The Boston Brute

Drabble: Cut From The Same Cloth

Chris's chest shook as he laughed, making you smile even bigger. "God, you're cute."

"I was 6!" You laughed with him, shaking your head and rolling your eyes.

The two of you stayed silent for a moment, tears forming in your eyes as you thought of your mom. Chris felt the shift in the mood, holding you just a little tighter.

You cleared your throat. "She had cancer. Terminal. She was always on the move. Always working to make sure I had everything that I needed and never went without. Even if that meant she worked 18 hours a day some days. It was brutal for her. I could see it." You paused, swallowing the knot that formed in your throat. "She was feeling off for a while. A long time. But she wouldn't see a doctor, no matter how hard I tried. It's like she knew."

His hand stilled on your back, the steady thump of his heart keeping you grounded to the moment.

"When she finally did, it was too late." You took a shaky breath, every regret that you ever held because you didn't push her towards a doctor sooner, resurfaced, blurring your vision. "Breast cancer. End-stage. They gave her about a month." Your voice broke as you remembered the day she told you.

She looked so frail that day. The bags under her eyes were so much more prominent than the day before. Her smile was weak. It was like the diagnosis took away the last month she had with you right when it came out of the doctor's mouth.

"It was towards the end of my senior year of high school. She knew that if she received care, it would put her in debt that after she passed, it would fall to me." You stopped talking, pinching your lips together to stop the sob bubbling up your throat.

It'd been a long time since you've talked to someone about this.

"Oh, Y/N." Chris rolled to his side, pulling you closer. He cupped the back of your neck, his fingers massaging softly as you took a few deep breaths to steady yourself. "We don't have to talk about it anymore."

"I want to."

You did. Your mother was a beautiful and selfless human being, she deserved to be talked about and praised for everything she did in her life. And Chris was your boyfriend. He deserves to know about the one person you had in your life before she was taken away.

Chris nodded, running a hand up and down your back to let you know he was here.

"She refused any care. No meds. No hospice. Nothing. She just... went home. She fought the best that she could, every day. Every single day. She put on a smile for me, told me to go to school, and that she'd see me when I got home. I tried so hard to get my principal to let me stay home, but they wouldn't budge. So every morning, I'd stop by Mrs. Greene's and drop off my key so she could check on her throughout the day."

You took a shaky breath, nuzzling your face into Chris's chest. "I got pulled from class one day and I just knew. I knew. I could feel it in my bones before anyone even called for me. I'd left that morning and she was so weak and in so much pain. I knew that if the cancer didn't take her soon, she would take care of it herself." A few tears trickled from your eyes, wetting Chris's arm that supported your head.

"She worked so fucking hard to make sure I had everything in life that I wanted and didn't even stop to make sure she was healthy."

You felt something wet your temple and realized that Chris was crying with you.

After pulling away slightly, you reached up, running a thumb over his cheek to wipe the tear that fell.

"I'm sorry, I just—"

You shook your head. "Never be embarrassed for expressing your feelings. Especially with me." You parroted his own words back to him, making him smile.

He kissed your forehead again, his lips lingering for a moment.

"Chris... Can I say something that might be overstepping?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"Talk to your mom. I know you guys don't have the best relationship but... try and reconcile what you can while she's still here and you still have the chance."

Chris swallowed audibly, then nodded. "I will."

You looked up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Really." He confirmed. "I promise."

"Thank you."

He shrugged. "I think I forget that I'm lucky to have her around sometimes. I let the anger I felt towards her when I was younger, overpower the fact that she was just as vulnerable as I was. It wasn't just me my dad was an ass to."

If you could go back in time and give little Chris a hug, you would. You wrap him in your arms and hold him so tight. He never got the chance to be a kid or experience kid emotions and feelings and that broke your heart.

"Speaking of Lisa... Do you celebrate Christmas?"

You shrugged because the answer was no, but if Chris did, you didn't want to take that excitement away.

"Come back to Sudbury with me."

You stared up at him with wide eyes. "Like to meet your mom?"

"Yeah. She normally has this big celebration. I just— I— well... I don't go. I just send some gifts to the kids and that's that. But this year, I wanna go. I want everyone to meet you." He looked down at the panic in your eyes and began to backtrack, "I mean unless you think it's too soon. You don't have to, it's totally fine, I just—"

You smiled. "Chris, I would love to."

The thought of meeting his family made you so unbelievably nervous but it also warmed your heart.

Chris was a loner for the most part. He didn't really have a relationship with his family thanks to his dad and he didn't really form relationships outside of his family because it didn't feel worth it.

The fact that he's just accepted you into his life like this and wants you to meet his mom and his niece and nephews, meant the world.

He smiled, nuzzling his face into your hair. "Good."

You snuggled into his chest, savoring this moment because you knew... There are a lot of things that you can just feel in your bones before they register in your brain and your bones knew you were in love with Chris. Even if your mind didn't.