Mariah fidgeted in her seat. She had cried the whole trip to
Paris. Her mom understood completely and bought her a ticket for the next
flight out. Nick hadn't told Mariah what had happened. He just told her that
she needed to come to Paris immediately.
Now Mariah sat in the seat of a taxi cab on her way to the
hospital that Brian was kept at. Her eyes were bloodshot since she hadn't slept
since the phone call two days ago until now. As the driver stopped the car in
front of the hospital, he motioned to the monitor as to how much she should
pay. Mariah didn't know how much to pay since she hadn't exchanged any money.
She handed the driver a wad of American bills and rushed out of the cab. The
driver seemed happy with what he got. Obviously, she paid more than she was
supposed to.
As Mariah stood in the elevator she couldn't stop herself from
imagining the worst. The doors opened and she stepped out. AJ was the first to
see her.
"Mariah!" he cried out. "I'm so glad you came! He's
been wanting to see you." Mariah could see that his eyes were red from
crying as well.
AJ motioned to the others while slowly they came over to give her
a warm welcome and brief and short smiles. She noticed a lady approaching her
slowly. She gave Mariah a small smile.
"You must be Mariah," she said. "I'm Brian's
mother. He's told me a lot about you. He's been waiting to see you. Let me take
you to him."
Mariah nodded while fresh tears sprang to her eyes. Brian's mother
led her to Brian's room.
"I'll leave you two alone," said Brian's mother once
they arrived. Mariah nodded, hugged Brian's mother, then walked into Brian's
room and closed the door behind her.
The room was dark inside, just like what she was feeling inside
herself. She approached Brian's bed slowly. She saw a fragile being lying on the
bed, his face ghastly white, like life was slowly being drained away. Tubes
stuck out of him, trying to regulate his breathing. The machine beeped
steadily.
Mariah walked up to the side of the bed. She pulled up a nearby
chair and sat in it. Her hand went to reach for Brian's while shaking with
fear. She felt as if he was going to break if she touched him.
Brian felt a warm hand on his cold hand and he slowly opened his
eyes. He saw something that he had been waiting for.
"Mariah," he whispered, his voice dry.
"Sh..." she interrupted. "Don't say anything."
Brian nodded his head slowly, gathering all his strength to do any
actions. Mariah's tears slipped down her face slow and steadily. She lay her
head on Brian's arm, holding his hand. She was determined not to let him go.
She felt Brian's other hand gently stroking her head.
"Sh..." he said. "Everything's going to be alright.
I'm not afraid."
Brian's last three words surprised her. She glanced up at him
through her tears.
"But I am," she answered him.
Brian gazed at her and his own tears sprang to his eyes.
"Mariah," he started. "Remember that I'll always love you."
Mariah's gaze stayed focused on his. "What are you talking
about?"
"Even if I'm not here--"
"No!" cried Mariah. "You're going to be fine. I'm
not going to hear it!"
Brian smiled sadly. "Honey, you've got to realize that I'm
not going to make it."
Mariah looked at him. "Why are you giving up so easily?"
Brian looked away from her not wanting to face her. His own pain
welled up inside him. "It's too painful," he whispered.
"It's never too painful for the one you love," she
answered him, her own voice as quiet as his. "I'd switch places with you
if I could, you know I would. Why can't you see I'd give anything for this to
all go away?" She paused. "You said that we need each other, you'd do
anything for me. Then do this for me, Brian. Live, for me, because I need you.
More than anything in this world."
Brian turned his head and looked at her. He saw Mariah's tears
flowing freely. His tears fell down his face as they held on to each other and
cried.
* * *
"Mariah? Wake up." Howie gently shook her shoulders.
Mariah opened her eyes.
"What is it Howie?" she asked groggily.
"They need to check up on Brian. Come on out and have a cup
of coffee with us or something. Come on," he gently prodded her.
Mariah rubbed her eyes and looked down at Brian. He looked so
peaceful while he slept. She slowly got up, reluctant to leave his side. She
let Howie quietly lead her away as a doctor and some nurses came in. She and
Howie walked down the corridors quietly, neither saying a word. He led her to
the waiting room where the rest of the guys were. She sat down and their gazes
fell on her. Her head fell on the table and she began to cry quietly. Brian's
mother sat next to her and gathered her into his arms. The guys all sat quiet
and solemn around them while Mariah cried on Mrs. Littrell's shoulders.
Some time went by before the doctor came and when he did, he wore
a solemn face.
"Excuse me?" he said.
Nick looked up. "Doctor, how is he?" he asked anxiously.
"Well," began the doctor. "He's not better, but he
hasn't gotten worse either, so that's a good sign. He's pretty stable. We've
done some x-rays and routine procedures and we think that we may be able to fix
up the problem, but," he said slowly. "we can't guarantee anything.
It's a fifty-fifty chance. We won't do anything without permission, but we do
advise that this is the only thing he's got left. If we don't operate, he'll
die, but if we do, he has a chance to live."
Brian's mother nodded. "Do it," she said. "Do
anything you can, just make him better."
The doctor nodded. "We'll do our best."
An hour later, Mariah saw Brian being wheeled out of his room and
she rushed to his side.
"Brian!" she cried.
Brian looked up at her and took her hand in his firmly.
"Mariah, I love you. 'Til the end of time."
"I love you too, Brian!" Mariah felt his hand slipping
from hers as they continued to wheel him away. Someone held her back. She
collapsed to the ground when she felt his fingers slip from hers.