Other Side of the World

He wasn’t proud of it. He began to wonder when he got so desperate as to steal from his own best friend and the girl that was slowly but steadily learning to trust him. It was hard not to. It was just right there. Aaron’s wallet in his bag while Haley’s one was tucked away in her school’s desk drawer, along with her phone. And yes, he must admit that there was this annoying voice in his head that told him that he did the right thing and it wasn’t his fault – it’s their oblivious friends’ fault that they left their wallets and handphones up for grabs.

Strangely enough, that voice sounded like his father’s.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Issues. Nathan currently had a lot of them. Two days being in Australia had dealt some damage to his health, quite badly, considering that he didn’t really take care of himself and his nebs were at home. And being in the water with Haley, for the first time in his life, made him actually sicker. How the hell did that happened?

He was feeling really uncomfortable being in the sickly body. And as if that lack of comfort wasn’t enough, his conscience was screaming profanities at him ever since he stepped into the plane back to the U.S. Not only that, but it was also giving him a hard time for the things he had done to Haley.

He began thinking of things he shouldn’t be thinking. Like if he was with Haley just because he was using her as a vestibule to lead a better life or something close enough for a pessimistic bastard like him. He loved being with her, of course. But somehow, there was no denying that his sudden proclamation of love was a bit forced, even to him. Because as much as he loved being with her, there were still risks.

Like this one.

As far as he concerned, his lungs were becoming some sort of a dirt cheap balloon or a really shitty inflatable boat. The kind in the cartoons where once there was a leak on the inflatable boat, there would be another leak following suit (usually after the first leak was fixed).

Nathan couldn’t sleep in the flight because of the Haley thing. He wanted to run back. He wanted to fake a heart attack or something to stop the plane or make it turn back to the terminal. But he knew those things were highly improbable in real life. He probably might be arrested for something like that. Or sued. Both, possibly.

He honestly wished he didn’t step into the stupid flight.

The moment where he did fall asleep, he woke up 20 minutes later feeling a sharp pain against his chest. The pain took him by surprise so much that he inhaled sharply, only to feel the pain worsen. He shifted about in his seat, clutching the front of his shirt and gritting his teeth. It was like the first time he got pneumothorax. The pain got so intense at one point that he honestly thought he was going to have a heart attack and die. Thank god the plane landed 5 minutes after that.

As if that wasn’t enough, Katie who wanted to hear every details of Nathan’s weekend in Australia with his girlfriend greeted him at the airport, just to find out that he was slowly turning blue in color. He tried to lighten up her panicked state by saying that he was turning into a Smurf. But he knew he needed to go to the hospital and he needed to go to the hospital soon. She did too.

So now, after his mother scolded him for 2 hours straight and nearly broke down in the middle of the hospital room, Katie was also berating him for…he didn’t know what, he wasn’t really paying attention what with all the train of thoughts that decided to crash the side of his brain. Oh, and he had a tube protruding out of his chest. It would look so awesome if only it were…not.

Katie, being Katie, was still oblivious to his lies. He told her that it was nothing much, just a pneumonia that would go away in no time. The last thing he needed was her to treat her like he was some vulnerable, pathetic person too. Just like his mother was doing for the last 18 years.

He thought he didn’t fear death, but that was a lie he told himself to make him feel better. As of now, he was dead scared. Why was all these things happening so frequently than it did before? When he was 15, he remembered being in such a shit state but after that it got less and less painful. No issues, just a little spark of hope. And then he crashed again. The disease he had to live with all his life was teasing him – stupid, sadistic bitch.

He wanted to grow old, possibly with Haley by his side. He didn’t mind living with CF anymore, as long as his CF won’t catch up with him so early and kill him. He wanted to live with it as long as he could because he honestly wanted to spend his days with Haley. As long as she was there, he didn’t mind.

And that thought was like a good splash of cold water to his face.

I love her.

He picked up his phone as Katie said, “Are you even listening to me? God, I give up!”

Nathan then dialed Haley’s number.

~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Liam jumped out of his trance as he heard the phone rang and cursed under his breath. That nearly gave him a heart attack. He was already anxious from the beginning as he glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time that afternoon, praying to God that his parents wouldn’t come home early from work.

Rubbing his face, he looked down to Haley’s phone and saw the name ‘Nate’ flashed across the screen. It didn’t take a genius to know that Haley went through something back in the States – it was practically written all over her face. He just didn’t know what. And most depressingly, he actually knew that.

Stealing her phone was like stealing her source of comfort away – said comfort being Nathan.

Liam never loathed himself so much but the voice in his head, trying to soothe him, telling him it wasn’t his fault, was still lingering in his head. When the phone stop ringing for the second time, he took the SIM card out and stared at it for a second.

He wondered what would’ve happened if he told Haley about his current situation. She wouldn’t have approved. She would’ve probably looked at him with such hatred-filled eyes, it would’ve been equivalent to a stab in the gut. But he really wanted to tell her. He really did.

The voice came again, soothing him out of his guilt as he pocketed her SIM card. It was the least he could do.