a/n: hey guys! I know a lot of people assumed the last chapter was the end, but I actually had a small part 5 planned and a short epilogue. However, since I will be following the storyline of the show, I understand if some of you stop reading at the last chapter : )
Ophelia stared at Scott, the moon light peeking through the window and lighting up his skin. Had it not been so late, she'd want to touch him, to wake him up so she could see that handsome smile she adored so much. But it was nearly four in the morning, far too late to be waking him up just for the gun of it.
They got to the apartment just after midnight. Her and Scott had been...preoccupied for a while after that. She awoke from her sleep when hearing rustling in the hallway bathroom. Wanting to let Scott get a good night's sleep, she stood up, putting a robe over herself, and quietly leaving the room.
The sounds came from the bathroom down the hall. She got to it, and turned the handle, testing to see if it was unlocked. It was. Slowly, she pushed it open. "Hello?" She gasped. "Oh, god, Justin. Oh, no."
He was hunched over, vomiting into the toilet.
"Oh, no. Oh-" She kneeled down. "Justin, are you alright?"
He seemed embarrassed to be caught. "I'm fine, O. I think I just drank too much."
"Oh, no," she kept saying. She touched his shoulder, rubbing it, not sure how to help him. "Why can I do?"
"Nothing," Justin said. His eyes dropped with tiredness. "But it's fine. I'll pass out in a minute and sleep it off."
"How about some something for the nausea?" She suggested. "Medicine?"
Justin laid down on the bathroom floor, bunching up the carpet mat as a pillow. "I'm okay. I swear."
Ophelia stayed sitting next to him. "At least turn over so if you vomit you don't choke."
He laughed, but did as she asked. He laid facedown now. "Goodnight, prom Queen."
She sighed. "Goodnight, prom king."
"I'm glad they voted for us," Justin mumbled. "It's like they knew we're married."
She smiled. "They must've."
"Go to sleep, O," he told her. "Really, I'm fine. More then fine." He glanced at her. "Especially since I get to see that lingerie you showed Marisa and not me."
"What?" Ophelia looked down and saw the robe had come undone in the top middle. Nothing was showing, just the blue lace between her cleavage. "Oh!" She fixed it quickly, closing the tone tightly. "If I knew I'd be taking care of someone on the ground I would've put something nicer on."
"If I knew the prom Queen would sneak into the bathroom with me, I would've put something nicer on."
Ophelia shook her head. She went to the kitchen, and brought back stomach medicine and water bottles. She placed them next to Justin. "I'll come check on you in the morning."
He faced the ground still, mumbling, "M'kay. Love you, O."
She smiled, warmly. "Love you, Justin. See you tomorrow."
She headed back to bed. Scott didn't wake as she got back into bed, but he did subconsciously wrap his warm arms around her.
*****
The blue lace lingerie stayed on Ophelia until morning. When the sun woke up Scott, the material was the first thing he noticed.
He wished Ophelia was awake, so he could reach out and touch her again. Her arm, her leg, her breasts. But she slept soundly, and he wouldn't dare put a hand on her with sexual intention while she wasn't awake.
Not wanting to ruin her good night's sleep, Scott exited the bed quietly. He stepped out of the bedroom, walking into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Justin up already. He would've figured he was still sleeping on the couch, by Paul. After all, Justin drank the most, he should be the most out of it still.
But instead, the boy was sitting at the kitchen table. He looked tired, his head leaned on his hands, face covered.
"Sup, Justy?" Scott greeted. "The hell you up so early for?"
A low mumble came from Justin.
Scott frowned, stepping closer. "What?"
"M...h...ur...s..."
The older boy stopped. "What, Justin?"
A little louder, "My...h...d...h...s..."
Scott winced. "Justin, I can't understand you-"
Justin suddenly lifted his head up, groaning in pain, "My head hurts."
Scott flinched. Paul stirred in the other room. Justin's face was on full display now. The redness, and swelling of his eyes surprised him.
"Shit, man, you need medicine?"
"I don't know," Justin said, in whine. "It just-It just hurts. It hurts so much."
Scott grabbed a bottle of Advil that Ophelia had brought over for cramps on one of her visits. "Here. Take a few of these." Scott grabbed a glass, prepared to get him some water.
