The Bucket List

another trip to the hospital

Not in my bed.

Not in my car.

Just in the only place I can never seem to escape from.

"What the hell, Morgan?" Julian asks, as soon as I wake up. I look around and notice that he's the only one in the room.

"What?"

"You parked right next to me, I go to get in the car to see you passed out at the wheel with blood dripping from your mouth."

"I don't see your point?"

"My point is why is there blood dripping from your mouth?"

"Are you serious?"

"Serious about what?"

"I thought you knew?"

"Knew what?" I sigh and compose myself.

"I have a lung condition, and I cough up blood because there's tumours in there and I'll be dead in a couple of months."

"Wait, what?"

"What?" I say, really in no mood to talk.

"Are you telling me the truth right now?"

"Why would I lie to you?" I say, and then shudder as I think about Kevin. How he lied to me.

"Is that why you needed blood?"

"Yeah, I thought you would have known by then."

"I thought it was just from the impact from the seatbelt?"

"No." The seatbelt from the car that Kevin was driving.

"Wow, I'm so sorry, Morgan."

"It's fine. I've accepted it, so should you." There's a slight pause and I decide to restart the conversation. "Where is everybody?"

"I figured I shouldn't tell them. I thought you would be out of here soon and if you weren't I would let them know, but I just thought I shouldn't take them away from Rachel. You never did get her that water."

"Right. Right. Whoops. So you didn't tell anyone?"

"Just Kevin. I knew he wasn't close to Rachel and you guys are dating so I thought he should know."

"We're not dating." Is all I can say.

"What?"

"He cheated on me with Emily Hill. I hate her. I hate him."

"You can't hate him!"

"Why?"

"Because I always knew you guys were... You know..."

"Meant to be?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry, but that's just not the case."

"He cheated on you?" He asks, and I feel tears well up in my eyes again.

"Yeah. Yeah he did."

"Are you okay?" He asks. All I can do is shake my head no.

"No... No I'm not okay." I say, covering my face with my hands. "I hate crying, I fucking hate it so much."

"Listen, Morgan. It's okay. Kevin can be an asshole sometimes. Honestly it surprises me that he would do something like that."

"Well he did."

"Do you know why?"

"I don't care. I just want to go home."