Chapter 13:
Sentry
Brian
was granted permission the following morning to go back up to ICU. He was given
a nurse to chauffer him around, and he had her bring him into Kevin’s room. Ann
Richardson was there with him. The nurse informed Brian that she had been by
Kevin’s side religiously since the accident. Seeing her now, she looked
absolutely terrible. Brian wondered if she had even slept since it had happened.
There were dark circles under her eyes, and her hands shook slightly. She had
dropped by his room yesterday on a rare venture away from Kevin’s tiny
enclosure, but only briefly.
He
spoke with her for a while and convinced her to go to her hotel and get some
much needed rest, assuring her that he would stay in the ICU with Kevin and
Nick until she returned. After she left, Brian came across Nick’s mother for
the first time since the accident. It was more difficult to see her than he was
expecting. She gave him a hug, and told him how much better he looked.
“Thanks,
but what I would really like is to get rid of this oxygen mask,” he said,
pointing to the tube that still encircled his head.
“Well,
I’m sure they’ll let you take it off soon.” Jane Carter smiled at him, but it
was a sad smile. Brian wanted to cry seeing her hurt so much, but he held it
in.
“He’s
gonna be ok, Jane,” Brian told her. “I know it. He will be.”
“Thanks,
honey,” she said, ruffling his hair.
“Where’s
the rest of the Carter clan?”
“Bob
was here with the kids, but they flew home yesterday. They couldn’t miss any
more school.”
“I’ll
bet Aaron was pissed,” Brian said with a chuckle.
“Yes,
he was. I told them they could come back on the weekend.”
“Tell
them I want to see them when they do.”
“I
will,” she said with a tiny smile.
Nothing
had changed with either Nick or Kevin; they both looked the same as they had
before. One of the doctors who had been in charge of Kevin came in to check on
him, and Brian spoke with him for a little while about his cousin’s condition.
Dr. Westin had told Dr. Hite, Kevin’s doctor, that Brian was going to be there,
and to answer any questions he had. He showed Brian the machines that were
connected to him and explained their purpose and what their readings meant.
Brian concentrated on everything he had to say, wanting to be sure he could
keep track of his cousin’s condition. For a moment he had almost been able to
forget that it was in fact Kevin who was lying in that bed. It seemed too
surreal. He just never even moved. No twitching from whatever he was
dreaming, no shifting around to get more comfortable, no talking in his sleep.
It was like he was a mannequin, something plastic and artificial, instead of
his flesh and blood cousin whom he loved as a brother.
The
same routine was repeated in Nick’s room, although it took a little less time
because he was already familiar with some of the devices he had just seen in
Kevin’s room. This time it seemed harder to deal with though. The respirator
almost drove him crazy, that unfailing pattern that made Nick seem more like
Darth Vader than Nick Carter. Brian wondered if he would ever be able to watch
Star Wars again. “He’s more machine now, than man…” He shivered as his
mind recalled a line from the movie.
After
the doctor left, Brian spent the time talking to Nick. He told him about
everything that had happened, and what was going on now. The entire time he
searched for any sign that Nick could hear him or understand him, but received
none. The only response was the rhythmic sound of the respirator.
“Nicky,
come on. I know you’re in there,” he said, frustrated.
Nothing.
* *
*
“The
press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon,” Howie told Dr.
Westin. “I think around four or so. The Marriott hotel on the Riverwalk is giving us the space, so I’ll be going there.”
“Why
the Marriott?” Westin asked.
“That’s
where most of our families are, and it’s where we stayed for the show that we
did here.” He shook his head. “Damn, that seems so long ago.”
“I’ll
bet it does. Who is taking you over?”
“My
mother has a rental. She’s going to come and get me. My body guard is going to
be there too,” he added quickly when he saw Westin’s doubtful look. “I may need
help getting out of the building though.”
“We can
help take care of that. We’ve been keeping the emergency doors clear of people.
You can have her pull up there, and we’ll sneak you out that way.”
“How
many people are still out there?” Howie asked out of curiosity.
“As
many or more as before,” Westin told him.
“Wow.”
“Yes.
It is pretty impressive. We have gotten more get well cards and fan mail for
you and the other four in the last several days than we know what to do with.”
“I’ve
read some of them,” Howie said with a smile, indicating the pile of letters on
the floor. “It’s great to know they care so much.”
“Well,
we’ll get you out and then bring you back here, if that is what you want.
There’s no real problem with you staying here with A.J. for now, we certainly
wouldn’t put him in a room with someone else. That could be pandemonium.”
“Good.
I want to stay here at least until the other two wake up,” he said. If they
wake up, he thought silently. He refused to let the thought go any farther.
Dr. Westin agreed to the plan.
