AllFreeNovel
Share Us
17
BRAXTON
There was only one explanation for what I was going through…
My own body had turned against me.
I didn’t remember it being this bad when I was a child. I supposed that things were different back then, and after being under my father’s treatment for so long—I’d learned to endure my illness in a different way. Now that I was off my meds, things had gotten worse. Way worse.
The tension grew thick in the air as Josh drove us to the Subway that morning, throwing sly glances my way. I knew I had hit a new low when I had to call him and ask him to give me a ride. My body could no longer endure taking two buses and the almost twenty-minute walk to get to the coffee shop; of course, I would never tell him that.
“So, what happened?”
My gaze left the window, focusing on the back of the building while Josh parked. “No money, dude,” I lied. “You know the things I deal with, and I had to pay back some money I owed to the assisted living community’s director.” I shrugged, trying to make it seem like that was all.
“BULLSHIT,” he barked at me, turning to face me.
“Excuse me?”
“Listen, we have known each other for a while now, and you have never, not once, admitted to the financial struggles you face with taking care of your mother and getting your treatments. If you are admitting to not having enough money now, as some excuse to hide what’s really going on, that means some serious shit is happening to you. So, what is it?”
He was right, but it still pissed me off that he was calling me out on it. I shouldn’t have to talk about it if I didn’t want to. “If you don’t believe me, that’s your fucking problem, okay? Don’t worry. I won’t ask you for a ride again.”
Bursting out of the car with my backpack in hand, I opened the back door to the café and entered the building.
“Oh, don’t be an idiot!” Josh scolded, following me into the lockers. “Do you think I’m complaining because I had to give you a ride? Give me a fucking break!” He threw his arms in the air while I put my bag in the locker. “We are friends, and I’m worried about you. I could pick you up and drop you off every day for all I care. This isn’t about that. Everyone else might be too busy with the things happening in their life, but I’ve noticed the changes in you, Braxton.”
His words stopped me from reaching for the uniform shirt, and every single inch of my body tensed.
“I see you getting tired far more easily than before. You ask me or Nick to carry the heavier stuff into the front, and you have begun taking more breaks than you used to.” The concern growing in his voice made him pause, and I could almost feel the ache guiding his actions. “I’ve caught more of your work to help you, because I don’t want Nick and the others to see what I see.”
When his hand landed on my shoulder, I sighed in defeat, slowly turning to look at him.
Josh offered me a tight-lipped smile, worry clouding his expression. “I know how important this job is to you, and I haven’t brought it up to respect your privacy, but yesterday I caught you fighting to catch your breath after the afternoon rush. Honestly, I legit thought you were going to pass out, Brax. So, just tell me what’s going on.”
The sound of a car parking outside called our attention, and grabbing my uniform shirt, I pushed Josh into the bathroom, locking the door.
“Guys? Where are you?” Nick called after walking to the front and back again, unable to find us.
“Here!” I called from the bathroom, cringing. “Josh is helping me with something. We’ll be right out.”
“Okay!”
After his steps retreated, I sighed and glanced at Josh.
“We are not going to make out, are we? Because I amnotmentally prepared for that,” Josh asked and we both chuckled. It was his attempt to lighten the situation.
Placing my uniform on the shelf next to the sink, I carefully pulled off my shirt, revealing my torso to him.
“Holy shit!” he hissed, eyes widening when they took in my bruised ribs, and the angry purple mark on the left side of my chest. “Are you bleeding internally or something?” he whispered, reaching for one of the bruises on my side. It looked like blood would start perspiring out of it at any moment.
“No. It’s my illness. I am no longer able to do the treatments and my body seems to be deteriorating somehow.”
“What the hell are you doing working? You should be in a hospital right now,” he chided, trepidation clawing at his words.
“There’s nothing they can do for me, not when I first developed the illness, and definitely not now.”
“What do you mean? It’s a freaking hospital, of course they can do something for you.”
