Chapter
37
A few minutes
later, an ambulance arrived. The paramedics took over, trying their hardest to
revive Brian. They attached an IV to his arm and put an oxygen mask over his
face. Then they loaded him onto a stretcher and whisked him off in the
ambulance.
By now, many
of the guests had come outside. Jackie found Katelyn and hugged her tightly,
both of them sobbing.
"Come on,
honey," she said. "You can ride to the hospital with Harold and
I." Katelyn followed her out to the parking lot. She noticed a hearse
pulling into the drive.
For the
girl,
she realized.
The ride to
the hospital was horrible. No one had the heart to say anything. Luckily, it
wasn't a long way.
Harold dropped
Jackie and Katelyn off at the Emergency Room entrance. Then he went to park the
car as they ran inside.
The
receptionist took one look at Katelyn and asked, "Are you with the patient
that was just brought in. The one with a gunshot wound?" They nodded.
"Alright, the doctors are working on him now. You two need to wait in the
waiting room." She directed them to a large waiting room down the hall.
Jackie nodded and led Katelyn into the room. As Katelyn sat down, she looked
down at her dress and gasped. Her beautiful white wedding gown was covered in
blood all down the front, from hugging Brian. She peeled off her gloves, no
longer white, but crimson from all the blood.
Eventually,
Harold came in and sat with them. Next came Brian's brother, Harold, followed
by Kevin, Nick, Howie, and AJ. After that, Kevin's family showed up. Then some
other friends of the family came in. They all sat together in the waiting room,
waiting for someone to give them news on Brian.
***
They waited
nearly forty-five minutes until finally, a doctor came out. He looked around
the waiting room for a moment. Then he focused on Katelyn, in her blood covered
wedding dress, and he approached her and the others.
"You all
are with Brian Littrell, right?" he asked.
"Yes,"
Harold said.
"My name
is Dr. Bentley. I was working on Brian."
"Is he
gonna be alright?" Katelyn asked.
Dr. Bentley
looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, miss. The bullet was lodged into his
heart. We did everything we could, but unfortunately, we could not save
him."
Katelyn wanted
to scream and cry, but she struggled to keep her composure. She began to cry
silently. Jackie also began to cry, and Harold held her tightly. Katelyn saw
Nick and AJ hug. Then Kevin and Kristin began to hug. Brian's brother, Harold,
hugged Tracy, his wife. Suddenly, Howie approached Katelyn and held out his
arms. Katelyn almost collapsed into them and hugged him tightly. As his arms
went around her to comfort her, she began to sob again. She cried and cried,
her tears soaking his shirt. But he didn't mind at all. He just held her until
her cries had softened.
"Katelyn?"
Jackie asked tearfully. "Do you want to go see him?"
Katelyn nodded.
"Come
with me, dear," a nurse said. Katelyn followed her down the hall to a
little room. "Go on in," the nurse said. She offered Katelyn a
sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," she said.
Katelyn nodded
to acknowledge her and walked slowly into the room. The nurse closed to door
behind her. Katelyn began to cry again as she saw Brian, lying on the bed,
looking so still and pale.
"Brian,"
she sobbed, running her fingers through his soft curls. "I love you so
much." Her voice faltered and she just stroked his hair and cried. Then,
suddenly, she realized something horrible. That bullet hadn't been meant for
Brian. It had been meant for her! That girl, she had most likely been a fan,
who was so jealous, she couldn't deal with Katelyn marrying Brian. She had meant
to kill Katelyn, but then Brian had leapt in front of her and took the bullet
himself. That was why the girl killed herself.
"Oh,
Bri," Katelyn whispered, "You saved me. I owe my life to you. Not
just for taking the bullet, but for getting me away from my home. You saved me
then too. You saved me in every way a person can be saved." Those words
sounded familiar to her, and she realized sadly that they were from Titanic.
That made her cry even more, remembering their first kiss, and their last
dance, at the reception only a little while before.
She knew that
Jackie and Harold would want to see Brian too, so she bent and kissed his lips
one final time. "I love you, baby," she said. "I'll see you when
I get to Heaven." With that, she stifled back a sob and fled from the
room.
***
