Save Me

Chapter Twenty-Eight

♔ Chapter Twenty-Eight ♔

Hedley pulled open the door to his mother's hospital room, and the two of us stepped inside. He went in before me, and once I entered I made sure to linger close to the door. I knew this was a private and personal moment, and I didn't want to get too involved in it. It wasn't my place.

The room was simple enough - only a single white bed, empty, and a large window looking out onto the hospital grounds. A pale woman was sitting in an armchair, staring out the window, looking like she was lost in her own world, or perhaps imagining that she was out there with everyone else, healthy and alive.

Her hair was curled and frizzy, a light brown. Her face was well-rounded but not chubby. She smiled when she noticed her son entering, a kind smile. She had warm eyes, but I could tell she was sick. Her skin was pallid and yellow, and surprisingly wrinkled for a middle-aged lady. She wrapped her arms around Hedley when he approached, but couldn't stand out of her chair. So frail, I thought.

"Hi Mum, this is Isaac. He's a good friend of mine, from university," he introduced. He threw himself onto her empty hospital bed with his arms behind his head.

"From university, eh? I bet you're a clever one," she replied, her hands gesturing me to step further into the room. "What are you studying, young man?"

"I was studying history, but I dropped out last week," I said, unembarrassed. I believed it was better to get out of a bad decision while you still could, and I knew that staying another two to five years at uni was definitely a bad decision. I was glad to be out, so I wasn't ashamed to admit that I'd tried it, and didn't want to go any further.

"You dropped out?" she asked, raising a judgemental eyebrow. "Hedley, why are you friends with failures?" She turned from looking at me, over to her son.

"Mum! Be nice," he said.

"If I absolutely, 100% must be. Havana Haynes, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you, one of Hedley's friends! Either he never introduces me to his friends, or he hardly has any, the poor boy. Not to worry, God has a plan for you, Hedley. And for you too, Isaac, was it?" She held out a hand for me to shake, so I did.

"God has a plan for us all," I replied, although I'd been an atheist most of my life.

"Isaac is a biblical name, you know. The Book of Genesis, I believe. It means 'he laughs,' which is pretty ironic considering how absolutely dull and depressing you appear. And you're a failure too, that can't be very good for your personal prospects."

"Mum!" Hedley gasped. How does she not know he's gay? 

"Well, as long as your failure doesn't rub off on my boy, I couldn't give a toss. We don't have failures in our family. Only god-faring, good-hearted Christians. Isn't that right, son?"

"Sure thing, Havana," Hedley said sarcastically. "He's gonna think we're a right pack of Bible bashers now."

"And proud of it!" she exclaimed. "My Hedley is a good boy, you know. He's gonna go all the way, aren't you, Hedley?" she asked, her face smiling, a mother's pride shining through her frailty. "Not that I'll be there to see him graduate. That's years away, and I have days left, as you can obviously see."

"Jesus, stop talking before I die," Hedley moaned.

"Jesus died on the cross for our sins, don't curse his name like that in front of me again, sunshine. He was crucified by the Romans, and you should know all about that, Isaac, if you studied history."