Chapter 10

Suddenly awaked, Riley lay in bed, confused by her surroundings. After several moments, she remembered she was in Florida, not France. Glancing at her alarm clock, the glowing numbers showed two-fifteen. She’d only been asleep for two hours. What had woken her?

The house was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioner. Occasionally, a stray seagull call could be heard or a car would drive by, but nothing terribly loud. Exhausted, she turned onto her stomach and pulled the blankets to her neck, snuggling into the mattress.

She was startled suddenly, a noise coming from down the hall. It sounded like coughing. A sick cough. She sat up, hearing the sound yet again. Slipping out from beneath the blankets, she walked into the hallway, shivering from a cold breeze the air vent blew out.

She stopped in front of Nick’s door and knocked, as she had closed it when she went to bed earlier. Hearing nothing in return of the knock, she turned the doorknob and peered in the room, half expecting him to be sound asleep and she only hearing things.

Stepping in, she saw the silhouette of an empty bed from the bright bathroom light shining into the room.

“Nick?”

Rather than a reply, she heard the sounds of sickness. Abandoning the doorway, she went to the bathroom door and looked in.

Nick sat on the floor, his back resting against the wall as he sat beside the toilet. His face was pale, but cheeks flushed as a cold sweat ran down his face. Riley saw him shivering, though she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the pain. She dropped to her knees beside him.

“Nick?”

His eyes opened slowly, as though he was weak.

“You’re freezing.” She said, feeling his arm. She pulled a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his body.

“It hurts so bad.” He moaned. “But I can’t stop.”

He sat up suddenly, nearly hugging the porcelain fixture as he emptied the contents of his stomach into it. She rubbed his back, carefully avoiding the impalement wound, but offering comfort. When he finished, he slumped back against the wall. Riley stood, opening the cabinet to look for towels and washcloths.

“Nick, do you have any washrags?” She asked, searching another cabinet.

“Hall closet.” He mumbled, nearly incoherent. Hesitant to leave him, she ran quickly into the hallway, grabbing a handful of towels and washcloths. Returning, she set them on the counter, then wet one with cool water. Kneeling back down, she gently wiped his face. A drop of water ran down his cheek. She realized, rather than sweat, it was a lone tear.

Her heart broke and she nearly felt like crying herself. She rubbed his back before suddenly running from the room. She returned with a pillow in her hands. As she sat down next to him, she placed it in his lap, for him to hold against his stomach.

“Thanks,” He murmured, exhausted as he lay against the wall.  She sat silently beside him, not knowing what else to do expect keep him company and occasionally rinse his face.

It was nearly an hour before he felt as though he was finished being sick. Riley rinsed his face once more before tossing the cloth into the sink.

“Want to try to go back to your bed?” She asked. He nodded weakly, moving the pillow from his lap. Struggling to stand up off the floor, Riley took his arm into hers and used all her strength to get him up.

“Just lean on me,” She said as she led him from the bathroom. He barely made it to the bed before he felt as though he was about to fall. He sank down onto the bed, lying back against the pillows, a far cry of relief from the bathroom wall.

“I’ll be right back,” Riley left him alone again, disappearing into the hallway, but returning only seconds later. She set a bowl on the nightstand beside his head. “Just in case.”

He lay still in the bed, afraid any sudden movements would strike more pain or more nausea. Riley went into the bathroom and cleaned up. She tossed a handful of towels and washcloths into a pile in the bathtub, leaving it to tend to in the morning. Turning off the light, she returned to the bedroom. The room was pitch dark and she walked slowly to the bed so not trip over anything. She turned on the lamp that sat on the nightstand. It was rather dim, perfect for someone’s tired eyes.

“How do you feel now?” She asked, sitting down beside him.

“Like shit,” He mumbled.

“It must have been a reaction from the medicine. I’ll call the doctor tomorrow and see if he can get you something else. Unless you get worse tonight. God forbid.”

“I can’t have any Tylenol, can I?” He asked.

“Probably shouldn’t. You still have some of the pain meds in your system.”

He felt as though his entire abdominal area was on fire, accompanied by constant knife stabbings.

Riley leaned over him, pulling his shirt to his chest.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure your didn’t rip your incision open. It looks okay though.” She replaced his shirt, and then pulled the blankets up into his arms.

“Thanks.”

He suddenly closed his eyes, clenching them tightly.

“Are you okay?”

He shook his head, struggling to sit up. She reached over him, grabbing the bowl from the table, and then helped him sit all the way up. As he had been sick for nearly an hour, it was dry heaves now, more painful than ever, nonetheless. Stomach acid burned his throat as he hunched over the empty bowl. Riley climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom, emerging with a cool cloth and a towel. She sat back down beside him, using the cloth to cool his face and neck as she rubbed his back.

