Connectivity

by Whitney Cannon

  “Tell me about it,” Josh said. “All I did was volunteer a few hours of my time and now I’m sitting here. What am I supposed to do tomorrow? I have to go back to school, and my dad is going to think this is totally crazy. I don’t even know what to think. I feel like I want to be here with you, but do you even want me here? I guess you sort of need me here, but I feel like I don’t belong here, in your house with your family, like I’m intruding.” Josh sighed and looked out the back window past Cory.

  “Josh,” Cory said his name softly to draw Josh’s eyes back to his own. “I know I need you here too, for my sanity, but I want you to be here,” Cory said seriously. “I don’t even know your last name, or anything about you, other than you volunteer in the hospital and go willingly home with strange guys you just met,” he said with a wink. “But I know that something happened to me when I got hit by that ball, and it led me to you. There’s something happening between us that not even the doctor can explain. I don’t know about you, but I feel like there’s reason for all this, like this thing is drawing me to you. More than just out of necessity, but like a magnet; a force of nature. Like we’re supposed to be together.” He paused then, a slight blush on his cheeks, probably looking for some sign of confirmation, or understanding from Josh.

  Josh’s posture and face relaxed at Cory’s words. “Yeah. I feel like that too,” he sighed. “I know what you mean by the magnet thing. That feeling I get when I’m away from you… it’s like nature is trying to force me to get back to you somehow. Like part of me needs to be with you, or I won’t be whole either,” Josh said shyly. “It’s weird, you know? I’ve never really talked this way with anyone before,” Josh admitted after a moment. “Although I wouldn’t really count you as just anyone, but still. I’ve always been kinda quiet around other people. Not really shy, just reserved, I guess. This is different for me.”

  “Me too. Although I can be a bit outspoken when I feel like it,” said Cory. “Thanks for being honest with me though,” he paused. “Hey, Josh?” he asked, a smile spreading over his face. “What’s your last name?”

  Josh laughed at that and eased back into the armchair a bit more. “Rogers,” he said, still smiling. “Cory, what’s that building behind your house?” Josh asked, looking intuitively out the back window again.

  Cory turned his head to see what Josh was talking about. “That’s my parent’s ‘gardening studio’,” he stated, with air quotes around the words. “Why?”

  “I was just thinking...” Josh said, trailing off as the front door opened and in came a very happy and excited dog, who seemed to be dragging Jim by the leash.

  Out of breath and fighting a losing battle, Jim grabbed the dog’s collar and brought her over to see Cory. “She was so excited to get home. I think I left half my shoes out there along the sidewalk trying to rein her in,” Jim panted.

  “Thanks for getting her, Dad. I really missed her,” Cory told him. “Josh, this is my golden, Jenny. She’s such a sweetie. Aren’t you, big girl?” he cooed, stroking the dog's head.

  “Hey, Cory,” Jim said. “Nick is dying to see you. I told him today wasn’t good and you needed your rest since you just got home. How do you think you want to handle this?” Jim asked.

  Cory looked at Josh, then back to his dad. “I think Josh was just about to broach that when you walked in,” he said, looking back at Josh as understanding entering his face.

  “Well,” Josh hesitated. “I was wondering… I guess we all know that...” Josh paused again. His eyes followed Diane as she entered the room with a questioning look on her face. Josh cleared his throat and started again. “What I mean is, Cory can’t seem to do much without me. How are you going to get through the day?” Josh focused his attention back on Cory. “How are you going to have any kind of life if this thing keeps up the way it seems to be going? I have my own life and you have yours, but it seems that neither of us can do much with their lives without the other,” Josh said, holding Cory’s gaze. “I know this is crazy and sudden, and you don’t even know me.” He moved his gaze back to Jim and Diane. “What if I moved in?” Josh blurted, feeling his cheeks warm a bit from embarrassment. “I mean, what if I could move into your garden room thing out back. Like an apartment. My dad would probably freak out, but once he understands what’s going on…” he shook his head. “I don’t know if there’s another way around this.” Josh’s eyes searched all the faces in the room looking for agreement, or to be thrown out of the house.

