mom got sick the year before, he was out of school for a couple weeks because she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. She wasn't supposed to live for very long, a few months at most, so it's a miracle that she made it a whole year.

Clay helped his soulmate off the couch and they made their way up stairs. He helped the other get his shoes on as tears finally started rolling down his rosy cheeks before they got in the car with Kris and Nick in the back. They both knew about George's mom, everyone did after the football team bullied him for it. Clay just about killed their captain when he heard.

Not a word was spoken the entire ride there. George started mindlessly picking at his cuticles while he blankly stared out the window. It was an old habit he picked up from his childhood best friend. He felt a hand gently grasp his, the thumb drawing delicate circles on the back of his palm. They stayed like that the rest of the way there.

——

It took them 30 minutes to make it to the hospital, 30 agonizing minutes of not knowing. As soon as the car was in park, they all got out and ran inside. His friends couldn't go back to the room, but George practically sprinted through the fluorescent lit halls. The people at the front desk knew who he was because of how often he was there, so one lady just yelled the room number to him as he passed.

Now there was just a door between him and news that had the potential to ruin his world. The sterile smell of the hospital stung his nose with each tense breath. With every ounce of stretch in his numb body, he reached for the door handle and slowly turned it. The sound of beeping monitors drifted into the hallway, a good sign but not much of a relief. The curtain was drawn halfway so he couldn't see his mother's full figure on the bed. Like usual, his father was nowhere to be seen, always avoiding his problems.

Each step he took towards the bed with pale blue sheets made his legs feel heavier. The curtain felt like sandpaper. He slowly pushed it back to see a peacefully sleeping Mrs. Davidson. He held her hand as she started waking up.

"Hello sweetie."

George sniffled, "Hi mom. What happened? Are you okay?"

She giggled a little, the pain meds were obviously working, "I'm better than ever, I just slipped a bit and hurt my ankle, didn't your father tell you?"

The boy shook his head as rivers of relief poured down his face. His lovely mother wrapped him in a warm hug and patted his back like he was a baby again.

"I'm not going out that easy, I gotta make it to your graduation and I haven't even met your boyfriend yet," George took a step back and gave her a confused look, "Of course I know, I'm your mother. Don't worry, I'd never tell your father."