Being thirteen years old was hard enough already without adding the insurmountable dread of knowing his mother was slowly fading away. Rory was lying down on the couch beside his mother's hospital bed while staring out the window. The sky was such a bright shade of blue. He could hear kids laughing and playing outside. He found it incredibly rude that the world was busy having a beautiful day given the circumstances. Rory figured that if the universe had any sense of common decency, it should at least be raining a little. He turned to look at his mother, she was all hooked up in a tangle of wires to beeping life support machines. She'd been in remission less than a year ago. The cancer was back at double its original force this time around.
"Rory?" His mother whispered. Rory quickly sat up at the sound of her voice, an echo of it's former self. Ellie Williams was beautiful. She'd always been sweet and delicate, but she seemed made of glass now. Rory reached up and slowly took his mother's hand. "Where's your father?" Ellie asked.
"He's downstairs getting lunch, I think." Rory replied.
"Did you eat?" Ellie could hardly open her eyes as she spoke, though she tried her best.
"I'm not hungry." Rory looked down at the ground.
"Don't you dare mope around here starving yourself. You go downstairs this minute and eat something." Ellie's voice was stern even in her fragile state.
"Yes, ma'am." Rory sighed as he leaned in to allow his mother a chance to kiss his forehead.
"Love you, my beautiful boy." Ellie caressed her son's face.
"Love you too." Rory watched with tears growing as she closed her eyes.
He walked out of the room and quickly made his way down the hall as the tears began to fall. He wiped them off on his sleeve and opened the door to the stairs that lead down to the cafeteria. All he could stomach was a cup of strawberry jell-o and a can of soda. Rory could feel his father's nervous eyes watching him. The soon to be single father of a teenage son. Rory had always been closer to his mother. They drove home in the usual heavy silence they always carried between them.
Rory and his father both locked themselves in their rooms when they got home. The sun was setting when he heard a knock at his bedroom window. It was Amy throwing stones. He chuckled and opened the window. "Sorry I wasn't at school today."
"Yeah, I hope you're happy. I had no one to cheat off of. I failed my maths test cus of you." Amy yelled up at him.
"I'm coming down." Rory quickly shut the window and grabbed his coat. He met Amy outside in the garden. "It's getting dark." Rory looked up at the stars.
"Yeah, perfect time for some much needed fun." Amy took her friend's hand and began running into the patch of woods behind Amy's house. She began to climb the ladder leading to their old tree house. "Come on, stupid face. Let's go!"
"Don't you think we're getting a bit too old for the tree house?" Rory yelled from down below as Amy stuck out her tongue from inside the treehouse. Rory gave in and and climbed up. It was slightly tighter in there than before but still not uncomfortable. But he could tell if they both grew another inch it most certainly would become a squeeze. "This was a good idea actually." Rory chuckled. "I was in a terrible mood before you showed up."
"Figured as much." Amy opened up a little back pack beside her filled with sweets. She tossed some Smarties at Rory as she unwrapped a hard candy for herself. They sat in their little house for hours just eating sweets and talking. "I really hate that we're getting too tall for this place. I wish we never had to get older."
Rory chuckled. "Well we can't sit in here eating chocolates and playing space pirates forever."
"Who says?!" Amy nudged him playfully. They laid down beside each other, their feet dangling out of the treehouse. "Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?" Amy asked.
"I think I'd make a good vicar. Except I don't believe in God." Rory replied.
Amy sighed. "I believe in something. It's not God like in the bible, but there's something out there watching us. I just know it."
"So you believe in aliens." Rory laughed.
"Well, yeah, of course! Don't you?" Amy asked.
"I don't know." Rory looked up at the stars Amy had painted on the treehouse ceiling years ago and smiled. "I think I'd like to be a nurse when I grow up. Just something where I can help people, you know."
"You'd be good at that." Amy replied. "I still just want to be a space pirate."
"If anyone were up to the challenge of commandeering spaceships, it would certainly be you." Rory looked at Amy and smiled again.
"I'm glad you're feeling better." Amy leaned in and rested her head on Rory's shoulder. "I wish we could just live up here forever."
"I'd love to live with you. But I would prefer a slightly bigger house, I think." Rory felt Amy wrap her arm around him and his heart jumped. He wondered if Amy could hear it, Rory certainly could. His heart was pumping so fast that he could feel it in his head. He knew it wasn't the right time to say it. He loved her so much but he knew she didn't feel the same. So he figured, why ruin a good thing?
"I'd love to live with you too, Rory." Amy replied. "I've always wished I had a brother."
His overworked heart skipped a beat. "I'll always be there for you, Amy." He whispered.
"Amelia!" Aunt Sharon's voice cut through the trees. A torch illuminated the treehouse. "For God's sake, Amelia! Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."
"Eeeww!" Amelia sat up and poked her head out the treehouse door. "It's just Rory."
"Rory!" Sharon's shrill voice made him peek his head out of the treehouse as well. "You're father called. He wants you home this minute!"
Rory groaned. "Yes, ma'am."