I tossed and turned while I attempted to fall asleep. Leaving Nick at the hospital alone made me feel so guilty. I wanted to be there for him so that he could have someone to talk to. Or maybe it was because I was being selfish. That sounds weird I know, but think about it. I wanted to be there, I wanted to help, I wanted to be sure that he was okay. That's an awful lot of 'I's' don't you think?
Caitlin should be the one that was there for him. She was going to be marring him, what else could she want to do. Or have expected to be done. I knew she would be there for him regardless of what anyone said to her. At least I would be a part of his recovery. He needed his friends and family. We were both to him, he'd always considered us family as well as great friends.
I found myself staring at the celing after a while. There wasn't anything else to do really. I don't know why I'm so nervious, Nick was alright. He was safe and sound recovering at the hospital. Nothing else was going to happen to him or anyone else. The guys that did this were in jail. It wasn't like they were on the lose and we had anything to worry about, but still, I worried. I spent the whole night worrying. Worrying over what was probably nothing. How stupid is that. I was getting myself worked up over nothing.
When I realized that I wasn't going to get any more sleep. I arose from the bed and began to get dressed. Sooner or later I knew that this was going to have to stop. May as well not get everyone worked up about this. It really wasn't worth the worry. Nick was who we had to be worring about anyway.
After I got dressed I walked down to the hotels resturaunt and met up with AJ and Caitlin. They told me that they hadn't been down there very long, but were waiting for all of us to get up so that we could go to the hospital. I ordered cup of coffee, I really wasn't hungry. I just needed something to keep me awake considering that last night I had the most restless sleep of my life. Go figure, it hits be after Nick is found. Strange, I thought to myself.
"How'd you guys sleep?" I asked.
"Great," Caitlin answered, "knowing for sure that Nick was okay made it so much easier to fall asleep."
"How 'bout you Bone?"
"I slept alright. No different than I usually do," he said looking at me, "but you look like shit. Did you get any sleep last night Rok?"
"Some. I couldn't sleep, I have no clue why though," I confessed.
"Nerves," Caitlin said, "your excited about having Nick back. Trust me, I know the feeling. How about the three of us go see him because it doesn't look like anyone else is coming down anytime soon."
"Okay, lets roll," AJ said. I smiled and got up. We walked out to my car. AJ wanted to drive but the one time I got in a car with him driving it, I had the crap scared out of me. Ever since that time I promised myself that I could never let AJ drive again. Besides, I didn't want us ending up in the hospital for reasons other than just visiting.
After a short debate with AJ about his driving, we were off. The ride to the hospital this time was much more relaxed. It helped knowing that Nick was okay, it prevented all worries about him from taking over, thankfully. The mood in the car seemed much lighter as well, that was another plus. Not only that, but the trip seemed much shorter. I have no idea what that was about, but hey, it was a welcomed change.
When we got to the hospital, the nurse behind the desk let us go up without any problems. Soon we were on the elevator waiting for it to stop at Nicks floor. When it did, we got off and walked around the corner to where Nick's room was and went it. Since it was only three of us, we were all alowed in.
"Carter wake your ass up," AJ said. Nick looked over at us and smiled.
"I've been waiting for you guys, what took you so long?" Nick asked.
"Rok here needed his coffee," AJ joked, "couldn't disturb that ya know?" I smiled at AJ's joke, good old AJ. Never lets anything get to anyone. He was the comic relief that we needed. Wait a second, here he goes again. "How was your first night at the hospital? Meet any hot nurses?"
"Hey!!" Caitlin yelled causing AJ to turn and look at her with a huge smile on his face, "not for him, for me." She laughed and he winked at her.
"So you felling any better?" I asked Nick.
"Well, if you consider that like everywhere still hurts, I can't move without being in pain, and I just want to get the hell out of here better," he said, "then yeah, I'm great."
"Did you talk to a doctor?" Caitlin asked.
"Only once. He was sayin some stuff to me that I didn't get cause I was so tired. I was really out of it then."
"Do you know his name?" Caitlin asked, "so I can get him." Nick just shook his head. He looked like he had no idea, poor guy. It must have sucked being in his place. Well duh Brian, would you want to be beaten to a pulp and laying in a hospital bed? NO! So of course it sucked, but that couldn't even begin to explain it really.
"Carter you're a fine piece of work you know that right," AJ said.
"AJ come on, leave him alone," I said seriously. AJ looked over at me but thankfully he didn't say anything because I knew it would only lead to arguments.
"Hey, his name wasn't a major concern, I was more worried about whether or not I was going to live," Nick suddenly shouted.
"Nick it's alright, we understand that," Caitlin said to him, taking his hand into hers. I smiled when I saw that Nick was comforted by her actions. AJ made no futher comments, I guess he actually did know when to stop, thankfully.
"So Frack," I said trying to lighten the moment and let Nick know that things were going to be normal again, "what should we do when you get outta here?"
"Ya know, walking would be nice. Jus' I'm not sure if I can do that just yet," Nick said with a smile coming across his face. Thank god he was going to be alright.
Chapter 20
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