I'm sitting in class, doodling in the margins of my notebook, when Mrs. Evans calls me to her desk. I glance over at Jude, he gives me a shrug. I get up slowly, wondering if I'm in trouble. She gestures to the hallway and I see my dad standing outside the door. I walk out and close the door behind me. "Am I in trouble?" I ask him. "No, son you're not." I exhale in relief. "There's something I need to tell you." He continues. I hold my breath. "Grandpa's passed away."
Everything is quiet. I feel my heart beating faster in my chest. Grandpa. The person I look up to. The one person I felt I could talk to about anything. He was the one who got me interested in baseball, even though my dad wanted me to play football. Grandpa. My hero. I can't remember the last time I talked to him. Did I tell him that I love him? Did I tell him about Jude and me? Suddenly I feel lightheaded. "I...I need to sit down." I barely get the words out. "Okay, but you have to go back to class to finish your last period. We'll talk more when see you at get home." My dad hugs me before leaving. I sit on a bench in the hallway for another minute before heading back into class.
"Whats wrong?" Jude whispers. I shake my head. "Nothing." But Jude just scoffs. "C'mon. I know somethings wrong. Why else would your dad just show up at school?" I can barely hear him. I just want him to stop talking so I can focus on the math problem. "I said nothings wrong Jude. Just drop it." I say it a little louder than I intended. Mrs. Evans shushes us. Jude looks a little hurt. I want to apologize but Mrs. Evans is still watching us. I look back at my paper and concentrate on the problem, but it's all blurry now. My eyes are watering. A single tear falls on my paper and I wipe my eyes so Jude doesn't notice. Thank god he's distracted with the work. I try even harder to concentrate and spend the rest of the period trying to hide my face from Jude. He kept looking over at me trying to see if i'm okay but I just don't want to talk to him, or anyone else. When the bell rings, I rush out of class and hurry to my locker to find out Jude is behind me. "So you're obviously not okay." I shove a book into my bag. I refuse to look at Jude. "Con, just tell me whats wrong." He reaches for my hand but I pull away to shove another book in my bag. I probably wont need it. I only have math homework and I'm pretty sure that was a science book. "Connor. What did your dad say? Was it about us?" I close my locker, swinging my bag over my shoulder as I walk away from Jude. I don't turn around but I can tell Jude gave up. I walk all the way down to the beach and find a bench and then I start crying.
Jude didn't follow me. I think he went home. I guess he figured I needed space. Its now 7:00pm. He hasn't texted me or called me. I know I wanted space before, but then I thought about it and, what if he thinks that we're not allowed to be together? What if he thinks I don't love him? So I tried texting him, but he hasn't answered me. Dad went out for a drink. I grandpas death hit him pretty hard too.
I'm sitting on the couch when I hear a knock at the door. I look out the window to see Jude standing there with his bike helmet still on. "Hey." I say as I open the door. "Can I come in?" He asks. I nod. He steps inside and takes off his helmet. I go sit on the couch again. Jude comes and sits next to me. "Is your dad home?" I shake my head. We don't talk for awhile. Jude eventually breaks the silence. "Connor, can you please just tell me what's wrong?" I stare at the t.v. "Because, if it's about your dad or about us than I promise I can handle it." He grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. "Please talk to me." I turn to look at him. "It has nothing to do with us." I can feel my eyes watering. Jude waits for another answer. So I take a deep breath. "My grandfather died. And I know I shouldn't be sulking and pushing you away but its just that he was like my hero. And I can't even remember the last time I talked to him and I don't even know if he knew about us and he was just the only person I could talk to and I just really, really miss him." I rush the words out and then slowly start bawling. Jude brings me into a big hug. He holds me tight and I rest my head on his shoulder. We sit like that for another ten minutes before I feel all cried out. "Sorry about your shirt. I probably got snot on it." Jude just laughs. "Its fine." I sit up and reach for a tissue. "You never told me that your granddad was your hero. I just assumed it was some sports dude." "Nah. My granddad was the best. He taught me so many things." I smile. "How did he die?" I blow my nose before answering. "I don't really know. Dad just told me he died. Then he left a note saying he was at the bar." Jude pulls me into another hug and kisses my forehead. "Thanks for coming over. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here." I whisper into his shoulder. "Well, I guess I know you well enough to know that you aren't very stable when your sad." We both laugh. I don't want to let go of Jude. He's so warm. He's like a blanket of cuddles. I give him a quick kiss before leaning my head on his shoulder. We continue to watch whatever is on the t.v. in silence. "I love you." I hear Jude whisper before I doze off.
This was requested from one of my followers. I hope you guys liked it!
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