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Bleeding Hearts -- Act 2 Scene 1 Hey guess what -- I FINISHED IT!!!! ::cheers wildly for herself:: I apologize in advance that the second act has no slashy content, its mostly just angst/drama... but really, i wrote myself into a corner and this was the only way out =P anyway i'll post a part a day til its all up, enjoy! xxoo vanessa BLEEDING HEARTS ACT 2 SCENE 1 Stefan's head hurt. It was the only part of him that wasn't numb. He felt like he was drifting in a dream; like nothing was real. But it was all terribly real. The doctor shouting. The nurses hustling. The paramedics and their screaming sirens. The blood. Brian's small body, sprawled on the floor. Brian's small body, on the gurney in the hospital. Blood. A candle. A spoon. A needle... He blinked back tears which sprung to his eyes at the recollection. More than anything else, it was the drugs that upset him. Brian had promised! He had given them his word he would leave them alone! That he had started again and not told them said a lot to Stefan about how Brian though of them: not very highly. He sighed and slipped his hand into Steve's. The other man took it, squeezing it with confident reassurance he wasn't sure he felt. "Steve?..." "Hmmm?" He was obviously lost in thought. "He knows..." He trailed off helplessly. Steve didn't have to ask who knew what. There was only one thing in their minds, and oh how heavily it weighed. It was matched only by the knot in the pit of his stomach. He stared blankly at the white wall of the hospital corridor, but its austere sterility just reminded him of where they were and why. But he couldn't close his eyes -- oh no, he didn't think he'd ever be able to close his eyes again. All he could see was Brian's pale body, slashed arms bent and splayed in a grotesque mockery of a crucifixion, the growing crimson pool, and the writing... Oh god, it was more blatant than a neon sign, than a message spelled out in clouds behind a plane, than a tattoo covering the skin of one's back... Steve let out a choked, anguished sob. Stefan tenderly pulled his lover into a tight embrace, the smaller man shaking against his chest. He just held him as he sobbed, oblivious to the tears soaking through the shoulder of his shirt. He ran a long, slender finger through Steve's hair, trying to offer comfort in the intimate gesture. Steve just sobbed harder. "Oh Stef, look what we did, look what we did to him... this is my fault, I should have known, I should have..." His words were overpowered by the powerful sobs. Stef didn't know what to say. He too felt guilty; he had had no idea that Brian felt that way. 'But isn't that the way it always is?' He sighed, and pressed his lips to the top of Steve's head. He couldn't begin to imagine how Steve was feeling. He would never say it, but it /was/ Steve's fault, in a way. His as well, to be sure, but it was Steve that Brian was so broken up over. Steve eventually regained his composure, hugging Stef tightly as he looked up into his eyes. "What are we going to do?" Stef sighed. "I don't know. I just don't know." Oh, there were things they /could/ do. Such as ending the relationship, for Brian's sake. If he made it thro-- 'No! Don't think that!' But was that /really/ an option? Could they be apart, after the delicious togetherness? Stef didn't think so. He didn't think Steve would either. That left them right back where they started; baffled, upset, worried sick. A doctor hurried up and cleared his throat. "You with Brian Molko?" They nodded, warily eyeing the blood spattered across the front of his gown. "Well, he lost a lot of blood-" 'No shit,' Steve thought darkly. "- but we think he's stabilized-" "You THINK?" Stef's voice was shrill. "- I'm sorry, sir, it's too soon to tell for certain. We'll be keeping him in ICU for observation; the drugs in his system are making this all very touch-and-go." "Can we see him?" Steve's voice shook, as did his body. Stef was in much the same way. The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, we can't allow that yet. When he's stablized, though, you can see him. Would you like some coffee in the mean time? The cafeteria is just down the hall." Stef nodded stiffly and thanked the doctor. Taking Steve's hand back in his, oblivious to the minor spectacle it made, they wandered dumbly towards the cafeteria. They got their coffees, counting out the change with numb fingers, and sat down in the hard plastic chairs liberally sprinkled through the area. Seated next to each other, staring at the floor, each lost in his own thoughts, the new tension in the air was completely different from the sexual tension of just a few hours ago-- 'Was it really that short of a time ago?' To Steve, it felt like the world had stopped, time had slowed to a crawl. The possibility of losing Brian was very real. 'God, how do we explain /that/ one to the rags? "Well see, Brian was secretly in love with me, but I was obliviously fucking Stef, and so in a fit of depression on a heroin-high he slashed his wrists"? No, putting it like that just cheapened it. It was so much more, went so much deeper. Those winks, hugs and kisses Brian had showered him with over the years really weren't just harmless flirting, an ongoing game of torment-the-straight-guy. They had meant something. And Steve had had no idea. "Steve?" Stef's small voice cut through his thoughts. "Mmm?" "We have to cancel the rest of the tour..." "Shit. Shit shit shit." "Yeah." The rising sun found Steve leaned against the bleached stone wall of the hospital, alternately sucking lungfuls of relatively fresh air and chain-smoked cigarettes. He flipped Stef's cellphone open and speed-dialed their manager. "Hello?" The voice was quite irate. "Hey, it's Steve-" "Steven Hewitt, where the FUCK are you? We're going crazy looking for you! Did you forget about the interview? Where ARE you?" "We're at the hospital-" "Oh, the hospital, that's all well and good but-- THE HOSPITAL? What the hell? You're not hurt are you?" "I wish, with all my heart, that I could truthfully tell you that." Steve sighed heavily. "Oh fuck, Steve, tell me what's going on!" "It's Brian." He paused to take a deep drag of his cigarette. "He somehow got his hands on some heroin, shot himself up sky-high and slashed his wrists into dogmeat." His voice was unsteady; Steve felt like he was about to start crying yet again. Silence. Then: "Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Steve, please tell me you're kidding. PLEASE tell me you're kidding." "Do I sound like I'm fucking kidding?" The first tear slipped down his cheek. "Christ, I'll cancel the interview.. hell, we have to cancel the rest of the tour!" "I fucking know that!" Steve was shaking as he yelled into the phone, drawing contemptuous stares from passersby. "I don't like it any more than you, but guess what -- this is the situation and we're stuck with it." He took a deep breath, consciously trying to lower both his voice and heart-rate. "Look, I need to go back inside, we're still waiting for Brian to wake up and I need to be there. I have no idea how long we'll be here, but we're not leaving til he does." With that, he hung up, angrily stabbing the "off" button with a finger. He stormed back into the hospital, moving like an automaton through the hallways until he found Stef, waiting outside the doors to the ICU wing. "Anything?" Steve asked, sounding tired. Stef merely shook his head, gathering the other man into his arms. "How'd they take it?" Steve sighed, again. "About as well as can be expected, really... they weren't happy, to put it mildly." They sat down again, perking up slightly each time the door to the ICU swung open, hoping against all hope that it would be a doctor bearing news, any news, about Brian. They sat there for almost eight hours, barely daring to shut their eyes and go to sleep for fear of what might appear in their dreams, before it came. "Mr. Hewitt? Mr. Olsdal?" The pair jumped slightly, startled out of their half-dozes. "We think Brian's about to wake up, would you like to go see him?" "Are you kidding?!" Stefan was immediately awake and on his feet. "Of course!" Steve leapt from his chair, eyes wide. "We can go in now?" The doctor nodded, pushing the door to the ICU open and gesturing for them to follow. Prev | Next Home |