| Chapter 16 Gary and Leighanne arrived at the hospital, and were on their way to the elevators. "Anne, maybe it'd be best if I stayed down here," Gary said. Leighanne looked at him, "Gary, I'm not sure I can do this by myself." Gary took her hand, "Of course you can, and I'll be right here when you're ready to leave." Leighanne looked down and nodded her head. She reached over and punched the button for the elevator, the doors opened and she stepped inside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara and Brian sat in his room. The rest of the guys were out in the hall trying to decide how to tell A.J. what was going on. Tara looked over at Brian, he seemed a million miles away. "Bri, you wanna talk about it?" Tara asked. Brian looked over at her, "I'm just ..... scared I guess." Tara reached over and took Brian's hand in hers, "Bri, you'll get through this. We'll find a way." "It's not just that," Brian said, "I'm scared I'm losing Lee, and I don't think I could live without her." "Brian, it's a misunderstanding. We'll straighten it out," Tara said. "Tara, you didn't see her. She was so angry, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to straighten out," Brian said. Tara could see the sadness return in Brian's eyes. She squeezed his hand, "We'll find a way." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne got off the elevator and walked toward Brian's room. She could see Nick, Howie and Kevin standing down the hall a bit. They seemed to be having an intense discussion, and didn't notice her. She took a deep breath and walked into Brian's room. Brian and Tara both looked up when she came in. The look on Leighanne's face said it all, Oh shit, they both thought. Leighanne walked over to the side of the bed Tara was on and pushed her back. She then turned and slapped Brian across the face. "Is this why you wanted me to come up here?! So you could throw this in my face!!!" Leighanne yelled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie, Nick and Kevin were disagreeing on how to tell A.J. when they heard yelling coming from Brian's room. "Who is that?" Kevin asked. "Sounds like Lee," Howie said. Nick got a panicked look on his face, "Oh shit, Tara's in there!" He turned and ran towards Brian's room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne went to slap Brian again. Tara caught her hand just before it found its mark. Leighanne looked up and stared at Tara. She could see a fire in Tara's eyes she'd never seen before. Brian reached up and touched Tara's side, "Don't," he said. Nick ran into the room. "What the......?" Tara had Leighanne by the wrist, her hand just inches from Brian's face. Brian's mouth was bleeding. Leighanne turned and faced Nick, "When are you gonna wake up to what's going on?" Nick looked at her confused, "Lee, what the hell are you talking about? What's going on?" Leighanne pulled her hand out of Tara's grasp and walked over to Nick. "Those two, that's what's going on," she said pointing at Tara and Brian. "Lee, stop it," Brian said wiping the blood from his lip. "Lee, there is nothing going on," Nick said. "Nick, I thought you were smarter than this," Leighanne said, "Why can't you see what's right in front of you?" Nick looked at her with all sincerity, "Because it's not there." "Lee, I had Nick call you down here because I need to tell you what the doctor found out. Not to start a fight," Brian said. Tara moved around the bed and headed for the door. Nick was standing in front of it. "Nick, let me out," Tara said. Nick looked down at her, "I don't think they need to be left alone," he whispered. Tara stared at him, and the look in her eyes sent chills down his back. "Nick, let me out before I do something I'll regret," Tara said through clinched teeth. Nick moved and Tara left the room. "Brian, whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it," Leighanne said. She turned to leave, Nick stepped in front of the door crossing his arms. "Get out of the way Nick," Leighanne said. Nick shook his head, "Not until you hear what he has to say." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie and Kevin were standing outside Brian's room when Tara came storming out. Kevin grabbed her arm and stopped her, "Tara, what's going on in there?" Tara pushed Kevin against the wall, knocking the breath out of him, and held him there. Kevin could see the anger in her eyes, and the power he hadn't seen in well over a year was back. "Tara stop!" Howie said, reaching over and putting his hand on Tara's. She looked over at Howie, then at Kevin. She let go of Kevin and backed away, tears running down her face. "I'm sorry," she said, then she turned and ran down the hall. Howie started to go after her, Kevin reached over and stopped him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Fine!" Leighanne said. She walked over to the side of the bed and stood there, "What's so important you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Brian took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Lee, I have a brain tumor, and I'm probably not going to live another year." She looked at him in shock, "You're lying," she whispered. Brian looked up at her, and she could tell by the look in his eyes he wasn't. She looked over at Nick, he had tears in his eyes. Brian reached up and took her hand, "Leighanne please, I would never lie about this." She pulled her hand away, "Brian, I ....... this is too much." She turned and pushed Nick away from the door and left. Nick looked at Brian, "Well that went well." Brian let out a small laugh, then started crying. Nick walked over, sat on the side of the bed, and pulled Brian into a hug, comforting his friend. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara was walking around the hospital trying to calm down. How could she let herself get so angry, and why'd she almost take it out on Kevin. If Howie hadn't been there, well, she didn't even wanna think about what would've happened if he hadn't been there. She was trying to find the chapel when she saw Leighanne get off the elevator down the hall. Tara stepped around the corner, not wanting to get into a confrontation. Leighanne looked upset. A man Tara had never seen before walked up to her, trying to comfort her. He embraced her, letting Leighanne cry on his shoulder. He moved his hand up and down her back, trying to calm her. Tara was beginning to get a bad feeling. There was a darkness around this guy. Leighanne finally pulled away. He wiped the tears from her face, bent down and gave her a kiss. Tara's mouth dropped open, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. He put his arm around Leighanne and held her close as they walked out into the parking lot. Tara leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Please God tell me I didn't see what I think I just did. How could she ever tell Brian? How could she hide it from him? Who was this guy that he could come between Leighanne and Brian? "Miss, are you alright?" Tara opened her eyes to see a nurse standing there. "Are you OK?" she asked. "Yeah, um, where is the chapel?" Tara asked brushing away a tear. "Down the hall to the left," the nurse answered. "Thanks," Tara said heading in that direction. Chapter 17 |