Sadness and Sunshine

Chapter 10

Frank stroked my hair and let me sleep, and I stayed on his belly for an hour or so. I woke up to the jolt of him coughing and fell off the bed, taking most of his stuff with me. It wasn't an ordinary cough; it was wet and sounded unpleasant. It didn't sound like he was coughing anything up and it was violent, like he was going to cough up his lungs as tiny shriveled up cotton balls. It went on for a long time and I panicked, asking if he was okay and staying by his side. Frank's eyes were big, signifying that he was scared too.

There was a lot going through my head, mostly knowing this could be the end. I gently sat him up and patted his back, trying to keep him calm. Frank really couldn't breathe so I tried to ease the coughing by running my hand up and down his back, trying to help him calm down more than anything. His chest was heaving and his breaths sounded raspy and uneven. The coughing went on for a long time, so I did all I could to help him breathe properly, breathing with him and showing him to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth.

Frank's eyes started to look more relaxed and the coughing became a little less intense and just hoarse. He closed his eyes and kept breathing as I instructed, everything slowly going back to normal. I held his hand and kept him as calm as possible, talking to him as his breathing slowed.

"You're okay, Frank," I whispered in his ear.

He sank down into the bed once his breathing became normal once and or all. Sensing that there was still tension, I rubbed his soft arm and gently massaged him. He swallowed thickly like usual and went limp. He looked pretty exhausted so I let him be, getting up with care to pick up all of his things. An entire collection of T shirts had fallen onto the floor, still folded but now laying in a messy pile. I soon noticed they were all band shirts, aside from a few that were Mickey Mouse. I looked up at the bed to find Frank asleep, so I didn't bother him. I put all of his shirts in his bag and found a spot in the side pockets for everything else. When that was all done, I sat in the chair beside the bed and watched him sleep.

The sky was turning a dark gray and lightning was zapping around in the clouds. The low rumble of the thunder put me at ease and soon the rain started. The soft sound of the rain beating on the hospital roof soon put me to sleep, and I didn't mind one bit. I soon started dreaming, finding myself in a strange world of greens and blues. It was the most calming dream I'd had in weeks, and all the sounds around me made their way into it. The storm, Frank's breathing, and the sounds of the hospital all came together into one strange entity. I felt like I shouldn't have been feeling as good as I did, but it felt good to maybe be able to call myself okay. I was still so scared of everything and my ability to function without a crutch, in this case Frank, was nonexistent. But I felt like I mattered, and maybe that was what I'd been lacking all along. I had no family to speak of and Frank truly had been my saving grace. The friend when the world was my enemy, the cool drink of water when the world was fire. He was my best friend.