| 14. Desperation 4:33 pm Adam Brewster opened an orange pill container and chased two pills with water. His vocal chords were acting up again and speaking had become painful once more, as did performing every night. His band, Turn 57's style of rap-rock involved a lot of screaming on his part, as he was the lead singer. But he'd enjoyed the success they'd experienced in their three years on the music scene. He'd met a lot of people and stirred up a lot of controversy with the sometimes questionable lyrics he wrote. Nothing had ever come out of it, though. His band just became sort of a hushed name among households, but was blasted in teenager's car stereos everywhere. Amazingly, he'd found a friend in Meghan Whitley when they met at the Billboard Music Awards that April. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum, as Meg was a devout Christian and he was a devout rock and roller, but they got along surprisingly well. It was a friendship that surprised everyone, but still managed not to turn anyone against either one of them. "How ya feeling, man?" Adam looked up at Rick, the oddly-dressed and sometimes flamboyant guitarist in Turn 57. "Same." He cleared his throat and winced. "I won't ask you to talk then, but your cell phone rang in the dressing room." Adam shrugged, "And?" "It was Meg's manager, Rob." Adam furrowed his brow in concern and waited for Rick to continue. "She's in the hospital, man. She's being tested for cancer." "Cancer?" Adam asked softly. "Yeah. She asked him to call you." "What's the number?" "555-0928." Rick handed him his cell phone and left the room. Adam quickly dialed the number. "Rob here," was the almost immediate answer. "Yeah, this is Adam. What's going on with Meg?" "Hey. Well, she fainted at a show last Sunday in Chicago and we took her to the hospital. She'd been complaining of cramps for the last two weeks, so they ran some tests and found some growths on her ovaries." He paused. "She has cancer, Adam." "What?" he breathed. "The growths--they're cancerous." Cancer? Meg? "Are you trying to mess--" "I wouldn't joke about this." He sighed, trying to figure out how to handle it. "Where is she?" "At the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago." "How much longer is she gonna be there?" "Until Saturday, then she'll be going to a clinic in Hollywood for treatment." "Alright. Thanks, Rob." "No problem. She wanted me to make sure you knew about it. Chad doesn't even know yet." "Dude." He swallowed. "Call me if you find out anything else." "I will. Bye." Adam stood up from the side of the stage where he had been sitting in search of his manager. "Tim!" he yelled, but quickly stopped as he was reminded of how much his throat hurt. When his manager appeared from his makeshift office, Adam said, "I can't do the show, tonight, man." "Is it that bad?" "I'm in pain, Tim. It hurts to talk. I can't yell like this." "But it doesn't hurt to scream my name for the whole backstage crew to hear?" "Hey, it was an act of desperation. Please, man, can we just postpone the show until tomorrow?" "Is it that important?" "It's my health!" Tim sighed. "If it means that much to you--" "Yes! Thank you!" He ran out of the venue and to his car in the private lot just outside the venue. Soon, he was racing down the freeway towards the airport. 15. Old Friend 9:45 pm Meg couldn't sleep. This was the earliest she'd gone to bed in weeks and having to adjust to the hospital's schedule didn't appeal to her. Her normal routine included waking up at 6 and going to bed around midnight, exhausted. But this concept of waking up at 9 and going to bed at 9 wasn't quite growing on her. Though it allowed her more time to sleep, she was used to the bus shifting, the air conditioner blowing and the sound of traffic. I don't like this whole quiet thing. Annoys me. I wish they'd let me have a radio or something. Oh yeah, protocol. She rolled over on her side and tried to sleep. I guess that nap that afternoon really did me in. �Sir! I�m sorry, visiting hours are over!� Meg sat up in bed to figure out what the commotion was in the hall. One of the nurses was yelling at a familiar voice. �You can�t go in there, sir, you�ll have to wait!� �I�m family!� Adam Brewster stumbled in Meg�s room with a bouquet of flowers, the nurse right on his tail. �Adam!� �Hey, sis!� He hugged her as she whispered, �Adam, I�m not your sister.� �I know, just play along.� �Mom said she didn�t think you�d be able to come,� she lied, releasing him. �Yeah, well, I made it!� The nurse looked confused. �He�s your brother? I didn�t know you had any brothers.� �Oh yeah.� She put her arm around Adam. �We don�t get to see each other often, so�he�s alright.� �Okay,� she said hesitantly and left the room. Adam snickered, �I always knew you were an actress at heart.� She smiled. �Yeah. I can�t believe she actually thinks I�m related to you! I thought you had a show!� �Yeah, well my vocal chords are acting up again, plus Rob called me, so�� She frowned, �How you feel about it?� �Well�it�s cancer, I mean, how else are you supposed to feel about it?� She smiled, �Just don�t abandon me. That�s all I ask.� He assured, �I wouldn�t do that, Meg! I�m your friend!� �Tell that to Chad,� she muttered. �What�s wrong with him?� �He hasn�t returned my calls or made any effort to make contact with me.� �Want me to beat him up for you?� She laughed, �That�s okay. I don�t want you to get slapped with a lawsuit.� �Well thanks for looking out for me.� He took her hand assuredly. �You know I�m gonna be there for you, no matter what, right?� �I know I can trust you, Adam.� She hugged him. �I�m glad you came.� �You better be, I had to lie to my manager to get out here!� She sighed, �I should have known.� He shrugged. �Where can I put these among the plethora?� he asked, holding up the bouquet. �Plethora? That�s a big word.� �Well you have a lot of flowers besides the ones I�m giving you, so you have a�� �A plethora, I know. Just put them on the desk over yonder.� �Yonder?� �Boy that�s a big word, ain�t it?� He laughed. �Well, Milady, I best be getting on my way before the nurse kicks me out.� He hugged her. �I have an early flight tomorrow, so I won�t be able to come see you then.� �I�m sorry.� She paused. �Thanks for coming, Adam. This means a lot to me.� �And I�d do it all over again.� He smiled and turned around to leave. �I�ll be seeing you around, Meg.� �Bye Adam.� The door shut and Meg rolled over on her side. Thank God for people like Adam. I needed him here�I needed someone here and he came at the right moment. She smiled and drifted off to sleep, anxiously waiting Chad, Paul, Kev, Gabe and Seth�s arrivals tomorrow. |