❦ WINNER OF THE RIVETING WRITING CONTEST ❦
OLIVER IS DYING
With only months left to live at just seventeen, Oliver spends his remaining days of endless tests and debilitating drugs in the St. Andrews paediatrics ward planning his impending funeral...
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MOM hugs me so tight she's crushing my chest.
"We'll be back next weekend to visit again."
"I know," I reply. "Tell Dad I love him."
She pulls back and twirls strands of my blonde hair around her finger. "I'm sorry for your father not visiting you regularly."
"You don't have to apologize, Mom. I know Dad's busy."
I study her. I can't help but notice how sad she looks.
I want to ask what's going on. No one's telling me anything.
Mom's holding her tongue as usual. Nick's been playing classic big brother on me and has decided I'm too "vulnerable" to get involved like I can't handle myself. Dad I never see.
"Are you okay?" I ask her; it looks more apparent now that she's on the brink of some kind of breakdown. "Mom?"
"It's nothing, Frankie," she says, dabbing under her eyes with her fingers. She tugs gently at my cheek. "We'll see you when we get back."
She plants a kiss on my head and makes her way out.
"Mom?" I call before she leaves. She stops and looks back at me. "Is this about Nick?"
She doesn't need to say a word for me to get the answer I'm looking for.
Mom offers a tight smile and disappears into the busy hallway.
It's about Nick.
My mother is not a confrontational woman. She's in no way a strong woman. She's always had the habit of hiding her feelings and thoughts under a thick layer of silence and fake smiles.
I have a pretty strong feeling about why Mom's sad.
It's coinciding with whatever Nick has been doing with Ollie.
I peek into the hallway and look down to the left.
Bobbi's there outside her room with Ollie.
I catch snippets of their conversation.
"...so happy for you!"
"Thanks...happy to get out...don't forget about me..."
"I...never..."
They hug, Bobbi running slender fingers through Ollie's hair before resting her palm on the back of his head, Ollie wrapping his arms around her waist.
It sounds like Bobbi's finally getting out. She's been talking about it for a while now. Two years is a long time to be cooped up in a hospital. I've only been in Tombstone for three months and it already feels like years.
I'm happy for her.
"...sign out for the night..." I hear Bobbi say to Ollie.
