Nick ran through the rain from Ashley’s driveway up to her front door. He rang the doorbell and pounded his fists against the door. He had been trying to call Ashley for the past five hours. At first the phone had just kept ringing without her answering machine picking up. About an hour ago he had started to get a busy signal despite the fact that Ashley had call waiting. That was when Nick began to get worried. The fact that her car was parked in the driveway concerned him more. She had told him that she wasn’t going out that night, but there wasn’t a single visible light on in the house.
Nick continued banging on the door and was almost convinced that no one would answer when the door was slowly pulled open. Nick’s heart ached when he saw her. Much like the rain that was coming down around Nick as he stood outside, tears streamed continually from Ashley’s eyes, covering her cheeks.
He instantly walked into the house, reaching out for her and taking her into his arms. Ashley allowed Nick to hold her against him, crying out her anguish and soaking through the thin cotton of his shirt, as she pressed her face against that familiar spot on his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Nick whispered, caressing her back softly with his hands, “Tell me what’s wrong. Let me try and make it right.”
Ashley shook her head against him. She savored in Nick’s strength, in how, just by holding her, he had done all that he could do to make it right. Just his words, his wish to try and correct things, had done more for her than anyone else could have. Even though Ashley knew they weren’t, things had always seemed so easy for Nick. The answer was always so apparent for him, even when it came to her problems. He had always done that for her, though. Taken her in his arms and shielded her from the harm that the rest of the world tried to inflict.
“Shhh, Brown Eyes. Just tell me what’s going on. What’s got you so upset?” Nick’s hand gently stroked her hair.
It was a few moments before Ashley’s sobs subsided enough that she could talk. A hiccup escaped as she found words again, “I have no control over my life, Nick. I have no clue where it’s headed. I’m just so scared.”
Nick pulled slightly away and put a finger under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, “The only thing that I can tell you is that I know exactly how you feel. I lost control of my life a long time ago, to a girl that I love more than anything in this world. I live every day of my life hoping in vain that she’ll love me in return. These feelings that I have no control over, control everything that I do and I don’t know what I’m going to do when I lose her for good.”
Tears pooled in Nick’s own eyes and several slipped slowly down his cheeks. Ashley was the only person that had ever been able to make him cry and she was the only one, in his whole adult life, that he had allowed himself to cry in front of.
Ashley reached up and gently touched his tears with her fingertips. Out of instinct and out of desire she pressed her lips against his skin, savoring the saltiness that covered his cheeks. Her lips moved slowly along his jaw line and down to his throat, pressing feather light kisses on his Adam’s apple. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, losing sense of everything but Ashley. He felt her fingers begin to play with the buttons on his shirt and then felt the shirt itself slide slowly to the floor.
As Ashley’s lips grazed over his collarbone, Nick pulled her back up to look at him. He let his gaze travel over her tear stained cheeks, solemn brown eyes, and the light sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Nick knew it was wrong, knew it wasn’t what was best for Ashley at the time, but he let her guide his hands down to the bottom of her shirt and pull it over her head. With her shirt discarded now, Nick pulled her back against him, letting his lips touch hers, loving the way her bare skin felt against his.
Nick let Ashley pull him over to the couch in her living room and lowered her down to it. His brain screamed for him to stop, but even as it did, his hands roamed over her body, taking in every part of her. Ashley let her hands slip down to the waistband of Nick’s jeans and begin to tug on the zipper. At that moment, the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table began to ring, interrupting the virtual silence of the room. Ashley pulled her lips away from his and glanced towards the phone.
“Let it ring,” Nick insisted urgently, placing his lips against her throat. Ashley obeyed his command feeling him reach behind her to unclasp her bra, but finally couldn’t ignore the ringing of the phone any longer. She fought every urge inside of her and forcefully pushed Nick away. Ashley stood and picked up the phone, leaving Nick alone on the couch. He sat up, placing his head in his hands, trying to slow his breathing. Nick didn’t look up and didn’t even wonder who was on the phone until he heard a strangled cry escape from Ashley’s lips and saw the phone clatter to the floor. Nick reached her side in less than one stride and grabbed the phone off the floor, putting an arm around her as she clung to him.
“Who the hell is this?” Nick demanded putting the phone to his ear.
