falling in love with my roommate.

• 15 •

bitter sweet family reunion.

3:00 p.m.

!! tw; mentions of declining mental health, hospitals, needles and death!!

please read with caution.
•••

dream arrives at the hospital, one of the nurses pointed him in the room that his parents are in, he looks at the door in front of him, he closes his eyes and takes a deep shaky breath and proceeds to knock.

"come in." he hears a female voice say, he opens the door and is greeted by his mother. her familiar scent of vanilla hits dream, it's not like his vanilla scent; hers reeks of cigarettes and casinos but it's comforting to dream, that's his mother after all.

dream smiles shyly at his mother who's sitting at the edge of his fathers bed. as for his father, he can't see him because of the curtain covering his upper body; but he can hear the beeping of his heart monitor, how steady and slow it is.

"clay. is that you?" his father says with a raspy voice, snapping dream out of his thoughts. he realizes that he nor his mother have said anything to each other, staring at each other without a word, he guesses they both needed a minute to take each others presence in.

"yeah pops. it's me." dream says, coming into the room fully, he can see his father now; wires entangle his body, his arms are bruised from what he presumes is from an IV poking at them.

his father looks like he's seen a ghost. "my boy." he says, picking his hand up for dream to take. dream takes his fathers hand into his slowly as to not hurt him.

"hey dad." he says as he squeezes his fathers hand into his "youre such a strong young man." his father says, squeezing dreams hand back weakly.

"look at my boy marissa." his father says, looking at his wife, who's still sitting at the edge of the bed.

dreams mom looks at the two and smiles at them but she doesn't say a word.

dream lets go of his dads hand and sits in the chair behind him, scooting it up to his fathers bed. he takes his dad's hand again knowing this'll probably be the first and last time his father can show him affection like this.

"how have you been clay." his father asks, a year slips out of his eye, dream takes a mental note of this; he knows his father regrets it.

"i've been really good pops. i've made tons of friends, i have a cat, my own house, i have a steady career and i have a roommate.." dream says, holding back his tears.

"that's so good my boy. i'm so happy for you." his father says, the heart monitor tempo gets higher.

"i'm happy." dream says, smiling at his father.

"how are you and mom?" he asks, looking at both of his parents, "your mother is fine, i'm on my death bed. this is how the river flows at times." his dad jokes, obviously coping with the fact that he might not live to see tomorrow.

dreams mom snickers a bit, probably to hide the fact that her soulmate is dying as they speak.

"listen, clay." his father says. "i'm sorry for all the times i've given you trouble." he says, letting go of his sons hand and caressing his face. "you were the best kid and i know you'll be the best damn man out there." dreams heart drops, "i'm so proud of you." his father says, dream's eyes start watering; "i love you, clay. no matter who you love. no matter who you want to be. no matter where you want to go in life. i will always love you." his father says like he's scared he won't be able to get this through to his son.

"i love you pops. i accept your apology." dream says, tears falling down his face onto his fathers hand.

the heart monitor beeps faster than before, "i'm so sorry." his dad says. putting his hand onto his side.

the heart monitor flat lines, clay and his mother sit there. tears streaming down both of their faces. the nurse doesn't come in. he knows that his father wanted this to happen.

clayton john, dreams father;
died knowing that his son didn't hate him for his actions. he died knowing that his son loves him too.

his mother gets up from
the bed and pulls the heart monitors plug, she had already gotten permission from the doctor prior.

__________
A/N:

did you cry?