Sitting at the bar, muscles tight in frustration and worry. Bradley had just gotten off the phone with his boss saying never to come back. "Fuck.. What am I gonna do..." All he could think about was providing for his younger brother, who at them moment was living with some friends who were Well off so he was safe. It wouldn't be the first time Bradley was on the street or sleeping in his truck so he could cope. "Another scotch." But, all that could wait until he was happily drunk.
Walking around the lot aimlessly, Bradley scratched his head and sighed. "God, I have no idea what I'm doing.." Looking at the cars he stuck his hands in his pockets and attempted to act like he wasn't about to have a panic attack. Tapping his toe quick and quietly to slowly calm his nerves, eyes darting around to scan the people there. "Shit.."
The strong smell of disinfectant filled the man’s nostrils as he made his way down the narrow hallway of the hospital. Each time he made this walk towards his uncle’s room it felt longer and longer. On this very morning he had received the phone call that no one ever wants to receive.
“Your uncle may only have a few more days and he has requested that you be there for him in his final hours.”
It had been about eleven years since had any contact with his uncle and yet still the man wanted to see him in his final hours. With a deep breath Freddie came to a halt in front of the room that had a small name tag pasted on the room with the last name ‘Baggins’ written upon it. For a moment his hand wavered over the door knob, contemplating whether he should really go inside or not. After a minor inner debate the boy gathered up the courage and turned the knob, the door easily swinging open. Freddie slowly shuffled inside the room, his eyes automatically focusing on the bed in which Bradley was sound asleep in.
He didn’t even look like himself at this point. He had lost all of his hair and he was gaunt from the chemo treatments. This was not his uncle, no – this was merely just a shell of the once energetic and happy go lucky man that he once knew. Freddie tried his best to be quiet as he walked over to sit in the chair beside his uncle’s bedside, the soles of his shoes squeaking against the linoleum tiles. Just as he was going to sit down in the chair, his caught a glimpse of a photo frame that was placed on the man’s bedside table. His eyes were glued to the picture – noting that it was one of the first Christmases that they had spent together. He was only twelve and he looked happy. Just by staring at the picture he could almost faintly remember what it felt like to be happy.
“Freddie… is that you…?”
Freddie’s moment of nostalgia was interrupted when he heard Bradley’s voice, his attention turning to the bed ridden man.
“I’m here, uncle.” He mumbled softly as he sat down and took the man’s wrinkled hand into his. He stared down at his hands for a moment, noting the difference. When they used to hold hands his hand used to be much smaller than his uncles and it would always be embraced in Bradley’s firm grasp, but it was the other way around this time.
“I’m glad that you could make it…” He murmured weakly, coughing slightly as he looked up into Freddie’s eyes, his own eyes glazed over.
There was a moment of silence between the two men before Freddie straightened up slightly.
“Why did you send for me? Out of everyone else, the nurses said that you wanted to see me. What about Pierce?”
Bradley shook his head slightly as a weak smile crawled onto his chapped lips, “Pierce and I have been long finished now. Besides, you know that it was always you who I cared most about.”
These words hit Freddie like a ton of bricks. He had gone out of his way to ignore his uncle for eleven years straight just because of his own insecurities and now he was hearing the words that he had been waiting to hear. Guilt weighed down on the boy as he sat there in the silence, watching as Bradley’s breaths became more and more shallow. Tears pricked the boy’s eyes as he buried his face in his hands, not wishing to watch the life slip away from the one person that was always there for him – through the thick and the thin.
“I’m so sorry, uncle.”
As a reply, Bradley squeezed Freddie’s hand tightly – too tired to even utter another word.
“I love you, Freddie. I will always be with you, no matter what. I will watch over you.” These were the last words that the man uttered before the beeps began to grow slower and slower.
Freddie choked out a sob as he dropped Bradley’s hand, moving to cup his uncle’s face in his hands.
“Please, don’t leave me.”
“I-I never did…” Bradley whispered, the beeps continuing on in a slow pace.
Suddenly, the line on the machine went flat just as Bradley let his eyes flutter closed. He had just lost the single most important person in his life and there was nothing he could do about it. Instead of spending time with Bradley when he could, he selfishly went on with his own life. Tears streamed down Freddie’s cheeks as he leaned forward, his body trembling. Once he was leaning over his uncle, he pressed a gentle kiss to the man’s forehead.