* *
*
After a
rest, Brian went back up to the ICU. Westin was slightly concerned about the
amount of time he was spending out of bed, but he seemed to be doing all right,
so he allowed it to continue. The last thing he wanted was to take back some of
the progress Brian had made.
When he
was wheeled in, he greeted Kevin’s mother.
“Hey,
Aunt Ann. I was gonna chat with my cousin for awhile.”
She
smiled at him. “Sure Brian. He’d like that. I think he’s probably tired of hearing
my voice. I’ll go run and get something to eat, and leave you two alone.”
“Yeah,
go find my mother. She’s around here somewhere. Harold flew home last night, he
had to go back to work.”
“I
think I’ll do that.”
A nurse
kept an eye on him from a distance as he chatted with Kevin. Brian read him an
article from a magazine about themselves, his eyes watering only once. The
nurse almost came in to take him out, but thought better of it. Brian quickly
calmed and continued reading.
“We are
all over the news, Kev,” Brian told him, one he had finished. “Howie’s going to
hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon and try to set the record straight.
A.J. and I want to go, but we’re still invalids. I know that you would want to
go, but you kind of have to wake up first. Wake up, sleep walk, snore,
something.” He sighed. “And another thing, Howie said he’s going to stay here
in a room with A.J. even though he’s been given the ok to be released just
because he wants to be around when you wake up. So if you don’t want those two
to kill each other, you’ll open your eyes.” Brian stopped speaking for a moment
and glanced at a few of the monitors hooked up to Kevin. He frowned at one and
called a nurse.
“Does
that reading look a little off to you?” he asked. “It’s changed a little from
what Dr. Hite showed me earlier.”
She
examined the reading in question. “Nope, it’s all right. It’s still within the
parameters that it was set for, but I can have Dr. Hite look at it if you’re
concerned.”
“Would
you?” Brian asked gratefully.
“Sure,
no problem.”
Dr.
Hite appeared shortly, and took a look at the data of several of the machines.
“Everything’s normal,” he reported when he was done. “It was good of you to be
concerned though,” he told Brian.
“Yeah,”
Brian said, looking relieved.
“Over
all, I think he’s looking better every day,” Hite confided to him.
“Really?”
Brian asked, getting excited.
“I
can’t make any promises, but we’re hopeful that he’s through the worst of it.
The question that remains is whether or not there are any lasting effects from
the head injury.”
Brian
thanked him, and he left.
“Did
you hear that, Kevin? You’re running out of excuses. You’re gonna have to wake
up soon, so you might as well get it over with.”
He sat
in silence with him for a while longer, trying to think of what to say. He
remembered singing with Howie earlier, and realized that that had been the best
he’d felt in a long time. Why not try it again? He drew in a deep breath and
exhaled, and thought of a song.
“This
one kinda seems appropriate. Just don’t get the wrong idea, ok? I’m not your
lover.” He grinned, thinking it would have made Kevin laugh. Summoning his
strength and his courage, he began to sing.
“I
try to pick the pieces up, and I can’t think of starting over,
We
used to share the stars above,
I
don’t wanna think of change
But
now I’ve gotta move on
I’ve
gotta catch up to the world.
Even
though I gave you my life
As
wrong as it seems, I know its right.
But
is there a place that I can go away
To
escape the love that I will forever know,
Where
can we go from here
All
I know is that I love you still.
Sometimes
we do things against our will
I
know I cry lonely tears,
Where
can we go from here
Why,
why do I cry inside for love that’s gone away,
And
how, how can I carry on
When
I know all the love is gone,”
Brian
paused. He could have sworn that he saw Kevin’s finger’s twitch. He watched him
carefully for a few moments, hoping against hope. Nothing happened. Trying to
conceal his disappointment, he continued singing.
Once
again, had he noticed, he would have found that everyone within earshot had
grown quiet, and was listening to him. Including Ann, who had returned from the
cafeteria. Her eyes welled up with tears as she listened. A nurse gently took
her by the arm and led her away to sit down. Brian sang on, blissfully unaware
of what was going on outside the room.
“Tell
me where can I go to get away from the pain of loving you
Tell
me where
Where
can we go from here
All
I know is that I love you still
Sometimes
we do things against our will
I
know I cry lonely tears
Where
can we go from here?”
He held
the last note, but broke it off abruptly. That time he was sure. Kevin had
moved his hand. The movement was slight, but it was there. He had no doubt.
“Kevin?”
he asked hopefully. “Kev, can you hear me? It’s Brian. Come on, man. Wake up. I
know you can hear me.”
He
searched Kevin’s face for any sign that he could hear him. Sure enough, he saw
his features contort slightly, and he groaned softly.
Brian’s
heart leapt into his throat.“ Kevin! Come on buddy, I know you’re in there.”
Kevin’s
eyes fluttered slightly, and he took in a deep breath, flinching as he did so.
He turned his head in Brian’s direction.
“Brian?”
***
