The lobby is cold but Ellie can't find it in herself to care. Her hands shake with anticipation as she waits, seated in yet another scratchy chair in the same godforsaken hospital. She hadn't even noticed that Cooper left until she sees him making his way towards her with a coffee in his hand.

He exhales loudly as he plants himself in the seat next to hers. She can feel his eyes trained on the side of her head but she continues looking forward. When she hears a loud gulp from his direction, she considers breaking her stare from the slightly off-white spot on the stark-white wall, but she doesn't.

She considers moving again when Cooper's hand shoots out in front of her, holding a freshly made coffee out for her to take. But still, she stays put. Her mind just as frozen as her body.

He finally drops his arm and relinquishes a sigh. "I got this for you. Thought you could use a pick-me-up."

She doesn't say anything, much to his dismay. She knows that if she were to look at his face right now, it would be dancing with worry and uncertainty—probably unsure how to handle her when she's like this. He's never really seen her shut down before.

He tries a short chuckle and even through her sadness, she feels her heart warm slightly at the sound. "I think my theory about hospital coffee grows stronger and stronger with each sip. I don't know how you do it."

He sighs again when she doesn't answer. She doesn't know what to say. It's not that she wants to sit here silently, ignoring his attempts at cheering her up. But she doesn't have anything to say. Her mind is void of all thoughts. All thoughts besides her grandmother.

When his hand shoots out and encloses around hers, she finally flinches. Glancing away from the spot on the wall to observe the way his hand sits loosely on top of her own. When she looks to him for an explanation, he merely smiles—a comforting smile that relaxes her shoulders and eases her thoughts.

"You're going to be all right, Ellie," he says softly, giving her hand a quick squeeze for reassurance.

She still can't seem to form any words, so instead she continues staring at him, hoping her eyes can convey what her mouth cannot.

"Miss Wilde," a nurse says, causing Ellie to spring up from her seat in a hurry. "You can see her now."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Cooper asks shyly, ducking his head as he grabs the coffee from the table next to him.

She stares back at him briefly, contemplating whether or not she really wants to have him here with her during this intimate moment with her family. Before she can overthink it, she's nodding her head and wrapping a hand around his as she leads him back to see her grandma.

Realization hits halfway to the room that their hands are still entwined. Ellie makes a move to drop her hand from his but Cooper's grip tightens, stopping her. He's quick to clear his throat and loosen his grip, but this time, Ellie's hand tightens around his.

"Here's her room. Now, just a warning, she's just woken up so she might be in a bit of a daze. It's perfectly normal," the nurse says, writing a few things down on her clipboard.

Ellie clears her throat, ready to speak for the first time since receiving the news. "So what exactly is happening?"

The nurse glances up at her, clicking the end of her pen before dropping it into her jacket pocket. Her eyes travel to Cooper next and then to their intertwined hands before finding Ellie's gaze once more. "Your mother didn't explain?"

She shakes her head slowly and the nurse frowns the slightest bit. "Unfortunately, your grandmother's case has worsened. Her treatment hasn't been working as expected. The cancer has taken on a very... aggressive form."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Wilde. But your grandmother isn't going to make it."

Trying her best to remain composed, Ellie swallows down the sob that threatens to escape from her at any moment. She feels Cooper's hand tighten around her own as quiet tears begin falling down her cheeks. "But she said she was feeling better. I don't understand. How could she be feeling better if she was just getting worse?"

"We see that with a lot of our patients. The high before the fall."

Her free hand shoots up to wipe away the never-ending stream of tears that fall from her eyes. But it's no use, they just continue to fall. "Are you sure? There's no way you guys might be wrong about this?"

"We're sure. I'm sorry, miss."

A shattered cry finally passes her lips and she has to bite down on her tongue to stop another one from getting out. "How long does she have?"

"It's hard to know for sure. A few weeks at best."

"Weeks?!"

"Possibly. Maybe more, maybe less." As Ellie's sobbing intensifies, she can see the woman growing more and more uncomfortable. Passing doctors try not to stare but she can't help but feel like she's putting on a show for the whole hospital.

"Thank you," Cooper says softly, sending the nurse a quick smile and silently letting her know that it's probably best if she leaves. She gives them both a quick nod, placing a consoling hand on Ellie's shoulder before taking off down the hallway.

