Uniform

Hard Truths

The movie ends with us still cuddling on the couch. "That was really good," Eli nods in agreement. "Let's go do some homework now." He groans slowly, getting off the couch and putting his hand out to help me up. He clicks the TV off, holding my hand, and leads me back upstairs to his room, where our backpacks are. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, anything."

"When you talked to my goddad, Aaron, you said you were held back. What happened?" He stops dead in his tracks as we're walking up the stairs. "I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about it if it's a sensitive subject." 

"Let's talk about it when we return to my room." He says, still leading me up the stairs, but much slower. We finally get to his room and sit on his bed. He lets go of my hand and sighs. "Well, there are a couple of reasons I was held back, and I don't talk about it often." I nod understandingly. "You know how I said my parents were on vacation." I nod. "Well, that's not the truth. The Truth is, they're usually never home because they're visiting my sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister," I say quietly. "When I was 10, my whole family got into a really bad car accident." That statement hits me in the chest. "What's wrong?" He asks, bringing a hand to my cheek, wiping away tears I didn't know I was shedding. This is exactly why I didn't wanna cry, I can feel myself starting to breathe heavy as my vision blurs. "I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, it just hits close to home." He looks at me sympathetically. "Is that what happened to your parents?" I nod, leaning into his chest, sobbing now. "I didn't mean to hit a nerve. We can stop talking about this." I look at him, wiping away my tears, but they won't stop coming, and I'm full-on sobbing now. I get up, not wanting him to see me like this, and start walking out of his room with blurred vision. I walk into the bathroom, closing the door, I slide down the door, sitting with my knees to my chest, and I cry hysterically. "Sage, please open the door." I try to cry more quietly, but it's too late, I'm practically screaming. "Sage, please," he says, now trying to open the door, my body in the way, not allowing it to open. I scoot away from the door, giving him space to open it. He immediately kneels and embraces me. "I'm here for you, baby," I cling to his tank top, soaking it with my tears. He slowly picks me up bridal style, carrying me back to his room, and places me on his bed. We lay there with me crying into his chest as he held me. After what feels like an eternity, I feel capable of speaking. "I-I-I-I'm-m s-s-s-s-so-rr-yy" I sob. He shushes me, holding me tighter. I feel myself calming down from the warm embrace. I catch my breath, wipe my face, and prop myself up on my elbows. I climb up his chest until I'm face to face with him and passionately and gently kiss him for a few seconds before pulling away. "This is the first time I've cried since my parents died," I say sadly. He looks at me, shocked. Holding me tightly again. "I'm sorry for interrupting and making it about me when you were telling me something important. I'm such a selfish brat." I say, looking away shamefully. He grabs my chin, making me look into his intense blue eyes. "No, you are not. You haven't grieved, you are the strongest person I've ever seen." He says with so much love. I hug him and lie on his chest. "I want you to finish telling me if you want to." He squeezes me before speaking, "My sister and I got the worst of the accident. We were both in the ICU for a month. We were both in a coma. I woke up, she....never did. I was in a coma for a year and a half. I had to relearn how to do everything, and by the time I was able to go back to school, 2 years had passed. My parents go every day after work to see my sister, hoping she'll wake up. 90% of the time, they end up sleeping at the hospital. They usually come home just to get some clothes and check in on me, and then they're gone again." 

I lay on his chest speechless. I hug him tightly. "Can I ask you some questions?" I ask cautiously, and I feel him nod his head. "Do you ever visit your sister?"

"On holidays and both our birthdays."

"How old is your sister?"

"She's 10." He says somberly. "What do the doctors say about her condition?"