Chapter 17

Though tears stung her eyes, Sienna managed to keep a smile pasted on her face as she mingled with everyone else. When everyone had gone, she stuck around and waited for Brian to finish up with the cleaning crew and stow the donation boxes into a van. Then, as he walked to his car, she hurried to catch up with him. Unfortunately, by the time she made it to where he had parked his car, he had already pulled onto the street and stood at the red traffic light.

Sienna tried to make it there, but, when the light turned green, his car moved forward. She watched the accident happen as though it were in slow motion. As Brian’s car moved into the intersection, a car careened down the side street and struck Brian’s car on the driver’s side. There was a screaming sound as the two cars made impact and slid. The sound continued several moments after the cars had stopped moving, and Sienna realized that it was she who was screaming.

She bolted towards the accident and dropped to her knees next to Brian’s car. He was unconscious, she realized. His head was bleeding, and she could see his pristine, white shirt turn red. His arm was bent at an angle she knew no arm could bend.

“Brian, oh God, Bri,” she whispered. “How could this happen?”

She was thinking of how best to get him out of the car when the paramedics arrived. They quickly moved her away, so they could extract Brian from the car. As they loaded him into an ambulance, Sienna rushed over to it.

“Please,” she asked, desperate. “Please, I need to go with him.” She told them who she was and her relation to Brian, and the EMT’s agreed to let her ride with them.

The whole way to the hospital, Sienna clutched Brian’s hand on his less injured side and prayed. She had never been much of a religious person, but she hoped God listened because she knew the devoutness with which Brian led his life.

At the hospital, she was told to stay in the waiting area. After ten minutes, a nurse brought her Brian’s wallet, cell phone, and his cross necklace. She stared down at the items she held and realized she needed to call someone. When she looked around for her purse, she couldn’t find it. Thinking that she must have left it on the pavement near the accident, she picked up Brian’s phone and flipped through different numbers. The majority of the people on the list were ones she was unfamiliar with. Then, she saw Kevin’s number and hit Call. No one picked up, and Sienna nearly screamed with frustration. She went back to the phonebook and saw Leighanne’s number. It was better than nothing, and Sienna called.

“Hello? Brian?” Leighanne answered.

Sienna tried to steady her voice. “Leighanne, this is Sienna. I, I’m at Sherman Mercy Hospital. Brian’s been in an accident.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Leighanne answered and hung up.

True to her word, Leighanne arrived in fifteen minutes and found Sienna sitting in the waiting room, clutching Brian’s necklace.

“Sienna. Tell me what happened,” Leighanne asked her.

Sienna looked up at her and quickly related the accident. “There was so much blood,” she whispered. “I hope, oh God,” she started weeping quietly.

Leighanne put an arm around her and waited for the doctors to come and tell them how Brian was. When Sienna had stopped crying, Leighanne turned to her.

“Humor me, Sienna. How long, exactly, have you been in love with Brian?”

Sienna looked at her sharply. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Brian and I have become very close friends in the last year. I care about him, Leighanne. A lot. I can worry about him without being in love with him, you know. You do, don’t you?”

Leighanne nodded. “Yes, I do. He was a big part of my past. Speaking of which, did he ever tell you about his heart surgery?”

“He told me that he had had several and why he had to have them, but he didn’t tell me what went on during them,” Sienna explained.

“I thought he was going to die,” Leighanne murmured. “It was a heart surgery, and I have never been more afraid. If something went wrong, he would die. But, he surprised us and was perfectly fine. He was onstage within two months,” Leighanne added. “But, what I’m trying to say is, Brian’s a survivor. Yeah, I’m worried about him, but I think he’s going to pull through this. He’s gotten through several major heart surgeries, including one when he was little where the doctors told his parents to make funeral arrangements. Brian’s known to beat the odds. So, be hopeful,” she finished.

Sienna nodded, then she sat up when a doctor came over to them.

“Are you two with Brian Littrell?” When they nodded, he continued. “I have to say, Mr. Littrell is a very lucky man. In an accident like the one tonight, I wouldn’t expect anyone to live. But, we did several X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. He came out clean in everything. The only thing is, he has two broken ribs, a fractured lower left arm, and a major concussion, which is why he’s still unconscious. We expect him to wake up within an hour or two. Because he’s stable, and because we’d like to keep him overnight for observation, he’s being moved up to the fourth floor. Room,” he flipped through the chart, “Room 416. You can go up to see him in twenty minutes.”

Sienna felt relief flood through her, then she remembered something. “Doctor, why was he bleeding so profusely, though? I saw his shirt turn red before they pulled him out of the wreck.”

