Sweetened Facade

Chapter Five

Meet me in the Woods ~ Lord Huron
***
I walked out the door and grabbed my trusty ol' denim jacket. The sky was blue with bits of white clouds, the sun peering through two giant candy floss clouds. It was actually a lot warmer than I imagined. The sun was smoothly spreading its rays over my pale skin, dang, I should have worn sun screen.
I hopped into the blue pick up truck and manoeuvred my way out of the driveway. To skip school and visit Finn? I weighed my options and suddenly took a u-turn at the junction. I want to get lost. I fumbled with the radio tuner until the car was filled with a good alternative track. The windows were rolled down and I let the wind style my hair, mindlessly sinking into the song that played on the radio. Traffic was never too bad around the suburbs, especially where the hospital was situated.
The insurance money left behind was enough to cover the cost of Finn's treatments, and, if God forbid anything ever happened to me, I would be taken care of too.
By the time I arrived Finn was already awake and watching cartoons. The doctor reassured me that he was improving, but that it was vital he stayed a little longer to ensure the infection is really cleared up.
Finn's face lit up as I appeared in front of him. "Surprise!" I playfully peek-a-booed. His eyes were soft as he beckoned me on to sit beside him on the bed. There was a small bowl of pretzel sticks on the little bedside table, but he'd left them aside because they were too crunchy for his weak teeth.
"What are you watching?" I perked up.
He looked away shyly. "Just that movie you used to watch all the time. You know the one with, uh-"
"Jennifer Lopez!" I exclaimed excitedly upon recognising her on screen. "Maid of Honour or something. I watched that movie with Mum and she used to always laugh and cry along with the characters in the film!" Reminiscing about my parents was something that I did often. Finn wouldn't get too upset about it because he was really young and couldn't really remember much.

I'll never forget though.

***
Finn was tired and dozed off to sleep about two hours into my visit. By now, my tiredness was catching up to me and I couldn't stay awake for much longer. Quietly getting up, I put Finn's hand down and made my way out of the warmth of his room into the cold and clinical hallways.
Hospitals always frightened me, and I hated having to come here alone. It reminded me of that night. I hated the smell of disinfectant and knowing that on one end, life was being given to a new human, while in another end, somebody was losing their life.
The hospital coffee shop was small, usually occupied by the terminally ill or the elderly. I made my way to the wooden counter, examining the coffee menu intently before making my choice.
"Caramel macchiato, please," I yawned slightly. The girl behind the counter was short and plump, modelling a plain black shirt, her vibrant black hair tied up neatly. She made herself busy behind the counter and I distracted myself from the awkwardness of watching her work by looking through the different chocolates they had available. I selected the cheapest dark chocolate and put it on the counter.
"€3.50"
"Make that €6. I'll get whatever drink she's having." A soft voice spoke from behind.
I turned around stunned, only to meet Dylan O'Grady's eyes. He wore a miserable grey tshirt and black joggers, and his eyes were red, tired. Seeing the light shine on him gently like that made  me notice his entrancing green eyes. He quietly passed over some coins, gently pushing me to get by. I opened my mouth to speak, but he did before me.
"You're welcome, Tate." He looked at me now, eyeing my appearance. I must have looked a little bit funny as he spent too long looking at me.
The girl behind the counter made herself busy once again, and in a matter of seconds, she placed down two hot cups of coffee hybrids.
"Thanks," I muttered, not entirely sure to which person I was directing it at.
I was about to walk away when Dylan put his hand on my shoulder. I turned around abruptly, startled by his sudden movements. "What are you doing?!" I snapped.
He pulled his hand away quickly, as if he'd just pricked his finger in a thorn. "Gee Tate. You really have no chill. Cmon, you're sitting with me. I got you coffee and that chocolate bar. I could use the company." I sighed reluctantly and trailed behind him, sitting down by a large window overlooking the playground.
"Hospitals suck." He sipped the foam on his hot drink, leaving behind a moustache of cream. I choked back a laugh when I saw his face, motioning towards it with my hand. He quickly realised and was wiping it away with his wrist.
"Why are you here anyway?" I asked quietly, hoping I didn't sound insensitive. The last thing I wanted to do was to treat other people the way they had treated me; poorly.
He sighed, sitting in silence for a few moments before responding.
"Just visiting someone," he muttered indifferently. Is he trying to mask his weakness or is he just really indignant towards the person he's visiting?
"Same," I responded, sipping on my coffee. We sat in an awkward silence, enjoying the comfort of not being alone.
"Do you come here often?" He peeked up.  I nodded slightly before mentioning how I now the names of the doctors and nurses, and even the secretary, JoAnn, who always spilled her latest gossip to all the other workers, and some patients, and some visitors even. He started out the window, the deafening silence took over once again.
"Who are you visiting?" I inquired politely. I'd never seen Dylan here before, so the person he was visiting must have only gotten here recently.
"Just an old friend," he replied with a blatant tone. I didn't expect him to try keep the conversation going, but I was okay with that.
I put my feet up on the steel chair and repositioned myself so I could rest my chin in my knee. Dylan actually had a nice side profile, I'd never noticed in class because I didn't really bother trying to mingle with people from school. We sat together for a few of our classes, but we never really spoke. I'm pretty sure he introduced himself at the beginning of the year, but that was all. And to see him here now, like this, was weird.
I tried to lighten up the conversation. Maybe that was all he needed. Maybe I can help ease a bit of pain.
"Do you like music?" I asked timidly, avoiding his eyes. I could feel them watching me intently. His lips curled upward and he grinned a little.
"Yeah. I love it. Helps me cope with life." He smiled proudly, confirming that I had pulled on the right strings.
"Who do you like?"
"You know, Drake, A$AP Rocky, Post Malone. But I also have a thing for chill tunes. Actually I'm quite open minded. You?" The questioned was returned and I started to wonder- what do I even listen to?!
"I used to really live for ABBA," I smiled at the memory of Mum and I dancing to the soundtrack of Mamma Mia, singing our lungs out. "I hate them now though." My smile turned to a scowl, remembering that I can't enjoy it anymore, not without her. "Idk. I guess I really love Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, maybe some Guns'n'Roses. Oh and Queen." My response came out smoothly, almost rolling off my tongue.
"Ah, old school stuff, eh? I kind of hate admitting it but I low-key love The Monkeys."
I snickered at his input and his eyes lit up. Time flew by quickly. I glanced at the clock in the canteen and panicked a little, remembering Finn was alone upstairs.
"I have to go," I quickly grabbed my paper cup and left. He could keep the chocolate bar, after all, he paid for it. I left without giving him the chance to say anything. Not like he actually wanted to stay with you silly.

I waited patiently for the elevator doors to open as anticipation started to build up. My heart rate was increasing and the world started to sway gently around me. Everything seemed light, and I found myself floating, floating for what felt like an eternity. My vision became blurry all of a sudden as my head hit something hard.

And then everything went dark.