  Jim was looking at Diane as they seemed to be communicating telepathically. Jim spoke for the pair. “We’ve been wondering ourselves about how to proceed. This situation is certainly nothing any of us were prepared for, or had ever even thought to consider. It’s an interesting idea, Josh. I think Diane and I will need some time to talk and think all this through. For now, why don’t you go see if you can get your dad to come over and we can get all these questions and possibilities out in the open. We’re going to need your dad’s involvement in all these decisions as we try to figure out the best course of action,” Jim explained.

  “Okay,” said Josh, lowering his gaze just a little. “I guess I better get going anyway,” Josh said meekly. “But I can’t even think of leaving you,” he said agonizingly to Cory. “I don’t want to go and leave you here knowing what’s happening to you. What if I can’t get my dad to come over? What if he won’t let me come back? What if he thinks this is too crazy to believe? I have to be here with you.” Josh sighed and put his head in his hands.

  Cory straightened up and gingerly moved himself so he was close enough to reach out to Josh. Josh saw what he was doing and moved closer to him. Cory held his hand out to Josh who carefully wrapped both of his own around Cory’s.

  “Josh?” Cory said, sounding braver than Josh suspected he was, and his blue eyes looked right into Josh’s own amber colored ones. “I don’t want you to go either. I feel like I can’t even breathe right when you’re not here. Like the foggy feeling is going to swallow me whole. But, I need you to go talk to your dad. If he doesn’t know what’s going on, we’ll never get anywhere with this.” Cory spoke softly, but determinedly. “I need you to be here with me, but you have to get some things done before that can happen, okay?”

  “Okay,” Josh sagged a little. “Do you need anything before I go though? You’ve only been home for a little while. You haven’t even been to your room yet.”

  “My room hasn’t changed in the last few days,” Cory said dismissively and rearranged his covers to be more comfortable. “I’ll be fine here until you get back. I’ll see you again in a few hours. But you’d better get home, Josh. It’s past the time your dad told you to be leaving anyway. I don’t want you getting in trouble for being late. Then he really won’t let you come back.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Josh said, giving Cory’s hand a gentle squeeze. Josh stood up and moved to the door. “Thanks you guys for helping us with this.” Josh spoke to Jim and Diane feeling a little fondness for them. “This is definitely weird and you guys have been really understanding and flexible. I hope my dad is the same, but who know what he’ll say.” Josh turned back to face Cory once more. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t go anywhere without me,” Josh said, trying to infuse the situation with a bit of humor before he closed the door behind him.

  -IV-

  Josh made his way back toward his place. He tried not to think, or feel the ache in his chest at being apart from Cory and just tried to focus on the road. While paying attention to the rush hour traffic, Josh was able keep his mind busy and off what he needed to do when he got home.

  He was relieved to find that his dad wasn’t home when he pulled in. He needed a few minutes to grab something to eat and pack a quick bag in case things went well. Hopefully his dad would allow what he was going to propose.

  As he was putting his cereal bowl down in the dishwasher, Josh heard the garage door open. He leaned against the kitchen counter and waited.

  “Hey, Dad,” Josh said afte
r the door had closed behind his father.

  “Hi, Josh,” his dad said while setting his briefcase down next to the kitchen table. His dad was only a couple inches taller than Josh’s own five feet ten inches. His dad’s messy brown hair looked like it had had just as hard a day as his father had. “How was your day? It must have been interesting if you actually called to get permission to stay later at the hospital,” his dad said, raising an eyebrow at Josh as he turned to grab a glass for some water.

  “It actually was quite interesting,” Josh said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Umm… I’m not really sure where to start, but I do know I’m in a bit of a hurry, and I need to talk to you. Can we chat on the sofa?” Josh gestured toward the den.

  This comment seemed to have piqued his dad's interest, as he nodded and cast a curious look at Josh over his shoulder. Brian loosened the blue tie around his neck and sat at one end of the denim sofa while Josh took the other.

