Altered States
+Chapter Twenty-Two+
Come Back to Me
~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~
“So, let me see if I understand this one now. You asked Brian to go out clubbing with you?”
Howie asked AJ, eyebrows raised in question.
“Yeah, you got it right,” AJ growled in reply.
“But we’re talking Brian here, B-rok, the guy that reads his Bible before he goes to bed at
night, Brian-mister-I-don’t-go-clubbin-Littrell, the holy-----”
“I GET YOUR POINT!” AJ snapped.
“Alright.... geesh, don’t blow a nut over it!”
I could vaguely hear arguing in the car as I walked up to it. “Good god, you guys are
freaks!”
“Nick, just get in the car and go,” AJ demanded, pulling a cigarette out of a freshly opened
pack of Salem’s.
“Okay,” I sighed, sticking the key into the ignition. “Any suggestions?”
Howie thought as he took a gulp from the cherry coke he was holding. “Okay, I think we
should start out from the club and then head north five blocks, then south five blocks and
so on and so on.”
“Like we didn’t do that before!” AJ sputtered.
“No, AJ listen to me! I think we should look for things that Brian may have recognized or
might have thought he recognized, understand?”
It sounded like a good idea. “Yeah, I get it, maybe something that looks like a place we’ve
been to?”
“Exactly, a place we’ve been to or words, phrases or a name,” Howie suggested.
“I don’t see where we’re gonna find his ass,” AJ replied.
“Well we gotta look AJ, do you want to face Kevin when we can’t find Brian?” I glared at
his face. Dammit, I hated those freakin sunglasses he wore, you could never tell if his eyes
were open or if he was looking at you when you talked to him.
Instead of words, AJ put his hand up and then gestured towards the windshield. I decided
that was his cue to just drive, which I did gladly. Anything to stop the arguing.
~*~*~*~
“Brian?” Kayla said softly as she walked into the playhouse. She found him still asleep on
the floor, laying ontop of the sleeping bag, arms sprawled out to the sides. Quietly, she
knelt down next to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. “Brian?”
Brian’s reply was a soft moan followed by him turning his back away from Kayla. “Nick,
leave me alone!” he mumbled.
“No, I’m not Nick, I’m Kayla.”
He opened his eyes and stared briefly at the posters that were adorning the wall, in front
of his face. It was a picture of Justin Timberlake. A sudden chill went down his spine and
he quickly turned back towards the direction of the tiny voice.
“Who... who are you?”
Kayla giggled. “You are silly.”
Brian thought for a moment. The last thing he remembered was going to a club with Nick
and AJ and then needing to use the restroom. After that, his memory was pretty much
fogged out. He sat up quickly, tossing the blankets around. “Oh crap.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to find that place I was at last ni.... wait, how long have I been here?”
“I dunno, I found you sleeping in the backseat of my parent’s car last night,” Kayla replied.
Brian searched his memory trying to think of a date that he went out with AJ and Nick. He
drew a blank. “Honey, are your parent’s home?”
Kayla shook her head. “I told you they were on vacation and my Grandma is staying with
me. She is in the house. She would be mad at me if she knew I had you in my playhouse.”
Brian raked a hand through his hair. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to try and find my
way back to my friends.”
“I can go with you, maybe I can help you find them,” Kayla offered.
Brian thought about that for a minute. In a way it would be a good thing to have the little
girl accompany him in case his mind spaced out again but in another way she was obviously
young and he felt that it might put her in trouble with her Grandmother.
“Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea sweetie,” Brian stated with a sigh.
“No, it’s okay, I will tell her I’m going over to Lizzie’s house, stay right here,” Kayla
insisted with a stern look on her face.
A few minutes later and the girl returned holding a small paper bag.
“I brought you a new toothbrush and some toothpaste and some soap and a towel. There’s a
McDonald’s down the street and you could use their bathroom to brush your teeth,” Kayla
happily announced.
Brian sheepishly took the paper bag from the girl. “Thanks, let’s get going so you won’t be
away from home for very long.”
.....tbc
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