When former beauty pageant queen, Ellie Wilde, hears of her grandmother's sickness, she's the first to offer to drive her to her chemotherapy. What she didn't know she was agreeing to was an obnoxiously cheerful blond boy somehow nudging his way int...
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Cooper's eyes flutter open slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness of the hospital room. He feels a weight on his hand and turns his head slightly to discover his mom holding onto him, her head resting on the edge of the bed.
He licks his dry lips, eager for a glass of water, before clearing his throat and muttering a croaky, "Mom?"
Her head shoots up in an instant, eyes wide as she drinks in her son's face. Tears begin pooling in her eyes as a smile tugs at her lips. Within seconds, she's grabbing onto his face and planting a sloppy kiss to his cheek.
"What's going on? Where am I?" He asks drowsily, taking in his surroundings. His eyes land on the flowers by the window, wondering just how many people have come to see him since he's been here.
His mother reaches for the call button next to his bed, summoning a nurse into the room. Her hand finds Cooper's cheek once more as she stares lovingly into his eyes. "We thought we lost you for a minute there. Your heart stopped but they brought you back. I should call your father. Your friends are in the hall; I'll go grab them. They must be eager to see you."
Before he has a chance to question her any further, she's pulling her phone from her purse and stepping out into the hallway. Unsure what to do with himself, he glances around the room once more, a fogginess to his vision. When he moves to sit up, a shooting pain comes from his abdomen, keeping him down. Wincing, he pulls the blanket off to observe his wound. Pulling his hospital gown up, his eyes find the long incision mark on his stomach, causing a sudden sense of worry to fall over him.
"Jesus Christ, dude," Brandon says, entering the room and immediately covering his eyes. "At least warn a guy if you're just going to be letting it all hang out like that."
Cooper covers himself up with his hospital gown before pulling the blanket up once more. "Why do I look like someone harvested my organs?"
Samantha and Nate step inside the room after Brandon, the three making their way over to the side of the bed. Cooper stares back at them, though they're backlit by the light from the window behind them. Nate tilts his head slightly, confused by the question. "Your surgery."
"What surgery?"
The nurse enters the room at that moment, a clipboard in her hand as she makes her way over to the computer. Brandon turns to her, a frown on his face. "He doesn't know he had surgery."
The nurse smiles reassuringly. "That's perfectly normal. He'll start remembering things soon. Don't worry."
"Where's Ellie?" Cooper asks, finally noticing that he hasn't seen her yet.
His friends exchange glances, none of them seeming to want to be the one to answer the question. With a sigh, Brandon turns back to Cooper. "What do you mean where's Ellie?"
"I mean, where is she? Why isn't she here?"
"Who's Ellie?" Samantha asks, her eyebrows pulled together.
