Fifteen Minutes

Chapter 2

Bones

The frosty colored popcorn ceiling is all I stare at, the anticipation feeling like fluids running through my whole body. I bend and crack my knuckles as my mind wanders and tries to determine the unknown. It feels senseless to just sit here and wait for my life changing news, so I rolled over to my right side, reaching through the hospital bed railings for my phone on the bedside table. My eyes are greeted with a framed photo of my friends, each with their hand writing on it. I remember when they first brought it in, I got a kick out of it:

"You signed it like your some pop-stars?" 

They all turned to my buddy Tatum (who was really the one who formed the clique), becoming obvious to me that this was his idea.

"hey, I mean if you forget about us and we become famous, we could sell it for a fortune."

This was before we knew what was wrong with me. At the time, I was living with Tatum after I came out as Trans to my family (and as you could guess, it didn't go very well). I was having  symptoms of a flu or some type of stomach bug. We didn't think about it much; I wasn't eating much, had a fever, was constantly tired and weak, and was always sweating, all signs of which we thought were a flu. We left it be till one night I woke up to severe pains all over my body, an intense nosebleed, and red spots forming on my skin. Tatum rapped me up in a blanket off his bed, and quickly rushed me to the hospital in a panic- neither of us understanding what was going on. I was immediately hooked up to over five machines and had doctors checking everything possible: my blood, temperature, heart rate, everything. Tatum told the group chat that he had taken me to the hospital, and the fear of losing me quickly rose. After hours of work and me finally waking up from being put under, I was told that that the so called "flu" was actually a quickly affecting case of Acute leukemia. The news sent Tatum and the rest of my friends into an even worse panic. 

Now, everyone was used to it. There was daily visits and sneaking in gummy bears and chicken nuggets from McDonald's. They never got 'Get Well' balloons or cards, as it just seemed like normal routine by now. Six months straight of being in the hospital, and for only four weeks was it dreadful.

I checked the group chat (which Tatum ironically decided to call 'the h3ll sq@d', because we are all part of the LGBTQ+ in some way) for any new messages. Nothing much other than a few casual hellos, Reece calling Damien a pervert, and good lucks from everyone. I shot a quick message to keep them updated on how it's going, telling them I still waiting for the news. I almost instantly got a response from Angel:

Angel: 'okay! I'm just on my way to pick up Reece right now, but Damien and Tatum should be there soon'

Angel was the mom out of the gang, even though she was the third youngest (Tatum being the oldest, while Damien was a few months older than her). While Tatum helped me for most years of my life after being kicked out, Angel took me under my wing when I was first questioning my gender identity, helping me through it with her story of coming out as Trans.

I was in my own world when I heard a knock on the door. It slowly creaked open as a raspy, low voice came from the other side of the door "Hellooo?-"

I immediately know that tone. I see Damien's head peek around the door- the man just who I thought it was. I watched as Damien smiled when making eye contact with me. My eyes gazed back to the door as I see Tatum slide into the room behind Damien. I respond to them coming in with a weak, but happy smile.

"hiii guys."

"How you doing?.." I noticed Tatum's expression changes to a distressed look, knowing what was about to happen at any given moment. 

Damien and Tatum both took a seat, Tatum sitting on the rusty, uncomfortably padded chair beside the hospital bed, while Damien took a seat on the end of the bed.

"Well..I mean..I'm supposed to be like..upset I think?.." I paused as I see more concern grow across both of their faces. I debated on just not answering the question, but I knew if I didn't answer, it would just make things worse. "...I feel like I'm supposed to feel upset..but I don't think I even feel anything.." I feel a lump grow in my throat, as if I swallowed a giant log or rock. My eyes start to burn and welt up in tears.  Tatum could tell I was getting emotional, as I felt his hand place on top of mine. Damien made his way over to me before giving me a hug, causing me to burst into tears. 

I heard the door squeak open again, but with the emotions I'm in right now, I could care less of who it was. I feel Tatum's arms rap around me too, one of his hands place on my head. I let myself cry on Damien's shoulder, feeling bad for getting his shirt wet.

I hear shuffling from people coming through the door, and another set of arms join the hug. I could tell who it was by the smell:  vanilla and freshly cut grass. I move my head a little to get a view of the figure, and yet again I was correct- Angel, with Reece closely behind her. Her soft voice comforted me while I feel Reece join in.

"Sweetie..it's okay..were here for you-" Angel's gently spoken voice warmed me as Tatum's hand carefully rubbed my back.

"Mr. Kelly?"

All of us released from the hug as we heard the unrecognizable voice, putting our attention the doctor who was standing in the hallway, clipboard in hand and a despondent look on their face. 

"I have the results."