Young and Doomed | Frerard

Chapter Sixteen

It was late afternoon when Bob told Mikey he was leaving.

Mikey hadn't known what to say. Would 'congratulations' have been correct? He wasn't sure. It didn't feel like a celebration to him; it felt like quite the opposite. Mikey had stayed silent instead, biting his nails and letting his hair cover his eyes.

A few tests had shown that Bob's body was responding well to the chemo, and it wasn't necessary for him to stay at the hospital. He'd come back four times a week to check in, but would return home after. Bob promised Mikey he'd drop by, and Mikey had smiled a little at that.

Mikey wasn't sure how he felt now as Bob's dad arrived, finishing the last of the paperwork before Bob was able to go. The boy paused by Mikey's bed on the way out, pressing a paper bag into his hands.

"What's this?" Mikey asked in surprise, and Bob shrugged, casually glancing at his dad to make sure he wasn't watching. "Stuff I thought you might like," He replied, messing up Mikey's hair playfully. "I'll be back in two days, you won't even notice I'm gone." Bob said, assuring Mikey as he left.

After he'd gone out of sight, Mikey decided to open the bag. It wasn't like he had anything else to do; he wasn't really supposed to leave the room, and although the TV in the corner provided substantial entertainment at times, Mikey couldn't concentrate on it at the moment.

The first item he pulled out was a long, plastic rod. Mikey examined it for a few moments, before deeming it one of Bob's e-cigarettes and quickly hiding it back in the bad. The second item was a pair of keys, labelled "Second Floor Cabinet D" and "Stairs." Bob had written a note next to them. It read, Thought you might find these fun. Mikey didn't know what "Second Floor Cabinet D" was, but "Stairs" were pretty self-explanatory.

The third item made Mikey's breath stop.

A candy bar. Three, actually. The sight, the feel, the smell – it was too much for Mikey. He dropped the bar as if had burned him, pushing it off his bed with a kick of his foot. Get that thing away from him.

Hugging his knees tight to his chest, Mikey put his head down and closed his eyes. A candy bar. That's all he'd wanted from that store when the police had caught him. He'd been stealing, and stealing was wrong, and he was in so, so much trouble –

"Hey, are you feeling alright?"

Mikey pulled his head up. A nurse was in his doorway, a worried expression on her face. "Yes, I'm fine," Mikey said, forcing a weak smile. "I just have a lot of medication,"

"Alright, sweetheart,"The nurse continued down the hall, and Mikey let out the breath he didn't knowhe was holding. Making sure she was gone, Mikey got of bed and put a pillowvertically in his bed. Grabbing the pair of keys off his bed, Mikey took hisheart monitor off the stand and pulled out his IVs. The sting of the needlesbeing drawn out of his arm made him inhale sharply, but he ignored it and ranout of the room without looking back. 

wow that was a short-ass chapter but tHIS FIC IS sO muCH LONGER THAN ID THOUGHT