Chapter 15 Jessica saw the pain on his face and immediately jumped up and caught him just before he slumped over. "Brian, what's wrong?" she asked frantically. "I've gotta call an ambulance," she said more to herself than to him. "No, don't leave me," he begged. "It will be faster if you take me to the hospital." Jessica could tell by his voice that he was having difficulty breathing. The manager let them out an emergency exit and by some miracle Jessica found Brian's convertible quickly. She helped him into the passenger's seat and began speeding toward the hospital. Suddenly, she remembered Nick. She picked up Brian's cell phone and dialed Nick's number. "Hello, Brian?" she heard Nick answer. "Nick, this is Jess. I'm taking Brian to the ER at Baptist Hospital. Can you meet me over there?" She heard Nick break down in tears and then Kevin grab the phone. "Jess, where're you taking him?" he asked, knowing exactly what was going on. "Baptist Hospital. Exit 61A," she answered as she looked at the map. She hated driving in a strange city. By the time she reached the hospital, she was crying so hard that she could barely answer any questions that the nurses asked her. She became even more upset when they told her that she would have to wait in the waiting room instead of with Brian. A few minutes later, Kev, Nick, Howie, and AJ came running in. Nick immediately ran to her and held her as they both cried. "What happened?" Kevin asked as Jessica dried her tears. She told him the whole story. "I don't understand it," she concluded. "He's so healthy." The guys all looked at each other, none of them wanting to be the one to tell her Brian's secret. Just as Kevin was about to tell her, a doctor came to see them. "I'm sorry to inform you that Mr. Littrell has another hole in his heart." Jessica looked around to see that only she wore a shocked expression on her face. "You guys knew?" she asked incredulously. They all nodded their heads. "Why didn't you tell me?" "It wasn't our place to tell you. It was Brian's," Kevin said softly. Jessica looked like she was going to faint so Nick moved closer to hold her. "His surgery is being scheduled for tomorrow morning. I know it will ruin your tour, but this can't wait. Mr. Littrell doesn't know yet." The doctor continued. "I'll tell him," Kevin volunteered. "When can we see him?" AJ asked. "You may go see him now. We've just got him stabilized; he's in ICU. Follow me." The doctor showed them to a quiet room at the back of ICU. He let them in and then left them alone. As soon as the door shut, Brian's blue eyes flew wide open. "How you feelin', cuz," Kev asked as he sat down. "I feel like I've just been run over by a truck. Other than that..." he trailed off with a small laugh. His eyes searched the room for Jessica. Had she really not come to see him? Nick read his best friend's mind. "She's outside, Frick. She wants to talk to you alone, but she insisted that we come in first." "Guys, I'm gonna give her this promise ring," Brian told them. "That's pretty fast, Bri," Howie said. "You've only known her for three weeks." "I know, but I'm so much in love that I can't help it. She makes me feel so alive. I mean, when I'm with her it's like I'm so happy that I can just forget all the bad things that are going on." "Okay," AJ said. "That's enough. If we listen to much more of that we're all gonna be sick." They all laughed. "I'm just joking, Bri. I'm happy for you, man. But seriously we had better get going so you can talk to her." "Bye, Frick," they all chorused as they left the room. A few minutes later, Brain saw Jessica appear in the doorway. She looked at him, and Brian could see the hurt in her eyes. That hurt him worse than anything else. Chapter 16 Home Forever Index Fan Fiction Index Email me