Chapter
2
The
next evening, around five thirty, it was time to leave for the concert. Heidi was driving me there and bringing me
home, so Josh was just going to hang around somewhere and see me when I got
home.
“Bye,
baby,” I told Josh, hugging and kissing him.
“See
ya, sweetie,” he replied, kissing me back.
“Have fun, okay?”
“I
will,” I said, grinning. He grinned back
and kissed the tip of my nose. “Well, I
gotta go now. I don’t want to keep Heidi
waiting. I’ll see you tonight.” I hugged him one last time and headed out the
door, not knowing that that could be the last time I would ever see him.
***
Two
hours later, Heidi and I sat in our seats, which were in Row H. They were great seats, not extremely close
to the stage, but on the floor of the arena.
We had a great view, and we knew the concert would be awesome. The opening act had just finished, and we
were anxiously awaiting the Backstreet Boys.
As
we waited, the fans began chanting, “Backstreet Boys! Backstreet Boys!” Feeling like a fifteen year old again, I
joined the chant. Heidi just looked at
me, grinned, and began chanting herself.
Finally,
after awhile of waiting and getting annoyed by the teenyboppers’ shrieking, the
lights dimmed, and I knew it was time for my idols to take the stage.
Suddenly,
smoke started to rise up from the center of the stage, and eerie music played
as a platform in the middle of the stage rose up from beneath it. Once the smoke cleared, I could see five
coffins standing upright on the platform.
The music for “Everybody” started, and as the coffins burst open, Brian
began to sing.
“Everybody…rock
your body…Everybody, rock your body right…Backstreet’s back, alright!”
Everyone,
including Heidi and I, began to scream, as the five Boys jumped out of the
coffins and out onto the stage. They
sang the entire song and danced wonderfully.
The
night went on, and they sang all of their hit songs from all their albums. Towards the end, they sang “Quit Playing
Games”. Just as I had hoped, in the
middle of the song, they were raised over the crowd on harnesses, which was
what they had done at the shows on the “Into the Millennium” tour. Only this time, I was a lot closer and could
see them much better. I had a pretty
good view of all of them, but Nick happened to be nearest to Heidi and me. He was almost right over our heads.
We
screamed and sang along with the guys as they sang from over our heads. But then, something terrible happened. In the middle of the last chorus, a terrible
scream sounded through the arena, and I looked up to see something plummeting
down from above me. I screamed as Nick
Carter fell from his harness and landed with a heavy thud just a few feet away
from me.
The music had stopped, but there was still
screaming. Only now, it was not excited,
happy screams from the fans. Now it was
screams of terror.
Horrified
beyond words, I could barely think. But
suddenly, my senses kicked in, and I knew I had to react. I looked to where Nick had landed and saw a
group of people crowded around him, mostly younger girls, who were
hysterical. I pushed through them and
gasped at the sight that lay before me.
Nick lay sprawled on his back, blood puddling around him, his body not
moving. I felt panic rising in me, but I
knew I had to do something.
“Stand
back, I’m a med student!” I exclaimed, pushing past the crying fans. I wanted to cry myself, but I knew I had to
remain calm and do my best to help Nick, or he could die, if he wasn’t dead
already. Luckily, without any words, the
crowd stood back to let me get through to Nick.
My
whole body shaking, I knelt next to his body and pressed my fingertips against
his neck to feel for a pulse. I got
nothing. Frantically, I grabbed his
wrist and checked there. Still
nothing. I leaned over him and pressed
my ear to his chest, but I heard nothing, no breathing, no heartbeat.
Tears
spilled down my cheeks, but I knew I couldn’t give up. Maybe he could still be resuscitated. Without any hesitation, I pinched Nick’s
nose closed and put my mouth over his.
I gave him mouth to mouth first, but he still wasn’t breathing. Then I started CPR.
I
was in a sort of daze the whole time, but I can still remember the shock and
horror I felt as I did chest compressions on a famous celebrity, a man I had
loved ever since I was a teenager. I had
always wanted to meet him and all of the others, but I had never wanted to meet
him this way.
It
was only a matter of minutes before some paramedics came through. They had me continue CPR as they put in an
IV. Growing frustrated, I stopped and
put my head to Nick’s chest, willing his heart to beat again. There was still nothing. Choking back sobs, I started the chest
compressions again.
Suddenly, one of the paramedics cried out,
“He’s got a pulse!” I shot my head up
and saw the paramedic holding Nick’s wrist.
“It’s weak, but you got him back,” he said to me. “Good job.”
I nodded, as tears flowed down my cheeks.
***
Meanwhile,
security was getting everyone else out of the arena. The fans tearfully and solemnly filed out,
not knowing what else to do. Luckily,
they had the respect and common sense not to rebel against the security
guards.
