6 PM...
At the hospital...
While looking after his mother, Joey eventually fell asleep on the chair. After getting badly drunk last night, Tim had woke up him at 6 AM asking if he was in the shape to go to school, in which he declined by saying he still has a headache, but instead told Tim that he would just go to the hospital to look after his mom. By that, Tim dropped him off at the hospital first before he heads off to school. Despite his mom questioning why he skipped school, Joey didn't want to cause more stress for her by telling that her husband cheated on her with a younger woman, by that he just told her that he wasn't feeling so well in the morning.
Joey's mom slowly opens her eyes after hours of slumber. She turns her head to see her son peacefully sleeping on the chair, looking exhausted. His golden brown hair looked messy, which matches his drained-looking face. The middle-aged woman couldn't help but felt a bit worried of her son's exhausting condition. She felt guilty thinking that he must have been exhausted after looking out for her since morning. Not to mention, he told her that he was feeling unwell and by that he skipped school.
"Joey," his mom's low voice calls out his name, hoping to get his attention and awake him from his slumber. Not that his mother intended to interrupt his sleep, but she just wanted to tell him to go home, have dinner, and get some sleep so he could feel better tomorrow. Yet, Joey didn't seem to be awaken by her voice, since he is still asleep.
"Joey," his mom calls him again, this time in a higher tone.
Slowly, Joey starts to open his eyes, revealing the vision of his mom still lying on the hospital bed. Upon seeing her son waking up, the middle-aged woman forms a small smile at her still-sleepy-looking son.
"You're awake," his mom says.
"Yeah. Ugh, what time is it?" Joey asks his mom, still in a sleepy tone.
"I think it's around 6 PM," his mom says. "It's getting late, you should go home and rest."
"It's ok. I'll just stay here longer," Joey says. He gets up from his chair to get a bottle of mineral water from the table.
"Your dad will be here in a few hours. It's ok if you go home now," his mom states in a chill tone.
Hearing that his dad will probably arrive in a few hours, Joey curled his fist out of anger as the flashback from last night starts surfacing in his head. He still couldn't push his anger aside every time the thought of his dad comes surfacing in his head. Knowing that his dad was busy making out with another woman while his mother is lying sick on a hospital bed boiled his anger too much. He couldn't believe that his dad could be so heartless that he had to cheat while his mom is sick.
"It's ok, I'll just go later," Joey says in a flat tone. He tried his best to hide the fury in his voice, since he didn't want to worry his mom.
"Son, you looked very tired today. You should get enough rest at home. Besides, you have to study for your exams. I am fine, there's no need to worry about me," Joey's mom says, as he stares at her son who stood in silence beside the hospital bed.
Joey stood in silence. He turns his vision from his shoes to his mother, looking at her staring at him with a concern look. While looking at the middle-aged woman lying weak on the hospital bed, Joey felt a feeling of guilt slowly crawling inside his heart. The thought of his mom getting cheated on without her even knowing got him feeling guilty that he doesn't even have the guts to tell her the truth, because if he did, he's afraid that it would only make her condition worse.
"Son, are you ok?" his mom ask all of a sudden, making Joey snap back to reality from his thoughts.
"I'm fine," Joey says, trying to sound casual. He doesn't want his mom to be worry about him, and more importantly he doesn't want her to be suspicious of his restless-looking face.
"I shall go," Joey says as he walks away from his mother, not wanting to worry her further about him not going home. By that he decided to just agree with her and go home.
8 PM....
At Taylor and Eleanor's house...
After dinner, Taylor and Eleanor are doing their homework in their room as they talk about the on-going exams.
"I can't wait for the exams to end," Eleanor states as she continues to do her homework.
"It's only a few days. We'll survive this," Taylor says in a casual tone, as she keeps her vision on her homework.
"Yeah right," Eleanor states in an exhausted tone. "By the way, I bumped into Anderson at the hallway today."
Hearing Tim's surname, Taylor slowly turns her vision from her homework to see Eleanor. Somehow she was a bit surprised that Tim's name managed to caught her attention this time, but not too surprised since half of herself probably understood what caught her attention when she heard his name.
"He looked quiet, and damn I almost scold him for not having any eyes again. But again, since he looked depressed, he didn't do any annoying things, so I just let him off, " Eleanor states in a sarcastic tone.
Hearing this, Taylor felt guilty at the thought of Tim being all sorrow after the conversation they had last night. Knowing that she had been wrong about him for all these years gives her an uncomfortable feeling. She thought she wanted to clear things between her and Tim, and maybe they could eventually start over as normal friends. Yet, after assuming the worst in him for years, Taylor doubt if he could forgive her after all these years.
"By the way, how is Joey?" Eleanor asks all of a sudden, which made Taylor a bit surprised after hearing her question.
"I haven't heard any news from him today," Taylor states, which is true. She hasn't heard from Joey since last night. Even though it worried her a bit, she thought that maybe he's still in depressed mood after what happened between him and his dad, and by that thought about just talking to him later in a few days.
"Well, I hope he's ok," Eleanor states.
Hearing that, Taylor could tell that Eleanor was being concern of Joey. Despite her rebelious and care-free nature, it's no secret that Eleanor is a sensitive soul who is caring of her surroundings. Just by looking at her, Taylor could tell that it's obvious that Eleanor still cares for Joey more than a friend, despite her getting closer to Fred these days. A feeling of curiousity to know about both Eleanor and Joey's current relationship with one another starts tinkling in her head.
"So, umm...Eleanor," Taylor calls out her sister's name, which caught her attention.
"Yes, Tay?" Eleanor asks.
"So....how are you and Joey these days?" Taylor asks.
To be continue...