Chapter
17
Over the next few months, Nick’s condition slowly began to
worsen. The progression of his disease
was slow at first, but as time passed, it got worse faster and faster.
By the beginning of fall, there was a significant change in
Nick. He had lost weight, and his
clothes hung on his now gaunt form. His
skin and even the whites of his eyes held a yellowish tint, and dark circles
hung under his eyes. He had become
tired all the time and spent most of his days just sitting on the couch or
lying in bed, watching TV, playing video games, or reading comic books.
His whole family had been living at his house for months, and Nick
had to admit that he liked having them there, especially now. He didn’t know how he would manage without
them. He was usually too weak and tired
to do much for himself, such as do laundry, go grocery shopping, clean the
house, or anything else that needed to be done.
His family members took on these tasks without complaint. But the real reason Nick liked having them
there was because he loved them and because without them, he knew how lonely he
would have gotten. The rest of the guys
came to see him almost daily, but he still grew bored and depressed when they
weren’t there. It was his family that
kept his spirits up during the hardest times, and he was grateful for it.
***
One afternoon, Nick was tucked into bed, watching TRL on MTV. There were no Backstreet Boys videos on the
countdown now. They had released two
singles since Nick’s diagnosis and done videos, but both of them had retired,
and the guys hadn’t even decided on a new single yet, let alone make plans for
a video shoot. They doubted they would
release another single anytime soon, for there was no way Nick would be able to
shoot a video for it, and they could never do a video without him.
Suddenly, there was a light knock on Nick’s bedroom door.
“Come in,” he called weakly.
The door opened, and in stepped Brian. Nick’s sallow, gaunt face lit up as his best
friend came in. “Bri, what are you doing
here?” he asked. “Isn’t it
Thursday? You were just here Sunday.”
“I know, dude, but I’m back again,” Brian said, forcing himself to
smile. Inside, he was worried
though. Nick hadn’t been doing well all
weak, and Brian had had an uneasy feeling since he had flown back to Atlanta
two days earlier. He had called Jane the
night before and asked her how Nick had been doing, and she had told him that
he wasn’t doing well. Worried that he
wouldn’t have much time left with his friend, Brian had gotten a plane ticket
that morning and flown back to Orlando.
“Not again,” Nick said, rolling his eyes. But he broke into a grin and held his arms
open to hug Brian.
Brian carefully wrapped his arms around Nick and hugged him. He nearly winced as he embraced Nick’s
skeletal form. He seemed to be nothing
more than skin and bones, and Brian hugged him gingerly, as if Nick would
shatter if he hugged too hard. But that
didn’t matter. Nick was alive, and that
what was really important to Brian, not what he looked like, or anything else.
***