Heidi
was allowed to remain behind, since she was with me, and I was still helping
the paramedics. Inside, I was in a state
of panic, but on the outside, I must have seemed like I knew what I was doing,
for they let me stay with them.
Finally,
they loaded Nick onto a stretcher to take him out to the ambulance. His heart was beating again, but he still
wasn’t breathing. As I backed away to
let the paramedics get through, a hand touched my shoulder. I thought it was Heidi at first, but when I
turned around, I found Howie standing there.
“Thanks
for your help,” he said shakily.
“I…
uh…” I stammered, not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, unable to contain my emotions any longer, I broke down and
began to sob. Howie immediately pulled
me close to him and hugged me. His hug
brought me comfort, not because it was Howie from the Backstreet Boys, but
because I needed a hug, and he was the one that was compassionate enough to
give it to me.
“Do
you want to come to the hospital with us?” Howie asked, as I let go of
him.
“Really?”
I asked, my voice trembling. He nodded.
“The
guys are getting changed really quick, and then we’re going. It looks like you were the first one there to
help him, and I think you deserve to come with us and find out how he’s doing,”
Howie said. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“I
didn’t do anything really. I just
reacted. I was in shock the whole time,”
I mumbled. “I’m still in shock.”
“We
all are,” Howie said, his eyes filling with tears. “How could something like that have
happened?”
“I
don’t know,” I whispered. Just then, I
saw three other figures hurry over to us.
My eyes widened as I saw it was Brian, AJ, and Kevin. Kevin had his arm around Brian, who I could
tell was nearly hysterical, or had been.
Kevin and AJ looked panic stricken as well.
“Did
they take him to the hospital?” Kevin asked worriedly. Howie nodded.
“We’re
going now,” he replied. “She’s coming
with. Let’s go.”
“Wait!”
I cried. “Heidi!”
“Who?”
Howie asked.
“My
friend, she…” I looked around to find Heidi.
At first I didn’t see her, but then I spotted her sitting in an aisle
sobbing. I immediately ran over to her
and hugged her tightly. “Come on, Heidi,
we’re going to the hospital now,” I whispered.
She looked up and nodded. I held
out my hand and helped her up.
Howie
motioned for us to follow them, and so we followed the four guys out a back
door to their tour bus, which was parked behind the arena somewhere. We ran to the bus, among the Boys’ bodyguards
and got inside.
I barely even looked around once we were
inside. This all seemed like a horrible
nightmare. Here I was, inside the
Backstreet Boys’ tour bus, with them inside, but Nick was not. Nick was on his way to the hospital, dying,
maybe dead already. I couldn’t think
straight.
The
driver started the bus and flew out onto the road, heading for the hospital
where the paramedics had told us they were taking him. At first, we were all silent with grief, but
finally, AJ spoke.
“So,
what are you guys’ names?” he asked.
“I’m
Julie Lewis,” I replied.
“And
my name’s Heidi Jennings,” Heidi said.
“Cool,
nice to meet you. Sorry it had to be in
such a horrible situation,” AJ stated.
I nodded sadly.
“So,
Julie, I didn’t see you much, but I did watch you start working on Nick like
that. Where did you learn to take charge
and do CPR and all that stuff?” Kevin asked.
“I’m
a med student,” I replied.
“Wow,
that’s lucky. I’m glad you were right
there when it happened then,” Howie said.
“I
don’t think I helped him much,” I replied sadly.
“Are
you kidding? I heard you were the one
who got his heart started again,” Howie replied. “If you hadn’t have done CPR or whatever you
did, he could be dead right now. At
least he was still alive when the paramedics took him out of there.” I nodded, but I knew that with Nick not even
breathing, it didn’t look good. I
couldn’t have told the Boys that though.
They were trying hard to think positively, and I knew I had to too.
A
few minutes later, we pulled up to St. Joseph’s hospital. It was the hospital where Brian had been born
and had nearly died in when he was five.
But now it wasn’t Brian that anyone was worrying about. This time, it was Nick.
The
driver of the bus pulled us up close to the main entrance. The guys stood up and hurried out. Heidi and I followed close behind them, along
with three bodyguards. Luckily, no one
recognized the guys as they ran inside.
Once
we were inside, Kevin was already at the front desk, asking about Nick, I
supposed. Howie and AJ both had their
arms around Brian and were leading him to some chairs. Heidi and I went and sat down next to
them.
When
I looked at Brian, my heart nearly broke.
He was slumped down in his chair, his face buried in his hands. I knew he was crying, for I could see his
shoulders shaking. I wanted to throw my
arms around him and comfort him, but I knew I couldn’t. AJ and Howie tried to comfort him, but I
don’t think it was working. I knew how
upset I would be if my best friend was seriously injured, and I didn’t know how
she was doing, whether or not she was even alive still.
