Shouldn't Have [TomTord]

Chapter Eight

"You have Hanahaki Disease."

Tom was about to yell at Matt for continuing with this dumb charade, but something stopped him. There was a tone in Matt's voice that seemed so serious, as if this topic was important to him and he couldn't let it be made fun of.

Tom breathed out a sigh, defeated, "Okay, so... this disease... is real?"

"It really is."

Tom couldn't believe it. If Matt is telling the truth, then he is bearing a disease that was diagnosed in him at birth that made him grow flowers in his lungs and cough them up. To be honest, he should've expected this. First, his parents are a pineapple and a bowling ball, his hair is gravity defying, and he has no eyes but still can see. What's a little disease that could potentially kill him? There's nothing in this world for a freak, like him, anyway.

"Thanks." And with that, Tom made his move to go back downstairs and drown his sorrows in Smirnoff and Vodka.

"Wait, Tom!" Matt was standing now, fumbling to catch Tom's hand and grip onto it. When they made contact, Matt tugged the man back, sending him flying away from the stairs and almost tumbling to the ground.

"Okay, seriously." Tom ripped his hand from Matt's grasp and rubbed at the skin, as if it was in pain, "I'm sorry I pulled you to the ground, but you don't have to go throwing me everywhere!"

"Sorry..." Matt looked like a little kid that was caught breaking a glass window with a baseball bat. Scared and sorry. Tom softened up his expression, but only for a little bit before he went back to scowling.

"What do you want anyway? I just want to go back to my room."

"Tom, I need you to please listen to me!" Matt was urgent now, his anxious mood rubbing off on Tom and making the eyeless freak's heart speed up in anticipation.

"Okay. You know what?" Tom sighed and rubbed at the bridge of nose, "Okay. I'm sitting on the ground, and I'll listen, and then I'll go to my room and you'll leave me alone. Okay?"

"Okay!!" Matt was ecstatic, plopping down onto the ground where he stood and waiting for Tom to do the same. Tom, lazily and carefully, sat himself down in front of Matt and slouched forward, waiting for what the ginger had to say. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Matt breathed, his chest puffing out, and sat up straight. He looked way too excited to be explaining to Tom about his disease that'll eventually kill him.

"Hanahaki grows special flowers in your lungs that don't grow from water! In fact, they grow from heat and air! Not, like... sunlight heat... but, like, blood heat!" Already Tom was disgusted and didn't want to hear more. "But it takes a lot of blood to make them grow and it has to be the right amount! Not too much and not too little! And the right amount of blood and air comes when you're experiencing heart break!

The flowers bloom and multiply a huge bunch when you're experiencing heartache and yeah! And then you'll breathe and they'll go into your windpipe! When that happens, it's always important to drink water because, for some reason, these flowers hate water! I don't know why, they just do?"

Tom was sort of interested at this point. "So you're telling me that drinking water prevents me from dying?"

"Yeah! I mean - wait - no. It kind of does? I mean...." The ginger fumbled around for an answer.

"Matt, I'm asking a question."

"Yeah, I know. Okay, well, it sort of does? But, when the disease gets worse more flowers will appear in your windpipe and then it doesn't work. So, water isn't going to always help."