Justin scooted the chair back, loudly. He got up, ready to head over and grab the pills.
But then, suddenly, he collapsed.
Scott dropped the glass in his hand. It crashed loud into the sink. "Justin?" He kneeled down immediately. "Justy. Hey. Hey. You okay?"
Scott wondered if he was this sick from the alcohol. Either way, he needed more than medicine.
"Justin!" He pushed him, but Justin laid still. Panic hit Scott. He called out, "Ophelia!"
Marisa stumbled into the kitchen first. "What are yelling ab-" She stopped, eyes widening. "What happened?"
"Call 911!" Scott yelled at her. "He's not waking up!"
"What?" Marisa grabbed her cell phone, fumbling with it. "S-Shit." She dialed 9-1-1. "Hello? Yeah, my-my friend just passed out. He's not waking back up."
"Scott?" Ophelia yawned, walking in. Her yawn died in her throat. She fell to her knees beside him as well. "Oh, god! Justin?"
She also attempted to push him, but he didn't wake up.
"Yes. Yes. Thank you," Marisa said into her phone. She then said to Scott, "An ambulance will be here in a few minutes."
Ophelia and Scott shared a horrified, worried look.
"Shit!" Paul yelled as he made his way in. "Is he okay?"
"I-I-I-" Ophelia stumbled over her words.
"He'll be oky," Scott said, quickly. He watched Ophelia grip her stomach. He thought back to all those stomach ulcers she received from stress in the past. He promised himself that he would try his hardest to keep her away from stress the rest of her life, so he was going to start now. "It's probably just withdrawals. He'll be fine."
Ophelia choked out, "He's really pale-"
"Because he stopped playing sports," Scott tried to tell her. "He lost his tan. That's it."
"Oh my god!" Estella yelled, hearing the commotion and coming in as well. "What-"
"Estella, an ambulance is coming," Scott told her, still kneeled on the ground. "Can you go outside and flag them down? Let them know where we are?"
"I-I-Yeah." She hurried out.
Justin barely moved his head. Ophelia started hyperventilating. "He doesn't look okay. He doesn't look okay."
"He'll be fine once the ambulance gets here." He flinched at the devastated expression on Ophelia's face. "Why don't you change before they get here?" He knew she'd only be uncomfortable if more men flooded the apartment while she was just in a robe.
"Scott, he looks really bad-"
"He'll be okay, baby. I promise."
When the ambulance arrived only minutes later, Estella flagged them down from the second floor railing. The paramedics came in, scooping up Justin. They all followed right after as they carried him down the stairs.
The paramedic allowed one person to ride with Justin. They all immediately volunteered Ophelia. She got into the ambulance, practically holding her breath the entire time. They transported Justin into the emergency room, and then the employees forgot about Ophelia.
She sat down alone in the waiting room, scared. Her hands were shaking. She knew she looked like a mess.
She barely had time to throw on a pair of Scott's sweats and a sweatshirt. She still had that fucking lingerie on beneath it, not having time to figure out how how to get it off.
She felt helpless, and scared.
Realizing she forgot her phone, she felt even worse. She wanted to call the Jensen's, but didn't remember any phone numbers without her phone. She just sat there, hoping Justin would come out.
Scott, Marisa, Paul, and Estella arrived half an hour later.
"Finally," Scott breathed, as he saw Ophelia. He rushed over to her, sitting next to her. "We've been looking everywhere for you."
"I'm sorry, I-I couldn't call," she breathed. "Do you have your phone? I need to get ahold of his mom-"
"I called her," Scott assured Ophelia, placing his hand over hers. "I told her what hospital he was at. I'll call her again and tell her what waiting room."
He stepped aside to make the call, and Marisa and Estella consoled her.
"He'll be fine," Marisa said. "It's probably alcohol poisoning. He'll probably be grounded for the rest of the school year, but he'll be okay. I mean, we all drank a lot. Paul had to go down and pay our bill this morning. Six champagne bottles. You know that was mostly Justin. But he's a heavy drinker, he's used to it."
"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's been through worse," Estella reminded her.
Scott came back. He sat by her again, taking her hand. "Are you tired? I can take you to the car. You can take a nap. I'll come get you when he's up?"