The doctor glanced back through his charts. “You’re right. I forgot to mention that he had a large gash on his left side. Thankfully, the cut was superficial and didn’t affect any of his organs. He has twenty four stitches and will have a lovely scar that should lighten over time.”

Leighanne thanked him, and the doctor left. She turned back to Sienna.

“See? Brian’s a survivor. He came off with no internal bleeding, nothing. We’ll go see him in a few minutes, okay?”

Sienna nodded and sent up a silent thank you to God.

When the two women arrived on the fourth floor, they made sure Brian had been settled into his room, then made their way to it. Sienna stopped at the door and told Leighanne to go on in.

“I just need a minute,” she told Leighanne.

Leighanne nodded then entered the room. Brian’s head was bandaged along with his right arm. She knew there must be another couple bandages under the hospital gown. She was reminded of his surgery over five years before. This time, though, he had escaped danger almost entirely, and Leighanne was thankful. She sat down in a chair next to him and squeezed his hand lightly.

“Hey,” she said, smiling a little. “You made it through, Brian. We were worried, Sienna and I. You really need to stop giving us these scares. It may become a habit.” She paused. “When Sienna called, I thought that this was it. That this time, you were going to be taken from us. As scared as I was during your heart surgery, I was more terrified this time. Especially because I never told you how thankful I am that you’re back in my life. You’re a great friend, Bri. I missed that. I mean, I had Dan and, now, Michelle, but you. God, the life you emanate is amazing. It’s like someone turned on a beam of sunlight every time you walked into the room. I’m so happy you’re back in my life, and I’m glad there are no hard feelings from the terrible way I left you, either. Anyway, wake up soon. You’ve got poor Sienna out of her mind with worry. And, by the way, what’s the deal with you two? I think you’re both in love with the other and are being foolish about it. Get it together, Brian. She seems like a great woman.” Leighanne smiled and squeezed his hand again. “Seriously, Brian. Wake up soon,” she added.

Hearing a sound behind her, she turned to see Sienna step into the room. She stood up and gestured Sienna into a seat. Then, she made her way to the door.

“Leigh, you don’t have to go,” Sienna told her.

Leighanne shook her head. “I need to call Dan, check up on Michelle. Take your time.”

Sienna watched her go then turned to look at Brian. Seeing that he was all in one piece, she suppressed hysterical, relieved laughter.

“Oh, Brian,” she said to him. “I thought I was going to lose you. Especially since we left off on such an odd note. I never got around to telling you the truth. I want,” she stopped. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore. I want more than that. I need more than that,” she whispered. “Oh, hell, Brian. I need to be with you. I don’t know where it’ll lead, but I figure it’s got to be better than pretending not to be interested and hurting you.” She paused and brushed a hand through his hair. “Wake up, please. Soon. Otherwise, otherwise I think I’m going to try a fairy tale move. Not that I’ve been much for fairy tales to begin with,” she told him.

She scooted her chair up next to the bed and leaned over him. Cupping his face, she brushed her lips over his once, twice. On the third kiss, he responded. Relieved and surprised, Sienna stayed locked into the kiss. Then, she broke the kiss and sat back. Brian’s eyes were slowly opening, and, when he saw her, he managed his usual, cheeky grin.

“Well,” he managed to croak out. “It wasn’t exactly Sleeping Beauty, but I think it worked as a first kiss.”

Sienna held his hand and squeezed it. When he smiled again and squeezed hers back, she began to laugh.

“I should have known you’d play it up for all its worth,” she told him.

“Yup,” he croaked, then winced.

Sienna sprang forward. “Don’t move too much. You’ve got a major concussion, some broken ribs, a fractured arm, and twenty four stitches down your side,” she told him.

Brian’s eyes widened. “Well, gosh. No wonder it feels like a giant’s sitting on my chest, a gnome on my head, and a fire is burning in my side. Jesus Christ, how did I live through that crash?” he wondered.

“I don’t know,” Sienna answered. “But I don’t want to think about it. Let’s focus on you getting better, okay?”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” he agreed. “Sienna? That kiss, what you said before it? Is that what you really want? Deep down, do you really need me?”

Sienna smiled and brushed his hair off the bandage on his head. “Yeah, yeah I meant it,” she told him. “Every word and every second of that kiss was real, Brian. And, yes, I want to be with you—if you still want it, of course,” she added quickly, unsure whether his feelings towards her had changed in the past month.

Brian grinned. “If I still want it, huh? Do I want to breathe?” he asked himself. “Oh, yeah, more than anything. So, yes, more than anything else, Sienna, I want to be with you.”

