Lukas didn’t want to go to school. He was too afraid of seeing Tate. He knew Tate would never ask him what happened, but he was still scared there was a chance. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to remember.

Lukas's cell phone vibrated, and he lazily picked it up. It was a message from Tate.

Coach: I can't come today.

Lukas: Okay.

Lukas somewhat felt relieved to see that. He wasn’t sure he was ready to get back into it soon after the first time.

Lukas put his phone back onto his bed when he heard the door to the apartment open. He knew it could only be Charlie and got up from the bed to see him. He opened the door to his bedroom and stopped.

"Mom?" Lukas stared at the woman in front of him. He looked just like her. Blonde hair with pale skin. It was only their eyes that were different. His mother, Gloria, had green eyes, and he had dark, almost black eyes. He assumed he must have gotten them from his father. "You're home."

"Hi, baby." She smiled weakly as she opened her arms. Lukas didn't hesitate as he went to her. He missed her so much. He took a deep breath, taking in her scent. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket. "How have you been?" She kissed him on the side of the head.

"Good." Lukas smiled.

“School?”

“It’s okay.”

"How's Charlie?"

Gloria knew everything about Charlie. She knew how his parents were treating him, and she was the only adult in his life to know he was gay. Many times, she had wanted to call the police and tell them, but Charlie had refused. Gloria wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing she could do. Instead, she gave him a key to their apartment and told him he could stay whenever he wanted, which obviously made both Lukas and Charlie very happy.

"He's good." Lukas smiled. "He is going to be staying with Hiro for three-four months."

"How come?" Gloria let go of her son and sat down at the table. "What about his parents?"

"They are going to another town. His mom's going to be treated there, and his dad will be transferred during the treatment to be closer to her."

"That's great." Gloria smiled as Lukas sat down. "They must be so happy." Lukas knew that she was talking about Hiro and Charlie and not Charlie's parents. "When are they leaving?"

"Soon."

Lukas went to the fridge. He was starting to get hungry and was going to prepare something for his mother as well. He noticed she was a little pale. Gloria watched her son and got up as he got ready to make them some eggs. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his back.

"Are you sure you're okay, baby?"

"Yeah." Lukas nodded. He lied. He didn't want to tell her about what was really going on. He didn't want to worry her. Nothing good came out of his mother worrying. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little tired."

"Are you going back to work tonight?"

"Yeah." Gloria nodded.

A small pain began to grow in Lukas’s chest. He didn’t want her to leave.

“You…” Lukas paused. He had this conversation often in his head, thinking he would actually get to have it one day. But now that it was coming, he wasn’t sure which words he should use. He knew his mother had to work hard to keep him in school and pay for rent, but he missed her. She was all he had. He sometimes wished he had a dad so that she didn't have to overwork. “You don’t have to go back, you know. You could stay here.”

“You know I can’t do that.” Lukas lowered his head. He had a feeling that the conversation would end like that. He just hoped that for once that things would work out differently. "Hey, don't worry. " Gloria pulled back and went next to Lukas to see his face. "Hey. In a few weeks, I'll get the whole weekend off. Then I'll be able to spend both days with you."

"Okay." Lukas nodded. He was already excited about it. Whenever his mother came back, he only saw her for a few hours. She usually slept when she arrived and was gone when he returned. “I can’t wait.”

"We could even invite Hiro and Charlie. Have a nice meal, the four of us. What do you think?"

"Yeah, that could be fun."

Lukas smiled. Even though it would be only two days, they would be the best two days, and he couldn't wait for them to arrive. He would get to be with his mom. Nothing would be better than that.

“So. What are we eating?”

The door opened again, breaking the mother-son moment.

"Lukas!" Charlie yelled as he entered the apartment. He stopped when he noticed Gloria. "Gloria!"

Charlie ran to her, hugging her as tightly as he could. Lukas pulled away, leaving them their moment. He leaned against the fridge and watched.

"Hi, love." Gloria hugged him back and kissed him lightly on the head. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Charlie smiled. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too." Gloria smiled, giving him another kiss. "I missed you so much, my little button."

Charlie giggled and hugged her again.

"So why are you yelling so early in the morning?" Lukas opened the fridge, grabbing the orange juice. "What's going on? Why do you have two bags?"

"They left." Charlie ran to Lukas. He was overflowing with excitement.

"They left?" Lukas looked at Charlie as he nodded. "They left!"

Charlie and Lukas grabbed hands and started to jump up and down. Gloria looked at them, smiling. The moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived. Charlie was free.

"Can I leave a bag here?" Charlie asked once they finally stopped. "Just in case?"

Lukas knew why he would want to take that precaution. If his parents ever did come back early, there needed to be proof that Charlie stayed with him.

"Of course." Lukas nodded. "You can put it in my room."

Charlie rushed into Lukas's room. Gloria smiled and wrapped an arm around Lukas’s shoulders.

“Well, to celebrate, I’ll make you breakfast and take you guys to school.”

“No. You just got here. I’ll make breakfast. And we can walk to school. It’s not far.” Lukas gently stroked her cheek. He had noticed her paleness when he saw her earlier, but now he could see the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to cover with make-up. She clearly hadn’t been sleeping, and that worried him. “You should rest.”

“Fine.” Gloria sighed. “Can I at least eat breakfast with you before you leave?”

“Yeah.” Lukas forced himself to smile.

Charlie ran back into the room, going straight for Gloria and another hug. Lukas turned around, starting to cook breakfast. He felt a weight in his chest. He didn’t want it to be true or think about it, but something was going on with his mom.