She shook her head. "I'm gonna stay here until he's put in a room. Or until he's discharged."
"That could be a long time," Scott tried to say. "You're tired-"
"I want to stay here."
He sighed, and nodded. "Yeah. Okay." He leaned back against the seat. He kept her hand in his.
Slowly, Estella sat down. So did Marisa.
They waited.
*****
Justin wasn't placed into a room for six hours.
Ophelia fell asleep on Scott's shoulder, Scott himself leaning his head against the wall and passing out also.
Mrs. Jensen is the one who eventually woke them up. She arrived not long after Scott called her. Mr. Jensen and Clay came as soon as he was given a room as well.
"They're running tests for him," Mrs. Jensen explained. She walked alongside the couple, showing them which room Justin would be in. "A lot of tests. They took a lot of blood from him. He's pretty lethargic. But awake."
Ophelia slowed. "Does he want to sleep? We can wait-"
"No. He was asking about you," Mrs. Jensen said. "Both of you. He'll be glad to see you guys."
Scott took hold of Ophelia's hand. He noticed she stalled as the room came into view. Her nerves got to her. He gently pulled her inside.
Justin had his eyes closed, laying on the hospital bed. His arms were bruised where the IVs were put in.
"Justin," Mrs. Jensen called, with a low voice. "Ophelia and Scott are here."
He opened his eyes, and smiled. He hit the buttons on his bed controls, making it sit him up. "Hey, O."
"Justin, are you okay?" Ophelia breathed. Her voice was laced with worry.
"Of course I'm okay," Justin said, shrugging. "Sup, Scotty?"
"Don't say 'of course'," Ophelia said. "You're in the hospital-"
"It's nothing major," Justin said. "I think I fucked up by drinking while going through withdrawals."
"See, it's probably just because he stopped using so abruptly," Scott told her.
Clay, who sat next to his father near the wall, suddenly spoke up, "The doctor said it's serious. It's not withdrawals."
Ophelia went quiet.
"Clay," Justin scoffed. He looked annoyed with his brother. "He said it might be something serious. Not likely." He looked back at Ophelia. "Don't listen to him."
Clay turned and looked at Scott and Ophelia. "Did you guys actually let him drink an entire bottle of champagne?"
Scott frowned at the tone he used. Accusatory.
Ophelia froze. "I-No. He found a bottle, we didn't-"
"They had to pump his stomach," Clay told her. "He's an addict. Why'd you let him have all that?"
"Cool off, Clay," Scott snapped at him, really not liking his tone now. "It wasn't her fault."
Ophelia went pale. "I didn't mean to. I swear. Mrs. Jensen, he just-"
"It's okay, Ophelia," Mrs. Jensen insisted. Her husband nodded. "Clay, why don't you head out and get some air?"
Clay scooted his seat back abruptly, leaving in anger.
"I'm sorry about him. He's not taking the news well," Mr. Jensen explained.
Scott felt worried now. "What news?"
"Just what Clay said," the Mr. Jensen explained. "It might be serious."
"It's probably not," Justin tried to say. "And you guys didn't have to stay so long. You can leave, you know."
Ophelia went ahead and stepped forward, taking the chair Clay had been in, moving it closer to the bed. "Do you want us to go?"
Justin said, "This is just really embarrassing. I don't want to make you stay here."
Tentatively, Ophelia reached forward. She touched Justin's hand softly. "You didn't leave me alone when I was in the hospital, remember? I'm not gonna leave you alone either."
"Yeah, prom king," Scott agreed. "We'll stay here. It's the weekend. We've got all the time in the world."
"Prom king?" Mrs. Jensen gasped slightly, touching her chest. "He was prom king?"
Justin smiled widely. "Hell yeah, I was prom king." He nodded at Ophelia. "Ophelia was prom queen."
Mrs. Jensen seemed even more excited. She leaned down, hugging the girl. "Oh, Ophelia! Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
Justin scoffed. "Happier for her than for me?"
"Prom queen's a bigger deal. I'm sorry," his mother tried to say. "Oh, did you take lots of pictures?"
"Yeah," Scott said. He seemed just as proud. He pulled his phone out. "I can show you some."
Mrs. Jensen brought it down to show her husband.