“Well, finally,” Leighanne said, from the doorway. “I’ve been wondering about the two of you since Brian first told me about you,” she explained. “And, look. It’s all working out. Not to mention our patient’s awake. Your parents and Harry are on their way down. I managed to get a hold of Nick. He, Howie, and AJ are going to be here in an hour or so. Kevin’s in Australia with Kristin and won’t be able to make it over for a while. But, he said he hopes you get better and will make sure to call soon,” she told Brian.

“Thanks, Leigh,” he said.

One of the nurses poked her head in, and, seeing that Brian was awake, called a doctor in to examine him. The doctor reminded him that he would be here a day or so and ignored Brian’s assurances that he felt better already and that he could probably go home in a few hours.

Within an hour, Howie, AJ, and Nick arrived and caused enough pandemonium to keep Brian awake, that Brian reassured them all that he would never fall asleep. Then he turned to Howie.

“Happy Birthday, D! I’m sorry that you’re in a hospital on your birthday, man,” he apologized.

Howie shrugged it off. “Please, Brian. I’m just glad you’re okay. That’s probably a really good birthday present.”

Nick snorted. “You know you really wanted to sign that contract with that company in New Orleans for your birthday, dude. Don’t even try to lie about it.”

“That better not be what he really wants,” a voice spoke from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Liv standing at the doorway. When Howie saw her, he nearly ran everyone out of his path to get to her.

“Actually, you’re really all I’ll ever want as a birthday present,” he murmured so only she could hear him. Seeing her blush, the others in the room began hooting with laughter.

“D! Are you telling dirty sex jokes again?” Brian faked disgusted outrage. “My goodness. Men these days,” he said, shaking his head.

Sienna reached over and ruffled his hair. “Don’t talk about men these days,” she told him. “After all, I’d like to think I have sort of good taste in them, you know.”

Brian grinned back at him. “Well, of course, I’m not like men these days,” he reminded her and, grabbing her hand with his good arm, he yanked her down on the bed next to him.

AJ’s brows lifted. “Is there something the two of you aren’t telling us?”

Everyone’s attention focused on them, and Sienna laughed at the embarrassed expression on Brian’s face. “Actually, there is. This joker here has been after me for months, trying to get me to date him. Well, I felt bad for him and said yes.”

“Finally,” Brian added.

AJ nodded, understanding dawning. “Well, good,” was all he said.

Leighanne broke the following awkward silence by coming back into the room and told Sienna that someone wanted to speak to her outside. Sienna frowned, wondering who it could be, but she went out in the hall. Two cops stood in the hall, talking quietly. When they saw Sienna, they stepped forward.

“Miss McKinnon?” the taller of the two cops asked her.

“Yes?” Sienna asked.

The cop held out a hand. “I’m Detective Marshall. I’m doing the write ups for the accident tonight. I believe this belongs to you,” he said, holding out a beaded clutch.

Sienna took it. “Thank you! I was wondering where I left it. I must have dropped it when I ran to the wreck.”

Marshall nodded. “We found it next to Mr. Littrell’s car. Anyway, we just need to ask you to relate exactly what happened.”

“You were the only witness, besides the Transportation Department whose cameras alerted Emergency Services. So, we simply need you to tell us exactly what you saw,” the other police officer explained. “By the way, I’m Detective Morgan, Marshall’s partner.”

Sienna nodded. “Well, I was trying to catch up to Brian, Mr. Littrell’s,” she clarified, “car, while it was stopped at the traffic light. When the light turned green…”

“So you and Sienna, huh?” AJ asked Brian, while Leighanne, Howie, Liv, and Nick were talking.

Brian grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, well, I’ve had a thing for her since I met her.”

“So that whole blow up in June was because…” AJ wondered.

Brian found he couldn’t squirm when everything ached. “It was because I was jealous. You were with her, while I had tried for months. I’m sorry about that, AJ.”

AJ brushed it off. “Hey, it’s no skin off my nose. I’m just glad you two came to your senses. It was obvious in June what was going on. Why do you think I took that picture?”

“What, did everyone know that Sienna and I were interested in each other?” Brian wondered.

Nick broke away from teasing Howie and turned to Brian. “Oh, yeah. If I were blind, I’d still be able to see that the two of you had the hots for each other,” he grinned.

Brian groaned. “Great, so now I look like a bigger idiot.”

Liv smiled. “Don’t worry. I was on your side from last July. Sienna would bring you up every so often between then and February. You weren’t the only one making a fool of yourself.”

“Oh, stop it, Livvy,” Sienna said, coming back into the room. “You don’t have to tell everyone everything.”

“So, you thought about me, huh?” Brian asked her, grinning cheekily.

Sienna glared at him. “If you say anything else, this relationship will stop right here,” she warned.

“All right, okay. I promise I won’t say anything else,” he promised.

***

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