Nick immediately recognized the voice of the Kelly’s Mexican housekeeper, Rosa. Her voice, too, was encased in sobs. Nick softened his voice, “Rosa. Rosa, calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”
The older Mexican woman spoke in halting English through her tears, “Bradley. He in the hospital. On his way over to Ashley after a fight with his parents. Riding his bike in the rain. He ran off the road and into ditch. He might not make it.”
Nick swore his heart stopped right in his chest, “Which hospital is he at, Rosa?”
“Children’s.”
“We’re leaving to go there right now, Rosa. We’ll call you and tell you how he is,” Nick hung up the phone without waiting for a response and turned to Ashley, “Find your clothes.”
Ashley grabbed the first thing she saw on the floor and pulled it over her arms, hurriedly buttoning it up. Nick realized that it was his shirt she had picked up, but didn’t care. He reached for his discarded undershirt off the carpet, remembering that he had a jacket in the backseat of the Durango. “Let’s go,” Nick grabbed her hand as he reached into the pocket of his jeans for keys. He didn’t even realize that the rain had stopped as they made their way out in the dark to the Durango. After getting Ashley settled on the passenger side, Nick reached into the backseat for his jacket and hurried around to climb in the driver’s seat. The car was completely silent for the whole ride, both of them afraid to say anything, as if they would destroy some sort of fragile cosmic balance that might be keeping Bradley alive. Nick reached over and took her hand in his own. It felt lifeless, limp, and cold as he rubbed it with his own hand trying to bring some warmth to her. She stared blankly out the car window as scenery rushed by them. The few minutes that it took to reach the hospital seemed to move like hours, but they eventually reached the emergency room. Nick parked the Durango half in and half out of a spot before turning it off and rushing after Ashley through the sliding doors and into the sterile-smelling environment. The smell always hit Nick hard and made him want to turn and walk out of the hospital. He had associated that smell with death and decaying ever since his parents had owned a nursing home when he was a child.
They immediately spotted Ashley’s parents sitting in the waiting room and rushed over to them. To say that the Kelly’s looked out of place in the emergency room would have been an understatement. They sat looking immaculate and polished, as if they were merely waiting to be seated at a table at an expensive restaurant, not waiting on their son whose life was hanging precariously on a thin thread.
“Have you heard anything?” Ashley could barley force the words out.
Mr. Kelly spoke slowly and Nick wanted to grab him and shake the words out, “We don’t know anything yet.”
“What happened? I don’t understand how this happened,” Ashley whispered urgently, glancing at the calm faces of both of her parents. From the looks on their faces Nick could tell that they disapproved of Ashley’s appearance at the moment. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks tear stained, her eyes puffy, her lips swollen from Nick’s kisses, and she was dressed in his shirt nonetheless.
Mr. Kelly went on to describe in full detail the night’s events. From what Nick understood they had told Bradley that they were going to Switzerland and wouldn’t be there for his birthday the following week. The little boy had gotten understandably upset and a fight had ensued. Apparently it escalated into more than the Kelly’s just missing his birthday and Bradley told them that he was going to move in with Ashley. His parents, seeing it as an empty threat, told him to go ahead and quickly forgot the fight as Bradley ran up stairs to his room. They found out later that he had gone upstairs to pack a book bag full of his things. He snuck out of the large house and hopped on his bicycle. Riding it during the heaviest part of the rainstorm, he attempted to navigate the curvaceous roads that would lead him to Ashley’s. It was then that a car had hit a deep puddle of water, splashing it up against Bradley and sending the little boy tumbling down a fairly steep hill. Another car had stopped to call 9-1-1and he had been rushed to the hospital with severe neck and head injuries
Nick felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He had passed the scene on his way to Ashley’s. Traffic had been backed up by the ambulances and police cars that had been called to the scene and in his rush, Nick turned down a side street to get to Ashley’s quicker. As Mr. Kelly finished relating the incident to them, a doctor came out of a set of doors off to the left.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kelly?” he asked glancing at a clipboard, “I’m Dr. White. I was the one who attended your son, Bradley when he was brought in.” The Kellys finally rose from their seats and nodded.