Ophelia and Justin shared a look, laughing as his mother oogled over the photos.
"You think I'll get as big of a turn out as the prom queen did when she was in the hospital?" Justin joked.
"Obviously," Ophelia said, with a smile. "Marisa and Estella stayed for a while. They had to leave, they weren't sure you'd be getting out of the ER tonight."
"This is so fucking embarrassing," Justin repeated. "I can't handle my liquor anymore."
Ophelia felt guilty. "I'm sorry I let you drink so much-"
"Don't even go there," Justin told her. "You told me 'no'. Everyone heard it. It's not your fault. Don't even pretend like it is."
"I feel like I'll be responsible for you in college," Ophelia joked. "I'm gonna be over at your guy's apartment everyday. Watching you."
"Yeah, sure. That's why you'll be over."
Ophelia laughed slightly.
"Ophelia's thinking about getting an apartment in the same building, right?" Scott put in.
She smiled. "Yeah. We'll see. If Estella still wants to."
"That's awesome," Justin said. "I'm gonna bother you so much."
"I'm sure you will," she told him. She touched his stuff pillow. "Are you comfortable?"
"No. God, this bed is fucking uncomfortable," Justin grumbled. "Those damn tests better come back quick so I can get the fuck out of here."
Ophelia glanced over at Justin's parents, who were still looking at the photos from prom night.
What worried Ophelia the most out of everything was the fact Justin was cussing so much in front of his parents. He didn't stop himself, meaning he was too worried about other things to care about censoring himself. And his parents were too worried to be mad about it.
Ophelia wondered what everyone knew to make them so worried.
*****
Justin remained in the hospital.
School the next week felt so odd without Justin there. It's like she kept going to the wrong classroom, or the wrong place, because he wasn't there. She usually ate lunch with Marisa and Estella, Justin only hanging out with them for the last few minutes of it.
But losing those ten minutes of lunch with Justin made the entire forty five minute break feel lonelier.
Zach came up to her the first day back to school after prom.
"Hey." He approached her while she was alone in the library during study hall, taking the seat across from her. "How are things going?"
Ophelia barely looked up from her school work. "Okay."
He glanced at her writing. "You know, school's almost over. You can stop worrying about homework."
Ophelia sighed. "Thanks. But turns out I'm in a very close competition with Ani for Valedictorian. So I have to study even harder."
Not that she really cared about Valedictorian. But if she was so close to getting it, why not try her hardest?
Zach settled into the seat. "Ani doesn't have shit on you."
Ophelia set down her pen, and looked up at him. "What?"
He shrugged. "Just saying. You're smarter than her. Than everyone really."
"What are you doing?" Ophelia asked. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Zach frowned slightly. "I'm always nice to you."
She looked back at her work, muttering, "Maybe freshmen year."
Zach hesitated. "I wanted to congratulate you. On being prom Queen. I voted for you."
She looked up again. "Really? You didn't vote for your prom date?"
"Tara? Nah. She and I...We're not cool like that."
"Couldn't tell," Ophelia said. "Since you took her to prom. And made a sex tape with her."
"Yeah..." Zach scratched the back of his head. "We're cool when it comes to fucking but-"
"I have to finish this," Ophelia said, looking away from him.
"Okay. Yeah." Zach stood, knowing the bell was about to ring, and the he had to get back to class. "And, um...could you tell Justin I said 'hi'?"
"You could tell him yourself," Ophelia told him. "You could go visit him."
"Yeah. Maybe." Zach awkwardly rubbed his hands on his shirt.
Ophelia saw the look in his eyes. "You're not gonna go visit him," she realized.
"I've been texting him," Zach explained.
"Why don't you go see him?" she repeated. "He's lonely when no one's there."
"Last time I was at that hospital I thought I was going to die," he told her. She remembered his terrible car accident. "The time before that I thought you were going to die. And before that...my dad died there. I don't want to go back."
Ophelia quieted. Then, softly, "But Justin's getting better. It won't feel the same."
"...I can't."
"I could go back," she said, trying to encourage him. "After everything."
Zach just looked down at her and said, "I'm not as strong as you, O."
She stilled. "What?"
Strong? That wasn't a word people described her with often.
