Chapter 7

Brian woke up and looked around, confused. He wasn't in his bedroom anymore. With a start, he realized he was at the hospital. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He had been heading downstairs for breakfast. Usually, he could get downstairs by himself if he took it slow. But that morning, he got very dizzy. Then everything went black. He figured he must have passed out. Then he realized his head was throbbing.

Suddenly, his mother came into the room.

"Oh, Brian!" she cried, a look of relief crossing her face. She hurried over to him and hugged him tightly. "Baby, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Brian said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "What happened?"

"You passed out and fell down the stairs, honey," she said. "The doctor says you have a small concussion." She ran her fingers through his curly hair gently.

"That would explain the killer headache," Brian said, forcing a smile. His mother offered a sympathetic smile back.

"Do you want any pain medicine?" she asked.

"Naw, I'm okay," he said, smiling at her. "When can I go home?"

"Well, the doctors want to run some tests on you," she told him. Brian nodded, his expression grim. They didn't have to run any tests. He already knew why he had passed out. His heart was worse. He been feeling weaker and weaker, but never had he passed out before by just trying to walk. He knew this wasn't good. It just meant he needed a transplant even more urgently now.

***

 After finishing her first task, Alexa was put to work changing sheets. She had two floors to cover, so she set to work right away. She started on the third floor. After she had changed the sheets on that floor, she moved up to the fourth floor. She dragged a large laundry bin along with her for the dirty sheets. She entered the first room to her right, room 401. There were two beds in the room, but only one had been occupied. No one was there right them though. As Alexa began to strip the first bed, she couldn't help look at the chart on the end. The name on the top read Brian Littrell. "Oh my God," she gasped. "No way. It couldn't be," she thought. "Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys?" She read further down the chart, gasping again when she realized why he was there. She felt awful for him, for she understood the seriousness of his condition. Suddenly, she realized she was just standing there, daydreaming. She shook her head sadly and finished making his bed. Then she left the room.

***

Brian lay in bed, extremely bored. He had had several tests run on him, but they were over for the day. He was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. Suddenly, he heard a cart rattling down the hall.

"Must be the supper trays," he thought, glad for a distraction. A few minutes later, a girl brought his tray in. She was young and cute, with red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She blushed as she set the tray down on his bedside table.

"Here you go," she said, offering him a shy smile. He smiled back at her.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," she said, softly. He started to unwrap foil from the food on his tray as she turned away hesitantly. "Enjoy," she said over her shoulder.

"Oh, I will," he said sarcastically, making a face at the food in front of him. She glanced back and giggled at the expression on his face. "By the way, my name's Brian," he said.

She turned around. "Oh, I already know who you are."

"So you recognized me, huh?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah," she said, smiling. Actually, she was not sure she would have recognized him, for he looked unbelievably sickly and pale, not at all like he looked in the pictures she had seen of him.

"So, you a fan?" he asked.

"Well, kinda," she said. "My sister's more obsessed than I am, but I like you guys too." He grinned.

"Well, just don't tell anyone I'm here, okay?" he said. "I don't want a bunch a fans to come in and bother y'all."

"Okay, I won't," she said, starting to turn towards the door.

"Actually, I'm surprised none of the fans have figured it out yet," he blurted. He seemed desperate for conversation.

"Why's that?"

"Well, they always figure something out. They have good sources I guess. They all figured out what hospital I was in when I had surgery two years ago."

"Oh, really? Was it in this hospital?"

"Yeah. I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out, since this is the hospital I was born in and everything."

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "Well, look, I'd love to stay and talk, but I've got to get the rest of these dinners served."

"Oh, yeah," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"No, that's okay," she said, smiling back. "I can come back later and visit with you , if you want," she offered, hoping she didn't sound overly eager.

"Sure! That would be great," Brian said. "It gets really boring around here."

"Okay," she said. "I don't have to work tomorrow, since it's Saturday. I could come during visiting hours."

"Sure."

"Okay," she said, heading for the door. "By the way, my name's Alexa."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll see ya later, Alexa." She smiled and left the room.

***

 

 

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