Part 16

By Mer

“Hey, you've reached Alex's phone. I am too busy right now to answer your call, but leave me a detailed message, and I will return your call... LOVE YOU!” .......BEEP...........

Ugh. Eva was frustrated; this was the third time she had called the number AJ had given her the night before, and still, she could not get a hold of him. “I am not going to leave a message,” she said as she closed her cell phone and entered Room 104 of the children's medical center.

There lay little frail Brianna in bed. She smiled as she saw her sister walk in. “So how did it go, huh? Did you see them?” asked Brianna.

“Calm down, Bri, or I won't say a word.”

“Okay, please tell me everything!” squealed Brianna.

“Fine,” sighed Eva as she sat next to her sister. “Well, let me tell you, it is nothing compared to Nine Inch Nails or Slipknot, but I have to admit that some of the lyrics were okay…”

“Okay? Okay?” laughed Brianna, “Please, they are the best..... Eva, did they sing my song?”

“Yeah, ‘Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely’ was one of the first songs actually. What I don't understand is why you like that song so much?” asked Eva as she saw Brianna had a tear rolling down her left eye. She felt a knot forming in her throat, knowing exactly what her little sis was going to say.

“Mommy. It makes me feel mommy is still here, even if I can't see her,” said Brianna in a sad tone.

“Oh, come on Bri, we are not going to get sad now. I have some stuff for you,” Eva said as she handed Brianna the poster and pictures. She noticed Brianna's face change instantly to a happier one. “Oh, but that’s not it.... When I went to the meet and greet, I was talking AJ and I told him about you and he agreed to come with the other guys to meet you!!”

”What?! You’re lying, right?” said Brianna with a shocked face.

“No, look, read it yourself,” said Eva, pointing to AJ's picture.

“OH, MY GOD!!! Did you call him already?”

“Yes, three times, but he didn't answer. I got his voice mail instead,” said Eva in a frustrated tone.

“Did you leave a message?” asked Brianna

“No,” said Eva, "you know I hate to leave messages."

“Eva, you’re supposed to leave a message so he can call you back. It’s obvious he is not going to just answer you; it is to risky because they do have stalkers!!!” said Brianna, looking excited.

Eva started laughing, looking at her sister, so desperate to meet this group. She had not seen her sister this happy in a long time, especially after they found out that both her kidneys had stopped functioning and she was put on dialysis. She was put on a waiting list for a kidney, a mighty long list, which, as she recalled a nurse telling her, was getting longer. Eva refused to lose her sister and was put through tests to see if she could give her sis one of her kidneys. Now she had to wait three weeks for the results. God, she hoped that they came back positive.

“EVA!” She was brought back by Bri’s scream. “Please call him and leave him a message, please…”

“FINE,” said Eva, dialing the now familiar number. “I am only doing this because of you, Bri, you understand?”

***

“What in god’s name happened in here?” asked Howie as he opened AJ's hotel room.

“I can't seem to find my cell phone charger,” said AJ, looking through a pile of his clothes.

“Well, if you kept your room organized, you wouldn't have this problem,” said Howie, laughing at his friend.

“FOUND IT!!” said AJ, showing it to Howie and connecting the wall outlet.

Seconds later, AJ's phone was back to life since it was plugged to the charger. “Damn, 4 missed calls,” said AJ, looking in his phone, “and 1 voice message.”

“From who?” asked a curious Howie.

“I don't know; let’s find out,” said AJ, putting his phone on speaker.

“Uhm, AJ or Alex, I don't know, this is Eva, one of the girls you met in the meet and greet last night. I, uh, well, actually, you left a message on the poster with your number. Remember you wrote that you might get the guys to come and see my little sister at the hospital? Well anyways, if you still can, give me a call at 863-635-2879. Again, thanks beforehand; my sister will be psyched…”

“Is that the girl you thought was hot? The creepy one?” asked Howie, shocked.

“Yes. Hey, her little sister is in the hospital; it was her sister who wanted to go, not her, but she went for her sister. Besides, I promised I would take all of you to see her sister; we can't back down…”

“You WHAT?!” asked Howie.