"I should've seen that something was wrong with Justin," he admitted. "He's my best friend. He was my teammate. I should've known...I'm glad you were there to help him."
Zach left her in the library. Ophelia watched him go, sensing the heavy emotion in his voice.
For a moment, she saw her old Zach again. The sweet, shy boy she used to know so well.
But by the next time she saw Zach in the hall, he was flirting with girls again, his walls already back up.
Six whole days already passed. The end of the school year was nearing, and Ophelia was nervous. She was worried Justin might not be able to walk at graduation if he was still unwell.
"Relax," Justin told her when she first mentioned her concerns during a hospital visit. "I don't care about walking. I probably would've skipped graduation anyways."
"No, you wouldn't have," Ophelia insisted, with a huff. "And you won't. You need to hurry up and get better."
"Jeez, like I'm not trying?"
"And stay up on your school work," she added.
Justin groaned. "Jesus Christ, the year's almost over, I'm graduating either way."
"You need to keep your grades up to go to Sanderson," she reminded him. "Weren't you the one who got an apartment because you were sure you'd be going?" She repeated to him sternly, "Keep up on your homework."
He laid his head back. "My grades are fine, thanks. I'll send you my diploma once I get it as an 'I told you so'."
She rolled her eyes.
Ophelia was constant in her visits. She went by the hospital everyday before school, and everyday after school.
Justin was quick to tell her, "You don't have to come everyday. Trust me, I don't need someone babysitting me. The nurses do enough of that."
"You didn't leave me alone when I was in the hospital," she reminded him, repeating, "So I'm not leaving you alone either."
He was never fully alone. One of his parents were always there. Mrs. Jensen enjoyed having Justin stuck in a room with her, especially with Ophelia around. She pried into their social life, and was happy with learning about what went on everywhere.
On the eleven day, almost two full weeks after his hospital admittance, Ophelia got a ride home from Scott. They picked up JT from her house, and took him to the hospital.
"Hey," Ophelia said to Scott as they pulled up to the hospital parking lot, stopping him from getting out of the car. "Thanks for coming with me. You know, to the hospital and everything." He'd been with her every other day. Besides that, he had to head back to school, trying to find another job there.
Scott frowned, like he didn't know why she would be thanking him. "Of course, O. I should be thanking you for going when I can't."
"I think it's really...hard right now," she admitted to him. "I know Justin's just here for a small amount of time, but it's scary. And I'm always worried."
"You don't have to be worried," he told her. "Justin's been through worse. You've been through worse."
"If I've been through worse, then why am I so scared?" she asked. "Why do Justin's parents look so scared?"
"It's normal to imagine the worse case scenario," he said. "That's it. Promise."
Ophelia inhaled deeply. She glanced at the rear view mirror, where JT sat in his car seat. "Thanks for bringing JT with me," she repeated. "I would've been too nervous bringing him in myself."
"It's fine, me and him are cool," he said, nodding towards JT, making Ophelia laugh.
"You're so nice," she said, all of a sudden.
"I'm just pretending," he joked. "So you'll agree to be my girlfriend."
She smiled. "I already am your girlfriend."
He pretended to be surprised. "Oh. I'll guess I'll just have to be nice to keep you around."
She glanced down at her hands for a moment. "I think your the first boy to ever think like that."
In the past, she'd never been in a situation where people were nice to keep her around. It was the opposite. They got mean, trying to trap her. If she were being honest, she was terrified Scott would turn the same way.
Because Montgomery started with being nice. Zach started with being nice. They both changed. But things felt different with Scott.
Maybe it's because the two of them had already broken each other's hearts before, multiple times, trying to keep themselves from being together. She was confident it wouldn't happen again.
Ophelia used to think they were better off apart, Scott used to think they were better off apart and yet...they weren't apart now. She couldn't imagine ever being apart from him again. Ophelia loved Scott. And in another devastating honesty, she knew she loved him more than Montgomery or Zach. She had been with both other boyfriends longer, which felt weird to admit, because she couldn't think back to life before Scott. Scott allowed Ophelia to trust openly, express openly, love openly.
When he smiled at her, she felt like she was staring at her future. Scott loved her. And she loved Scott. It felt risky to whole heartedly believe that this boy would never change. But she'd take the risk, and wholeheartedly and happily accept any consequences that came with it.
