Authors: Jaimie Roberts
Once at the hospital, I gazed at the directory to try and find the Benedict Ward. The ward was on the third floor, so I walked to the lift. The hospital was busy. Even the lift had about ten people trying to squeeze their way in. I seriously started panicking that maybe I was in a lift with people who had all done bad things and were going to hell. I couldn’t deal with being visited by the devil today and being sent to burn for eternity. I had other things to do.
Once it got to the third floor, I breathed a sigh of relief and excused myself, walking out of the lift. All seemed quiet, apart from a couple who were standing by the doorway of the ward. The lady was crying, and the man beside her was comforting her as best he could. It made me feel a little saddened by the prospect that they had a child here who was ill…or worse.
Shuddering at the thought, I did my best to try and give them their privacy, quickly making my way in. My first shock was at seeing the amount of children on the ward. I didn’t realise so many children could get sick. I knew they did but it was a shock to see nonetheless.
“Can I help you?” a nurse asked as I looked around.
“Yes, please. I’ve come to visit Jeremy Crawlings. He is expecting me.”
“Tyler O’Shea!”
Looking over the nurse’s shoulder, I spotted a boy with no hair sitting up in bed. He was very good-looking with soft blue eyes and rosebud lips. Despite all of this, though, he didn’t look very well.
“Jeremy?” I asked, thanking the nurse and making my way towards his bed.
“Wow. You’re even hotter in the flesh. Your picture doesn’t do you justice.”
I smiled, thinking he had a little bit of cheek in him. I liked people who were cheeky. Some people get away with it, some people don’t. With Jeremy’s cheeky smile, I knew he was the “getting away with it” type.
“And it’s lovely to meet you, too,” I replied, sitting down beside him and reaching out my hand.
Jeremy smiled brightly at me and took my hand. “What, no kiss? I think I’ve changed my mind about Julie now that I’ve met you.”
Giggling, I rummaged through my bag. “As flattered as I am, I don’t think the law takes too kindly to grown women kissing fifteen-year-old boys.”
Jeremy pulled himself up a little on the bed. “Ah, that’s too bad. I suppose there was no harm in asking.”
I shook my head, laughing. “I suppose not. Now, I know you wanted me to bring you Twiglets, and I came through on my promise.” Pulling out the items, I handed them to Jeremy with a warm smile. He took them and his face was a picture. It immediately made my heart swell. I had taken to this boy instantly.
“You don’t know how badly I’ve been craving these. Thank you.”
I placed my bag beside the bed and looked back up at Jeremy. “You’re very welcome. But why won’t someone else bring you some?”
Jeremy’s face fell with a hint of sadness. “I don’t have many friends.”
My heart went from swelling to aching in a fraction of a second. “But why?” I couldn’t understand how anyone would not want to befriend him.
Jeremy shrugged and briefly looked up at me. “There’s no point in me making friends. There’s really no point in you being here, either.”
Rearing back, I gazed upon Jeremy in shock. “But why? I don’t understand.”
He looked at me with a pained expression. “You’re not going to write anything down, are you?”
“Of course not. I made a promise and I will keep it. Whatever you say to me will never leave this room, unless you want it to. I came here today because I wanted to meet you.”
“And kiss me?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
I gave him my best unamused look. “Don’t push it, kiddo.”
Jeremy waved his hand in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave. I just don’t want to let anyone close to me. I’ve always been on my own and it suits me. Then no one will miss me when I am gone.”
I wanted to grab this boy and hug him with everything I had. “What about your family, Jeremy?”
“I have no family. I’ve never had family. My parents didn’t want me. After living a life of foster care and hospitals, I decided it was best to keep my distance from everyone. No one wants to look after a sick kid. Nobody wants to ever get too close. And I can understand that. In fact, I’d be exactly the same.”
I sat there in complete shock and awe of this boy. A part of me wanted to hug the life out of him, but another part of me wanted to shake him a little, too. For someone who was only fifteen-years-old, he certainly seemed to want to carry a lot of weight and responsibility on his shoulders.
“What are you thinking about?” Jeremy asked when I was silent.
Looking up at him, I smiled timidly. “I was just thinking about how grown-up you are for someone who’s only fifteen.”
“So you agree with me then?”
“I didn’t say I agreed with you. I just think you’re putting too much responsibility on your shoulders.”
“So you don’t agree with it?”
I shook my head. “No, Jeremy. I don’t. I’ve only known you ten minutes and I already know I want you as a friend. I don’t care about anything else but that.”
Now it was Jeremy’s turn to shake his head. “No. You’re better off not being my friend. A friend is someone you have long-term. Someone you rely on for life. I won’t be around for long.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know. Call it gut instinct. I’ve been fighting Leukaemia for years. I don’t think my body can take much more. It’s hard to keep on fighting. It’s hard to have the
will
to keep fighting.”
Grabbing his hand, I looked into his light blue eyes. “Maybe if you let people into your life, you would want to keep fighting for them. Everybody needs somebody.”
Jeremy’s sad face suddenly lit up with a cheeky grin. “Are you wanting to be my somebody then?”
I shook my head and, with a smile, leaned back a little. “Not if it involves kissing you. I’ll leave that up to you and Julie to get it on.”
I saw the glint in his eye the moment I mentioned her name. “I like me Julie.”
I giggled a little at his reference to Ali G. “You should really tell
your Julie
.”
“That’s why I’ve got you here, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “I will make it my mission to run this in Monday morning’s edition.”
