Chapter
25
Kevin, A.J. and Howie sat patiently beside Brian’s bedside, hoping he
would wake up soon. They had not made much of an attempt to be social with one
another since Nick had stormed out over an hour earlier, the only real sound
that could be heard was the beeping of the heart machines which were hooked up
to Brian.
Kevin sat closest to his youngest cousin’s side and held his hand that
wasn’t covered with wires and silently prayed for a miracle to occur and
restore his cousin’s health.
A.J. sat beside of Kevin just staring off into space, he really didn’t
know what to do or think in a situation like this.
Howie sat in the corner punching in a number he had been trying for the
last hour. He sighed as the answering
machine came on again, he didn’t want to leave such a upsetting message on the
answering machine so he hung up by pushing the "end" button on his
cell phone as he let out a loud sigh.
A.J. met his eyes and silently questioned if he got a hold of the
Littrell family. Howie shook his head and let out another sigh as he tried
dialing Nick’s cell phone number. He
punched the "end" button in frustration as a mechanical voice come on
the phone telling him the phone owner was unavailable at this time and for him
to try again later. He threw his phone down on the table and let his anger get
the best of him and let out a loud "Damn!"
A.J. looked up in surprise and quickly
got up to his feet to find out what was wrong; after all these years of knowing
Howie, he had never known him to curse. He made his way over to Howie and put
both hands on Howie’s shoulder and asked him what was wrong.
Howie answered with a simple "no one is answering the
phones". A.J. nodded in
understanding at Howie, now he fully understood what was bothering him.
With a loud sigh, Howie again picked up his cell phone and dialed the
number of the Littrell household. He held his breath as the phone rang; he was
hoping someone would pick up the phone instead of the answering machine which
answered after the fourth ring.
After the fourth ring, the
answering machine didn’t pick up and Howie let out a sigh of relief, maybe
someone was home.
When the phone was about to ring the 6th time someone finally picked up
the phone and greeted Howie with a breathless "Hello?" Howie
identified the voice that answered the phone as the voice of Brian’s older
brother Harold. "Hello?" the voice asked again as he received no
response the first time.
Howie quickly found his voice and replied, "Hey Harold, this is
Howie."
Howie heard Harold let out a sigh of relief and a small chuckle as he
then said, "Hey man what’s up? I thought you was another prank caller or
fan or something trying to call us. Is something wrong?"
Howie took in yet another deep breath and started explaining to Harold
what had happened with Brian getting sick in the cafeteria to the doctor’s
diagnosis leaving out the details of Nick leaving and Kevin hyperventilating.
The only thing he heard when he finished was a dead silence. "Harry you
still there man?" asked Howie
"Yeah I’m here. Oh man I can’t believe this, when you called I wasn’t
expecting news this terrible. Why my little brother? I need to call Mom and Dad
and get the next available flight down there for us. They just left for Aunt
Ann’s about 15 minutes ago. Are the rest of you guys ok?" asked Harold
whose sentences ran together because he was so upset.
"Um yeah I guess we are doing as well as can be expected. Kev is
sitting here holding Brian’s hand and praying, A.J. is just sitting here and
I’m talking to you." stated Howie as Harold then asked where Nick was and
Howie hesitantly explained to him that Nick had left earlier and hadn’t came
back yet. Harold drew in a deep breath as all the news he had just heard slowly
sank in. "Hey Harold, do you think there is anyway you can get Kev’s mom
to come with you all? I think he needs her right about now," he told
Harold as he looked at Kevin who was now crying with his head buried in the
side of the Brian’s bed.
Harold agreed and got some more details from Howie about which hospital
they were at and he promised he would call back with the flight information as
soon as he reached his parents and then the airport. Howie agreed and they then
hung up.
Howie pushed the "end" button and tried dialing Nick’s cell
phone number for the 2nd time and again heard the mechanical message. He set
down his phone on the small table and stretched his tired muscles.
He looked around the room and smiled a small smile at the sight that
was before him. Both Kevin and A.J. were asleep with their heads resting on the
side of the bed with both of their mouths hanging open.
Howie pulled himself down off of the table he was sitting on and pulled
the only empty chair in the room to the other side of Brian’s bed. He rested
his head on the bed and the steady rhythm of the heart machine lulled him to
sleep.