Snow Lodge
Chapter 67
"Alex." Brian whispered the name, his voice breaking with the deep sadness that had settled in his heart. The dream had been full of love and peace, but now it had been snatched away from him and all he was left with was sadness.
He sighed softly without lifting his head from where it was still pillowed on his arms. He didn't want to move, because moving would mean accepting that he had returned to reality, a reality where AJ was in a hospital bed in a coma, not laying in the warm, cosy bed at the cabin.
If he closed his eyes, he was still able to feel the soft touch of AJ's hand in his hair.
Brian suddenly stopped, holding his breath and keeping perfectly still as he waited to feel that again.
There. There it was. He wasn't nuts, he could feel it.
Slowly, carefully, Brian moved one of his arms out from under his head, reaching up to touch whatever it was that was in his hair. His fingers came in contact with something solid, something that felt like an arm. He danced his fingers down the arm, finding something around the wrist. He fingered it for a few seconds, before moving on down to the hand. His fingers found and wrapped around those that were already in his hair, and Brian held his breath as he gently pulled the fingers away, sitting up at the same time.
Brian sat there for a moment, not quite able to comprehend what he was seeing. He was holding a hand. A hand attached to an arm. An arm with a hospital bracelet around the wrist.
He squeezed the hand softly, a grin spreading slowly across his face as he felt it returned relatively strongly. His grip hadn't been that strong earlier.
Brian leaned closer to AJ's head, ghosting his lips against his forehead.
"C'mon Alex. It's time to wake up now." He whispered.
He then almost jumped out of his skin when he felt the grip on his hand increase once more.
"Alex!" Brian yelped excitedly, causing the other three to stir.
Kevin jumped as he heard Brian's excited voice, his feet dropping to the floor. Howie's head snapped up so fast, it looked as if it was gonna come clear off his shoulders. Nick meanwhile, who was closest to Brian, jumped about two feet in the air, landing with a thud as he lost his balance and fell off of the chair.
Not that Brian noticed, he was too busy paying attention to AJ.
"Alex? Can you hear me. C'mon babe, squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
Brian waited a couple of seconds before breaking out into an even bigger grin. "Yes!" He exclaimed, making Howie and Kevin jump up as they suddenly realised what was happening.
Howie was at AJ's side in a second, taking his other hand and holding it tight.
"Jay? It's Howie. Can you hear me bro?" He asked.
AJ replied with a firm squeeze of Howie's hand.
"Oh My God! He's heard me. He's waking up, he's waking up!" Howie called excitedly, almost jumping up and down with excitement.
Kevin wrapped one arm around Howie and laid the other on AJ's thigh, whilst on the other side of the bed Nick forgot about his sore rear and wrapped an arm around Brian's waist and lay his other hand over AJ and Brian's joined ones.
"Hey Bro. We're all here for ya." Nick told him.
"Yeah. Jay, all you need to do is open your eyes and see." Kevin added.
Brian leaned closer, watching as AJ's eyes moved slightly behind his closed eyelids.
"C'mon baby. Open your eyes, please. I need you. We all need you." Brian urged AJ softly, his face still inches from AJ's.
Brian watched as AJ's eyes moved a little more rapidly beneath his eyelids.
"Come on Alex. You can do it." Howie encouraged, feeling AJ's hand rhythmically tense and relax as he fought to open his eyes.
A deep groan rumbled from AJ, his whole body beginning to move slightly, as if he were struggling against something.
"That's it AJ, open your eyes now." Nick urged, excitement coursing through his veins.
AJ rolled his head from side to side for a second before stilling again. His eyelids started flickering as he tried to open his eyes. Brian and Howie both gripped even tighter to AJ's hands, and all four boys moved closer to be able to see if he would finally wake up.
