𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐣𝐞 ⊬ joshler

diecisiete

[quick note: i know when someone has rib surgery they would have to stay in the hospital for a few days and then rest, but for the sake of this story tyler will huzzah heal faster,,,, bc this book is 90% hospital ngl]

after gerard and tyler sat in the hospital room for a while, both enjoying the other 's presence in silence, the doctor came back in and asked gerard to wait outside, because he needed to talk to tyler. the lack of the boy's friend made him anxious, now that he was alone in a room with a doctor. the last time, it didn't end well. tyler read the man's name tag. m. jackson. i've heard that name somewhere, tyler thought.

"i have good news and bad news. which one do you prefer first?" a gentle, thick british voice spoke. it relieved tyler a bit. he looked up, still not quite facing the doctor.

"the bad news first please,"he softly spoke, his voice barely a whisper. he expected the worst, since even though there was a needle connecting his veins to a morphine drip, the pain was most definitely still very present. but still, the doctor heard him.

"the bad news is that we had to remove one of your ribs in surgery, as it was so damaged it wouldnt heal properly." the doctor spoke out, smiling sadly.

that explains the horrible pain in his chest, tyler thought. nodding steadily, the doctor went on.

"the good news is,'' the doctor sighed, a small smile creeping up on his face. ''you seem to be doing quite good, so we can send you home after some more quick tests. you do need to rest for another 4 days at home, and see if youre ready to go back to school after that. do be extremely careful, and come back for a checkup once a week." the doctor smiled warmly, which seemed lavender. kind of. tyler couldn't quite place this one.

they did some more tests and asked some questions about his wrist, which made him uncomfortable, and after that he got dressed as the doctor proceeded to call his parents to pick him up.

--

as he got home, he immediately walked up to his room, avoiding the usual fighting of his parents. he innerly scowled at the fact that even though he just came back from the hospital and almost fucking died, they didn't even bat an eye and just kept on fighting. he entered his room after almost physically fighting the stairs, since even breathing hurt. he sat himself onto his cold bed with a thump, immediatly regretting that because of his ribs, and curled into a ball in pain.

not even bothering to take off his clothes he drifted into a messy, dreamless sleep.

when he opened his eyes again, saying a mental thank you for remembering to close his curtains before he fell asleep. he slowly pulled the comforter off of him, and sat up while groaning and whimpering. he needed to get used to this.

once he turned to his nightstand and looked at his alarm clock, getting a heavy feeling in his chest as he could almost feel the cold sweat on his back, and then sighed in relief when he remembered he didn't have school for a few days. and that he was missing a rib. and that he kissed his josh. he felt his cheeks turn red and a wide smile creep up on his face, as he put his hands on both sides of his head and squeeled internally. then he remembered that josh was a jock, and that he had many friends, and that he was popular, and that he was a lot cooler than tyler was, and how he would probably leave him for some chick that was way hotter than him, and that tyler was just another one of those shy small kids that popular people basically eat for breakfast.

just as he felt himself hyperventilating, he felt a small tickle on his arm. he looked down at it, instantly calming down at the sloppy handwriting appearing on his arm.

"im done with school, can i come over?"

he weakly smiled, and stretched his arm out to grab a pen from the nightstand, which was next to his notebook. tyler made a mental note to draw josh someday. that'd be perfect.

''yeah, sure. you know where i live, i guess. the josephs, number 159. you know, the house with the pink flowers hanging from the balcony,,'' tyler added under josh's message, giggling as he saw that his handwriting was a lot smaller and less italic-looking than josh's handwriting was.

he quickly realized he was still in his clothes from yesterday, and stood up. he walked over to the mirror against the wall next to his door, which he could see his entire body in. he wore a baggy sweater and some jeans which were too big in some areas, making it look baggy in some places. he also had a red beanie fixed firmly on his head, covering the ends of his eyebrows, hiding his fluffly, probably messy, hair. he sighed and sat himself down on the ground carefully, and took off his pants with some effort. after throwing his pants aside, he stood up again and walked over to his closet, slowly attempting to take off his sweater while walking. hissing slightly at the movements his arms had to make in order to take it off, he succeeded after a few tries.

he settled for his biggest hoodie he had, which almost reached tyler's knees, and some adventure time sweatpants. just as he finished, he walked over and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. the only two notifications were from his mom; she and her dad would be at tyler's grandma out of town, and would stay there for a while. tyler's heart felt like it got stabbed as he read the messages, realizing his parents really didn't care whatever happened to him. they just left, turned their head away, like they always did.

just as he felt tears nearing his eyes, and his chest getting heavier and heavier with every breath, he heard a faint thud of feet hitting the fire-escape just outside his window, followed by knocking.