A Promise to the Moon [BL]

Chapter 7.:

Pete arrived home, tossing his heavy and exhausted body onto the bed. He thought about taking a shower, but once he landed on the bed, he couldn’t force himself to stand up again and move. His phone buzzed in his pocket, announcing silently an incoming phone call. Pete turned on his back to gain access to his pocket, where he tucked his phone once he exchanged his contact with Bass. Remembering the phone number exchange made him feel even more tired and the thought of going out again, just to get on tour around the town, created unwelcome anxiety.

Maybe it's not that good idea to move into this town, he thought to himself. The unknown number on the screenshot surprised him, but once he realized who else got his number today, the surprise disappeared.

“Hello?” Pete’s greeting came out more as a question than a real greeting. By his guess, it should have been Sun calling him, but Pete wasn’t one hundred percent sure, although few people had his phone number.

“Hi. It’s me. Sun. I know it’s late…” Sun’s overwhelming enthusiasm and love to interact with others was strong through the phone call as well. Pete rolled his eyes, glad Sun couldn’t see him right now.

“We have just arrived at our resort, and I thought I would discuss with you the tutoring offer.” Sun continued. He must have already been talking to his older brother, discussing this matter with him. Given Sun’s excitement, either he had to agree or at least ignore the fact it would be Pete tutoring his younger brother. Pete’s tongue itched from an unspoken question and a deep curiosity why his brother was so strictly against Pete helping Sun with his studies, but Pete felt embarrassed to ask something like that and, in the end, it wasn’t even that important.

“It’s alright. I just arrived myself.” Pete replied to him, visibly with less excitement in his voice. Not that late, but Pete needed to rest, yet he didn’t want to let Sun know. He felt tired, especially since his tiredness came forward often thanks to his health condition.

Sun explained to him precisely which subjects he needed help with and how far he got from his studies. Luckily for Pete, Sun took the initiative to talk, and Pete just had to make himself known on the phone call with humming.

“I am really sorry. You must be tired.” Sun realized Pete was really keeping quiet, just following the conversation and not really giving any ideas.

“Little bit.” Pete replied as politely as he could. In his current state of mind, he would normally apologize and end the phone call, but it was his own words which got him into this. He offered his help, which he always does, but later feels regretful for taking the initiative.

“We can discuss this tomorrow if you would prefer that,” Sun suggested attentively. In the resort, the activity finished late, mostly around midnight, so Sun got used to different time schedules and nine or ten still felt like the middle of the day and not part of the night. But thanks to his character, he could always easily adapt to others’ needs and read the hidden emotions in their voice, no matter if face to face or through phone call.

“I should go on a tour with Bass, which I missed today. Maybe you could come once we are done?” Pete was thinking about inviting him on the tour as well, so he would kill two birds with one stone, but dealing with the talkative Bass and talkative Sun would cost him a lot of energy. They would most likely talk to each other, which was the main point of thinking about the idea, but they would probably talk too much, delaying the tour itself and buying the stuff Pete wanted, so he would have to stay out longer.

Pete let out a silent sigh, hoping Sun wouldn’t hear it.

“That sounds like a plan. I will talk to Bass tomorrow and see where he is taking you and when.” Sun’s excitement grew once again as he thought about having a tutor for his studies. He spent a lot of energy and invested a lot of effort in gaining this scholarship. The acceptance of the university which his father attended was the most important thing he focused on in the current stage of his life.

“See you tomorrow then.” Pete lowered his voice, keeping the tone under control.

“Good night.” Sun wished before closing the phone call. A loud sigh escaped Pete’s lips, as he was thinking about the plans he made for tomorrow. The first one was unexpected and totally unwelcome, especially since he thought he would finish all of those today, but his plans didn’t work out the same as he wanted. The second plan was his own doing, blindly getting excited about hearing someone aiming for a scholarship which he had once gained and the pride he had in himself technically forced him to support this person and help him get there. Exams at this university were considered as the most difficult in the entire country and only a few students can apply for full scholarships. It was almost the same as trying to win the lottery, but safer.

Pete hadn’t caught his breath yet when his phone rang for the second time. At first, he thought Sun had forgotten something, but this time, his screen showed a name.

Vee, Pete read the name out loud. He utterly forgot about him.

“Wow, finally. You got yourself a girlfriend or what? I had been trying to call you for the past ten minutes, but your phone was busy.” Vee didn’t bother to greet Pete. They were almost like siblings, inseparable since kindergarten and probably the only person walking on this planet whom Pete cared about, of course, except his parents.

