Make a Wish || Rhett and Link

Chapter 45 - Sick Days

***** Rhett's Point of View *****

"Geez man, you look terrible!" Link exclaimed as I walked out to the car the next day.

I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes. "At about 3 in the morning, Cooper woke and starting throwing up everything she ate yesterday. She's been really sick all night."

"Is she alright?" Link asked.

"She's staying home today, her fever's high and she's pretty unwell." I said nervously. "I was going to stay with her, but you know how persuasive she is when it comes to these things."

Link frowned. "You're not going to be able to film when you look as terrible as you do. Maybe work from home today or take the day off. It'll be fine dude."

I sighed. "You sure?"

"Course." Link smiled. "Now get your butt inside!"

I laughed as I climbed out of my best friend's car and walked back inside my house. My phone beeped in my pocket.

Link: Take it easy today, and look after her!

I smiled and walked back into the kitchen, where Jessie and the boys were just starting their homeschooling for the day.

"Hey guys. I'm taking the day off. Link says I look like crap." I announced.

"You do." Locke agreed.

Jessie smiled and nodded. "Good, you can keep an eye on Cooper for me. She's finally getting some sleep, so make sure you're quiet."

I nodded. "I think we walked her too much yesterday."

Jessie chuckled. "Maybe."

I sat down in the office and opened my laptop, before going through a couple of scripts for sketches that Link had sent me through. It didn't take long, and then I spent a little while playing some chords on my guitar for a new song. My sick days were normally when I got the most songwriting done because there aren't really any interruptions.

As soon as I finished my little guitar solo (I had got a little carried away), I heard a slight knock at the door. Cooper smiled at me.

"You're really talented."

I chuckled. "Not really, but it's a hobby."

"Slash job. You're a songwriter." Cooper said, sitting down on the other chair. "Play what you wrote"

I picked my instrument up off of the floor and played the riff again. Cooper began doing a drum beat on the desk with her hands, which was actually pretty good.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm a percussionist. I play the drums." She shrugged.

"Really?" I asked. "I never even thought."

Cooper shrugged. "I did a lot of things as a kid. I never truly found something I really liked, until I discovered the drums and skateboarding. Those two became my life, really. I never had a drum kit though, my Dad could never afford it. So what I used to do was go to the music room at school at lunch most days and I'd play there. It was awesome. Skateboarding was really big to me because it was the first real thing that I was passionate about. I used to skate for like, 4 hours a day after school. It was funny really, that hobby was what got me diagonsed."

"How?" I asked.

Cooper sniffled slightly. "Until I was 13, I was uber-girly. You know, everything pink, loved shopping, that kind of stuff. And now, that kind of stuff makes me want to puke, I'm such a tomboy. But I was never like that growing up. So when I was 13, it all just sort of kind of changed for me. I no longer was interested in the stuff I used to be interested in. My friends didn't seem so cool anymore. And this was about a month before I started getting headaches. And the problem was, my parents never thought much of my headaches for far too long. I went on for an entire year with migraines every few days, before I even went to the doctor. And then they just gave me medication and told me to move on. But that didn't work obviously. So 4 months after that, we went to a specialist, who told me it was probably stress."

"The only real reason I was diagnosed was because I was sitting outside the office of the specialist with my sister, and she was asking if I wanted to go shopping with her, and I said something about how that sounded like hell or something like that. And she went off her nut at me and started going on and on about how I'd changed and I wasn't myself or something like that. Anyways, My Mom and Dad came out to try and sort out the fight, but the specialist overheard my sisters conversations and interrupted. He asked about whether I'd had personality changes, and the obvious answer was yes. So he sent me to get my brain scanned. Because personality changes are a symptom of brain tumors. So I was diagnosed. It's funny really, if it wasn't for my sister and I fighting, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Wow." Was all I could manage.

Cooper fiddled with her fingers. "I don't know whether to blame them or not for not taking me to see someone sooner, I mean, the fact that it was discovered so late is really the whole reason I'm terminal."

"I'm afraid I can't help you." I said. "You did say something about not being able to afford a drum kit. Maybe it was financial reasons."

She sighed. "Maybe."

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

Cooper sighed. "I'm just weighing some things up, I guess. I've learned a lot about my family since they've died, like the fact that they were considering divorce, and that my Dad had a gambling problem. It's all just slotting into place, and it feels weird."

"I get that." I nodded. "Similar with you. The more we talk, the more things I learn about you, and the more reasons I get for why you do the things you do."

Cooper started to nod, but her face turned a shade of white and she sprinted out of the room to the bathroom. I sat by her side as she threw up all the treats she'd eaten on her birthday yesterday. I gently patted her back until she was done.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

She wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Not really."

"I think it's bed rest for you Super-Cooper." I sighed.

She grumbled something to herself, but didn't argue. I tucked her in, and began to walk out.

"Rhett?"

I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Can you come and lie with me for a little bit?" She asked shyly.

"Sure" I shrugged. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on top of the blankets. Cooper snuggled into me the best she could.

"You're so warm" She mumbled.

I placed a hand on her arm. "And you're really cold." I said, pulling the blanket up over her.

"Mhm" She murmured, obviously falling asleep.

And I don't know whether it was the fact that I hadn't had much sleep, or the fact that this was the most comfortable bed in the house, but I put my head back, and fell asleep too.  

Hiya everyone!

Comment of the chapter goes to GeekyMeerkat2602 for her awesome comment that just made me smile like an idiot. She has some awesome works worth checking out as well, so maybe go have a look at her account.

Thanks to you all, you rock my world.

Stay awesome!

~Zoe