The Ends of Earth

Chapter 8

"Hey, look I can do that for you, you'll kill yourself If you keep getting up."

"No, I won't, I'm just..." He was struck by more coughing. It burned his lungs, it was getting worse.

"Exactly, you can barely finish a sentence so sit down." Oliver and Melany had been back and forth like this for the past few days. The boy was still getting used to being the one getting taken care of as opposed to it being the other way around. He wasn't used to it; it was foreign to him. It felt almost unnatural.

He had the camera almost fully back together now however he still needed some pieces for it to work properly. He had no idea where he could get them from, he couldn't go out. He was barely hanging on as it was.

Melany came through the door with his second meal of the day.

"Here you go, it's like room temperature again, sorry."

She sat the food down on the bedside and picked up his old tray.

"Well, I'll leave you to it."

He wanted to say it so badly. Say it, say it. But he didn't. All that came out was silence and she left the room.

He sat there staring out the window. He repeated the word over and over again to himself. He'd been trying to say it to her since he got there but for some unknown reason it was too difficult.

He could say it just fine whenever he was alone, but whenever she came in the room he just froze and only silence came out. All he had to say was one word.

A few hours had passed, the sky was now different shades of blue, yellow and orange. Bits of red also outlined the sun that had begun to set.

He still stared at himself in the window's reflection.

Why was this so hard? He kept thinking. He could hear her approaching the door. He repeated it one last time before she came in.

"Sunset looks nice tonight." She grabbed his old tray and put down the new one.

He stared at her but still didn't say anything.

She smiled back for a few moments

"Well I'll leave you-"

"Stay!"

She was taken back by the volume of his voice and so was he.

"Oh...oh I can...I can stay sure."

"I'm sorry I meant, please stay. I like your company."

"I thought you'd never ask."

She placed the food down and sat on the bed next to him. They didn't once look at each other, nor did they say anything. They didn't need to.

They watched as the orange honey sky turned into the deep blue night, stars scattering the globe.

She inched her hand closer, soon it was on top of his. The boy moved closer cautiously, this was still unfamiliar. Once it was safe, he leaned his body onto hers.

It was warm and she smelled perfect. He rested his head on her shoulder. It felt just right. He didn't dare move too much, he couldn't ruin this moment

Weeks passed and she was still bringing the boy's food to his bed.

He had not gotten any better. His lips were colorless, his face pale and see through.

And the cough, it sounded like death. He stopped eating as often because it was too painful on his sandpaper throat.

She would hold him every night as they watched the glistening white dots in the sky. Night by night he became colder. She was the only thing warming him. She kept his blood flowing, his heart beating.