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Twenty

ASHTON

"Her response to the treatment is good so far..."

"Because she stopped taking the pills..."

"Pneumonia is common in cases of AIDS..."

"The immune system is weak..."

I'm a mess. It seems like my head is about to explode and there's a weird knot in my throat. I didn't see my mother yet, not because they haven't let me, I simply couldn't. I have way too many questions and I don't know if I'm capable to look in her eyes to ask them.

"Ash?"

Hannah's voice takes me out of my thoughts and I look up, watching her walk towards me through the small waiting room. I get up, my whole body strangely tense, though I feel slightly relieved that she's here. 

"Is she okay?" She asks, with a worried expression.

I only nod, the stupid knot on my throat not letting me speak. I hate that I can't avoid my eyes from getting watery again.

"Oh gosh, come here" She says lowly, wrapping her arms aroung my neck and letting me hug her tight "It's okay"

A couple tears fall down my cheeks as I place a kiss on the crook of her neck, leaving goosebumps on her skin "Thanks for being here"

-

"What am I supposed to say to her?" I ask, standing in front of the room my mom was in without being able to move and open the door;

"You'll know when you're inside" She says lowly, squeezing my hand slightly "Just take a deep breath, you'll be fine"

I nod and take a deep breath before opening the door slowly and going in, leaving Hannah on the other side.

My mom is lying on the bed, her face is pale and she seems horribly week, but she menages to give me a small smile, though I can see some shame in her eyes.

"How you're feeling?" I ask lowly, sittig down awkwardly in the chair next to her.

"I'm great" She looks down "I was hoping you weren't here" Her voice is almost like a whisper and I can tell she's about to cry.

"Dad called me" She nods slowly and I bite my bottom lip slightly, nervous "How could you keep this from me? I mean, I'm your son, I had the right to know"

She lets out a humorless and weak laugh "You're my son, how could I tell you? Ashton, I have AIDS, it's... humiliating"

l roll my eyes "How is a disease humiliating, mom?" I say, my eyes watery already.

"It's not just a disease, you know that" Though she sounds firm, a few tears run down her cheeks "You tell someone you have AIDS and they start looking at you as if you're a dirty animal they're afraid to touch cause it can be contagious"

"Don't say that, you're..." I can feel the knot on my throat bothering me again "You're beautiful, mom"

She gives me a sad smile "I bet your dad thinks the same"

"Does he know?" I ask, though I'm quite sure of the answer already.

"No, he'd be disgusted"

I don't try to comfort her about this, I know it's true "That's why you were fired?" I ask in disbelief.

She lets out a humorless laugh "As I said, dirty and contagious animal"

It hurts me to hear her talking about herself like that, but there's a question I've been needing to ask her since the doctor said the world AIDS.

"Mom?" My voice comes out raspier and I look down at her gaze "Do I...?" I don't finish the question but I know she understood what I was talking about.

"No, honey" She raises her arm weakly just to caress my hair "Don't worry"

I hide my face in my hands, resting my elbows in my knees and trying to stop the few tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"Shhh, it's fine to ask" She takes a deep breath, letting her hand fall down on the bed again "I got it after you were born"

I furrow my brows, slightly confused, and look up at her "But how? I mean, if dad doesn..." 

I didn't have to finish my question, the shame in her eyes had already given me the answer.

LUKE

I hold Summer's waist before she can fall from tripping on her own feet. She lets out a low laugh, stumbling out of the bar. Maybe I should've stopped her from drinking earlier, but it's not like she'd listen either way. I'm actually a bit dizzy myself, though I didn't drink as much as her.

"You know what?" She says, supporting almost all her weigh in my arm "Why you left me? Cause we could be something more now, you know?"

I frown "What are you talking about?"

"About you changing schools!" She raises her voice, impatient "You never came talk to me again" She gets out of my grip, taking a few steps away from me.

"What? Sum, that was a long time ago" 

"No, I actually missed you, you know?" She suddenly seems really upset "I mean, we were like, what? 15? You were like the first boy that ever, I don't know, looked at me differently"

I stare at her for a while, not knowing what to say. She's obviously drunk, and I don't know why what happened years ago between us actually matters right now.

"Well, we were teens, I was stupid, sorry that we didn't keep contact..."

"Maybe you were just more important to me than I was to you" She rolls her eyes, running her hands through her face and letting out a groan "You're such a sweeeeeet" She whines, coming closer to me again and grabbing the hem of my shirt "I'd love to have a boyfriend like you, right?"

I can't help but give her a small smile "I don't know, would you?"

She keeps in silence for a few seconds and I notice her gaze at my lips, watching as I bite it slightly with a smirk. I'm not really thinking when I pull her closer by the waist and kiss her softly, feeling her running her hands through my chest till they tangle in my hair as she moves her lips in sync with mine.

I pull away just a bit, not thinking twice before I whisper into her lips

"Be my girlfriend"

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