Kevin woke up to the sound of a door slamming. He lifted his head up and
felt a pain shoot through his body, when he realized he had spent the night
in a hospital waiting room. It was secluded so no one bothered him, he was
waiting for word on Brian since last night and fell asleep. He stood up and
tried to get the links out of his neck. "That's the last time I'm sleeping in
a hospital chair," he said to himself and rubbed his aching neck. He opened
the door to the waiting room and peeked his head out to see if the coast was
clear, when he saw no one except a receptionist at the front desk he walked
over. He looked over the desk down at the woman. She was young maybe 22 or
23. "Excuse me, is there any word on Brian Littrell. He came in last night
with a bullet wound?" he asked.
The woman lifted her eyes from the computer screen they were glued to,
"Well, I just... just... oh my God..." she was at a loss for words seeing a
Backstreet Boy in front of her.
'Damn, she's a fan,' despite the fact he was in a horrible mood he put on
a smile.
"Um, I, uh, uh, oh my God I'm sorry. You're looking for...um...Brian!
Yeah, Ok give me a second," she smiled sheepishly and mentally scolded
herself for acting like an idiot. She typed some codes and names into the
computer and turned he seat back towards Kevin.
"He was taken into surgery around two in the morning so he should be in
recovery. You're not allowed to go in there, but I'm sure in an hour or so
he'll be awake and the sedatives would have worn off by then," she explained,
trying to sound professional although she was doing cartwheels on the inside.
"Thanks, um, do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah, it's," she turned to look at her radio clock, "a quarter to seven."
"Ok, thanks again," he said and walked back into the waiting room. He
sat down in the nearest chair and leaned back, closing his eyes. He sighed
loudly, "I'll call everybody later. I just can't do it right now," he said
and took off the leather jacket he was wearing. Lord knows why he was
wearing a leather jacket in Orlando, but he was. He happened to look down at
the shirt he was wearing. Near the bottom was a blood stain, about the size
of his fist. It was Brian's blood. Then it all sunk in. That was the third
time he had almost lost his cousin. He also noticed that Annie had been
there all of those times. Well, not exactly the first time, since Brian's
heart condition was no one's fault, but the last two. 'If she had never
came, all of this could've been prevented. Brian wouldn't be laying in a
hospital bed, fighting for his life,' the thought angered him.
"She better not come within a mile of him or I'll kill her," he thought
out loud, clenching his fists.
~Annie's view~
I stared out the window, looking at the well, I wouldn't call it scenery. They were just clouds, hundreds of them, spread out over the sky. I caught the first flight out of Orlando, which happened to be at six thirty in the morning. I was on my way to New York, nobody knows me there, except my Mom, but she's in Albany and I'm going to the city. Of course there's other places people don't know me, but it's something about New York, like it's calling my name. I hope it'll be as good as I think it will. I'm starting a fresh new life, as hard as that may be, I'm going to try. I left, just me, myself, and I. I had no clothes, I couldn't go back to Brian's house. I only had my life savings, which was enough to get me by for a maybe a few months. I sighed and put the volume up on my discman.
You'll say you understand, but you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise, and you can't afford to lie
You'll never touch - these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown - to you
You'll say, don't fear your dreams, it's easier than it seems
You'll say you'd never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie
You'll never live the life that I live
I'll never live the life that wakes me in the night
You'll never hear the message I give
You'll say it looks as though I might give up this fight
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you
You'll say you understand, you'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in, you don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
But never is a promise and I'll never need a lie
As Fiona Apple's 'Never Is A Promise' ended I found myself crying again.
'I just hope Brian is Ok. What kind of person am I? I left before I could
find out if he was Ok, Lord help me,' I thought shaking my head. I felt a
light tap on my shoulder and looked next to me. I found myself looking into
a pair of the most amazing chocolate brown eyes. I removed my head phones
and sat them in my lap, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry if I bothered you, but I couldn't help, but notice that you
were crying," the man pointed out.
"Allergies," I said, hoping he would by my excuse.
"Are you sure?"
"No, I'm not sure. I have no idea whether I'm crying or not and
obviously you wouldn't either since you don't know me," I said sarcastically
then, cocked my head and smiled bitterly.
"Well, how about I get to know you," he smiled to reveal a perfect set of
pearly white teeth, "I'm Alex," he said and held out his hand.
I looked at him at disbelief. Did this guy not get that I was having a
bad day? I thought anyone would get the hint with the attitude I just gave
him. I took his hand, "Kate," I said.