Her heart feels like it's going to jump out of her chest and she tries her best to settle her breathing down. Her knees feel weak, as if she could topple over without warning. Just as she feels that her legs are going to give out, Cooper's sturdy arms wrap around her, pulling them both down to the floor and resting them along the wall.

"I'm sorry, El," Cooper whispers softly into her hair, his arms holding her close to him as if he's afraid that she'll crack and break into a million pieces at any given moment.

She buries her face into his chest, uncaring to the what-are-sure-to-be odd looks of the numerous people walking past them in the hall. After an overwhelming amount of sniffling and nearly dry tear ducts, she pushes herself up from the floor, Cooper's worried eyes watching her every move.

"I have to go see her," she announces, her knees shaky as she makes her way inside of the room.

She sees her mom first, sitting in an armchair to the right of the bed. Her bloodshot eyes meet Ellie's as soon as she enters the room and the look on her face has Ellie feeling as if she'll be a puddle of tears on the floor in no time. The only thing stopping her from falling to the ground is the sight of her grandmother as she lays comfortably in the hospital bed.

The first thing she notices is her signature crimson lipstick, followed by her miraculously styled hair. Ellie's eyes narrow at this, curious as to why she looks so put together on her literal death bed.

"Hi, honey," she says, her eyes shining brightly as she wears a warm smile.

"Hi, grandma."

She purses her lips, letting out a quick laugh as she stares at her granddaughter's tear-brimmed eyes. "Don't give me that look, Ellie."

Ellie frowns. "What look?"

"Don't look at me like I'm dying."

Somehow those simple words laced together trigger something inside of Ellie and the tears start falling once more. Cooper's arm is around her waist in an instant. To some it may look to be a sign of affection, but she knows that he's just helping her stay on her feet.

"Oh, Ellie. Don't cry," her grandma says, her eyes filling up with tears of their own. "Cooper, dear. Do me a favor and smack her across the head. We need no more tears in this room."

"Don't smack me, Cooper," Ellie mumbles through a saddened laugh.

A nervous laugh of his own follows. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Disobeying a dying woman? I'm disappointed in the both of you. Hasn't anyone taught you to respect your elders? Especially those who are on the brink of death?" She jokes, raising an eyebrow.

"Mother," Ellie's mom finally speaks, a harsh edge to her tone. "Maybe lighten up on the dying jokes."

"Jen. I am dying. I will do as I please."

Her mom shoots Ellie a glare as she attempts to stifle a laugh. Ellie's laugh disappears the moment she sees the tears welling up in her mom's eyes. "How can you both be making light of the situation?! You're dying, Mom! You're not going for a vacation and coming back! You're leaving us! For good!"

"Jen—"

"Don't Jen me!" She shouts. A silence falls over the room before Ellie's mom's heart-wrenching cries replace it. "I'm not ready for you to leave me, Mom."

Her grandma's usual smile is replaced by a frown as her eyes drift over to Ellie. She stands still, unsure how to react in this moment. She's never seen so much emotion displayed from her usually prim and proper mom.

"Ellie," her grandma says, glancing over at her daughter's broken figure before looking to Ellie once more. "How about you give us some time alone. Come back tomorrow and we can spend the afternoon together."

All it takes is one more look at her mom and the vulnerability she's displaying for Ellie to nod and exit the room, Cooper following closely behind. She walks down the hallway quickly, unsure how to process everything that's just happened. Seeing her mom so broken, seeing her grandmother lying on her death bed, knowing that soon, she'll be gone. It's all too much for her to handle.

"Ellie!" Cooper shouts after her. But she doesn't stop moving. She continues walking down the hallway as fast as she can, eager to get out of the bland walls and away from the smell of chemicals. "Ellie, wait!"

"I need to get out of here, Cooper."

"Just slow down a little bit! I'm taller than you and my legs can't even keep up."

She doesn't listen to his request, instead continuing on with her trek to the exit doors. Finally, they're in sight. She sees the sun shining as if today's been a perfectly normal day and her entire life isn't falling apart. That's the thing about the weather, it doesn't care if you're having a shit day. The sun will shine on the worst of days and the rain will fall on the best of them. And today the sun is shining.