  Josh took a deep breath and launched into the events of the last few days, telling his dad about Cory and the heart rate monitor. About how Cory couldn’t stay awake without Josh being near and the doctor’s inability to explain any of it. Josh ended by telling his dad about going to the Lastings’ house and how Cory was waiting for them to come back so his dad could meet him and his parents.

  As he spoke, Josh had avoided looking directly at his father. But when his dad didn’t immediately reply, Josh finally snuck a glance from under his lashes. His dad was staring at him with a look of awe and wonder on his face. He didn’t appear to be reacting in a negative way at all, which Josh had feared most. Brian also didn’t seem to be looking at Josh like he was crazy, which was also a good thing. Josh felt a bit thrown off by the way his father was reacting, considering what he’d just shared with him.

  With a bit of trepidation, Josh bolstered himself and took courage in not being outright laughed at. He looked at his dad and waited for him to say something.

  His father rubbed his hands together, but shook his head and with a light chuckle, a brilliant smile stretched across his face. “Alright. Let’s go then.”

  “What?” Josh gaped at his father. “That’s it! You don’t think I’m crazy, or that this makes no sense! I just told you I’m basically the only reason another person can keep their eyes open and you just say, ‘Okay’?”

  “Yup,” said Brian brightly. “Don’t you think we should get going? Sounds like this guy is waiting on us.” He looked at Josh with an amused expression.

  Josh rubbed his hand over his face and stood up muttering about how nothing made sense in his life anymore. “Cory’s parents are named Jim and Diane. I told them I would call to let them know if we were coming. I’m going to run to my room to grab my things. I’ll tell them we’ll be over soon.” He grabbed his cell from his pocket and headed out of the den toward his own room, still shaking his head.

  ~

  A short while later, Josh and his father were in their own cars heading back toward the Lastings’ house. Josh’s father had changed out of his work clothes and had been relatively quiet as they got ready to leave the house. Josh kept sneaking glances at him to see when he was going to realize what was happening, but he just had a placid, almost wistful expression on his face and inquired whether Josh had spoken to the Lastings.

  Josh had been ahead of his father during the drive and pulled his car into Cory’s driveway first. Having only left a short time ago, Josh realized the tension in his chest felt like it had been gaining strength since he’d been gone. Anxious to get inside, he got out of the car and waited for his dad to join him before they made their way up to the house.

  The door opened before they even reached the stoop, and Jim was there with a big smile on his face and a handshake for Josh. “We saw you pull up and figured we’d get you in here as soon as possible.” He turned then and offered his hand to Josh’s dad as well. “Jim Lasting. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for coming over. Come on in. Diane is in with Cory since he’ll be coming around.”

  Josh couldn’t wait and had slipped past Jim quickly as the introduction played out. The tension in his stomach finally eased as he laid eyes on the figure on the sofa. Cory was just sitting up and rubbed his eyes as he turned to search out Josh.

  Josh sagged with relief and hurried toward Cory who’s wide smile spread across his face. He reached the chair next to the sofa and took Cory’s hand in his own. Letting out a deep breath of relief when they were connected again.

  “Josh.” Cory sighed contentedly as well. “I’m glad you’re back. That last one wasn’t so bad, but I’d rather not do it again for a while,” Cory said as he peeled off his blanket and set his feet on the floor.

  Josh rubbed his thumb over the back of Cory’s hand as he spoke softly to him. “My dad agreed to come over to see what was going on, and I think we’re invited to stay for dinner.” Josh reluctantly removed his eyes from Cory’s beautiful face and they both turned to look at their parents.

  All three figures had been watching them. Although Jim and Diane had seen this previously in the hospital, it was a new experience for Brian. Josh wondered what his father thought of all this, but figured the smile he wore seemed agreeable enough.

  Diane spoke first. “Brian, it’s so nice to meet you,” she said as she reached out to hug the man. Brian seemed surprised by the gesture but returned her hug nonetheless. “I’m Diane, Cory’s mother. Do feel welcome in our home. These circumstances seem to have brought our families together, and I imagine we may be seeing a lot of each other.” Turning toward the boys she said, “As for dinner, of course you’re staying. We put some chicken in the oven, and I threw together a pasta salad. We don’t have much on hand since we’ve been spending our time at the hospital, but I think it should be sufficient for now. I hope that’s okay with you both,” she said, looking between Josh and his father.