As it stopped, he sat up straight, hoping to lessen the pain. His eyes stung with hot tears, the pain so severe it made him shake. He bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out.

“Lay down,” Riley said in a calm voice. He obeyed, lying back against the pillows. She scooted closer to him, wiping away his tears with the cloth before rinsing the rest of his face.

“Babe, I’ll be right back. Just lay still.”

Getting off the bed, she ran into the kitchen. The information from the hospital sat on the countertop, untouched. She dug through it, coming across a business card from Dr. Resnick. Grasping it, she took the cordless phone off the cradle and ran back to Nick’s room, scared to leave him alone for too long.

She took her place beside him, curling her legs beneath her as she dialed the number on the phone.

The pain had worsened and he didn’t seem to even realize she was back. He lay on his side now, curled into a ball with a pillow against his abdomen. As she listened to the phone ring, she ran her hand through his hair, hoping to calm him in a sense.

A message came on about leaving a numeric page. She hung up and dialed the number listed for the hospital. It rang several times before someone picked up.

“Roosevelt Hospital. How can I direct your call?”

“I need to get a hold of Dr. Resnick.”

“Just a minute.” She was put on hold as elevator music began playing.

With her thumb, she wiped away the hot tears sliding down his cheek. She wished there was something she could do, more than sit beside him and offer sympathy.

“Dr. Resnick is in the emergency room at this time. I can transfer your call there if you’d like.”

 “Please.”

“One moment.”

The phone clicked and it began ringing again.

“Emergency Room. This is Chrissy.”

“I’m looking for Dr. Resnick.”

“He’s around here somewhere. Let me find him for you.”

The phone went silent as she was put on hold once again. She wiped his face again, hoping to take away some of the warmth from his cheeks.

“Who are you calling?” He asked, peering up at the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear.

“Dr. Resnick.”

“Oh,” He replied without question. The pain lessened some and he was able to fall into a light sleep. It was probably a medicated sleep, though most of the medication had obviously worn off.

“This is Dr. Resnick.”

“Hi… this is Riley Vergara, I’m Nick Carter’s friend that went home with him.”

“Ah yes. Is everything okay?”

“No. He’s sick. He’s been vomiting for the past hour. He’s a bit feverish, but clammy. And he’s in a lot of pain.”

“Did he take the pain medication?”

“Yes.”

“He probably had a reaction to that, or it could be just the side effects. When did he take it?”

“About ten. Three hours ago.”

“How much has he been vomiting?”

“On and off for the past hour.”

“Riley, I would take him to the emergency room. He should be fine. But he’s probably getting dehydrated and they can take care of his pain.”

“Okay.”

“What hospital are you going to take him to?”

“Uh…Fishermen’s Hospital.”

“I’ll call them and let them know you’re coming, and I’ll fax them everything.”

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem. Be careful.”

She hung up, tossing the phone to the foot of the bed. Leaving him to rest for a few more minutes, she went to her room. She stripped from her pajamas and dug through her dresser in the dark. She put on whatever she had grabbed, hoping they looked somewhat decent as she slipped on flip-flops. She dropped her cell phone into her purse as she left the room. Returning to Nick’s room, she gently shook him awake.

“Nick, wake up honey.”

His eyes fluttered open as he looked at her.

“I’m going to take you to the hospital. They’ll make the pain go away.”

He nodded, allowing her to help him sit up. She slipped his sneakers over his socked feet and tied them before helping him stand up. He leaned heavily on her as she led him into the hallway. Opening the garage door, she turned the light on and led him to the car. Once he was secured into the seat, she ran to the other side and got in. Digging through her purse, she found the keys, immediately starting the engine.

She laid the passenger seat back a bit, so he’d be more comfortable, before she back out of the garage.

“I’m sorry,” He mumbled as she began to drive down the street.

“Why?”

“For being sick.”

“Oh Nicky. It’s not your fault, honey.”

He shrugged, closing his eyes. “Still sorry for being a pain in the ass.”

“You’re not.”

Nick remained awake for the rest of the ride, the pain returning but not quite as bad.

“Are you still nauseated?” She asked, turning onto the street where the hospital was located.

“Yeah.”

“Dr. Resnick said I should bring you here so they can hydrate you and give you different medicine.”

She parked near the front of the lot, as it was almost empty. A small ‘Emergency’ sign hung up the door, the lights within it threatening to go out at any moment. She got out of the car, and jogged around to the other side. As she opened the door, he had managed to unhook his seat belt. As he stood up, two nurses ran outside, one pushing a wheelchair.