"Well, it's a good thing I'll be your last boyfriend, right?" he said, casually.
Ophelia smiled again. "Right."
"Good. I don't think JT could handle it if we broke up." He added, "Or Justin."
"I couldn't handle it," Ophelia admitted.
Again, Scott's handsome smile. "Me neither."
They got out of the car, and took JT up to Justin's room. Ophelia was so thankful Scott was there because JT started crying on the elevator. It wasn't a big deal since she was with him. Had she been by herself, she would've been so embarrassed and panicked.
"Hey," she greeted Justin with a smile as she stepped in the room, JT in her arms. "Look who wanted to come by." She smiled brightly.
"Oh, shit," Justin breathed. He smiled, and sat up. "Bring him over."
Scott noticed that everyone was there today. Both Justin's parents and Clay.
"Hi, Scotty!" Mrs. Jensen greeted him with a hug. She always seemed so excited to see him and Ophelia come in together. "Come, sit down. We're waiting on the doctor."
"Test results come back today?" Ophelia asked.
Mrs. Jensen said, "Hopefully."
She placed JT in Justin's arms, the baby taking all of his attention now.
"Hey, bud," Justin whispered. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes," Ophelia said, dramatically. "We all did."
"Were you stuck with mean Marisa babysitting?" Justin whispered to JT.
"Hey," Ophelia complained, while Scott laughed.
A knock was heard on the door, and olden woman stepping in. Ophelia recognized her as the doctor.
"Hello, guys," she greeted with a thin smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, would I be able go talk to you in the hall?"
"We can talk in here," Mrs. Jensen said.
The doctor hesitated. "The hall would be best."
The room grew tense.
"Yeah. That'll be fine," Mr. Jensen said. "Sweetie, let's go. Clay, you too."
"We'll stay in here with him," Ophelia offered, kindly.
Mrs. Jensen looked grateful. "Thank you. We'll just be a moment."
They left. Scott took a seat, and started a conversation with Justin about football. Something about how the championships ended that Ophelia didn't pay attention to. She was too busy watching Justin's family through the window.
Justin rocked JT, and they both looked so peaceful. The scene outside the room did not look peaceful.
The conversation was tense, Ophelia could tell from where she was standing. She gripped the rails of Justin's bed, his voice drifting away with how much attention she had on the people outside.
Because suddenly, Mrs. Jensen leaned forward, Mr. Jensen immediately comforting her. Mrs. Jensen looked like she wanted to cry. Ophelia's heart dropped.
"Don't look at them," Justin muttered. He spoke to Ophelia, but he kept his eyes on JT. "It'll stress you out."
Ophelia gulped. Scott glanced out the window, and his face fell when he noticed how upset the family was. "Shit...is that about the results?"
"They came in today," Ophelia mentioned.
"They came in yesterday," Justin suddenly admitted.
Ophelia stared at him. "What?"
"They told me what was wrong with me yesterday," Justin whispered. He still only stared down at JT. "They're just finally telling my mom."
There was a pause.
"I don't...understand," Ophelia got out. "Why didn't you already tell them?"
Justin started sweating. "I didn't want to tell them."
Scott and Ophelia shared a look.
"Okay..." Ophelia breathed. She was trying not to panic. "Okay."
"Justin, what's going on, then?" Scott asked.
"Don't pressure him," Ophelia told her boyfriend. Even as she said this, her voice was strained. "If he wants to tell us, he'll tell us. He...doesn't have to."
"I want to," Justin said. "I just...wanted you guys to act normal with me as long as possible."
She felt her stomach twist in knots. "Why wouldn't we act normal?"
Justin finally looked up. "Thank you for letting me hold JT. You should take him now."
"What?" Ophelia breathed, not understanding. Even more panic came to her voice.
Scott stood up, acting immediately, taking JT like Justin asked.
There was another pause. Ophelia's breath was heavy.
"I'm sick," Justin finally whispered. He looked at his hands, playing with his blanket.
"Sick with what?" Ophelia asked. "Is it..." She was almost scared to ask. "Cancer?"
"No," Justin said, shaking his head.
