Oh Boy! (BL)

29 - Hope (3/3)

!!! Trigger Warning: Virtual Gore & Violence !!!

Despite the butterflies that were running wild inside my stomach, I told Clay to wait.

"Wait?", he'd asked with furrowed brows. "Why..."

I put one hand over his mouth and forced him to look me in the eye. I wanted him to see that I was serious about this. "What did coach Simpson say to the journalists?"

He narrowed his eyes and replied when I took my hand off his mouth. "I shouldn't rush things."

"Exactly." I tried to smile. "Go and visit the other colleges. See what they've got to offer. And...don't think about anything else."

Clay regarded me sternly for a moment. I knew this had got to be eating at him, but I didn't want to be the reason why he chose a college that wasn't his first choice. "Fine," he sighed eventually. "I'll take my time."

After that, Clay dropped me off at the hospital where I told my mom everything about my day at UW's campus. Finally, I could tell her something she didn't know yet, but the news didn't change her condition.

"You'll get better, and maybe..." I kissed the back of her cold hand. "Maybe I'll go to college after all." I knew I had missed the early admissions deadline, but there was still the regular one. Maybe...

Even if it was not UW, maybe I should try applying to colleges after all.

It seemed, there were a lot of maybe's in my life now.

I leaned my head on Mom's blanket when I had nothing left to say and could still kill some time before the visiting hours ended.

"Ken!" Lisa came rushing through the door when I had just closed my eyelids. Her eyes were wide, one hand was covering her mouth, and I stiffened when I noticed that she was trembling from head to toe. That's it, I thought and was one hundred percent certain that there were bad news for me. I knew the next installment for Mom's bills was due in a few days, so maybe...

But I was wrong.

Lisa pulled me up from my chair and drew me into a tight hug. She was shivering so much I was afraid she'd fall apart any moment, and her voice broke twice before she could tell me that the insurance came around.

"They'll pay?" I whispered unbelievingly.

She nodded. "They will, Ken."

I needed to sit down. "But why?"

Lisa grinned widely when someone knocked at the door frame which revealed a tall figure in a formal grey suit. My lower lip was trembling when I met Marc Bigsby's smile.

"Being a lawyer can come in handy," Marc winked at me before he kneeled down in front of my shivering self. "You should've told me that you have issues with the insurance, kid."

I averted my eyes. "I..."

Marc squeezed my knee. "It's fine. I know asking for help can be hard."

I nodded. "Who told you..."

Mark lifted one dark brow. "There are two people currently waiting at my home who were set to burn down the insurance's office if they wouldn't give in."

I chuckled. "How is Clara?"

"She's incorrigible. Whenever I tell her she should take it easy, the next thing she does is climb up a mountain." And he adored her for it. Obviously.

"Ahem!" All three of us jumped when grumpy Gudrun appeared in the door frame and told us in her charming way to get the hell outta here.

Marc rolled his eyes. "I'll better get back home, anyway. Before Clara and Ben find a new project to keep them busy."