  Josh nodded his head as Brian said, “That’s very kind of you. Thank you for welcoming us. I know this seems like an unusual circumstance, but I guess you all have had a bit of time to wrap your heads around this.” He gestured to Josh and Cory. “It’s my understanding Josh feels uncomfortable being away from Cory, but,” Brian said, speaking to Josh, “if you don’t mind, could you show me once?”

  Josh was already looking at Cory, who wore a resigned and slightly annoyed look on his face.

  “Fine. But I’m really starting to hate this part of whatever is going on. I just want to be awake for a while and have a shower,” Cory stated.

  “I know you do, but let’s just show my dad, and then be done with this. He needs to see for himself what’s going on if we want his help with this,” Josh told Cory patiently. “I don’t really want to do it either, now that I’m back, but once more then we can move on.”

  Josh squeezed Cory’s hand and willed himself to stand. “Ready?” he asked, looking down at Cory with a bit of concern.

  Cory nodded reluctantly and made himself comfortable sitting back on the sofa. Josh took his leave of the room and went back out the front door. He went out to one of the benches in the front yard where he could still see inside the front windows. Cory had his head down on the back of the sofa and his eyes were closed. It seemed the farther away Josh went, the harder it was to fight the fog and sleep overtook him.

  Brian, Jim, and Diane all watched Cory from across the room. Jim went over and lifted one of Cory’s arms and appeared to be saying something. Cory showed no response. Even Jenny, Cory’s dog, came over to try and get some attention by nuzzling Cory’s knee. Brian said a few things and gestured with his hands, but Josh decided it had been long enough and made his way back toward the front door.

  Once the door was closed behind him, Josh walked straight over and took Cory’s hand while Cory lifted his head. “Okay?” Josh asked, looking at his dad.

  “Okay,” Brian said simply.

  “Good,” Cory said sleepily. “Let’s eat. I’m ready to get off this sofa and have a real meal. I feel like I haven’t eaten since Friday,�
� Cory joked and yawned, trying to bring back a bit of a lighthearted atmosphere.

  Josh helped Cory stand up. Cory stretched a little and slowly made his way around the living room. “I think I’ll grab a quick shower and change clothes if there’s time before dinner?” Cory questioned, turning to look at his mother.

  “Of course sweetie. It will give us a chance to talk to Brian and Josh a bit. Get a feel for where things should go from here,” Diane said.

  “Just don’t go planning anything without me seeing as how I’m the other half of this thing,” he smirked and motioned between himself and Josh then turned and left the room.

  “Josh, Brian, is there anything I can get you to drink before dinner? We have iced tea and lemonade, or ice water,” Diane mentioned.

  “I think we’d both like some lemonade,” Brian answered and Josh nodded his head in agreement. Lemonade was a favorite drink for both of them.

  Diane headed toward the kitchen and said over her shoulder, “No problem. I’ll get those for you and please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

  Jim motioned to Brian and Josh to have a seat in the living room. Brian took the sofa and Josh seated himself in the same chair he was in a moment ago. Jim took the smaller loveseat across the coffee table from Brian.

  “So this must seem like quite a shock to you, Brian,” Jim said. “I know we were pretty confused and concerned once we started to get a better understanding of what we were dealing with. Not only with Cory’s injuries and him being in the hospital, but then with this connection Cory seems to have with Josh here,” Jim said, motioning to Josh.

  Diane walked back in carrying a tray with four glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies. “I found some cookies in the cupboard if you’d like a little snack,” she said as she set the tray down and passed Josh and Brian a glass while Jim grabbed his own and took a few cookies.

  “Thanks, hon,” Jim said to his wife as she sat on the other end of the sofa from Brian. “I was just saying to Brian that this must seem like quite a strange thing to have happening here.” Jim popped a cookie into his mouth and turned his attention back to Brian.