days had parted and I couldn't be more miserable. The sympathetic look was the only one I received nowadays, no matter who it was. Alex, aunty amelia, dad, mom and the one that hurt me the most, Leo. He did occasionally come to see me and update me on what was going on with all the normal teenagers but the boy just couldn't look me in the eye. He couldn't handle the truth. his visits have been rapidly declining and the visits from the shrinks and doctors rapidly inclining which was making me anxious.
"hey bea," the soft, reassuring voice of doctor Bailey said as she walked into my patient room. "How are you today?" she questioned, sitting on the end of my bed. "I'm fine, a little bored though, not many people to socialise with now that Leo is spending more time with his friends." I sighed looking down dreadfully as I began to fidget with the loose strings on the hospital blankets. "Well I have the perfect solution!" doctor bailey replied jumping up from her seat and grabbing the wheelchair that was placed next to the door, pushing it up next to my bed. I hopped into it with hesitance, dr bailey beginning to push the wheelchair out into the corridors.
I shut my eyes quickly as she pushed me past injured people, not risking being triggered. She guided me into the elevator and picked 3, shouting at the doors as well. What could entertain me in this hospital? I practically grew up here, I know every shortcut and every secret hangout. This place was as boring as watching a snail trying to get to the other side of a footpath. What have I missed? quickly my voice was interrupted by the angelic voice of an unfamiliar woman. "hi there, I am doctor swender but you can call me Rebecca!" a tall, wide-eyed doctor smiled, reaching out her hand to shake mine; I followed suit and shook her warm, sweet hand. "h-hi, I'm Beatrix but you can call me bea!" I grinned unsuccessfully, unsure of what I was doing in this unfamiliar ward. "Well I am the head of the cancer unit and I thought you might want to hang out with some of my patients today?" oh for fucksake. I thought to myself, trying my hardest not to roll my eyes at the women. 'hangout' in the cancer ward is the equivalent of doing charity work. They are all either old, druggies or idiots who don't put on sunscreen. lord save us all. "uh-oh that's great!" I replied with a fake but convincing smile on my face. I turned back to doctor bailey and gave a slight nod signalling for her to wheel me into the ward, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as Rebecca opened the doors, scared of what I was about to witness.
There sat a peaceful, lonely tawny brown-haired boy who looked about my age. He was lying back in a somewhat comfortable chair, reading a book that was unfamiliar to me. The title read 'the general and his labyrinth.' "Atticus, I would like you to meet bea." the boy peered up from his book slightly, a small blush creeping up his cheeks but swallowing before I could notice. "Hey bea, nice to meet you!" he said in a very unusual tone for a teenage boy who is spending his summer days inside the cancer ward instead of outside at the beach. "hey," I replied, getting out of the wheelchair without Bailey's permission and sitting on the other chair next to him. "So what are you reading?"
what atticus looks like:
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time flew by and now Atticus and I were sitting in comfortable silence. I checked the clock that was hung on the ceiling and read the time that said: 12:04 pm. "you hungry Atticus?" I questioned breaking him away from his book. "technically chemo throws you off food but sure, why not!" he replied, shutting his book and thinking the same thing that I was. We both stood up and slipped out of the cancer ward, making our way to the canteen. "Oh god, that place is like hell." I gasped as he shut the doors behind us. "get used to it because you'll be spending much more time with me there now that we are friends." friends. my first real friend in the hospital, I beamed at the thought until Atticus snapped me back into reality with his unsettling inquiry. "why are you hear anyways?" he peered over to me and saw my gulp at his comment. what if he found it stupid? What if he thought that I was ungrateful and should suck up what my dad was saying. "oh uh, I am in the psych ward." I tried to laugh it off. Surprisingly, Atticus didn't give me the sympathetic look that everyone else had, instead he said: "I mean where a little mentally I'll, aren't we?" And with that, he took my hand and led me up to the cafeteria.
"This is one damn good chocolate pudding!" Atticus said through a mouthful of the infamous chocolate pudding that was only supplied at the Seattle Grace hospital. I giggled in response. god, I was really starting to like this boy, he made me smile for the first time in weeks. If people were rain, i was drizzle and he was a hurricane. I thought to myself as I engulfed his heartwarming smile. "It's not life or death, the labyrinth." Atticus said out of the blue, obviously referring to his book, the general and his labyrinth. "um, OK. So what is it?" I asked, biting into my newly found sandwich. "suffering, doing wrong and having things happen to you. That's the problem. Bolívar was talking about the pain, a bit about living or dying. how do you get out of the labyrinth of suffering?" he sighed, looking into my lifeless eyes trying his best to find the answer. "The enduring mystery of the labyrinth can be saved," I told him with a sly smirk on my face and I read the time on the clock. 4:45 pm; god time flies. "We have things to do, my dear Atticus, follow me!" I arose from my chair and pulled him away from his half-eaten pudding. I pulled him down multiple flights of stairs as he questioned where we were going but I gave no reply. until we got to the basement that was filled with long rows of unused hospital beds. "Woah this is sick!" he replied with a child-like grin. "I know right, sit!" I gestured to one of the hospital beds and he sat down. "I really like you, you know." I told him as I stared at the wall, only noticing a small smirk creep up his face. "i-i yeah I like you too bea." he replied and with that I turned back round to face him and pushed my lips against his, feeling passion I hadn't felt in a long unsettling time. he leant in and followed suit putting one of his hands on my jawline and one on my hip. I moved closer and felt him smile into the kiss. God, how could a person make you so happy in such a short amount of time? "hey bea is that you?" I quickly pulled away as I heard Alex's voice from around the corner. "oh god bea I didn't-" he said almost as embarrassed as I was. "not it's fine!" I yelped at him all flustered. I quickly got up from the hospital bed, leaving Atticus there and started to run in the other direction, back to the psych ward. slightly embarrassed but also insanely happy.
————————————————————————————— ACTIVE ERA hope you like it 💗
