Room 1013

Fickle Game

Keith was transported back to Texas after being stabilized. Even then, he crashed multiple times during the flight. Lance begged and cried to his parents all night to let him go, but they refused. Exams were in two days. He had to take them. No excuses.

Lance lied in his bed and stared at the wall, clutching the stuffed lion to his chest. The sight of blood running down Keith's chin was printed on his eyelids. He knew next to nothing. He had no idea if Keith was even alive right now. The worst part was that he couldn't do anything about it. Keith was so scared, but he couldn't save him. Would that be the last he ever saw of him? Is he never gonna see his angelic smile again? No more of his long fluttering lashes? Lance couldn't be at his side because of a fucking test? If this was how things were going to be, he didn't want to go to school. He wanted to drop out and run to him. He wanted to defy his parents and drive off with his middle finger up.

Lance took a deep breath. He knew he was being irrational, but he didn't care. Just two more days. Two days and he can go. He whispered a prayer, "Please hold on until I'm there."

Pidge and Hunk gave him space the next day. They were just as worried; and wanted room to think as well. Keith had quickly become the group's ray of sunshine. When he collapsed, their world shattered. It was like seeing someone who's always happy and strong suddenly break down in tears. School and eating and sleeping and living in general all became unimportant. The only thing they wanted to do was beg for Keith's life to any god that would listen. The entire day went by in a fuzzy blur.

"You will have forty minutes to complete the last section," a packet was placed on Lance's desk, "do not start until I tell you. Do not look at previous sections."

Lance stopped listening to the routine instructions he had heard over a million times and stared at his name written on the grey paper. Forty minutes. Forty minutes and he can go to Keith.

The test administrator returned to her desk and looked at her watch, "If you finish before the time, you may turn in your booklet and answer document. Then, you may leave. Your time starts now."

Lance ripped open the booklet and flew through the questions. Getting them all right wasn't top priority. He had already wasted two days, he couldn't spare any more. By the time he got to the last ten questions, he just filled in all As and closed the books.

Lance finished the test in twenty two minutes. He practically threw the booklet onto her desk and ran out of the room, snatching his backpack as he did. He got to his car and sped out of the parking lot. A suitcase sat in his back seat; a plane ticket in hand. He spent the flight picking at his nails and holding back the urge to punch someone. Lance went straight to Arlington. Nurse Mack was in the front; he greeted him enthusiastically and led him to Keith's room.

Keith lied in his hospital bed with his eyes gently closed. The blinds were open, flooding the room with sunlight that brightened his deathly pale skin. He was in a hospital gown, so Lance could see how thin his arms actually were. Keith's skin was stretched over thin, brittle bones that fought against it. His obsidian hair looked more depressed than usual, even if his face was content. Various wires sprouted from his arm and clipped to his finger. They filled the room with a deafening concert of melancholy beeping.

Krolia stood from the chair next to Keith's bed and walked over to Lance, bringing him into a motherly hug. She sniffled a few times and held him tighter. Lance stayed limp in her arms and kept his unblinking eyes on the small rising of Keith's chest.

Krolia pulled away and wiped her cheeks. She motioned to the door and whispered, "Let's talk outside. I don't wanna wake him."

Lance obliged, leaving his suitcase inside the room next to the sink. The two stood in a tense silence for a few minutes before Lance finally spoke up. "Is he okay?"

"Oh honey," Krolia chuckled through her tears, "he-well, he should return to normal after a while of rest."

Lance kept his eyes on her shoes and crossed his arms, "What happened to him?"

She sighed, "Just a little infection and exhaustion."

A tear fell from Lance's eye and crashed on the dull tile. His voice shook, "Is it because I didn't keep his mask on?"

Krolia's face dropped. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to his level, "Of course not, sweetie." She bit her lip and gulped, "Sometimes these things just happen. There's nothing you could've done."

"I could've-" he shook his head in thought, "I could've kept him home with me and-and made sure he got the right food and plenty of rest." He let out a pitiful sob, "I could've made everyone sit down instead of walking through town!"

Krolia yanked him back into a hug and rocked him. She shushed and pet his hair.

He cried, "There's so much I could've done!"

"Oh, Lance." She cradled his head. "Even with that, he could've still gotten sick." She pulled back and moved the hair from his eyes, "Do you remember what I told you about leukemia?"

His eyes fell in recollection, "Oh god, he's in the blast phase."

She forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah. He is." She cupped his cheek, "And that means he will get sick a lot easier and a lot more often."

"Isn't there something they can do?!" He looked up at her in desperation, "Isn't he on another treatment?! I mean, there's new meds and chemo and-just-there just had to be something they can do!"

Lance could see Krolia's heart break right in front of him. He heard the shatter and watched the pieces crash to the floor. Krolia spoke in a shaky mumble, "You don't know."

Lance's breath hitched. Tears had stained his cheeks and collected on his jaw. "Know what?"

"Lan-" she was interrupted by a pitiful sob. "Lance," her mouth quivered as she spoke in a broken whisper, "Keith was put into Hospice."

It took a while for the words to register in Lance's mind. His whole world stopped. The heart in his chest fell silent. "No." More tears fell to the floor like bombs. He brought his hands up to rest in his hair. "No." His voice tightened up and quivered. "No." Lance glanced back at the door and shook his head. "No. No. No."

Krolia removed her hands from his arms, "I'm so sorry, I thought you knew." She covered her face with her hands. "There's nothing else they can do for him."

"But-" he lifted his hands in protest, fighting to sort out the jumbled mess in his head, "But what about chemo?!"

Krolia's lips pushed into a thin line as her eyes fell. She slowly shook her head, "He refused it."

"Then what meds is he taking?!"

She shrugged, "Mostly painkillers."

Lance's face scrunched up in heartbreak, "No. He can't be-he-!" He sniffled and clamped his eyes shut, "That's why he was so upset."

Krolia hesitated, "Yes."

Lance wiped his cheeks and went back into the hospital room, leaving Krolia in the hall. He stared back at the peaceful Keith as he walked over to the side of the bed without wires. He carefully pulled back the blanket and pushed Keith over to create room. Lance kicked off his shoes and lied down next to him, wrapping his arms around Keith's frail body.