Letting Him In

Chapter-44

"It comes and it goes
We're driving down a one-way road
To something better, something better
And what hurts you is gonna pass
And you'll have learnt from it when it comes back
You'll be doing better, yeah, doing better"

-Louis Tomlinson, Don't Let It Break Your Heart
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Elijah

Everything seemed to have dulled into the background as he tried to register Doctor Larkson's words. He vaguely noticed Kaeden place a hand on his shoulder, his parents and Raine standing by the door, observing his reaction.

He felt numb, not knowing how to react or feel. He'd pretty much known something was wrong; the kind of pain he'd been in didn't just happen out of the blue.

But staying here, confined in these four walls, for who knew how long, with a new treatment plan... it was too much.

Distantly, he heard Doctor Larkson tell him he'd give them some time to talk, that treatment would start that night itself, so he had the entire day to pack and bring over whatever he needed, do anything he needed to do.

As if in a dream, his mother's comforting hug, his father's reassuring hug, they all felt like ghost touches and words. Nothing felt real.

He heard Kaeden tell his parents he'd drive him home, that they should go and talk over the plans with Doctor Larkson. He saw them reluctantly agree, his mother kissing his forehead before leaving, Raine following with a reassuring smile.

All through it, Elijah didn't say a word, only nodded when necessary.

Once they were gone, Kaeden patted Elijah's shoulder before walking over to the window, calling someone from his phone. He didn't pay attention to it, staring at his hands in his lap, not sure what he was going to do now.

It wasn't until Kaeden came back a few seconds later, pressing the phone into Elijah's hand that he looked up, confused.

His friend gestured for him to talk to whoever was on the other side, and Elijah put the phone to his ear, befuddled.

"Li?" Dean's soft voice reached his ear from the phone.

Elijah swallowed hard, still not able to get any words out.

"Baby," Dean said, his voice somewhere between sad and pleading, "please, just say something. Are you okay?"

"I don't know," he finally managed to whisper.

"Babe, go home with Kaeden. I'll be there when you get home, okay?" he promised, and Elijah found himself nodding, before realizing Dean couldn't see him.

"Okay," he said. Dean's voice made him feel just a little calmer; he was still in an emotional turmoil, but even that small relief felt like infinity right now.

He handed the phone back to Kaeden, who took it wordlessly.

Elijah took a deep breath, standing up and looking at the other boy.

"Okay," he said, making sure his voice was steady. "Until we need to get back here, we aren't talking about this. I gave alot of things I need to do before I get stuck here."

"Like what?" Kaeden asked, skeptical.

Elijah thought for a moment. Right now, he knew he was probably not going to make the best decisions, he never did when he was put into situations like these.

But he also knew that there was something they needed to do, something that had been at the back of his mind for a few days now. And something he had hoped he would have more time to plan out, but that clearly wasn't an option anymore, and it couldn't wait.