crash// (cole sprouse fan fic)

hours 82-90

Friday's little sister was here and so was Lili. Have you ever been in a room with the girlfriend of the guy you macked on? It's not pleasant.

"Hey Lili," I greeted her as I walked in. Her hand quickly went to hold Cole's. "How are you doing today, Cole? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Cole answered. "Lil, it's fine— it's just Collins," he said as he slid his hand away from hers.

I was confused but tried to not to make it too obvious. I brought a hand behind my ear, unsure of what to do with myself. I didn't quite know how to react. I didn't quite know what was going on.

"Oh, she knows?" Lili asked Cole.

"No, I don't think so. I mean— I don't remember telling her," Cole replied.

"That doesn't mean much," Lili muttered.

"Even if she doesn't know, she doesn't care," Cole responded.

"Hi, I'm right here," I waved. "You can just ask me if I know. It's sort of weird when people talk about you when you're right here as if you're not right here."

"Well, there you have it. She doesn't know," Lili concluded. "If she knew, we wouldn't need to ask."

Cole began to get frustrated. "I don't see why you care so much."

"Because Cole—," Lili started.

"You know, I'm going to leave. Page me if you need something," I interrupted as I took a couple steps backwards to leave the room. I could tell Lili was getting on her soapbox and I did not want to stick around.

"Collins, wait," Cole tried.

"Thank you." Lili answered at the same time.

Lili looked at Cole with clear frustration and exasperation. Cole looked back and forth sat both of us, clearly caught in the middle. Meanwhile, my eyes darted between the two of them, completely overwhelmed at what was going on.

"Yeah," I mumbled and nodded as I left the room. "Too early for this ."

I left the room and went to find the nearest coffee machine. I always thought the coffee vending machines were cool. I didn't really want a coffee but I definitely didn't want to be in Cole's room and I definitely didn't want to sit at the nurse's station and risk having to explain to someone why I'm out there. I could go downstairs to the cafeteria. I hadn't visited Evelina, Gary, and Matty downstairs in awhile.

I went down to pay them a visit and kill some time but it was just Matty there when I arrived. He told me  Evelina went to help feed the babies in the neonatal unit and Gary wasn't going to come in until the weekend. He was working at his restaurant during the week.

"Want to play a round of Rummy?" I offered to Matty.

He had been sitting down at a table, scrolling through his phone. He was "holding down the fort."

"500?" Matty asked with a smile as I pulled the deck of cards out of my bag.

I nodded as I took the seat across from him and started shuffling.

"So how's it going up there?" Matty asked as I shuffled the cards in my hand.

"Eh, it's fine. I just have one patient so sometimes it's fun and other times, it's pretty boring." I made a bridge with the cards and let them fall in order.

"I take it this is one of the boring times?" Matty wondered.

I began dealing the cards out to each of us. "Nah, I started. He's up there fighting with his girlfriend."

"Ouch, that's probably not good for recovery. You don't think you should be up there?" Matty asked as he discarded a card.

"Nah, I saw him when I got here. He's alive— if he starts dying, she'll say something." I concluded as I picked up a card from the deck and put it back down.

"The girlfriend?" My opponent asked.

"Mhmm," I confirmed.

"That he's currently fighting with? That girlfriend?" He tried again.

I paused for a moment and looked at Matty. "She's not a killer!" I concluded after hesitating for a moment to really think about it.

"Whatever you say, Collins," Matty's voice trailed.

"Make it 250," I said. "I'll check on him again after."

"Collins!" He scolded.

"What? He's hooked up to stuff. If she tries anything, it'd trip some alarm," I explained.

"That's not how that works," he said shocked.

I shrugged. "It's your turn." I prompted him. If he cared so much, he should move faster. The quicker we finished the game, the quicker I could go check on Cole.

The game needed within fifteen minutes. Matty completed dominated. He managed to get the full set of aces, but I still think it's because I didn't shuffle well. He was distracting me earlier. He gathered the cards in his hand and nodded his head towards the door. "Go make sure your patient is alive," he emphasized.

"Fine," I muttered as I stood up to leave. He handed the deck over and I went upstairs to sit with Cole.

Cole was alive when I got there. He was breathing heavily as though he was nodding off but he perked up a bit when I walked in.

"Hey," he tried.

"Lili left?" I asked but he only nodded.

"Everything all right?" Cole only nodded again.

"Cool, glad to hear it." I took a seat beside his bed. It didn't sound sincere in the slightest but I felt like I was supposed to say it. The last thing I wanted to do was seem jealous and unsupportive. That would risk bringing up the kiss that he had forgotten about. Cole's head dropped to the side as he slowly blinked at the TV.

I got up to fluff his pillows so he wouldn't get a sore neck. He leaned up as best as he could to help me out. "Collins, don't leave me," Cole muttered. "It sucks being alone in here— like no one cares."

"Well, I have to leave at some point. You know, I don't live here, right?" I joked. "But I can stay later."

Cole nodded in appreciation.

"Now get some rest," I instructed him. "You're falling asleep mid-sentence."

Cole was getting better but he was still tired all the time. In theory, he could recover at home. I was making sure he wouldn't die but he really didn't need around-the-clock watch; he only needed companionship. I only imagine that he was just hiding from the world at this point, afraid of what's going to be waiting for him beyond those hospital doors.