When My Shift Ends | ?

twenty-eight | first draft

"You've met her, Sam," Cooper says with a frown, pushing himself up slightly and wincing as the pain in his stomach shoots through his body once more. "If I had a surgery, then surely she would be here."

"You didn't want her to come," Brandon says, shaking his head slowly as if he's afraid of setting him off. "Sam and Nate haven't even met her. You never asked her out."

"What are you talking about? Of course they've met her." By this point, a clear irritation laces his voice. "She's my girlfriend. Why are you guys being so weird?"

Nate turns to the nurse, shoving his hands into his front pockets. "Is he okay?"

The nurse nods, her eyes scanning over the boy in the bed. She sets her clipboard down and makes her way over to Cooper's side. "Why don't you tell us who Ellie is, Cooper."

"She's my girlfriend," he says, just as his mother re-enters the room. Her smile fades when she reads the mood of the room, a look of concern making its way to her face.

"Is everything all right? Did something go wrong with the surgery?" She asks worriedly, making her way to the bed and grabbing hold of Cooper's hand.

"Mom, you know who Ellie is. Right?"

She looks up in thought before slowly shaking her head. "I don't think I've ever heard that name, no. Is everything okay? Should I know her?"

He pushes himself up from the bed, biting down on his lip to hold back a scream of pain, enraged by the way his loved ones are acting. The nurse gently grabs hold of his shoulders, easily guiding him back down. "You can't move, sir. You need to recover. You just underwent a serious surgery."

"I need to go find Ellie. I need you guys to stop staring at me like I'm crazy."

"We don't think you're crazy, Cooper," the nurse says, turning to the rest of the group gathered by his bedside. "He's been under anesthesia during the surgery. It's typical for patients to experience vivid dreams."

Just as he's about to groan and protest that it wasn't a dream, Brandon speaks up, his eyes focused on Cooper's. "You didn't make Ellie up. She's real. You just aren't dating her."

The nurse walks over to Cooper's mom, whispering something in her ear before making her way out to the hall. Cooper's mom gives his hand a quick squeeze, mumbling, "I'll be right back," before stepping out after her.

"What do you mean I'm not dating her?" He finally asks, his eyes scanning over his group of friends, all of whom are wearing uncomfortable expressions.

"I don't know how much you remember," Brandon says slowly, looking down to the floor as his hand shoots up to rub the back of his neck. "I guess I should just start from the beginning."

He sighs, grabbing onto the chair behind him and pulling it closer to the bed before taking a seat in it. Nate and Samantha lean back against the window quietly, awaiting the story. "So when you got diagnosed with cancer, I was going to all your appointments with you. Do you remember that?"

Cooper shakes his head, eyebrows pulled together. "No. I went alone. I met Ellie in the lobby."

Brandon frowns slightly. "No. I went with you to all your appointments. You wouldn't admit that you were scared but I knew you were, so I decided to go with you. We went to one of your appointments and found out the surgery was an option because you only had stage one colon cancer—"

"I didn't have stage one."

"Yes. You did. And thank God you did because colon cancer is one of the hardest to beat." Brandon leans back in his seat. "Now are you going to let me finish this story or not?"