Chapter
18
Brian and Nick
stayed at the hospital the whole night. Nick urged Brian to go home and get
some sleep, but Brian wouldn't leave Morgan. He wanted to be there in case
anything happened, good or bad.
The next
morning, Dave and Lisa looked ready to drop. Nick urged them to go back to
their hotel and get some sleep.
"I'll
take you back if you want," he offered. "And Brian can stay here with
Morgan. He'll call if anything happens."
Dave and Lisa
eventually agreed and left with Nick to go back to the hotel. Brian was left
alone with Morgan. He sat beside her bed once again. He held her hand and ran
his fingers through her soft, curly hair.
Suddenly,
Morgan's eyes opened. "Brian?" she asked, her voice soft and weak.
"Hi
Morgan," he said, smiling at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Not very
good," she admitted. "My chest hurts." Brian nodded
sympathetically.
"I
know," he said.
"Weren't
you sick like this when you were little too?" Morgan asked.
Brian nodded.
"Yeah, I was five. I got a very bad infection, and I was very sick,"
he said, shuddering as he remembered the experience.
"Were you
scared?" Morgan asked, her blue eyes wide.
"Very
scared," Brian said. "Everyone thought I was going to die."
Morgan's eyes
filled with tears. "Am I going to die?" she asked.
Brian didn't
know what to say. He didn't want to lie to her, but he certainly couldn't tell
her the truth. "I don't know, Morgan," he said finally. "I hope
not."
Morgan said
nothing. She just closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep. Brian tiptoed
back out into the hall. Then he headed down to the cafeteria to get a cup of
coffee.
The coffee
helped Brian stay awake for the next few hours. But he was relieved when Nick
came back.
"Come on,
Brian, you need to go home and get some sleep. I'll drop you off at my house
and come back here. You can sleep a few hours and drive up when you want to.
Your car is still at my house."
"Alright,"
Brian agreed. "Have you slept any?" Nick had dark circles under his
eyes.
"Yeah, I
slept for a few hours. I'll come home and sleep more when Morgan's parents come
back," Nick said.
"Okay,"
Brian said. He and Nick went out to Nick's car and headed for Nick's house.
Nick dropped Brian off and drove back to the hospital. Brian went up to Nick's
guest room and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
***