“Are you Nick Carter?” One asked.

“Yes, he is.”

“Okay. Just have a seat here.” The nurse helped him sit down and began wheeling him inside. Once they were inside, she took him down a hallway.

“What’s your name, miss?” The other nurse asked, staying behind.

“Riley.”

“Okay, Riley. Maggie is taking him down to a room in emergency department. Our on-call doctor is on his way in. You can just have a seat out here. There’s coffee and a vending machine in the room there.” She pointed to a small room with ‘Lounge’ written on the door. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go down to verify the chart we got.”

As the nurse left, Riley felt suddenly alone. The hospital was small, barely even having fifty-beds. The emergency room was nothing to brag about either. The waiting room was the size of her bedroom, but full of chairs and tables offering magazines and books to read. A small black and white TV sat in the center of the room, but had been turned off. She turned around and walked out the door, letting the warm ocean breeze sting her eyes. She sat down on the curb and took her cell phone out of her purse. She wasn’t sure whom to call. She scrolled through the names in her address book. It was four-thirty. Three-thirty were Kevin was. One-thirty where AJ was. Howie was in Florida. But he was near Miami. And she couldn’t call Brian. He was mad at Nick. And if she called there, she might wake Baylee.

She went through them again, stopping on AJ. He would still be awake, most likely.

She pressed the call button, then put the phone to her ear and listened to the ring.

“Hello?” His voice was hard to hear over the loud background music.

“AJ, it’s Riley.” She said.

“Hold on a second, babe, I can’t hear you.” The noise suddenly disappeared and she heard a door shut.

“Okay. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked, knowing her all to well. And knowing she would usually be asleep at this time.

“Nick’s sick.”

“Oh god.”

”I don’t think it’s serious. Dr. Resnick said he should be okay.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He took his pain pill before he went to bed. He was in a lot of pain, but finally fell asleep. I woke up around two to find him getting sick. He was in so much pain.”

“It hurts enough to vomit without having your abdomen ripped open the week before.”

“I know. He was hurting so bad. It brought him to tears. So I called Dr. Resnick and he told me to take him to the hospital so they could hydrate him and give him different medicine.” She attempted to hold back tears as she spoke, hoping it wasn’t noticeable in her voice.

“Rye, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you lying to me?” She had to smile at that. That’s what happens when you spend too much time together. You can read each other.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to come down there?”

“No. I’m fine. Just kind of scared right now. He looked so sick. And I couldn’t do anything for him when the pain was so bad.”

“Where is he now?”

“They took him to their so-called emergency room. I was the only one in the waiting room. Maybe it was my spaghetti.”

“What?”

“Maybe my spaghetti made him sick.”

AJ laughed, which caused her to laugh. “I doubt it was your spaghetti.”

“Dr. Resnick said it was probably a side effect or reaction from the pain meds. That’s nice. Here’s some pain medication to make you feel worse.”

AJ managed to keep her occupied for about ten more minutes before a nurse came outside to find her.

“J, I need to go.”

“Okay. Take care. Call me when you find out anything.”

“I will.”

She closed the phone, replacing it into her bag.

“Sorry to interrupt you,” The nurse said.

“No, it’s okay. I was just letting a friend know what happened.”

“Dr. Kimble has examined Nick and he’s going to admit him. He’s dehydrated and had a reaction from the pain medication. We’ll keep him throughout the rest of the morning. If he’s better by tomorrow afternoon, we’ll release him. No visitors are allowed upstairs until eight, so I suggest you just go on home and get some rest.”

“Can I see him before you take him upstairs?”

“No, he’s already on his way. You can see him in the morning.” The nurse turned and went back inside the building.

“Bitch.” Riley mumbled, walking out to the car. She drove back home with the radio blasting to keep her awake. She parked in the garage and went inside. Dropping her purse and the key onto the counter, she went down to her room and collapsed onto the bed, fully clothed. Within minutes of her head touching the pillow, she was sound asleep.

~~

The sound of the doorbell ringing woke Riley. She groaned, rolling over to sit up. Yawning, she rubbed sleep from her eyes as the bell rang again.

“Coming!” She yelled, nearly falling out of the bed as she stood. Sleepily, she walked down the hallway and into the living room. Unlocking the deadbolt, she opened the door.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” The voice was all too familiar. She looked up to see AJ standing on the porch, duffel bag in one hand, and newspaper in the other.

“AJ.” She said.

“Good observation, captain obvious.”

“Sorry. I’m still asleep. Why are you here?” She pulled him inside and closed the door.

