rendezvous || s.c.l.

eight

sean's point of view

"i'm gonna check on aria." i jogged upstairs and to my room. she was still asleep with her small, quiet snores escaping from her mouth.

her appearance resembles an angel.
she's that beautiful.
how did a girl like her end up in my bed?

"take a picture, it'll last longer." a whisper came up to my ear, which caused me to startle. "shut up, she might've heard you." i gave serris a death glare. she put her hands up in defense.

i started going through my phone and serris finally left. aria started to wake up. her eyes slightly fluttered, her toes started to curl up, and she slowly stretched out her body.

i tried not to stare, so i kept my eyes on my phone.
"what time is it?" she asked after yawning. "oh, good morning." i pretended i just realized that she just woke up. "it's almost 9 o'clock."

"oh, i gotta get going." she quickly jumped up, grabbing her things, and heading to the door. "wait!" i accidentally raised my voice, but i was slightly impressed. she stopped in her hurried tracks and turned towards me. "you should eat before you leave. my mom made grilled cheese." i cheekily smiled. "hm, okay." she gave in.

-

it was just aria and i in the house now. she was eating her grilled cheese sandwich on the granite countertops across from me. aria was on her third grilled cheese. those were her favorite. my mom would always make her some whenever we had play dates.

"why were you in a hurry?" i asked. "i just wanted to check my mom to let her know that i was at your place." she answered without making eye contact. her eyes were focused on her plate. "oh, yeah, how's your mom?" i smiled. her mom was so sweet. aria always wished to spoil her mom when she succeeds in the future. "she's doing good. thanks for asking." she gave a big, bright smile. "and your dad?" i noticed her smile fading away. "oh, um. he-" her phone went off. "i need to go. thanks for the breakfast, sean." "wait. let me-" she cut me off. "bye, sean." she closed the door shut after waving goodbye.

aria's point of view

"you are so lucky." matt said as i approached his car. "how so?" i questioned. "dad was out with his friends last night." he told. "how's mom?" "her doctor called last night." matthew said. "and?" i was eager, yet nervous for whatever he had to say next. "she has an appointment to do another monthly checkup tomorrow. they're going to check if her condition got worse or not." he briefly explained. "let's hope for the best."

you see, my mom has breast cancer. for now, it's not that bad, but the doctors said her condition can get worse and worse for a matter of time.

the worst part of this situation was that dad didn't know. if we told dad, he wouldn't take it seriously. he would have probably treated her worse than before.

matthew pulled up into the driveway. i got down and saw mom watering her flowers. she told us that her flowers symbolize matt and i. she takes care of them as her own. she makes them bloom with wondrous beauty and pure health. my mom is so wise; i love her to death.

"i'm so sorry, mom. i ran into Sean and june picked me up after school and he took sean and i to his house and sean had too much fun so-" i ranted. "aria, phew, slow down. take a deep breath." she stopped me, so i could be able to catch my words. "so you ran into your old friend huh?" she asked, while pouring green tea into two tea mugs. "yeah, it's been awhile." i swept my hair behind my ear, looking like an insecure girl with insecure thoughts. "you really missed him?" "of course, mom. he was my best friend." i smiled. "you two were the cutest. i still have photos from our old house. go and grab the blue box in my bedroom closet will ya." i nodded my head in agreement.

i scanned her bedroom closet, looking for the blue box full of photos. "there ya go." I grabbed the box and i accidentally dropped an envelope full of letters. "great," i bent down to pick them up. "wait." i glanced at the letters and saw so many declined appointments to mom's doctor. she was suppose to go to a checkup last week, but she didn't go.

that was funny. She was home during that time.

i went back into the sitting room where mom was relaxing in. "mom? what's this?" i held out the declined letters and notices. "aria..." she had no words. "why aren't you going to your appointments, mom?" i was incredibly worried. why would she ignore her doctor's orders? "because i don't want to." she gave a stubborn answer. "but mom, these checkups can tell us if you're getting better." i whined. "if I'm getting better. you see, these tests can go one way or another. what if i'll never get better?" she stood up and had her hands in her hair. "but mom, we are never going to know if you don't go to your appointments..." she finally took a seat on the sofa and looked disappointed.

"you're right, aria. but the thing is, i don't really want to get better. you know my life sucks. your dad treats me like garbage, i work from nine to five, i have to support my two kids by myself, and i have to pay the bills by myself." she explained. "mom, focus on yourself. matthew and i can take of ourselves. and dad?" i continued. "matthew and i can cover for you, mom. you know that we'd do anything for you." i finished. "that's too complicated." mom added. "no, we got it, mom." i insisted and gave her a hug. "you're gonna go to that appointment tomorrow and call me afterwards." i demanded. "thanks, hun."