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Leon walked slowly down the sterile hallway of the hospital. After traversing what seemed to be the longest hallway in history, he found the room and stepped into the doorway, unconsciously biting his lip as he looked at the still figure on the bed.
They allowed him to visit Buddy only a week after his surgery, just in time to say goodbye. The next day he was leaving for America and probably would not see the Slav again, but after all this shit they had been through together Leon could not leave without saying a word.
Leon swallowed heavily and made his way slowly into the room, stopping at the bedside and looking down. Buddy looked awful. His skin was an unhealthy pale color under the soft light of the hospital room, his face dark with stubble. Purple circles around the eyes reminded slightly of smeared make-up. Leon sat down beside the bed and looked at the tubes and IVs that attached to Buddy’s hands and arms.
He knew Buddy had refused morphine. It was hard to say whether it was masochism or some kind of punishment, but knowing Buddy Leon would suggest the latter. The man could not forgive himself for he survived while all his friends were dead.
“Hey.”
Leon winced at the soft word. “Hey,” he echoed hollowly.
Buddy’s eyes were sunken, but they were open, mostly clear and focused. “Nice to see you” he whispered. Leon answered with a smile, not sure what to say.
“Look.” Buddy shifted uncomfortably, hissing through his teeth, pulled the blanket up. “I feel them” he smiled sheepishly, wriggling his toes. Leon glanced quickly at his feet, then looked up again.
“You are getting out of here soon, right?” he asked softly. Buddy shook his head slowly.
“No. Two more weeks”.
Leon could almost hear an unspoken question. His lips compressed into a thin line and he looked away.
“Leon?” Buddy tilted his head to the side, as his smile faded.
“I’m going back to America tomorrow”.
Here. He said it. Guilt squeezed his throat, though Leon tried not to show it. He expected some emotional outburst, anger, maybe, anything.
Buddy said nothing. A corner of his mouth twitched with pain, but Leon was not sure what caused it.
“You should take painkillers,” Leon muttered accusingly.
“I don’t need them. I’m fine,” Buddy closed his eyes for a moment. “So…” he trailed off. “Goodbye then?”
“Yeah… goodbye”.
Buddy made it simple but Leon didn’t want to leave just like that. He fumbled in his pockets for a pen or anything. Buddy watched him quietly, eyes half-lidded.
Finally Leon found a pen and a piece of paper and quickly scribbled his e-mail on it. “Here,” he put the note into the palm of Buddy’s hand. “Stay in touch, okay?”
Buddy just nodded in reply. Leon gently squeezed his fingers. “Take care,” he said, then stood and swiftly walked away from the hospital bed. Buddy watched as he disappeared through the door.
Leon didn’t expect to hear from him at all. Buddy needed distance and peace and anything but a certain American in his life. Nevertheless, when two months later he received an e-mail sent from unknown address, the domain “.ru” told him everything he needed to know.