Chapter 19

At the hospital...

Joey is watching his mom sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed. Her face still looks pale ever since he found her lying down on the kitchen floor. Her condition shocked both him and his father, since she never told them about it. She was aware of it, but thought it would get better eventually and didn't want to worry them.

Just then, the door suddenly opens. The sound of slow footsteps can be heard approaching Joey's direction.

"Had she taken her medicines?"

"Yes," Joey answers the man who asked her, which was none other than his dad.

His dad sighs. He had been staying the whole night looking after his wife. Her sudden condition made him worried that he wasn't aware of it.

"Alright, you can go home now. You have school tomorrow morning," his dad says.

"It's ok, Dad. I can stay longer," Joey says, sounding fully concern towards his mother.

"It's fine. I'll take care of her. You go home and do your homework," his dad says.

Joey then turns his head to face his dad who is standing next to him.

"Ok," Joey answers.

Joey gets up from his seat and look at his mom one last time. The sight of her now really broke his heart. She had always been the strong mother of the family, so seeing her like this seems like a nightmare for both Joey and his father.

I'll be back tomorrow, Mom. Joey thought.

5:46 PM...

At Taylor and Eleanor's house...

Taylor is in the dining room having a bowl of mac and cheese for dinner. Her mom called her earlier and told that she and her dad will be going home late, leaving her alone at home. At least, that's what she thought for now. She assumed Eleanor will be home soon.

Yet, this evening she didn't feel like she had the appetite. Even though mac and cheese is definetly on top of her favorites, yet she had only taken three spoons so far. She wanted to think that it was the hangover effect that caused her to lose her appetite, yet she knew well that it wasn't the reason. The main reason is because she has been on a low mood the whole day, and that actually started during breakfast, when Eleanor told her about her kiss with Joey.

Damn it, Tay. You need to stop thinking about them. You need to stop thinking about HIM. Taylor thought.

She had been trying to forget about Eleanor's words from this morning. She didn't know how to react since she found her feelings to be complex. Other than that, she was starting to think that Joey might just broke their friendship agreement if really fall for Eleanor and they get into a relationship. Upset at the disturbing thought haunting her, she knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep with her head full of thoughts. She have to finish this tonight.

I should call him..later. Taylor thought.

As Taylor continue with her mac and cheese, she heard the front door suddenly opens.

"I'm home," Eleanor says. Her signature voice rings through the living room, as her footsteps can be heard heading to the dining room.

"Hey, you're back. Mom and Dad will be coming home late," Taylor says as she continues to eat her mac and cheese.

"Well, ok," Eleanor says in a chill tone. She then walks over to the kitchen sink to wash her hands.

"So how was the date?" Taylor ask.

"It wasn't a date. Yet, he is a cool a person," Eleanor answers while washing her hands.

"I see," Taylor says, before taking another bite of her mac and cheese.

A few hours later...

8:30 PM...

Taylor's POV...

Finally, done.

After all the struggles of doing tonight's homework, glad to say that I finally finished it. I was already feeling exhausted, maybe since I'm already in a low mood as well. As much as I always try to look calm at times, deep down I'm just a moody mess. It's hard to always attempt to look like you're all calm and collected, when deep you just want to break down and cry.

But enough about that. Now that I'm done with my homework, I can call Joey and we could actually have a decent conversation to straight things up. Honestly, I don't even know why I feel like it's important for me to ask him about last night and what did he even meant about kissing Eleanor. Yet, I don't want to hold back my emotions anymore. I'm exhausted.

So without hesitation, I grab my phone from my study desk and quickly called Joey's number. Eleanor had finished her homework earlier, so it's a relief that I can have a call with Joey in peace. I took a seat on my bed as wait for Joey to pick up the phone.

"Hello!"

And he did.

"Hey, Joe! What are you doing?"

"I'm doing my homework. And you?"

"I actually finished mine," I say, but slightly felt uncomfortable that I kind of disturbed him during his busy time.

"Ugh, sorry to interrupt," I say.

"It's fine. I'm almost done anyway," he says in a chill tone. He didn't even sound like he was irritated by my call. Thinking about it, that's one of the reasons I see him as different from other guys. Even when he's busy, he's always so chill even when I attempt to approach him. He didn't feel interrupted.

"So, what's up?" he asks all of a sudden.

My heart starts to race faster as his voice echos through my mind. The gentle of voice of my best friend who made my heart went on a roller-coaster. The guy who I felt guilty for liking in the first time, and other than that, he's the only guy that I felt jealous if I see him with other girls, including my own sister.

I sigh. This dilemma really made me crazy. There's no turning back since I have to make things clear tonight. And of course...I needed the answer why he kissed me AND Eleanor.

"Tay?"

"Yeah, I'm cool," I answer. "But, there's something I want to talk about."

"What is it?"

"Eleanor told me about last night," I say. "You kissed her, didn't you?"

To be continue...