Chapter
13
The next morning, Leighanne arrived at the hospital early. She bought
breakfast down in the cafeteria and brought it up to Brian's room to eat with
him.
At ten, it was time for Brian's chemo. Leighanne looked apprehensive as
he was helped into the wheelchair for the trip to the chemo room.
"Don't worry, baby," Brian told her, noticing her anxiety. He
squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I've been through this tons of times.
It's no big deal. You can go hang around in the cafeteria or something. It'll
take about an hour." She nodded and kissed him quickly. Then the nurse
took him down the hall to the chemo room.
As Brian was being taken back to his room once the chemo session was
over, he prayed that he wouldn't get sick. He was always nauseous after chemo,
but some days were better than others. However, this one wasn't. By the time he
got back to his room, he felt awful. Luckily, Leighanne wasn't in the room yet.
The nurse helped him into his bed and brought him a basin, just in case. He
settled back against the pillows, hoping he wouldn't have to throw up.
Leighanne came back a few minutes later, carrying a huge vase of red
roses.
"Here you go, baby," she said cheerfully, placing the flowers
on the bedside table. There was already many bouquets in the room, from the
guys, his parents, and the fans. But Leighanne's was one of the biggest and
fanciest ones.
A look of panic spread over Leighanne's face as she noticed how pale
and sick Brian looked.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Sure, I'm fine," Brian replied, his voice weak. He knew he
didn't look fine, but he didn't want Leighanne to worry about him.
"Are you sure?" Leighanne asked.
"Yeah, I…" Brian started, but suddenly sat up and grabbed the
basin. Leighanne rubbed his back comfortingly as he threw up. When he was
finished, she put the basin aside and lay him back down. She wiped his mouth
off and offered him a sip of water. Then she talked soothingly to him until he
fell asleep.
***