Chapter 22

AJ was lying flat in bed, staring at the ceiling, when Howie and Kevin came in. When he got a closer look at their faces, he realized they had both been crying.

"What happened?" he asked, suddenly alarmed. He felt panic wash over him.

"Dr. Mitchell asked Jane and Bob to consider taking Nick off the life support machines," Howie said flatly.

AJ gasped. "Oh my God," he whispered. He felt the tears rising up inside of him, but he fought them back, trying not to cry in front of them. He wished he had a pair of sunglasses with him to disguise his tears, but he didn't.

Howie saw him trying to keep composed. "It's okay to cry, Bone," he said gently. "Kev and I were just a few minutes ago."

AJ said nothing. "So are they going to do it?" he asked.

"They haven't decided what to do yet. It'll take some time. It's a big decision. Just letting him die, or keeping him alive with machines, hoping that he'll recover, but knowing that he might be suffering," Kevin said.

AJ could no longer hold back the tears. They filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He couldn't even move his hand enough to wipe them away either. Howie grabbed a Kleenex and gently wiped the tears off of AJ's face. Kevin took his hand and squeezed it tightly. To his surprise, he felt a weak squeeze back. He looked at AJ and smiled slightly. AJ offered him a lopsided smile. It was an accomplishment, but it was too hard to be happy over something so small when one of their best friends was dying.

***

 

 

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