Alex went to bed after sitting on the garage roof again. He had watched the stars, thinking about Katrina. He laid down and stared at the ceiling.
"I don't want to be here," he mumbled under his breath as he shifted into a more comfortable position. He really didn't want to be in Spain. Of all places in the world, he wished to be back home, in Seattle.
He slowly dosed off but during the time that he was only half asleep, he couldn't stop worrying about Freddie and about how Katrina would feel when he would enviably die. He knew Freddie would die. He could hear it in the nurse's voice and the way she talked to Freddie. She was hiding it from them, trying to keep them calm. But, Alex knew the truth. Freddie didn't have much longer and this nagged him all the while trying to fall asleep.
He woke up slowly, with no alarm, no deadlines. He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself out of bed. He got dressed in black jogging pants and a dark green hoodie. Then, he joined his mom in the kitchen for breakfast. She was eating an assortment of fruits, sliced and tossed together, fruit salad.
"Hey mom, how's it going?" He said as he pulled out some ham slices and laid them in a frying pan. Valerie was beaming ear to ear looking at her son who was surely confused.
"What is it?"
"Katty is coming to visit early!"
"What!" He said, dropping the hot pan on the floor.
"She called me early this morning, knowing you wouldn't be up." She gets up and hugs Alex.
"How? Why? What about Freddie?" He asked, still not believing that her visit could be any sooner. She couldn't leave Freddie while he was in the state he was in.
Her smile falls down, taking a frown's form, genuinely discouraged. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you, it really should be Katty telling you-" Here it comes, Freddie died, Alex thought. "Alex, Freddie died last night-"
"No," he said clasping his jaw with his hand. "No, he couldn't have." He was afraid that day would come and now that it was there, he wasn't ready.
"Honey, she'll be fine, I promise." She stayed with him and kept hugging him.
"Thanks, you really believe it?"
"With all my better judgement, she's strong; she'll get through this."
"The flight, how did she get one earlier?"
"There was an opening. She took it as soon as it popped up. She'll be here in 4 days." Alex looked down, hands now squeezing one another, a distraught look overwhelming his face. "It'll be fine." She said taking his hand and squeezing it, relieving the tension.
He started to cry and crying was never something he did.
YOU ARE READING
Seas Between
Teen FictionAlex and I were always best friends. We told each other everything. There wasn't a single secret between the two of us. Everything was shared. We couldn't be separated. That is, until the call. It changed everything. Before, we had both lived in Se...