The automatic doors slide open and she stops in her path as soon as she's stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air and willing her body to calm itself down. Cooper joins her a moment later, looking slightly out of breath as he watches her stare up at the sun—wishing it would hide behind a cloud and not mock her with its deceivingly happy appearance.

"I want to go roller skating," she says suddenly, not daring to break her gaze from the staring contest she's having with the star in the sky.

"What?"

"Our rule was that there was no backing out. Whatever we pick from the jar, we have to do. We picked roller skating. So let's go," she says, turning to face him with a determined look.

He frowns, shaking his head slightly. "Ellie. We can make an exception today. We'll just postpone it."

"If today has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't postpone things," she argues. "So let's go fucking roller skate."

He stares at her for a moment, clearly having a mental debate with himself, before letting out a sort of sigh that screams 'fuck it' and saying, "Okay."

"Are you sure you're ready to try it by yourself?" Cooper asks warily, watching as Ellie attempts to steady herself on her shaky legs—partly due to the foreign feeling of the roller skates and partly due to the hell of a day she's had.

"You've shown me the ropes and been a very good teacher. I think I'm ready."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Ay ay, captain."

He rolls his eyes but still laughs at her bad sense of humor. "I'll be right behind you if you need me."

She doesn't say anything, instead she begins taking off down the sidewalk of Alki beach. The waves crashing serve as the perfect calming background noise but still they can't stop her from getting lost in her thoughts. She's always wanted to go roller skating down Alki, but now that she's here her mind is elsewhere. Before she knows it, she's skating faster. And faster. And faster.

"Whoa, slow down there, champ!" Cooper shouts after her.

She looks over her shoulder to see him trailing a few feet behind. She wills her legs to move faster, pushing them as hard as she can as she makes her way down the sidewalk. Hoping that if she somehow goes fast enough, everything will be left behind her.

"Ellie, seriously! Slow down! There's a turn up there!"

She doesn't listen. She sees the bend in the sidewalk and she heads straight for it, ready to take on the challenge of the curve. Ready to put the day behind her. Everything starts to fade. Suddenly it's only her and the sidewalk. There are no thoughts of her dying grandmother. Or the broken look on her mom's face as she prepares to say goodbye to her own mother. No thoughts of her dad being shipped off to prison. No thoughts of losing the boy she's grown so attached to. Just the sidewalk, her skates, and the whip of the wind.

And then she's crashing.

And it's as if all of the emotional pain she's endured throughout her life is manifesting itself through a physical pain.

She hears Cooper screaming her name paired with a ringing in her ears. Her eyes drift down to her arms to see them scraped up, a red liquid quickly spreading across every inch of exposed skin on her body. Her head pounds but it's the least of her worries. She continues laying on the cold cement, finding solace in it as she stares up at the sun—watching as it mocks her once more. And then she starts to laugh.

"What the hell could possibly be funny right now?" Cooper says, sweat dripping from his forehead as he kneels down beside her. "Jesus Christ, El. You really banged yourself up. What the hell were you thinking?"

He reaches for her left arm, holding her wrist gently in his rough hand as he inspects it. Her smile doesn't fade. Not even when a shooting pain travels up her arm. "The sun wins today."

His eyebrows furrow as he looks down at her, slipping a hand behind her neck and propping her head up onto his lap. "What are you talking about? By the looks of that gash across your forehead, you hit your head pretty hard."

"Who cares?"

"Well, I care."

She yawns, trying her hardest to ignore the painful sensation that's making its way across her entire body. "We're all dying anyway."

"It doesn't mean we have to speed up the process."

"My grandma's dying."

"I know, El. And I'm so sorry. But that doesn't mean that you should go around and act so reckless. Do you understand how—"

"My mom will die one day."

He doesn't say anything. He just stares down at her, brushing a bloody strand of hair away from the cut across her forehead.

"My dad will probably die in prison."

"Ellie—"

"And then there's you," she says, her eyes finally drifting away from the sky to connect with his familiar gaze. An involuntary smile tugs at her lips as she watches him gulp. "Good ol' Cooper Clarke. The boy who has cancer and hates coffee. Your death is sure to hurt."

"El—"

"We're all dying, Cooper," she says confidently, breaking her gaze from his and staring back up at the sky. "The difference is I'll be around to watch you all die."