[Author notes- Yes, I know you all must be so sick of everyone torturing poor Mark; but it's so fun to do. If you think I have completely destroyed the story in any way, tell me so I can ignore you; j/k. Anyways, I don't own Rent this story is just a product of my weird mind. Comments are greatly appreciated- Emily]
"Roger are you ok?" Joanne whispered noting his sudden ashen face and sweat beading down his face. Her own hands were betraying her mind as she struggled to control her own reaction. None of this made any sense, but knowing Mark in a strange way it did. How could he have hidden something like this from us? His best friend for six years didn't even have a clue.
"I had no clue-none whatsoever. I think I need to sit." He stated as his world began to spin. Taking a seat, thoughts raced through his head as he tried to remember a time when Mark could have mentioned something about a heart transplant, or anything else of the sort. But he knew there was nothing anywhere; Mark never spoke of heart problems in the entire time he knew him…not once. 'God dammit,' he thought, 'why didn't he tell me? He was my best friend and he didn't even mention this to me not once despite all those years of friendship.'
"HIS SCAR! Oh my god! How could I have not have thought of this before?" Maureen burst out.
"What do you mean honeybear…um- I mean Maureen? Joanne tried to cover up her mistake, but she saw the gleam in Maureen's eyes detecting the flub.
"Mark, had a long scar on his chest. We used to lie in bed and I'd trace my finger along it…I'm sure you don't want to hear about that part-but when I asked him about it he told me that he was hit by a car when he was thirteen. He told me that he was really hurt, in the hospital for several weeks, but that surgery had repaired all the problems. I never imagined that it could have been something more..."
"Maureen, is the rest of that article attached to that one?" Benny asked.
She folded the rest of the paper; flipping till she found the article she found what she was looking for. She raised her eyes asking if she could continue, before reading again: "Cohen is an 8th grader at Scarsdale Junior High, who has excelled in English and Media. Just last year Cohen had the opportunity to meet Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Stanley Kubrick through the Make a Wish Foundation. The foundation is known for granting wishes for dying children. Less than a month later, the family was turned upside down yet again when a donor heart became available. Pending a full recovery, Cohen aspires to become a filmmaker in California. Edward McCarthy, 26, the driver of the vehicle that struck Cohen left the scene with only slightly abrasions. Charges are pending."
"I know Mark wanted us to look and read through everything before we watched the movie, but do you think we watch a little of it to see if it explains anything?" Collins asked, "Cause right now I am just in shock and I know that tape has to have some explanation of some sort."
Joanne thought about all the legality of it for a moment before slowly nodding her head, "I'd think that would be okay, but can I read this to you all first? It seems kind of like it explains some of his health problems in the past year."
Roger just shrugged his shoulders and said dejectedly, "Sure why not…"
"This is dated December 15th, 1996; three weeks after Mimi's death and reads as follows: Dear Mr. Cohen, We regret to inform you that the test you underwent two weeks ago has showed that the heart disease has in fact extremely weakened your heart. We have placed you yet again on the transplant list, but because of the circumstances your chances do not look hopeful. At this stage you are undergoing Congestive Heart Failure, but you were informed of this at your latest appointment. We recommend that you attempt to limit the amount of stress in your life and follow the strict regiment of medication and diet for the next few weeks in hope of improvement. At this point we cannot determine how long your heart will withhold in it's current condition, but you should make sure all your affairs are in order. Your loved ones should be informed of your condition, and if need be could meet with us in order to learn how to be of assistance for a later date. We shall need to see you again on January 7th, of 1997 when a better prognosis may be available. Sincerely, Dr. Eric Winthrop
Cardiac Specialists of New York."
"That asshole!" Benny muttered, walking back over to his chair.
"Benny! You shouldn't say things like that." Joanne said with a frown on his face.
"What
you know it's true. There is a
difference between being professional, hopeful, or just plain damn rude. I'm sorry but he basically told Mark that he
was gonna die, sorry but oh well. Probably thought it was good that another lowlife was about to die. That ass…you know as well as I do that Mark
may have looked and acted a little strange but he was much more than a damn
lowlife."
"But Benny weren't you just
saying a few months before his death how big of a slacker he was? That he
needed to put down his camera and do something real with his life?" Maureen
asked purposely trying to antagonize him.
"That's different. Mark and I always had a strange relationship; we'd picked on one another from the moment we met. First I was 'ghetto boy' then 'yuppie scum'. But even when you all hated me, we'd still go out to lunch about once a month to talk. He was my friend- no matter what the fuck you all think."
Collins got a goofy grin on his face and started laughing, "I don't think anyone could deny that you weren't friends. None of us could just ever figure out why…"
The room erupted in laughter as Benny sat there with a scowl on his face, before joining in.
[Sorry for the lack of insight in this chapter. I'll try to update again this evening. Please review]