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Lucy pressed the pillow over her ears tightly, trying to block out the repetitive beeping coming from the monitor next to her. It droned on and on, driving Lucy insane. From the moment it had been added to her array of machines in her hospital room, she had hated it. It was annoying and reminded her that at any moment, the beeping could stop, and she could die.
Her life had been far from fulfilling. Her third fight with cancer was slowly killing her. She had been ready to die since she was 8, but now, at age 20, she was terrified. There were people in her life that she was going to hurt, and that scared her most of all.
One of those people was her best friend, Javier. He had been there for her since day one; since the moment she had been first diagnosed 12 years earlier. He had been there through her worst and best health, when she was pronounced cancer-free and when she was diagnosed again, and she didn't know how to truly thank him for that.
With Javier came his friends and Chicago Cubs teammates. Lucy would always be grateful that Javier had introduced her to such a good group of people that she could proudly call her friends.
There was a knock on her wall and Lucy looked up to see Javier poking his head in. He always tried to visit before games, as visiting hours were already over by the end of most games. She smiled when she saw him, excitedly waving him inside. Seeing her best friend always made her feel better.
"'Morning, Javy," she greeted happily as he walked in.
"Afternoon, actually, but hi," he corrected with a smile, sitting down in one of the chairs next to her bed. He was dressed casually-- as casual as Javier could get, at least. He was very into fashion. "How are you?"
"Annoyed," Lucy groaned in response. "This dumb heart monitor is driving me crazy. I just... need a break from it."
Javier nodded, thinking for a long moment. "Here, I'll tell you what," he began, scooting forward to sit on the edge of his chair. "After the game, I'll come back here, and we can get out of here for a little bit, alright?"
Lucy's mouth gaped open at her suggestion. "How would we even manage that? They would never let me out, and besides, visiting hours will be long over by then."
"So? No one needs to know," Javier replied with a grin.
Despite Lucy's better judgment, Javier was able to convince her. So, at about midnight that night, Javier snuck into her room. She was both nervous and excited; she hadn't been out of her room in months.
Javier carefully helped her walk, making sure she was doing alright the entire time. He lead her onto the roof of the building. The night sky was incredibly clear and he figured that Lucy would like looking at the stars and at the city.
"This is beautiful, Javy," she gushed, leaning on the edge of the building for support as she looked up at the stars.
"I knew you'd like it," Javier told her, looking out as well.
Lucy's was having trouble breathing, but she didn't really care. Just being there with Javier, he best friend, was worth any of the consequences that came with it.
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