Chapter 18
It was like déjà vu.
Riley sat in a chair beside the bed,
her legs pulled up against her chest, and her chin resting atop her knees. Her
blue ball gown had lost its elegance and simply hung from her body. The
perfected updo her hair had been in, had since been forgotten. Wisps of hair
hung down, framing her face, and the bun had fallen out, leaving only a cascade
of brown curls. She was sure she looked like a true zombie, which accordingly
fit the holiday. Her makeup had worn off, leaving only a trace of blush on her
cheeks. The eyeliner she wore had created a soft smear beneath each of her eyes
from the tears she had released.
She sighed, hugging her legs closer to
her chest. Across the room, the window shades hung open, allowing dawn to
slowly peak through. Glancing up at the clock, she was surprised to see it was
nearly five in the morning. Six long hours ago, she had been dancing with AJ
and didn’t have a care in the world. Now, she was sitting at her best friend’s
bedside, praying that he would wake up soon and let her know he was really
okay.
The door slowly opened from behind her
and a nurse shuffled in. She offered Riley a tired smile as she walked to the
other side of the bed.
“Can I get you anything?” The nurse
asked, adjusting the drip on an IV. She had introduced herself as Shelly
earlier, but that seemed like lifetimes ago.
“No, thank you.”
“He should be waking up soon. The
sedative will be wearing off.”
Riley nodded, watching as Shelly hung
a new bag on the IV pole. Dark red blood filled the bag, causing Riley to
shudder. She always had had a weak spot for blood. Shelly worked quickly to
change the tube from the empty bag to the fresh bag. She placed the empty bag
into a special container near the door before she washed her hands and put on a
new pair of gloves.
“How much more blood do you have to
give him?” Riley asked softly.
“This is all that was prescribed. Dr.
Gurss might want more later, but he’ll probably run another blood test first.
He should be in around six.”
Shelly checked his vitals before
scribbling them down inside of a chart. She took off her gloves and tossed them
into a wastebasket before leaving the room.
Aside from the quite hiss of the
oxygen machine, the room was silent. The thoughts that Riley had pushed away to
the back of her mind suddenly reappeared. The ‘whys’ and ‘what ifs’ filled her
head, immediately causing her eyes to glaze over in tears.
“Rye?” A voice quietly came from
behind her.
She wiped her tears away hastily with
the back of her hand, smearing eyeliner across her knuckles.
“Yeah?” She turned to see Howie
standing in the doorway.
“I just wanted to make sure you were
still doing okay.”
She nodded. “Thanks, Howie. I’m okay.”
“Everyone else headed home. I was
thinking about going to, but I can stay if you want me to.”
“No, you can go.” She offered him a
weak smile. “I’ll be fine.”
”If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. I’m going to catch a few
hours of shut-eye and then I’ll come back up. Kevin and Kris will be back up
later, too.”
”Okay. Thanks, Howie.” She said again.
He came in further and kissed the top
of her head.
“He’s lucky to have you,”
As Howie closed the door behind
himself, Nick stirred from the bed. Riley moved closer, slipping her hand into
his and watched as his eyelids slowly fluttered open. A look of confusion
crossed his face as he looked around, but a wave of relief came when he saw
Riley.
“Hey,” She said softly, moving closer
to the bed.
“What happened?” He whispered, his
voice raspy.
“You passed out.”
“At the party?” He asked, his eyes
wide.
“Yeah.”
“Oh god..”
“Hey… don’t worry. No one but the guys
and I know what’s really wrong. Everyone will think you were sick with the flu
or something. No one is going to find out.”
“What is wrong?”
“You’re anemic. The doctor said it’s
probably from your medications. They ran some blood tests to check. They’re
giving you a blood transfusion, though.”
“Great. I can be a vampire.”
She rolled her eyes at his humor
attempt.
“You look like shit,” He said
suddenly, glancing over her worn body.
“Well thanks a lot, buddy.”
He snickered. “I didn’t mean it to
come out like that. You just look like you haven’t slept in awhile.”
“I haven’t.”
“You didn’t sleep at all?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Gee… I don’t know. Maybe because my
best friend suddenly collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital.”
“I’m sorry, Rye. You don’t have to
worry so much, though. You’re such a worrywart.” He teased.
Rather than laugh, she smirked.
“Don’t have to worry?” She asked,
tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I spent four years overseas oblivious to
the fact my best friend had HIV. Then you nearly died in New York. And now you
expect me not to worry, Nick? I can’t do anything BUT worry now. All I can
think about is ‘what ifs’ now. What if you hide something else and get sick
again? What if you get an infection?”
“What if I die?”
“Yes.” She broke down, suddenly
sobbing. “I don’t know what I’d do. I had gotten so into my job in Paris that I
nearly forgot about everyone here. And then when I came back, I realized how
much I had missed. I missed so much with you. I can’t live four more years
without you, let alone a lifetime.”
Nick moved over slowly, then took
Riley’s hand and pulled her onto the bed beside him. She laid her head on his
shoulder, roughly wiping away the falling tears.
“I can’t tell you what’s going to
happen to me today or tomorrow or even next week, but I will do everything in
my power not to leave you anytime soon. Okay?”
She nodded, still wiping away tears.
“Riley?” He asked suddenly.
“Yeah?”
“Are we just friends?”
“What?”
He blushed. “Nevermind. It was
stupid.”
“No, nothing’s stupid. What?”
“I.. it’s just… since I’ve seen you
again… I feel different than I used to when we were friends.”
Riley nodded. She knew what he meant,
but wasn’t sure what was there exactly.
“I mean... I don’t want to ruin our
friendship. I just didn’t know…” He trailed off, blushing again. “Nevermind.”
Suddenly feeling spontaneous, Riley
turned towards him and pressed her lips against his. Pulling back, she felt
like crying again. How could it feel so right if they were just friends?
Nick didn’t move. Shocked at what she
did, but glad. He watched her as she got up off the bed.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was
thinking.” She grabbed her handbag off the counter and walked towards the door.
“I’m going to go get some coffee. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He watched as she slipped out, the
door closing behind her gown. He had never thought of Riley as an interest like
that. They had known each other for so long, that they both had just been more
like brother and sister while growing up. But after parting ways for four years
and seeing her again…
Shit. He mumbled to
himself. This wasn’t supposed to
happen. I love my best friend. More than friend.
***
