Alex Carter: A Red Band Society Fanfiction

The Aftermath

Leo sat in his room, full of regret, crying. There was a knock at his door, and he turned to see Nurse Jackson. She stared at him, reading his expression. "You know, if you'd gone to physical therapy, it wouldn't hurt as bad."

"It's not that kind of pain," Leo said, hurt.

"I know."

 "I'd been afraid that if I wore the leg, it'd be like this whole thing actually happened."

"But it did happen. It happened to you."

Leo nodded. "I thought, that with Jordi's surgery, there'd be another person here like me." he sighed, his eyes wet with tears. "This morning, when I was waiting for him to come out, I wanted to be there  for him." He sighed again. "But, really,  was counting on him being there for me, so... so I wouldn't feel so... alone."

"You're not alone, Leo. We're all here for you."

"I know. But sometimes I can't feel it."

"You can't run away from your life, Leo. It's yours and it's precious. You just have to claim it," she said with a smile.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Well," Nurse Jackson said, chuckling, "That's what real monkey love is."

"Did that just sound weird because I'm still drunk, or just because it's weird?"

"Both," Nurse Jackson said, leaving.

Leo sat, smiling. He looked out the window, thinking over everything.

"Hey," came Alex's voice from the front of the room. Leo turned around to face her. She approached him, unsure.  

"Hey."

"You okay?"  She asked him.

"I will be."

"Good." She turned to leave.

"Wait. Dash told me what you did at that party," he said, smiling.

"Oh? Did he tell you how I stood on a table?" She said, smiling.

"Oh yeah. He was having too much fun telling me, and I'm pretty sure he didn't leave a thing out."

She smiled.

"So, thanks. I could've gotten seriously hurt."

"No problem." She smiled, and walked back to the doorway.

"Where are you going? Don't you want to know why I went there?"

"I already know why."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I ran into Dr. McAndrew and asked him how Jordi's surgery went." She smiled at him reassuringly. "If it were me, I would've done the same thing."

Leo smiled back. "Thanks."

She nodded and said as she was leaving, "You should still go talk to him, though."

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Jordi sat in his room, not having moved since his surgery. He was disappointed Leo hadn't come in like he said he would. He understood why, but he still wish he'd come. He heard a knock at his door. Disappointed, he saw Alex. The disappointment didn't last long, he liked the new girl. He thought she was pretty cool. She always said something that rocked him.

"Hey," he said.

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah. I didn't realize why he'd let me keep my leg, but..."

She stared at him, confused. "I'm not following you."

He sighed. "The cancer's spread."

Her face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"It's not. You shouldn't have to be so defeated after we tried to help you prepare for what was supposed to happen."

"Hey, there was no good option."

"I wish there was."

"Don't we all."

She sighed, and then said,"Sorry I didn't come to see you sooner, I was planning on coming as soon as I could, but some stuff came up."

"Why?"

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Why would you come in here? It's just surgery."

"No one deserves to be alone. And it's not just surgery. It's a big deal. It's not fair if someone can come but doesn't. That's like saying that your life doesn't matter," she said, explaining.

Jordi stared at her, surprised. He'd forgot how deep this girl was, and how she simply shared the things no one else said. He'd figured he'd get used to her, but he realized that she wasn't someone you got used to. He reached out, and took her hand.

She raised her head, and looked at him. She was right. He did want company. He smiled at her, and she laughed. It was a beautiful sound. The best he'd heard all day.

A few hours later, Alex was still with him, and they were laughing as she told him about her, Dash, and Brittany crashing a college party, when Leo came to the room. Alex smiled, said goodbye and left.

"Hey," Leo said.

"Hey."

"Tough day?"  Leo said, sarcastically.

Jordi laughed. "Wasn't great."

"Oh really? Gosh." Leo said, keeping up with the sarcasm. Then, he turned serious. "I know exactly how I feel."

Leo pulled over a stool, sat down, and there, he and Jordi began telling each other the twists and turns of their crazy day.