“Because you needed me to come.”

“I did not.”

“Yes you did. You just didn’t want to think you did.”

She sat down on the couch, rubbing the sleep from her eyes again.

“What time is it?”

“Ten-thirty.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Visiting hours started at eight.”

“I think he’ll forgive you. He’s probably still sleeping too. Go get dressed. We can grab a bite to eat before going down.”

“There’s a spare room across from mine.” Riley said as she walked down the hallway. She dressed quickly, taking off the wrinkled clothes she had slept in. She ran a comb through her hair, removing the tangles that had crept in. After putting her shoes on, she went down to the kitchen and got her makeup bag from her purse.

“So what did the doctor say last night?” AJ asked, coming into the kitchen.

“He had a reaction from the pain medication. And he was dehydrated, so they were admitting him. If he’s better by this afternoon, then they were going to release him.”

“Jeez.” He sat down at the table, covering his face with his hands before dropping them into his lap. “When it rains, it pours.”

“Yep.” She put just a bit of makeup on, and then returned the bag to her purse. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

“How’d you get here?” Riley asked as they stepped into the garage.

“Taxi.”

“And what if we weren’t here?”

“I know the code to his garage.” AJ laughed as he got into the passenger seat of the car.

“Where do you want to eat?” She asked as she backed the car out of the garage.

“Anywhere is fine.”

She set off down the street, turning at the corner and getting onto the main road.

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“About four hours on the flight.”

“Did you leave right after we talked?”

“Yep. Got a red-eye flight out. Non-stop. See, you said you didn’t need me. But do you feel better now that I’m here?”

She smiled sheepishly. “Yeah.”

She pulled the car into a lot along the beach. As they got out, she dug into her purse for change.

“I’ve got some.” AJ said, dropping several quarters into the meter.

“Thanks.”

“What’s the point of a purse if you can’t find anything?” He asked.

“Just having it in case you need it.”

“Whatever.”

They walked down a short path to the food stand. It was a building that had been turned into an eatery. Picnics tables lined the patio with a view of the ocean.

“Biscuits and gravy with a small orange juice.” Riley said as she stepped up to the counter. She looked over her shoulder at AJ who was contemplating his meal.

“The same.” He withdrew his wallet from his pocket and pulled out a crisp ten-dollar bill and handed it to the cashier.

“Thanks,” Riley said as they sat down to wait for their food. When their number was called, she got up to get it and returned with a tray. “I love this place.”

“Marathon or the stand?”

“Both,” She replied. “But the food here is great and cheap. And you get it on the beach? What more could you ask for?”

“Maybe you should open your own joint on the beach and you could be here all the time.”

“You and Nick both.” She said, putting a forkful of biscuits into her mouth.

“We both what?”

“Trying to get me to stay.”

“Why shouldn’t we? We all missed you, Riley.”

“Like I told Nick, who’s fault is it that you never came to visit?”

“So how’s your food?”

~~

Nick lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, almost tempted to begin counting the dots. The room was small, barely enough room for the bed. Somehow they had managed to squeeze two chairs in against the wall. A small TV hung from the ceiling, but he hadn’t found the strength to turn it on. An IV pole sat beside the bed, running a tube down the bed and into the back of his hand, nourishing his body with saline to keep him hydrated. With the help of morphine, his pain was nearly gone except for a dull ache in his stomach, most likely from overuse of the muscles last night.

There was a knock on the door. He hoped it wasn’t the nurse with another round of pain medication. It felt pretty good now as it was, and more would only make him feel out of it. The door creaked open and Riley’s familiar face appeared.

“Hey you,” She said quietly.

“Hi.” He replied, raising the bed into a sitting position. “Come on in.”

”I brought a friend.”

“Oh?”

She walked in further, pulling AJ in with her as she did.

”Hey Nicky.” He greeted, shutting the door behind himself.

“J... what are you doing here?”

“Enjoying the humid Florida weather. What do you think?”

Riley hugged Nick gently, careful to apply pressure to his abdomen. AJ did the same, then the two sat in the chairs.

“So is this place as bad as it looks?” AJ asked, looking around the room.

“Pretty much.”

“Too bad you weren’t more coherent in the ER. You would’ve loved it.” Riley teased.

“That bad?”

“It was the size of my closet.”

“Damn. Rye, I’m real sorry about last night.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“I still feel bad about it all.”

“Nick, shut up.” AJ said bluntly. “It’s not your fault any of this happened, so you don’t have any need to apologize.”

He nodded, but knew it wasn’t the truth. No apologies until I have to tell Riley the truth.

***

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