Chapter Thirty Two

They arrived at the hospital just as the ambulance pulled up. They got to the door in time to see Nick being wheeled into the emergency room. They walked over and sat in the waiting room. A heavy silence filled the room. No one was sure of what to say. Brian called and had some of Nick's things sent over along with a stereo to be put in the room. Nick always liked to listen to music, so Brian figured it'd be a good thing to have. Fans were already gathering around the outside of the building. Alecia looked around the room at the four men standing there. It was her fault, if she hadn't told him, if only she'd...she'd...now they could loose their friend because of her. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and leaned forward. She kept seeing his blood all over her hands, his pale face in her mind. Had she done enough? Would he survive? She kept pushing him away, wouldn't listen. She never got the chance to tell him that she wanted to be his friend again, she just...just... She closed her eyes as the tears fell. So many words that were left unheard.

"Alecia?"

"Alecia, you ok baby?" AJ whispered.

She slowly lifted her head and looked at them, she could feel her body shaking with unreleased emotion. She looked back down, she couldn't look at them, it was her fault, all her fault.

"Alecia..." She heard Kevin say before sitting down next to her.

"It's gonna be ok honey." She heard AJ, as he sat down on the other side of her.

She shook her head, it'd never be ok again. She was shaking so badly and she was cold.

"Take a few breaths honey, you're gonna go into shock if you don't relax." She realized that AJ now had his arm around her and was pulling her to his warm body. So cold and the tears wouldn't stop falling. She lifted her head to find that they were all staring at her, not hate, but concern in their eyes. "I-I'm s-sorry." She whispered.

"Why? You didn't do anything." Kevin whispered.

"It's my fault...my fault. I never should've told him that I was leaving...me, I did this." The tears falling faster and faster. She was powerless to stop them.

"Alecia it's not your fault. Accidents happen." Howie soothed, coming to kneel in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"I should've done more..."

"You did the best you could." Brian whispered, his eyes welling up.

"I'm sorry..." She sobbed before breaking down into tears. "I wasn't....wasn't there...I could've saved him...oh...god please..." She sobbed into her hands. AJ pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, the tears falling down his face. They all cried and hugged each other silently until Alecia pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I guess I needed that."

"Yeah, I think we all did." Kevin sighed, wiping at his face.

Alecia looked into their tear stained faces and sighed. "I didn't mean to freak like that. I think it just got to me."

"I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, what with everything you went through. You held up pretty well, aside from the babbling." AJ chuckled. Alecia smacked him playfully and the tension lifted a little. Just then the doctor came into the room.

"Excuse me." The doctor called, and they all stood.

"What happened? Is he ok?" Kevin asked frantically.

"Mr. Carter suffered a severe concussion. We don't see any signs of brain damage, but the next forty eight hours are critical. He's in critical condition and we've moved him to the intensive care unit for observation. We're not ruling out possible amnesia, from the extent of the trauma to his head, it's a major possibility. We'll know more when the rest of the test results come back."

"Can...can we see him?" Brian whispered.

"Only immediate family is allowed at this time."

"Please, we're the only family he's got. His mother is on her way, but it's going to be a while. Please." Kevin pleaded.

The doctor looked around at them and then at Alecia. "May I ask who you are?"

"She's his girlfriend." AJ answered. Everyone turned to look at him and then at Alecia who took a deep breath and nodded at the doctor. The doctor sighed but nodded.

"Fine, but not too long please. Follow me." The four guys got up to follow him.

"Alecia you coming?" Brian called.

"No, you guys go ahead. I'm gonna...wait." She mumbled. They nodded and followed the doctor. Alecia watched them walk away. She was scared, scared to see him. She knew she should go with them, but she just couldn't.

They all stood at the door and looked in at their band member, their friend. They each spent a few moments alone with him before turning to leave. Brian grabbed a cd from off the table and brought it out with him.

Alecia lifted her head as they all made their way back into the room. There were sniffles and wiping of eyes as they all sat except for Brian who made his way over to her.

"Alecia, I think you should go in and see him. I think he'd like to know you were here."

"I-I don't think I can. I don't think he'd want to see me."

"I think you are the one person he'd want to see." Brian knelt down in front of her. "Here, take this and listen to it. Nick always used to listen to it and say that it was his song for you. That he'd sing it to you one day. I think he'd want you to listen to it now, to let you know. Let the song speak for him since he can't. Room 128. Please Alecia." Brian whispered. Alecia took the cd and stood. With a final look at them all she headed to Nick's room.

Chapter Thirty Three
Back to Veronica's Page
Back to Hosted Stories Index
Back to Main Page