"Whoa, I haven't been here for a while," commented Nick as they walked through the halls of the Children's hospital in Atlanta, GA.
"You're telling me," replied Kevin.
"It's only been 3 weeks, geez!" laughed Brian.
"So she's ok now?" Howie asked AJ. AJ smiled while nodding.
"The doctors said the tumor was so small now and shrinking still. She's starting to grow hair and everything," he explained.
"That's great news!" said Kevin, relieved for two reasons. One, the girl would be ok now. Two, AJ would get some sleep. Kevin's been so worried about his friend about worrying about his friend. It was so confusing.
"Here we are!" AJ cheered as they stood outside a familiar looking door. He knocked on the door. No answer. "Hmm," he thought out loud. "She should be expecting us. Hey, maybe she's hiding."
"Try the knob, Bone," Nick teased. AJ chuckled and turned the doorknob. The door opened and they all stepped into the room, but stopped in their tracks. The bed. It was empty and the sheets were clean and made already, it looked as if no one slept in it. They all stared silently at the bed and wondered.
"Excuse me?" They all turned around to see a young and pretty nurse standing at the doorway, hugging a stack of bed sheets. "What are you doing here?"
"Um, the girl who was staying here," began AJ.
"Where is she?" finished Howie. The nurse just stared blankly at them.
"Did she move to another room?" asked Kevin.
"Or did she check out without telling us?" wondered Brian. The nurse said nothing and walked towards the bed and stripped the sheets off. She carefully folded the old sheets and replaced it with the ones she brought in.
"Umm, did no one tell you?" she asked softly, busy making the bed. The boys were quiet, studying the suspicious nurse. She straightened her back and stared right into AJ's eyes which made him start trembling. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Max died last night."