The Hidden Sister of Red Band Society

goodbye stranger...nothing stays the same...we might be dead by tomorrow

That night was so hard. I tossed and turned and cried and various nurses came to check on me five times. I woke up at almost eleven to see the hazy outlines of faces looming over me.
"Who are you?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and straining to see clearly.
"Leo, Emma, Jordi, and Dash," someone replied. I sat up, flustered.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Everyone shrugged.
"Checking on you, I guess," Jordi replied. I glanced at him.
No, I thought, he's too old for you. He probably likes Kara or Emma or something. You can't like him.
"Is everything okay?" Jordi murmured, knitting his eyebrows. "You're staring at me." I blushed and looked away.
"Sorry. I'm tired," I responded. He frowned.
"Coming through!" Nurse Jackson yelled, plowing through everyone. When she got to my bedside, she smiled. "How you doing?"
I shrugged. "Okay, but I slept awfully."
"Okay, well if there's anything you need, sweetness, let me know." I nodded, and watched everyone trail behind the nurse as she left. Now, it was time to explore.

I walked around the pediatric level for awhile, checking things out. As I was walking towards the outside railing, I suddenly crashed into someone. Flailing my arms, I gasped as I nearly fell over the side. The kid I bumped into caught my hand, though, and pulled me over.
"Thanks, sorry," I muttered, "I'm such a klutz." He looked at me, the kid who saved me. My eyes widened.This kid was d--n hot. He was really handsome.
"No problem. Happy to do it for a pretty girl like you," he replied. I blushed furiously.
"Oh, um, thank you," I said, looking at the ground before looking back at him. He laughed.
"I don't think I got your name," the kid said to me.
"Oh, my name is-"
"And I don't need it." I was surprised at his sudden interruption as I said,
"Okay, then. What should I call you if I see you around?"
"I guess we'll still be strangers, right?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Then that's what I'll call you. Anyways, I gotta run, but I'll see you around?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely. See you later."
"Goodbye, Stranger," he said, before turning and walking away. I really hoped that I saw him again.

__________________________

 I continued walking for the day, until I bumped into Dr. McAndrew.
"Hey, Meghan. I'm glad I bumped into you. I'd just like to say that your surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at three," he told me. I nodded.
"Okay. Thanks," I replied flatly. The doctor looked at me.
"Meghan, I need you to be optimistic about this. After the surgery, we'll start the recovery process quickly, and you'll be okay," he said. I frowned.
"How are you supposed to be optimistic about this? I'm tired of this freaking hospital!"I cried.
"I'm not surprised. But you have to keep a positive attitude about this!"
"Even though only some things will change on the outside, nothing stays the same on the inside. People change in this prison, for better or worse. But I don't want to change!"
"You're going to have to. Meghan, you're lucky. Some kids are laying down in their rooms with a million different things hooked up to them. Like you after surgery. Except you know how you have friends around you? These poor little kids, younger than you, are alone."
"That's not my problem. They have their own issues-I'm not supposed to get involved in other people's personal problems."
Dr. McAndrew looked at me scornfully.
"When you're done with your selfish hissy-fit, let me know and we can talk about this. I've got things I need to do."
With that, the doctor that was going to save my life walked away from me.

______________________

Walking around that day made me realize how lonely I was. My mom was back at home packing my stuff up for me, and Leo was probably with his friends, smoking a cigarette or drinking alcohol or something. I hated that he did that kind of stuff sometimes, but I guess he's under so much pressure that he can't help it. He puts too much pressure on himself, and writing this now, with him looking over my shoulder, I can still agree.
At one point, I got really tired of walking around, and had no idea where I was, so I sat down where I was and hung my legs over the side of the balcony. That was when, out of the blue, I sort of lost my developing fear of heights. And falling. Okay.
"You'd better not fall," I heard an unfamiliar voice say. I turned around and saw a kid even HOTTER than Stranger standing there. Plus, he looked more my age.
"Don't worry, if I was going to die, I probably would have already," I told him. I started to stand, and he grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet.
"Keep telling yourself that," he replied. "The worst is yet to come."
I laughed.
"We might be dead by tomorrow," I said to him, "but at least we knew that today. The name's Meghan, by the way."
"That's a very good point, Meghan, but we're being very hypothetical, so it's really a difference of knowing you'll be dead by tomorrow and assuming you'll be dead by tomorrow. All that taken into consideration, I say that death is bulls--t and that we should live forever." There was a silence after that, but it wasn't awkward. It was actually funny, and we both laughed.
"The name's Asher, by the way," he said. I nodded.
"Well, Asher, we should totally hang out sometime," I said.
"Like a date?" Asher asked, backing away. I shook my head.
"No, like a 'hanging out' thing. Just as friends," I responded quickly. Asher nodded.
"Okay. Are you free tonight?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm free pretty much all the time. My brother has this awesome setup going on the roof, we should go there."
Asher nodded.
"I'll grab dinner. Be there by 7. I have to go get hooked up to an IV, but I'll see you later."
"Bye."
And there I had it. I found a friend.