Snow Lodge
Chapter 39
"Alex? Bro. Can you hear me?" Howie asked, before shaking his head.
"I know, I know. I'm a dumbass, like you could tell me even if you could. I guess I'm not very good at this." Howie sighed.
"But this is some scary shit Jay, you here like this. I mean hell, the last time I saw you, you and I were at Tabu, tearing up the dancefloor. And now look at you.
"What the hell happened? I didn't even know where you went. All you said was you had an idea where Brian was and then you hung up. We don't hear shit from either of you for over a week, and when we do finally get a call, it's not from you, but some Doctor telling us you are both in hospital.
"So the three of us catch the next plane here, only to find Brian falling apart, and you like this. I just don't get it. I guess there are still a lot of holes in the story, and it doesn't make sense without all the missing pieces. I mean, what the fuck happened up there man? And why the hell was Brian up there in the first place.
"I thought he sold it years ago. After you two... I guess I just assumed he had gotten rid of it, the same way he got rid of you. How did you know he was there anyway? And why was he there? Why did he just up and disappear like that? It's just not like him."
Howie shifted in his chair, he knew he was rambling, but he didn't know what to say. He was trying to hold a conversation with someone without knowing whether or not they could hear him, nor could they let him know even if he could. What the hell was he supposed to say? Howie didn't have a clue.
So he just kept on talking. About everything and anything, telling him about the things he had been doing for the last few days, the new business deal he was looking into, the things he would normally talk about if AJ had been conscious. The whole time he tried to ignore the sound of the respirator, which seemed to taunt him whenever he ran out of things to say and lapsed into silence.
Whilst he talked to AJ, Howie's mind was still trying to fill in the gaps and figure out what was wrong. Why did he still feel that he was missing something about Brian, and if he was, what the hell was it, and why was it bothering him so much?
A few hours later, Kevin joined him, wanting to see AJ himself and knowing that Howie was taking this hard, and probably needed to talk to someone.
The second he saw AJ though, Kevin momentarily forgot Howie, finding himself unable to tear his eyes away from AJ's pale form. Like the other's, Kevin had a hard time picturing AJ ever being completely still, but now, seeing it for himself, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He thought that Brian looked bad when he had first seen him but that was nothing compared to this.
"Oh God." Kevin choked out, tears welling up in his eyes. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the horrible sight in front of him, hoping when he opened them that AJ would be sitting up laughing at him, that this was all some cruel joke.
He was disappointed though. When he opened his eyes, the image was still the same. He felt a hand on his arm and saw Howie looking at him with his big brown eyes, which were also filled with tears.
Kevin didn't say a word, instead he simply pulled Howie into his arms, holding him close, feeling Howie's tears wet his shirt, even as his own fell.
