25-Roads To Forever || One Shots

Guilt

Max POV-

I don’t know why people bother me. I can’t stand them, honestly. Every little thing gets under my skin. My mom, always nagging, never lets me breathe. She says I need to stop drinking and smoking, but it’s my life, not hers. I just want some peace, and it feels like everyone’s out to ruin it. Even my friends—ugh, don’t get me started. They’re all pretending to be concerned, but I see right through them. I’m tired. Tired of the noise, the fake smiles, the stupid questions. Just let me be. But no, they can’t do that. No one ever can.

Olivia POV-

I just want what's best for him. Max used to be so full of life, but now, it’s like I’m living with a stranger. He barely talks to me anymore, and when he does, it’s always sharp words, always pushing me away. I can't even ask him to stop smoking without getting yelled at. I know he’s struggling, but he won’t let me help. It hurts. I’ve tried everything—tears, patience, tough love—but nothing works. I just want him to be happy, to see that he’s worth more than the path he's choosing. But he won’t listen, and I’m losing him. I don’t know what else to do.

Max POV-

I was sitting there, trying to drown out the noise, when the phone rang. It was the hospital. My heart dropped. I don’t even remember picking it up. “Is this Max?” the voice asked. I just nodded, even though they couldn’t see me. “Your mom, Olivia... she’s sick. We need you to come in.”

Sick? What the hell? My mind went blank for a second. I couldn’t breathe. She was just... fine this morning. I didn’t even care when she nagged me about smoking. Now she’s sick? I don’t know why, but my hands started shaking. “How bad is it?” I asked, but I didn’t even know if I wanted to know the answer.

“We’ll explain when you get here,” the nurse said, and I could hear the worry in her voice. It made me panic more.

I slammed the phone down, my mind racing. I had to go. Now.

I rushed to the hospital, my mind racing, hoping it wasn’t as bad as they made it sound. But when I walked into the room, I knew. The way the nurse looked at me, the way my mom was lying there, so small and pale—it hit me. She wasn’t the same.

The nurse pulled me aside, her voice low. “Max, I’m afraid your mom has lung cancer. It’s in a stage where it can’t be cured.”

I froze. The words didn’t make sense. Lung cancer? My mom? I couldn’t even wrap my head around it. She smoked? but I always thought she  did not. I looked at her, her face so fragile now, and I felt... empty.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. I didn’t want to hear it, but I had to.

She shook her head gently. “I’m sorry. All we can do now is make her comfortable.”

My chest felt like it was going to explode. I just stared at her, not knowing what to feel.

I stared at my mom, lying there, barely recognizable. The machines beeping quietly around her, the smell of antiseptic in the air, but there was something else—something sharp. I couldn’t place it at first, but then it hit me. The smoke. My smoke. The cigarettes I’d been lighting up for years.

I’d always told myself it was not my fault. But now, sitting there, watching her struggle to breathe, I couldn’t escape the truth. Every time I lit a cigarette, I was doing this to her. The smoke I exhaled, the habit I couldn't shake—it was killing her.

The nurse’s words about the cancer, the stage it was in... it all started to blur together. My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t breathe either. I wanted to scream at myself, punch something, anything, but instead, tears started falling, hot and fast. I buried my face in my hands, not caring who saw.

I’d taken so much from her, and now, it was too late to change anything. The guilt, the weight of it—it crushed me.

Olivia POV-

I could see it in his eyes—the guilt, the hurt. I never wanted him to feel this way, but I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to hold him, tell him everything would be okay, but I couldn’t lie. I couldn’t pretend like I wasn’t running out of time.

“Max...” I whispered, my voice weak, but I needed him to hear me. “I don’t have much time left. I’m not gonna be here forever.”

He looked at me, his face pale, tears still streaking down. I reached out, taking his hand gently. “I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to quit smoking. Quit drinking. Please.”

He looked away, like he was trying to block me out, but I wouldn’t let him. “Max, I don’t want you to end up like me. I know it’s hard, but it’s not too late. You can stop. For you... and for me.”

His eyes were wet, his lips trembling, but I knew he heard me. He didn’t say anything. Maybe he didn’t need to.

Max POV-

She was gone. Just like that. The machines stopped, the quiet filled the room, and I felt like I was drowning. My mom—the one who always nagged me, the one who tried to make me care, was no longer there. And it was my fault. The guilt ate at me, made my chest tight, made it hard to breathe.

I thought about everything she said, how she begged me to quit smoking, quit drinking. I told her I would—maybe not right then, but I promised. I lied. I didn’t stop. I didn’t even try.

Now, she was gone. And I had no one left to lie to.

I couldn’t even stand the smell of smoke anymore, the thought of it, the taste of it on my tongue. It was all I could think about when I saw her lying in that bed, so weak, fighting for her last breath. I couldn’t be that person anymore. I couldn’t keep destroying myself like I was destroying her.

I threw away every pack of cigarettes I had, emptied every bottle of alcohol. I didn’t care how hard it was, how much I craved it—there was no way I was ever touching them again. It wasn’t just about her now. It was about me, too.

I had to live with this. The rest of my life. The guilt would never go away, but maybe, just maybe, I could start over. For her.

Nobody's POV-

"The world saw a person who had lost everything, but only he knew the weight of the silence that followed..."