ASHER

MY DAD TURNS TO ME AS WE WALK DOWN THE VACANT HALLWAY.

"I'll come back after work tomorrow,"He says, matter-of-factly. "Will you be okay?"

It was getting late, it was probably almost midnight and I know my parents need to be at work in the morning. My Dad especially cannot bail.

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"I'm staying."Mom chimes, holding unto my arm as she nears the elevator. She says it before I could ask. "Your friends are here because of Riley. She told them." When I don't say anything, she quietly adds, "I'm happy you're surrounded by people who would get here as fast as possible. That should mean something."

It does. It really does. Mean something.

Though partially, guilt swims in my gut. I didn't reach out to my friends. The guys who were there for me through a few years of my life—my buddies— my teammates, my family aside from my parents. The guys who saw me and Layla argue and have our differences and then became civil. They've seen Tommy at his best, running around our place on the weekends I'd have him. They've seen the little guy when he's being goofy and a pain in their asses, sticking his finger up Cole's nose and then he's being chased by Cole who pretends to be the booger monster or some shit.

Instead of letting them know I was here, I told her. The issue may align when I didn't tell them too. I didn't just tell her because she asked me to and she took my hockey stuff back to my place. I told her because I wanted her to know. I wanted her here. I probably would've told her even if she didn't ask. But I should've told my friends too.

Cole's sister who wasn't there for parts of my life  because I didn't know her, now gets priority over them.

None of us dated seriously at least. Like Eric said, I'm the first one to get a girlfriend. Be serious about it. Riley reaching out to my friends when I didn't, couldn't, makes me respect her even more.

"She's a good one son."My Dad's voice pulls me back to the present. He gives me a look when he says it. You've chosen wisely. He didn't need to say that out loud, I know what he meant through his eyes.

My parents loved Layla but they also knew that we weren't going to get back together. But Riley, she seems to be in their good graces.

"Yeah. I know."I say. If I didn't know, now I do. "Thanks for coming when Layla called."

I can tell my Dad is trying to read me after that. "You're not beating yourself up because you didn't answer right?"

I sweep my hand behind my head. "I do wish I knew sooner but I'm here now and that's all that matters." I can't change the fact that I didn't—couldn't—pick up.

Mom squeezes my arm. "You're here now. It's all going to be okay, I promise."

She's always been this way. She's logical. I do believe her. Not because she's never been wrong before but because the doctors explained the situation and the plan. We're at the best hospital for situations like this.

Dad exhales, nodding his head. Then he says, "Have you spoken to Layla? She seems pretty beaten up about this."

Layla doesn't seem beaten up about it. She is. Understandably, she broke down and I guess it's obvious if anyone else looked at her. They'd see it just like my Dad did. I had to be strong and brace my bones. When I first saw him, the burning at the back of my eyes became unbearable but I managed to swallow it. If we were both crying buckets then I don't know how we'd attend to Tommy and he needs both of us. I've never seen him this sick before but I couldn't cry even if I wanted to. He didn't need to see that. He needed me to tell him that he's going to be okay even if he can't breathe properly on his own.

"I did, on the way over. This isn't her fault. It's nobody's fault and I don't want her to blame herself."

Whatever happened, Tommy is here and she's still his mother. She's never done anything to make me believe she hates him. I know she loves him just as much as I do. He's all she has.

In a soft tone, my Mom says. "As a mother we think everything that goes wrong is our fault. It isn't. Children get sick all the time but you still wonder what if I had done this differently would I have prevented it. That sort of thing."

"Being focused on his recovery is all we can do. He's gonna be okay."

On another note, Mom bumps her shoulder on my upper arm. "That's the spirit."

My Dad stops walking and presses the button to get the elevator on our floor. "How do you feel about having your ex-girlfriend and your girlfriend in the same room?"

"Dad."

"It's a good question, Ash."Mom says, "They haven't met. You know, you could've told us the truth when she came for Thanksgiving. We know now that you're with her but I knew you two weren't just friends."

"We weren't together, swear. We were just friends." For some reason my parents didn't buy it. I didn't notice until I told them that we're together. Mom claims we already acted like a married couple or something and we've barely been in each other's worlds. "We just made it official now. We were just friends at Aunt Shirley's."

She doesn't look convinced. "Just friends huh."             
I shove my hands into the warmth of my pockets. "What?" I want to say come on, I'm your only son, believe me but I didn't.

"Nothing."She blinks at me and because she just won't give it up, she adds, "I know you said what happened with her mother and she'd be alone for thanksgiving but you made that your responsibility to make sure she wasn't and I saw the way you looked at her is all."

I raise an eyebrow in thought. "And how did I look at her?"

I didn't think I was drooling over her where others could notice just how into her I was. Mom especially won't let this go.

I feel her shoulders shrug. "Like you'd do anything for her and I mean, you did. I knew something was brewing between you two. I saw the cute little hug on the dock, you know."

I whip my head around. "You were spying on us?"

She shakes her head. "Not spying, I was looking through the window after Tommy came inside and I saw, what's the matter?"

"Yeah, sure." I don't believe her one bit.

I can't imagine the things she gossiped about with Aunt Shirley the whole time.

The elevator doors open and I waste no time entering. Inside, three other people are standing at the back with their arms crossed. One of them, a girl with distracting headphones over her ears continuously glances at the door like she can't wait for her stop. Her legs are quivering, somehow it makes me anxious. I stretch my arm out and select the first floor.

There's silence the whole way down. I keep my eyes focused on the levels broadcasting in red. A few seconds later, the doors slide open with a ding and my Mom steps out first. My Dad follow closely behind her, placing his hand on her back like he's leading her forward.

"I'll be right back." She says.

