| Chapter 39 It had been three days since Howie had found Brian unconscious. The doctor had stitched up his head, and had run several more tests on him, all the while, Brian slept. Everyone was keeping watch at the hospital now, afraid to leave again. Tara was improving rapidly, and the doctor had taken her ventilator off. The guys had asked her repeatedly what had happened, but she refused to say. She'd only told them that Brian was OK and that if he wanted to tell them then he would when he woke up. Nick and Leighanne had been staying close to each other, whispering and leaving for several hours at a time. Everyone wondered what they were doing, but no one felt like asking. The media was still hounding them, rumors where flying all over the internet, but they made no comment as to what was going on. Tara was lying in bed playing cards with A.J. Howie and Kira were seated in one of the chairs watching the TV, and Kevin was in the other chair keeping a watch on Brian. Nick and Leighanne had left again, saying they'd be back in a couple hours. Tara looked over at Kevin, she couldn't help but see the worry in his eyes. He blamed himself for leaving, she could see it, and no matter how much she told him that Brian would be OK, he still had that look. "Tara, it's your turn," A.J. said. Tara turned back to focus on their game, "Sorry." A.J. looked at her, "You know he's gonna be like that until Bri wakes up, no matter what we tell him." "Yeah I know, I just can't stand to see that look on his face," Tara said. "Guys, I'm right here, stop talking bout me," Kevin said. Tara looked at him, their green eyes locking in a stare, "Kev, he will be alright, he just has to rest, that's all." "Tara, he's been asleep for three days! Three days! How much longer is he gonna have to rest?" Kevin asked with all the worry and frustration coming out in his voice. "Kev, don't take it out on her," Howie said. Kevin put his head in his hands and let out a deep sigh, "I'm sorry Tara, I don't mean to be so harsh. It's just that I really wish you'd tell us what happened." Tara looked down at her hands, "Kev, Brian needs to tell you that, not me. I'm not sure what he went through when he was kidnapped, but what happened ended it for good." Kevin was about to ask her another question when the doctor came in. "I see we're all still here," he said with a smile. "Yep, and we ain't leavin till you kick them out," A.J. said pointing at Tara and Brian. The doctor laughed, "Well, that'll still be a little while." He walked over and checked Brian, then made his way to Tara's side of the bed. "How you feeling today?" he asked. "Alright, I'm still really weak though," Tara said. "Well that's to be expected, you lost a lot of blood, and it'll take some time to get your strength back," the doctor said. "Doc, shouldn't Brian be waking up?" Kevin asked. "Kevin, I think that Brian's taking his own time on this. His body has been through some pretty severe trama, and he's just getting the rest he needs right now. I'm going to re-run the tests again tomorrow just to make sure we didn't miss anything," the doctor said. "Didn't you run the same tests for the last two days?" Howie asked. "Yes, I have," the doctor answered. "So, surely you've gotten the results, is there any change?" Kira asked. The doctor took a deep breath, "Guys, there's something going on with the results, I just wanna make double sure before I let you know. The tests in the morning will be the deciding factor OK? For now you're just gonna have to wait." They all looked at each other wondering what in the hell he meant by that. "I'll be back before I leave," the doctor said, and quickly left the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Is that all of it?" Nick asked loading the last box into his SUV. "Yeah, I think so. Come double check to make sure," Leighanne answered. Nick walked back into the house and slowly went from room to room, checking to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. When he was done he joined Leighanne in the kitchen to get a drink before they left. "Do you think they'll be surprised?" Leighanne asked. "I hope so, cause I sure ain't movin all this stuff back," Nick said with a laugh. They stood there in silence, Leighanne could see that Nick was hurting, no matter how much he covered it with jokes. "Nick," she said, "If you wanna talk about it, I'll listen." He looked at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. Out of everyone, she was the only one that even remotely knew how he felt. "Lee, how are you doing it?" he asked. Leighanne walked over to the table and sat down, motioning for him to join her. "Nick, it's different with me and Brian. I still care for him and always will, but I fell out of love with him a long time ago. I just never wanted to admit it. So, letting him go was almost a blessing for me. I think it's what we both needed," she said. Nick just sat there staring at the table. "Nick, we all know that you still love her, and this has to be killing you," Leighanne said. Nick looked up at her, his blue eyes swimming with tears, "Lee it is, but I'm not gonna be the one to stand in their way. Not knowing how they feel about each other, and what they've been through, I can't." Leighanne moved closer to him and let him rest his head on her shoulder, "You know it's OK to cry. You can't hold all this inside forever, it'll tare you apart." Nick wrapped his arms around her waist and let his emotions rule. He hadn't allowed himself to feel the loss until now. He cried harder than he had ever cried about anything, almost to the point of making himself sick. Leighanne held him, trying her best to comfort him until there were no more tears. Nick sat back up and rested his elbows on the table, wiping his face with his hands. Leighanne got up and got him a glass of water, and the box of tissues. "Thanks," he said. "Anytime," Leighanne replied. Nick looked up at the clock on the wall, "We better get this over to the house and get back, they'll be wondering where we've been all this time." "Yeah, I'll drive," she said grabbing the keys and heading for the door. Nick followed her, taking one last look at the house before closing the door behind him, nothing would ever be the same again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin sat in the hospital room alone with his thoughts. Howie and Kira were both asleep in the chair. Kevin smiled, thinking how happy Howie was when he was with her. It reminded him of when he and Kristin were dating. A.J. had crawled onto the foot of Tara's side of the bed and fell asleep. His feet were hanging off the side, while the rest of him was curled up in the fetal position. Tara had fallen asleep, laying on her side facing Brian. Kevin looked at them all, thinking of what they had all been through the past year. Surely things were gonna get better, they had to. He didn't think they all could endure another round of bad news. Nick and Leighanne were still gone. He knew they had something up their sleeve. He'd known Nick long enough to be able to tell when he was hiding something, and he definitely was. Kevin looked up feeling eyes on him. Brian was staring at him. "Bri, you're awake!" he almost shouted. Brian smiled, "You looked like you were a million miles away." "I was just thinking bout things, hang on, I'll go get the doctor," Kevin said standing up. Brian reached out and stopped him, "I'm fine, just stay here." Kevin sat back down and stared at his cousin, "Bri, what happened?" Brian looked around the room, then back at Kevin, "I'll tell you, but when everyone is here. I don't wanna have to repeat it." "Alright, just as long as you're OK," Kevin said. "I am," Brian replied. Chapter 40 |