Vee’s comment left Pete speechless, mulling over what he should reply. Yesterday, he made an abrupt decision to move out of the town before he could speak with him, thanks to an argument with his father.

“Not really.” Pete bluntly replied, randomly, knowing Vee wouldn’t be digging deeper to get another answer or trying to find out with whom he was talking.

“Did you need something?” Pete asked, but if Vee called he most likely wanted to hang out with Pete in his home, watch some movies, eat and drink.

“I am just reminding you that tomorrow is the concert I told you about. The girl I am interested in will sing on the stage, so I want to support her.” Vee blurted out, with his full excitement domineering in his voice. A lot of unspeakable words just crossed Pete’s mind. He forgot about it, and it was already too late to jump into the car and drive back to the capital so he could support his brother-like-friend.

“You forgot.” Vee understood his long silence.

“That too, but…” His words came out hesitantly. Pete didn’t know how he should tell his best friend that he had left town, so he could spend his last days living his life.

“But what? I thought you promised me.” Vee complained. He knew about his condition. Except for his parents and a few professors, who got the news from his parents, asking them to keep an eye on their child, Vee was the only one Pete shared the information about his health by himself.

“I moved out.” Pete blurted out hastily, hoping he would get out of this unpleasant conversation as soon as possible. He blamed himself for forgetting about his friend's request and leaving the town prior to his original plans. Pete planned to spend more time with Vee and he definitely wished to see the girl, which caught Vee’s attention.

“That’s not a big deal. Your parents were annoying sometimes with their daily routines you had to follow. At least we can hang out more often now, since you are living alone.” Vee misunderstood Pete’s words, thinking Pete had moved out of his parents’ house. Pete sighed loudly, expressing his discomfort at this conversation.

“Out of the city,” Pete added once he collected his thoughts and prepared himself mentally for a shower of words which was about to come once Vee would process the information Pete just gave him. Vee was sometimes slower when it came to understanding, but what he lacked, Pete easily completed and vice versa. Socializing, which Pete hated, was easily done by Vee, who loved people. When they both were together, Pete could just enjoy the atmosphere of any place, without being bothered by others, because Vee kept them company and maintained the conversation. They were like two sides of a coin, one completing the other.

“What?” Vee asked, surprised. “What about next semester? Moved where? Why? What happened? What about your treatment?” The questions just kept flowing as they were popping in Vee’s mind, together with the flow of his thoughts and his understanding of the situation.

“When will you be back?” It was the last question Vee said before he went silent. He knew Pete stopped following his questions somewhere after the third or fourth question, but he knew the last one would always get answered. It was almost like an unwritten rule between them. Whenever Pete dropped a bomb onto Vee’s head, he could storm out his mind trying to understand what Pete was thinking, but the last question always had to be the most important one and Pete had to answer it.

“If the hospital calls me about the operation, but other than that, probably never.” The weight of this sentence laid heavily on Pete. There were only two possible ends to his story. A good one, with the call from the hospital offering a solution to his health issue and giving him a chance to fight and live. The other one, a bad one, ending with him breathing his last breath in a place, watching the waves crashing onto the shore, leaving a soothing echo in his mind. Pete was fully aware of his two options, but he also knew he wouldn’t have the luxury of dying exactly like he would wish. Once his heart began failing, he would spend his last days in the hospital, with the machines trying to keep him alive until the last moment, hoping a proper donor would show up.

This lasting hope was the hardest thing Pete had to deal with. The chances of getting a heart transplant were already too low and his parents always pushed him to move forward, believing he would get the phone call, but Pete knew his prognosis and his chances. Unless his health deteriorates rapidly and he will be bedridden in the hospital, he will remain lower on the list, but once he gets into the hospital, his time will fly drastically, leaving him with only a few days, maybe weeks, waiting for the right donor. Pete wanted to get out of this circle, out of these thoughts. He just wanted to clear his mind and get some space and fresh air so he could breathe. Pete couldn’t admit that to the face of his parents, but the care and lack of understanding of his real needs choked him to the point. He just stopped discussing everything with them and made this decision by himself.

“Where?” Vee’s tone changed. Everything else disappeared from his vision. He didn’t care about anything else except where Pete was.

“Where what?” Pete didn’t understand.

“Where are you?” He wanted to know. Pete knew the moment he would tell him where he was, the next morning Vee would stand in front of his front door, bouncing on the door and demanding to be let in, announcing that they would live together.