When they're out of my sight, Cole puts his hand in mine and pulls me into a bro hug.

"Thanks for showing up." I pat him on the back and pull away.

The rest of the guys walk up to me. "Sure thing. Riley told us so we had to be here."Tyler replies, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "How's our boy?"

They're not mad. They don't add remarks. I don't hear "you could've told us."

They just appear eager to see him.

"So I've heard, yeah. He's asleep. Let's go."

All the other kids are staring at us when my teammates follow me. We get to the elevator, wait inside and afterwards make it to the hallway near Tommy's assigned room. I point ahead and Tyler opens the door to enter and just as he's about to step inside, Riley's leaving at the same time and he nearly bumps into her.

"Shit." Tyler murmurs, sliding his body to the side of the door to give Riley room to exit.

"Sorry, thanks," She moves through the guys without struggling. "Go on in."

"I'll be with you guys." I'll be speaking with Riley for a minute.

No one questions it, Cole just nods and walks past Tyler who disappears after him, then Rhett and Eric follow behind. I shift my attention to her face when the door closes. "Are you okay? Where are you going?"

Exhaling deeply, she says, "Yeah, I'm fine. I wanna be here if that's what you're asking and I want to use the restroom."

I pull her towards me, snaking my arms around her waist. She feels warm. I let it seep into my bones and form a nest. "Yeah? You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."Her voice muffled, vibrating on my clothes. "Are you okay?"She moves her face and rests her chin on my shoulder. "How do you feel? About everything?"

A million thoughts race through my mind. I don't know which one to voice. This is Riley and we're in the hallway alone.

A while of waiting, she sighs and sinks her face into my clothes. "Spoken like a true Dad."

"I didn't say anything."

"Exactly and that's an answer."She concludes, I could feel her breathing. "I don't know how you feel but I know it can't be easy."

"Yeah." I hold her closer, tighter and close my eyes.

The silence says all I need it to say. We stayed like that for minutes before I let her go. Then I disappeared into the hospital room. Mom comes back shortly after and stands by Tommy's bed, sweeping her fingers across his forehead. All eyes are on him. Layla doesn't blink, I think she's afraid that if she does she'll miss something. Tyler sits on the floor, leaning his back on the seats. Eric and Cole are sitting beside Layla. Rhett's in a seat by himself. There isn't enough of all of us.

"He doesn't feel heated like he did before." Mom acknowledges, showing a relieved smile.

I keep watching the movements of my son's chest. "The medication for fever is working then."I'm hopeful.

When Riley returns, Tommy opens his eyes and stirs.

I rush to his aid. "Hey bud, how are you feeling?"

He doesn't answer at first.

"I'm here." Layla says, popping up by his bed and holding onto his hand. "Everyone's here."

Relief runs through me when he says something. It's not clear but I can decode what he's saying. "Where's my Dino?"

Layla chuckles and it's the first time I've heard her do that since we got here. "Your Dino is okay, I have it. We're asking if you're okay."

Tommy moves his hand to the oxygen tube in his nose. I know he's bothered by the foreign item but there's nothing we can do about it. He needs it.

"That's helping you to breathe properly. You can't rip it out of your nose."Mom tells him, her hand still caressing his forehead. "Where's his Dino? I'll get it." She asks Layla.

I squeeze myself into his bed when my Mom moves away, careful not to crush him. "I'm staying here with you, okay?"

"Okay." His voice is small yet grateful.

"Let's watch TV. That'll help cheer you up."Eric grabs the remote.

Tommy smiles the best that he can when he sees Cole waving at him. On the TV, a bunch of Christmas movies are showing. Eric skips from channel to channel and pauses when Home alone is on. A younger Macaulay Culkin appears on the screen as Kevin.

"Do you want to watch this one?" Rhett asks, turning to Tommy for his answer.

"It's family friendly." Mom admits, handing the green stuffed animal over. Tommy grasps unto it quickly.

"Aren't all Christmas movies family friendly?" Tyler echoes, Cole just shrugs like he's got no idea.

"Hallmark movies mostly." Layla amends.

"Is Home Alone a Hallmark movie?" Tyler wonders, looking around the room for someone to answer.

"It's just on the Hallmark channel." Eric answers, glancing down at the remote. "It's not a Hallmark movie."

"Tyler didn't watch the movie when he was growing up like some of us." Rhett says, laughing quietly. "Home Alone is a good one."

"Heard about it, never watched it."

"That's a crime."Cole jokes, pushing Tyler's shoulder forward. "Everyone watches Home Alone bro."

Riley laughs and so does Layla. They make Tommy crack another smile, a tiny, tiny smile.

"Do you want to watch it?" I ask, needing just a signal. He doesn't have to say anything, just a nod is fine. The fever isn't drowning him as much as before but he still looks a little pale.

His curious eyes are enough proof that he wants to watch the movie. They're glued to the screen. One by one everyone else falls asleep, Tyler goes first, looking uncomfortable sitting on the floor with his head hanging back on a side of the seats he's currently pressed up against. Ten minutes later, Rhett starts snoring after a Walmart commercial.

A nurse stops by for a few minutes and that gives my Mom confidence to fall asleep. I give up my tiny spot on Tommy's bed to Layla and she falls asleep too. The whole time Tommy's wide awake. Out of the group, only Cole and Riley make it to the end of the movie and they too fall asleep when the credits start rolling. I never noticed how similar they slept, the same exact way.

"Are you hungry?" I ask quietly.

"No." Tommy shakes his head, chest heaving as he speaks.

I move my hand on his chest, studying the pattern. "Okay bud."I wish I could trade places with him. "Close your eyes."

He does what I say, no protest and Layla sleepily wraps an arm around him. Eventually, Tommy doses off and I'm the only one awake.