The last night of Matt Campbell's too-short life...
A lone car was speeding down the highway toward the hospital, but he didn't know. All he could see were the years of loneliness and nausea and pain flashing before his eyes. The end was in sight. Just out of reach. Feverish, Matt thought he could almost feel the rampaging cells in his body multiply and grow faster, but he tried to hold on until his mom could get to the hospital. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to the one person who had never complained, not even when she didn't think Matt was listening.
"Hang in there, son," Matt's father sobbed, groping for Matt's fingers.
Matt sighed gently and reached out. As he took his father's hand in his own bony fingers, he felt tranquility infuse him. It wasn't long until the end. For the first time for nine years, the seventeen year old was not in any discomfort. The chemical burns on his torso seemed to be gone, and his nausea had disappeared. All the aches that the medication caused him were little more than background noise. Matt let his free arm lay limply against the stark white sheets, feeling the coolness seep into his bones.
On the other side of Matt's father, Jonah flickered in and out of sight. The familiar charred face brought a sense of peace, rather than fear. Matt looked at Jonah straight in the eye, blue versus brown. The whole wild, twisted ride was about to come to a stop. Perhaps the two boys were friends now, after all that they had been through together.
Matt took one last, lingering look at Jonah. Jonah raised his arm in a dignified salute, sending a cascade of soft ash onto the floor, where it dissolved into nothing as soon as it hit the linoleum. Matt blinked, and Jonah was gone. All that remained were the memories and the scars. The long, scary nights when Matt's hallucinations got out of control were the worst, but they were over for good, now. Now it was just Matt. Just Matt and the cancer were left to battle it out as nature had intended.
The door to Matt's hospital room flew open, and Matt caught a glimpse of his mom's tearstained face. That undid his stoic exterior. Silvery tears came from his eyes and dripped down his face unbidden. His mother, with characteristic gentleness, wiped his face tenderly with her sleeve. She smiled down at him, her lower lip trembling. Her mascara streaked down her face as a fresh wave of tears soaked her cheeks.
"I'm so scared," Matt admitted, closing his eyes against a new wave of pain that started to lap against his abdomen and lower back. He tightened his grip on his dad's fingers. "I don't want to hurt anymore."
"You won't have to, sweetie," his mom murmured softly in his ear, smoothing his curly hair away from his damp forehead.
Matt smelled her sweet pea perfume mingled with his dad's woodsy cologne. The familiar smells enveloped him in a comforting cocoon, keeping the worst of the agony at bay. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the pillows, sweating lightly. A cold finger traced down his spine. Matt shivered, twitching. There was something wrong with his ears—every little sound seemed to come through a long tunnel. He could see only darkness, now.
"I love you...mom...dad..." Matt wheezed quietly. He choked and groaned, gasping for breath, then went still. He was finally at peace.
A/N: Rereading it now, after just seeing the movie again, I think I added a lot of my own ideals into it and somewhat ignored the meaning, depth, and complexity of the film, and the story that the film told. However, I think it's a good ending in general, so I'll probably keep it the way it is.