Hope

After Todd's mother dies from cancer, he moves back to his hometown in the foothills of the Appalachians from Chicago. It's 1997 and he's just been given a death sentence -- an HIV-positive diagnosis. Todd expects his remaining time on earth to be spent alone. But Cal, his handsome next-door neighbor, has other ideas. Cal is not the only surprise in Todd's new life. Todd begins having visions of an older woman, Essie, when he dims the lights. Is she just a figment of his imagination? Or is she a truth teller? When she talks to Todd, she's smart and hopeful. When Todd tells Cal about the ghost, Cal knows her already because Todd's mother spoke with her before her death. Essie was a godsend when Todd's mom was in so much pain. And now, Essie urges Todd to live ... for himself ... for new love. But is she too late?

Rick R. Reed · LGBT+

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11 Chs

Chapter 10

But Cal only grinned. “And vice versa,” he replied, which made Todd both happy and terrified, like he was dangling off the edge of a cliff. Would Cal reach out a hand to pull him up or let him plummet into the abyss? The answer waited, just around the corner. And the thought made Todd feel sicker and sicker. Faint.

“I have something to tell you,” Todd almost gasped. He questioned suddenly why he needed to bother. So what if he and Cal were never more than friends? Wasn’t that enough? Todd didn’t know, not really, if the pair of them were destined to go anywhere anyway, did he?

Oh, but how he wanted them to! And there was no future for them in the romance department if he wasn’t honest. Right from the start. It wouldn’t get any easier as they got to know each other, especially if the attraction and flirting moved from a simmer to a rolling boil.

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