Weathered Love

FIGHT

The orange leaves reminded me of the passage of time. The impending winter. Or rather, "winter". There wasn't much of a winter in that part of California. But I enjoyed what I could. My phone beeped, reminding me to go pick up Andrew. I walked to his apartment and rang the bell.

"Hello beautiful," Andrew greeted as he opened the door. I was still uneasy with the level of attention. Most days I accepted it. But some days, it felt off. Like he was trying too hard. Because he was covering up some big, ugly secret. And that scared me. It frightened me even more how little I trusted people.

"Hey," I warmly greeted. "Ready?" I inquired. Andrew gave me a defeated nod. I was driving him to the hospital to get more tests done. I was nervous about how much I'd see, or at least hear about. I didn't want to think of the long torture he'd be subjected to. And yet, I was insisting on driving him. It didn't take much to convince him to let me take him, since I was completely free that weekend.

I was starting to regret wanting to bring him. But I didn't want him to become reliant on Ashley or any other girl. Because even though I trusted him, and even knew I had her blessing, the thought of him having a special connection with someone other than me bothered me. It bothered me a lot more than it should have. I had to actively try not to be bothered, because I was afraid of becoming overly possessive and unreasonably jealous.

I sat in the passenger seat of Andrew's car, nervously fidgeting with my phone, which in and of itself was no easy feat. "Are you alright?" Andrew asked, pulling me out of my head.

"I'm not crazy about hospitals," I excused, only semi-fibbing. The last time I was in a hospital, I had left with one less loved one in my life. I hated the thought of history repeating itself.

"I can get someone else-"

"No," I quickly interrupted. "I need to get over my aversion. Don't worry about me," I assured Andrew, trying to put on a brave face. Andrew reached over and put his hand over mine, giving me a reassuring squeeze.

"Thanks," he stated with a smile. "There's no one else I'd rather have with me." I let out an uneasy breath, happy at least that I was doing something nice for him... that I was easing his pain in some manner.

"Of course," I smiled. All too soon, we arrived at the hospital. Andrew parked and gave me the keys. I grabbed my backpack, which I brought because I figured I'd might as well do some homework or studying while I was waiting, and dragged my feet as I followed Andrew into those gloomy, sanitized walls.

Andrew knew exactly where to go, without hesitation. I grabbed his hand and he paused, looking at our interlocked fingers with temporary confusion, only to relax and smile at the gesture. He was covering up his nerves a lot better than I was, but at the end of the day, he was human too. He was scared. And he needed me there. Even if he wouldn't admit that he did.

All too soon, he was checked in and brought to a back room I wasn't allowed to enter. I sat down on a chair in the waiting room and pulled out my laptop before I could give myself time to ponder what they were doing to him. I had made sure I was ready. My online homework was already open, and if I needed a distraction, I had a video to edit that I was planning to post in the next few days. I refused to let my thoughts wander. If Andrew wanted to give me details of the procedure, he could. But I wasn't going to let my imagination run wild.

I finished editing the video and my online homework. I did some extra credit reading. I checked out some shows I'd fallen behind on. I even left to grab a snack from a nearby vending machine. The testing was taking too long. I was getting anxious. Shouldn't they have been done by now? Did something go wrong? Did they find something horrible that needed follow-up tests? Was Andrew in pain? Was he unconscious and unable to wake up? I physically shook my head to rid it of any further paranoia, then pressed play on the next video.