Loving Toby (Completed)

Chapter 40

Luna was exhausted, after sending Toby back to her room with the help of the hospital staff, everything just went on messy real fast. Toby was hysterical, his break down scared her, yet she couldn't blame him either. Now, stuck in her room, Luna just wanted some peace. At least for an hour or two. She fell into a short slumber when her phone started ringing violently on her side table. A phone call that sent her running out of the house at eleven in the evening.

A search party had been assembled, France, Lexus, Athena and even Caleb were running around town, searching for Toby who was reportedly sneaked out of the hospital half an hour ago. Tyra was a mess when she called her, begging her to find her son.

The cold summer air blew harshly on the desolated street, accompanying Luna as she ran to places where Toby could possibly be. Lexus went to the park near the Greene household, yet it was cold and empty, no sign of Toby passing there. Athena and France went to the arcade, the pizza shop and even the alley bookstore that Toby frequently goes to, and like Lexus, none of them was lucky to caught traces of him. Caleb even went as far as asking some of his teammates for help, but Toby was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you, Cooper?" Luna could feel the dreary feeling washing all over her, she was terrified. If only she didn't leave him alone, maybe things would have been a little different. Tyra told her everything after Toby's outburst, the cancer cell was spreading rapidly, and this time, the chemo failed them. It was already a losing battle, leaving the bone marrow transplant as their last resort. But Toby had given up even before the treatment started, he refused to undergo another operation, why? Luna wasn't sure either.

After what felt like hours of wandering all alone, Luna found herself standing in front of Sheldon's big gates. The school was eerily silent, the rustling sound of dried leaves being swayed by the gush of wind making her throat dry. The cold metal hiding in the bushes where she and her friends would sneak in for Senior Pranks Day was still there, Lexus cut the metal fence when they were in sophomore year, and up to this day, no one seems to care enough to find out about their secret door inside the school.

Luna waltz inside the school building, ignoring the fear creeping on her skin, either it was because of the ghost roaming inside the school that their Senior's used to scared them years ago, or the thought of finding Toby lying unconsciously somewhere, all alone and completely broken. She was running up the stairs as fast as her body would let her, ignoring how her lungs felt like it was about to explode from the lack of air as she opened the door, desperately praying and hoping that Toby would be waiting for her on the other side.

"What do you think you're doing here Cooper!?" her words cut through the trance he was in, hoping that she doesn't sound as mad as she truly felt. Toby was standing on the same spot where she'd seen him the first time. Near the edge of the rustling railings, looking as beautiful and broken as he was.

"You came," he whispered loud enough for her to hear, the sound of his voice breaking her resolve into a million pieces. Luna was running towards him in no time, wrapping his cold body on her warmth. He was shivering despite the thick coat and scarf that he was wearing.

"You're an idiot Cooper," she muttered, fighting the growing lump on her throat. Luna put another thick layer of scarf on his neck, desperately avoiding his burning gaze.

"I'm your idiot, Ms. Greene," Toby replied, not missing the teasing tone on his voice as he pulled her back into his arms.

"Let's go back now, everyone's worried about you," Luna deliberately avoided asking him why, why did he run away from the hospital, without a word to a single soul. Why he refused to undergo the operation, why he was being such an idiot and making everyone run around town searching for him. A part of her was scared to know why, scared to hear the brokenness in his voice. Scared that this time, she will crumble alongside him.