We Come Alive 5

Decision Day

Wednesday morning was somber and quiet. Dante ignored the pouring rain outside and slowly limped upstairs. He was using his forearm crutches to help him carry his weight as he slowly made his way upstairs.

Dante used one of his crutches to push open his bedroom door as he heard the tv softly playing. He was in his dad's house since he was spending some time with him. He sighed softly seeing his girlfriend laying still in his bed.

Yesterday, Dante got a heartbreaking call from Ricky with Clover sobbing in the background. The Egyptian boy dropped Clover off there and she hadn't left since. They spent the night talking in the silence of Dante's bedroom while he tried to get her to eat.

"Hey, baby girl." Dante greeted, making his way over to her. "Wanna go for a walk together? I could use the physical therapy and you could use the sunlight."

Clover turned over, the chalk white sheets making him notice the familiar contours of her body. "It's raining." She whispered, listening to the rain hit the window. "Come lay with me."

Dante shook his head softly. "No, it's okay. How you feelin'?"

Clover shrugged and sat up. "I've been better. I'm just...drained."

"A lot happened. I called Ricky this morning. He told me what happened." Dante told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed since his legs were starting to grow tired. "He told me what they were saying to you. It made me disgusted."

Clover crawled over to her boyfriend and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You and Ricky...talked?"

"We bonded over being mad they were women." Dante admitted. "If they were dudes, me and Ricky would've kicked their asses."

Clover giggled, rubbing Dante's chest as she had her legs on either side of his back and her arms around his shoulders. "I love you so much."

Dante looked to her and smiled softly. "I love you, too." He whispered. "I hate to see you cry."

Clover's smile slowly faded when she realized he was close enough to see her puffy red eyes and tear stained cheeks, but then she smiled again. "I'm fine, baby. I was just—"

"I'm not everyone else." He reminded her. "I don't need you to tell me everything's going to be okay."

Clover's fake smiled dropped and a tear slipped down her cheek. Dante kissed it away and slowly guided her into his lap. He held her tightly in his arms and rocked them back and forth as she let her walls fall again.

"What if we don't make it?" Clover whispered. "I love you so much. It's my worst fear."

Dante smiled softly. "Honestly? I think about that every time I see you. What if you walked out my life? What if we didn't make it? What if we drift apart? People always talk about true love. Real love."

Clover tilted her head back so she was looking at the bottom of his chin as he looked out the window at the rain falling down. His jaw moved while his spoke up again, his raw thoughts exposed to the chilling air.

"Is it real? Are we for real? I don't know, but I..I just got to be sure. It's a chance that we won't make it, but it's a chance that I'm gonna take and I will know it's love. True love."

Clover reached up and grabbed his cheeks to make him look down. "You should be a poet." She whispered.

Dante smiled softly. "You'd be my inspiration. Always." He vowed to her. "What do you want most in life?"

Clover smiled softly, thinking. It was a simple questions. Seven simple words making an even more important question that she somehow couldn't answer. What did she want? She'd lived eighteen long, eventful years, but somehow this was the moment she realized she had a lot more living to do.