Jeremy smiled and sat back on his pillow. He saw the book underneath the Twiglets and pulled it out. “You haven’t read that, have you?”
He shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard the film is pretty good.”
I nodded because I had seen the film about a week ago. “It’s good. And I’ve heard the book is even better.”
Jeremy’s expression was one of amusement. “Isn’t that the way it always goes?”
I chuckled a little. “Yes, it normally is that way.”
“Well, thank you for the book. I’ll start reading it later. I have nothing better to do.”
I grimaced a little, feeling terrible that I could leave here and go back to my life. Jeremy only seemed to know this hospital ward.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, pulling me out of my daze.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
I spied the cheeky grin and shook my head. “No, and I’m not looking for one, either. Don’t you ever give up?”
“I thought you didn’t
want
me to give up.” His eyebrow raised a little, challenging me.
“Touché, Jeremy. Touché.”
“So why don’t you want a boyfriend?”
I shrugged. “It complicates matters. Besides, I have my stranger.” The minute I said it, my eyes widened. Did I really just tell this boy, whom I’d only known a few minutes, about my stranger? I must be hearing things.
Jeremy clocked my shocked reaction and gave me a wry smile. “Your stranger?” I obviously did say that out loud.
“I’m not sure why I just told you that. I haven’t told anyone else.”
Opening a bag of Twiglets, Jeremy offered one to me. I took it and popped it in my mouth. “I’m trusting you with my life. Maybe you should return the favour. I promise not to say anything beyond this room.”
I sat back in the chair and crunched into the Twiglet. I couldn’t believe I was about to tell him this. I wasn’t sure what compelled me to reveal everything to a fifteen-year-old boy I didn’t know until ten minutes ago.
“For the past three years, I’ve had someone watching me. Someone who keeps coming into my house and moving things around.”
Jeremy sat up. “You have a ghost in your house? That’s cool.”
I shook my head. “No... Well, at least I think he’s real.”
Jeremy looked confused and I couldn’t blame him. “Hold on a sec. You have some strange man coming into your house? Not only that, he’s been doing it for three years?” I nodded my head and swallowed my nervousness. “Holy shit!”
I gasped a little. “Are you sure you should be saying things like that?”
He looked at me apologetically. “I’m sorry, but you got to admit that is one holy shit moment?”
I laughed. Who am I to tell him not to swear? “I suppose it is.”
“So what do you know about him? Haven’t you ever called the rozzers?”
I raised my eyebrow to him. “Rozzers? Have you been watching too much
Top Gear
?”
He gave me a huge grin. “Well, I do have the same name as one of them.”
“Yeah, but he says everything’s the best thing ‘in the world’. It is James May that says rozzers a lot.”
Jeremy suddenly laughed. “You’re pretty cool. I take it you watch
Top Gear
?”
I nodded. “Yes. I love it.”
“But you’re a girl.”
Gasping, I squealed, “And what is that supposed to mean?” Jeremy gave me that cheeky grin of his. “You’re winding me up, aren’t you?” He nodded. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I’m not sure, but I could surely think of a few things.”
I shook my head and made a little
tsk, tsk
sound under my tongue. “You stop that right now, young man.”
Pouting a little, Jeremy looked down sheepishly. “Sorry.” I nodded triumphantly and leaned back in my chair again.
“So, what are you going to do about this stranger of yours?” he asked, popping another Twiglet in his mouth.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been such a huge part of my life. I don’t know where I would be without him. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s almost as if he’s become an old, comfortable shoe.”
Jeremy snorted. “I’m not sure he would like to hear that. He’s obviously
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
certifiable.”
I was shocked that, at only fifteen, he even
knew
about the movie. “And how do you know about that film?”
“I spend lots of time just sitting around. I’ve seen lots of movies, including
The Bucket List.
I have my own list. It’s not long.”
Feeling a little saddened, but intrigued, I leaned in closer. “Really? Would you mind sharing it with me?”
Jeremy sat and pondered this for a moment. In the end, he shrugged and dug into his pyjama pocket. “I guess so,” he answered, handing it to me. “You’ve trusted me with your big secret. I guess I can trust you.” He winked as I took the piece of paper from him.
Opening it up, I stared at the five items on the list:
I stared at the list for a while before responding. “You have one, two, and four ticked. When did you go to Disneyland, Paris?”
Jeremy rolled his eyes a little. “I was lucky that one of the foster homes I went to had some government funding for a trip. It was a treat for eleven of us. I had a good time. At least I can say I did it.”
“Why do you want to go in a helicopter?”
His eyes suddenly lit up. “How many people do you know who have flown in a plane?”
I shook my head, trying to think. “I think everyone I know has flown in a plane at some point.”
“Okay, well, how many people do you know who have flown in a
helicopter
?”
Looking away for a moment, I tried to think. “I can’t recall that I know anyone who has flown in one.”
Jeremy nodded with a smug look. “Exactly.”
I regarded Jeremy for a moment. “Do you know that you’re the most interesting person I have ever met?”
Jeremy’s smug smile continued. “I take that as a compliment.”
I smiled back at him. “It was certainly meant to be one.” Thinking it was time to change the subject, I sighed. “So, tell me about Julie. When did you meet?”
Jeremy smiled and gazed off into the distance. “It was about five months ago. I spotted her outside McDonalds with a few of her friends. She looked beautiful. Ever since that day, we bump into one another now and then. We always say hi, but that’s about as far as it goes. Every time I turn to say more, my tongue gets all twisted in my mouth. It’s really annoying.”