tyler sleeps a lot nowadays.
it isn't because of how sick he is, it's just his way of coping with it.
every moment that he's awake taunts him. the sun reminds him that the light is temporary, and the night just tells him that the darkness is infinite. to him, the only way to distract himself from his life is to sleep through it.
his dreams are always vivid. more than vivid, surreal, actually. he will have entire stories plotted out that he'll never have the time to tell, infinitely stuck in his head.
he dreams of cities made of marble, of bishops clothed in red. he dreams of jumpsuits and yellow tape and destruction beyond all imagination. and he dreams of getting past that, of staying alive, of conquering every adversity that is thrown his way.
but yet again, these are only dreams. they, however unfortunately, are not reality.
his reality is much different, and much sadder, not to mention. his lungs are failing. his skin is pale. his family surrounds his bedside constantly, looks of worry hiding behind their smiles. it's hard to grasp what his life, or what's left of it, has become.
he is given no more than a month to live, and that's if he's lucky. they have now begun pumping him with medicine, weaning off his therapies, watching him with far more resolve.
there's nothing more they can do. the illness has taken hold of him. it's ripped out both his will to live and his able to. its completey and utterly diminished the light in his eyes.
the only thing that gave his life meaning anymore was his siblings, and not necessarily in a good way. he had to face them every day, and pretend like he was going to make it out alive. he had to endure them giving goodbye kisses and attempting to give affection when all his brain allows him to do is refuse. he couldn't deal with having to say goodbye.
his life was miserable. he was confined to his bed all day, wishing he could see the people he loved. maybe find a boyfriend, too. maybe marry him. maybe even begin coming to terms with the fact he likes guys.
but this stupid illness had ripped it all away from him.
he was supposed to have visitors today. this one dude who wanted to give some shit speech to him. he didn't really care.
he fell back asleep, only to feel a gentle hand on his shoulder. he rolled over, making eye contact with his doctor. she smiled at him, her gums showing. she beckoned at the door.
"hey, sleepyhead! we have someone here to meet you!"
tyler sighed, deciding to give in. he wasn't getting out of this one.
he saw someone peek around the corner, smiling shyly, walking towards tyler with a type of pep in his step. tyler was oddly intrigued.
"hey, uh, hi, tyler. my-my name is josh."