Kevin
came over to us a few minutes later.
“The receptionist said that he had probably been taken down to the ER
and that she would have somebody come to take us down there.
We
all nodded silently. Finally, Brian
spoke. “Did she say how he’s doing?” he
asked, his voice choked up with tears.
Kevin
shook his head. “She didn’t know,” he
replied. “She said whoever is working on
him will tell us soon, after we get to the ER.”
“Oh,”
Brian said, sighing. I looked into his
blue eyes and saw the pain there, and my heart ached for him. I turned to Heidi and saw her gazing at
Brian too. Her brown eyes had filled
with tears. Seeing her cry made me start
again, like a chain reaction.
Finally,
a few minutes later, a young nurse approached us. “Hi there, my name’s Colleen, and I’m going
to take you down to the ER now, ok?”
“Thanks,”
Howie said, as we all stood up.
“You’re
welcome,” she replied.
“Do
you know if our friend, Nick, is ok?” AJ asked suddenly.
“I’m
sorry, I don’t know, AJ,” she replied, and I suddenly realized she knew who the
guys were. AJ offered her a little half
smile when he realized it too, and she smiled back. I saw just a glint of starriness in her
eyes, but she was doing a great job of keeping her cool around them. I was surprised I was doing so well around
them too, but I guess it was because we were all in the midst of a
tragedy. This was no time for autographs
and screaming fans, and I, as well as Colleen, knew it.
“I
think the doctors are still working on him right now, but I’ll be sure to have
one of them come talk to you as soon as possible,” Colleen was saying.
“Ok,
thank you,” Kevin said.
“No
problem. Follow me,” she replied and
started down a hall. We all followed
behind her.
AJ
now had his arm around Howie, and Kevin walked right behind Colleen, oblivious
to Brian, who was walking behind the rest of the group, his head hung. He had stopped crying, but I knew he must be
still upset. I wanted to go up and talk
to him, but I didn’t know if I should or not.
I definitely didn’t want to make him more upset than he was already, but
his other friends weren’t paying any attention to him now, and I thought he needed
someone to be with him, to help him through this.
Finally,
feeling brave, I gathered my nerve and hung back so Brian would catch up to
me. I gently put my arm around his
shoulders, which I noticed were slightly shaking. He glanced up at me, and said nothing, but
offered me a sad, tiny, smile. I smiled
back, and we walked on, my arm never leaving his shoulders. He held his head a little higher, and I hoped
I had comforted him a little. Heidi, who
was walking in front of us, turned back and smiled when she saw us. Brian wasn’t looking, but I smiled back at
her.
We
made it to the ER, and Colleen led us down a hall, past the large waiting room,
to a room much smaller, with two couches, some chairs, and a TV. “I figured you guys wouldn’t want to wait
there in the big waiting room, since someone might see you, so I brought you
here,” she explained.
“Thanks,”
Kevin said, smiling.
“You’re
welcome,” she said, smiling back, her blue eyes lighting up because he had
smiled at her. “One of Nick’s doctors
should be in soon to talk to y’all,” she said, and left the room.
We
all sat down, Brian, Heidi, and I on one couch, and AJ, Kevin, and Howie on the
other. I sat in the middle of the
couch, with Brian on one side of me, and Heidi on the other. I couldn’t think of anything to say to Brian,
so I just rested my chin in my hands and sat there.
Finally,
Brian spoke. “Julie, I know the other
guys have already said this, but I haven’t gotten a chance yet, so I just
wanted to tell you thanks for everything you did for him.” His voice shook with unshed tears, but he was
being sincere.
“Thank
you,” I said. “I just did what I
had to do.”
“Well,
you did it very well. Because of you,
Nicky’s still alive. If it had been me
in your place, I would have been so panicked I wouldn’t have known what to do,”
he said.
“I
was panicked too, inside, but I guess I knew I had to do something for
him,” I explained. “I may have looked
calm, but I was a wreck inside. I don’t
even remember exactly what I was thinking, I was in sort of a daze the whole
time.” He nodded. “What about you? I can only imagine what you were thinking. Did you see him fall?” I asked.
“Yeah,
kind of. I was just singing and not even
watching him, but then I heard the scream, and I knew right away it was
Nick. I looked over just in time to see
him fall,” Brian said.
“That
must have been horrible. But what
happened? Did the harness break or
something?” I asked.
“From
what it looked like, the cord ripped.
The harness part went down with him,” Brian said.
I
vaguely recalled that Nick still had that harness strapped on when he was lying
there. “How could the cord rip?” I asked.
“Don’t they check those things?”
“Yeah,
they do,” he said.
“I
don’t know how someone could have missed something like that.”
“I
know,” he said sadly. “It was just a
horrible accident.”
He
had no idea how wrong he was.
***