“Bradley suffered several minor cuts and lacerations, along with two broken ribs. The part that we’re concerned about though is that he hit his head very hard and there is massive swelling on the brain stem,” the doctor stated bluntly.
Ashley felt her knees go weak and she reached out for Nick, clinging to his arm, “Can’t you do something for that? Can’t you relieve the pressure?” “That’s what I came out here to ask you. There is a chance that we can relieve some of the swelling through surgery. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s definitely going to work, but it’s the best chance that we’ve got. It’s long and it’s extensive, but otherwise we don’t have anything else to offer. This hospital has some of the best pediatric neurosurgeons in the country, so Bradley will be in the best of hands.” Mr. Kelly thought for a moment, then finally spoke, “Well, if it’s his only chance, then I don’t see why you’re standing here wasting time. Let’s get this going. Do we have to sign anything?”
“Yes, if you’ll all follow me, I’ll take you to the O.R. waiting room. A nurse will be there with papers for you to sign. They’re already prepping Bradley for surgery as we speak,” the doctor told them as he led them through a set of doors.
Ashley felt as if she were living outside of her own body. She let Nick guide her to the waiting room, by the gentle pressure of his hand on the small of her back. The colorful murals on the walls seemed to blur together and she swore she could hear the laughter of children somewhere in the corridor. They reached the waiting room and Mr. Kelly went with the doctor to sign the papers. Ashley stood staring blankly at her surroundings as her mother took a seat.
“Brown Eyes? Let’s sit down, okay?” Nick lowered her into one the uncomfortable chairs offered in the waiting room and sat down next to her, “Why don’t you let me get you something to drink?”
Ashley shook her head, “Maybe you could call Brian. He’ll come here, won’t he? He’ll say a prayer for Bradley?”
Nick squeezed her hand, “Yeah he will. We all will. Will you be okay if I go find a pay phone?”
Ashley nodded blankly and Nick rose from his chair. Finding a pay phone he dialed his best friend who agreed quickly to come to the hospital. Putting in another quarter Nick also called Laurel, who he swore, dropped the phone and ran out the door while he was still on the other end. When Nick walked back into the waiting room, Mr. Kelly had sat down with his wife and his daughter.
“Brian and Laurel are on their way,” Nick told her, sitting back down. “Perhaps you should call your fiancé, Ashley,” Mrs. Kelly suggested coolly. Ashley had to think for a moment before she answered, “He’s in New York on business. I don’t even know when he’ll be back.” Nick decided to steer the subject away from Preston, “How long did they say the surgery would take?”
Mr. Kelly sighed wearily, “He didn’t know for sure; anywhere from four to eight hours. If it goes longer than that he said that something probably went wrong.”
Nick glanced at his watch. It read nine thirty. It was going to be a long night. It wasn’t much later that Brian entered the waiting room, followed by Kevin and Leighanne, who had both been with him when Nick had called. Secretly, Nick had been relieved that Ashley had asked for Brian. Nick knew that he would need his friends’ support as much as Ashley would. They all exchanged hugs and not a moment later, Laurel swooped into the waiting room, sweeping Ashley up into her arms in a hug.
They moved a little ways away from Mr. and Mrs. Kelly as Nick recapped the story for all of them. When he was done, Laurel squeezed Ashley’s shoulders gently.
Ashley looked up and met Brian’s eyes, “Will you say a prayer for him? Please?”
Brian felt tears come to his eyes at the desperate sound in her voice, “Yeah. Definitely.” He reached out and took Ashley’s hands and bowed his head, everyone around them doing the same. His voice came out strong and clear, “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for Bradley and all the wonderful memories that we’ve had with him. We thank you for his laughter, his innocence, and his love for the life that you’ve given him. Right now we ask that you put your protection around him and that you guide the doctors and nurses as they use medical technology to repair his body. We pray that Your will for the precious little boy that captured all of our hearts is to let him be with us and to let him to continue to add joy to our lives. We know that no matter what steps are taken by the doctors that the final judgment is yours alone and we pray that you’ll wait a little longer to have Bradley in Heaven with You and bless us with a little more time with him here. God, we love you and we ask that Your will be done. All this in Jesus name we pray, Amen.”
“Amen,” Ashley whispered softly, calling out to the only One who could save
her brother.
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