Ophelia let out a relieved breath. "Then it's treatable. That's fine. We can deal with that."
Justin was quite for a long moment. He glanced at both of them, before looking down at his hands.
Scott picked up on the continued hesitation. "I can head out if you want," he offered. "Take JT for a walk. You don't have to-"
"I have AIDS."
The room fell silent.
Justin covered his face with his hands. He sounded pitiful as he whispered, "I'm sorry for holding JT. I was being careful, I promise."
"Being careful...?" Ophelia kept looking at Scott. "What...?"
Scott was frozen still.
"Thats..." Ophelia felt herself grip the rails tighter. "I don't think that's right."
AIDS?
Ophelia felt like she couldn't think.
"I'm sorry, Ophelia," Justin breathed, still covering his face.
"You're just sick," Ophelia said. "You're not that bad. You're not. They know how to treat this, right? They-They-"
She glanced out the window. Mrs. Jensen was crying now, as the doctor continued speaking.
"Oh my god..." Scott whispered. He looked completely pale.
Ophelia considered herself smart. But she felt so dumb in this moment.
AIDS. She tried to think of everything she knew about the disease. For some reason, the first thing she thought of was Princess Diane, and how the late princess shook the hand of a man with AIDS, and made headlines.
She thought about how deadly it was, and that people would be born with it, only to die because of it.
She realized...it was bad. Really, really bad.
Tears brimmed in Justin's eyes. "I'm so sorry..."
"Stop it," Ophelia told him. "You know, you're gonna be fine soon. And I'm gonna laugh at you for crying like this."
Her confidence of him healing meant nothing to the universe.
*****
Another full week passed. Ophelia felt torn over her own emotions.
People from school came by, scattered throughout the week. Justin acted normal in front of all of them. He didn't tell anyone else what was wrong with him yet. What disease he had.
Ophelia learned the details from Mrs. Jensen. Justin had been HIV positive for months. It progressed into AIDS. The AIDS was killing his body. They'd try for treatment.
Try.
Ophelia realized this meant Justin had been HIV positive every time she noticed him looking more tired than he should, him looking unwell, him looking sick...it was all signs. Signs they ignored. Signs she ignored. If she had been strict with Justin, and sent him to the hospital earlier, would they have caught this already?
"Were you aware of things he did while in Oakland?" Mrs. Jensen brought up to Ophelia once, while the two were sitting alone in Justin's room, while the nurses took him out to carefully draw blood.
"While he was homeless?" Ophelia asked.
Mrs. Jensen slowly nodded.
"He um..." Ophelia felt uncomfortable. "He did stuff. For money. Stuff with...men." Ophelia knew Justin already told his mother.
"They think that's how he became HIV positive," Mrs. Jensen whispered.
Ophelia flinched. "That long ago?"
Mrs. Jensen timidly nodded again.
It felt unreal.
Justin wasn't in Oakland for that long. A month. Maybe two. That was it. Two months.
Two months.
Two months did all this? It put him in this much jeopardy?
"It sounds strange, but I'm glad he told you about it," Mrs. Jensen breathed. "You're the only other person he'd told beside me and his father before he came to the hospital."
Ophelia felt sick.
"I'm really glad he had you. That he could trust you," Mrs. Jensen breathed. She reached her hand out, placing it over Ophelia's. "I'm glad he had you as a friend, Ophelia. You made him so happy in the end."
The room felt like it was spinning all of a sudden.
Slowly, slowly, Ophelia looked at Mrs. Jensen.
"What did you just say?" she breathed.
"You and JT mean the world to him," Mrs. Jensen whispered. There were tears in her eyes.
Ophelia slowly rose to her feet. "In the end? I made him happy...in the end?"
Mrs. Jensen clearly regretted her words. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken like that."
"Why would you say that?" Ophelia demanded. "This isn't the end. Justin's getting treatment. They're fixing him."
Mrs. Jensen flinched. She nodded. "You're right, Ophelia. My mistake."
Slowly, Ophelia sat back down. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding in her chest.
She gulped.
Slowly, she whispered, "Is Justin going to get better, Mrs. Jensen?"
The older woman stared at the ground.
It felt like it took a million years for her to answer.
"...I don't think so, Ophelia."