Interlude I

Leo rubbed his forehead. The flash of heat was coming on quicker than it usually did. It took everything he had not to flinch over the throbbing pain in his forearm.

A knock came at his door shortly before the nurse cracked open the door.

"Leo? May I come in?" the nurse asked.

Leo quietly thanked the nurse for her incredible timing. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up the façade in front of Shore.

"Yes, you can come in," said Leo. He watched as Shore ran to the opening door, stopping short just a couple of feet. The nurse smiled when she saw her and Leo took this chance to massage the pain in his muscles.

"Come in," said the nurse, motioning for another to follow behind her. It was rare that Leo saw these two on duty. The first who'd entered was named Samantha, the second was Rachel. Samantha fingered an errant strand of her chestnut-brown hair behind her ear as Rachel kneeled to give Shore a hug. The two had become familiar with Leo and Shore at this point, and Leo saw them as friends. "Rachel, can you escort Shore to the lobby and call the mother?"

"Of course," Rachel said, rising.

"Bye, Leo!" Shore said, turning around briefly and blowing a kiss to him. Leo caught the imaginary kiss and smiled as the two waved on their way out.

When they were gone, Samantha's expression darkened. Turning to look at Leo, she approached his bedside and put a medical chart in the cubby behind him. Leo squeezed his eyes tightly, allowing himself to moan in pain.

"God, it hurts," he rasped. "Please, help me. Make it stop."

"I have something for you right here, just hang in there, Leo." Samantha worked behind the bed with the IV while Leo rocked back and forth, gritting his teeth. Beads of sweat traveled down the sides of his head and his face was becoming clammy. A tingling sensation shot up his arm on occasion, and each time it did Leo wanted to scream. When she was done, Samantha grabbed his good arm gently and hook a needle into the vein before taping it against his skin. "It's going to take a minute, but you should feel the relief soon."

"Guh!" Another sharp wave of pain swept over him. Leo kicked and mere seconds later, a cool sensation entered his body, starting at the forearm Samantha has poked. The feeling was as if someone dunked the entirety of his organs into a pool of ice-cold water. And it felt amazing. Leo drew a deep breath and leaned back against the cushion. Pure bliss. "You are an angel."

"Hardly," she said with an obviously forced smile.

As the minutes passed and silence filled the air, Leo's head began to clear now that it wasn't filled with thoughts of taking off his own arm. With each second that passed, the discomfort only grew. The sound of shuffling papers as Samantha worked wasn't do any favors either.

"You can tell me," Leo finally said. He stared at the ceiling while he spoke. He'd spent far more time in this sterile box of white than he would've liked. Extended visits were never a good sign in a hospital. "I'm ready."

"Okay," Samantha whispered. She inhaled and took a chair from the corner of the room, dragging it to Leo's side and sitting. "It's not very easy to say this, and… I can only imagine how this will make you feel, but the doctor spoke with me." She paused. "Your disease is terminal, Leo."

"Yeah. Had a feeling."

"Huh?"

Leo forced a smile as he turned his head toward her, still leaning against the bed.

"Nobody stays in a hospital as long as I do without something being seriously wrong with them." He shrugged. "It only makes sense if you think about it."

"But." Samantha furrowed her brow. "Aren't you upset?"

"A little bit, yeah. I mean, that means I'm going to die right? I think anyone would be upset." Leo turned to the side opposite and looked at the stars. "What else can I do?"

"The doctor is going to do everything in his power to help you. He has some ideas. We haven't given up yet, so I don't think you should either. I don't know the specifics, but we'll have the doctor talk to you tomorrow. Even so, though, we felt you had a right to know."

"I take it that I won't be leaving any time soon, then."

"We can't stop you, but we don't advise it. Your body is breaking down. Even exercise could seriously hurt you."

"I see."

A shooting star streaked across the sky. It'd been the fourth one he'd seen in a month. The thought of making a wish came and left with the star. Leo forced a smile before turning back to the nurse. Leo glanced at the book on his lap, thinking briefly on the story he'd shared with Shore that evening. With slow movements, Leo moved to put the book under the cushion, stopped only for a moment by Samantha.

"Wait, let me do that for you, Leo," she insisted.

"Nah, don't worry. I'm not just gonna sit here like a corpse while this disease kills me." When he was done, he remained sitting up. "Hey, sorry if I'm sounding like a jerk, but can I be alone for a while? I'm kinda tired."

"Of course," Samantha nodded and rose from her seat. She put a gentle hand on his arm. "Just beep me if you need anything, okay?"

Leo smiled and nodded.

When Samantha was gone, Leo bowed at the neck, his mind a cacophony of thoughts. This story needed to complete itself, one way or another.

I wonder how much time I have left, he thought.

Tears formed at the corners of his eyes and his nose began to run. His fingers curled between the sheets as his mind imagined people at his funeral. Leo's breath hitched, and soon he could no longer put on the face. He wept into his hands, profusely, quietly.

Why was his life being cut so short?