He gritted his teeth as he looked angrily at himself. He had done something unthinkable! Because of all the built up resentment, he punched AJ in the stomach and he felt horrible. The only time he ever hit someone like that was when he and his older brother, Tim had gotten into a heated argument over something that Kevin to this day, can’t remember what it was. Kevin did remember that he had promised himself never to act out with violence and what just happened with AJ was what he didn’t ever want to happen.
After standing in the bathroom for almost an hour after the incident, Kevin decided that it was time to go back out and face his brothers. Sighing as he opened the door, he was surprised to find the group lounging on the beds, quietly watching television.
“Jay, I’m sorry man….I should have never hit you—“
The normally cocky rebel, dismissed the apology with a wave of a hand. “S’okay. What’s done is done, no worries.”
Kevin ignored AJ’s comment. “I was out of line.”
“I should have kept my mouth shut when you told me to shut up. You know how stupid I can be and I was pushing you when you didn’t need to be pushed,” AJ said with a shrug.
“Let’s just forget this even happened,” Brian said with a slight grin.
Howie agreed, hoping to lift the negative fog that hung in the room like a heavy curtain.
The older man sat on the edge of a bed. “I had a not so productive conversation with Nick’s parents before we came back to the hotel. In fact, they’re supposed to be calling me when they got settled into their room. Did they happen to call while I was in the bathroom?”
“Nope,” Brian replied.
Sighing, Kevin flipped open his cell phone. “Figures,” he mumbled.
It’s kinda funny what you think about when you’re laying around in a hospital bed. I mean, things were starting to piece together in my head and I think I’m remembering what happened that led me to being here in the first place.
I wasn’t in a car accident….at least that’s what I think I’m remembering. I mean I don’t have anything broken so that was a pretty safe assumption. Our plane didn’t crash….I mean lets think about it here – I would be dead if I was in a plane crash, right?
CRAP! What if I fell out of the plane? Did I fall out of the plane? Where’s Kevin? God, maybe I fell out of the plane right before it crashed! SHIT!
Okay, now there’s beeping going on in here……what the fuck is that beeping!?
“Nick! Calm down honey, you have your monitors going crazy..”
I stared at the group of people in scrubs that ran into the room.
“What’s the matter sweetheart?”
“Nothing,” I lied with a sheepish smirk.
The rest of the people walked out of the room, leaving a young girl standing next to me, rubbing my shoulder.
“C’mon, something has you upset, the heart monitor went off, we thought you were going to lose you.”
Lose me?!
I think it was going to be best that I stop thinking because as soon as that nurse said I was dying, the monitor started to go wacko again.
“Calm down…maybe I should give you a sedative,” the nurse said as she started to leave. I managed to grab her hand, forcing her to stay by me.
“Please, don’t…I’m fine.”
“Let’s talk about what has you so upset Nick.”
I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks from the embarrassment. “It’s stupid.”
The young nurse shook her head. “Nothing that has you so upset is stupid.”
Boy…she really doesn’t know me that well. I mean, I can think about some pretty weird stuff….like does Howie wear women’s panties when he is on stage?
“Nick….hon?”
Oh boy, I just spaced out in front of her. I’m such a dork!
“What has got you so upset….come on…..I’m not leaving until you tell me.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s nothing. I had a bad dream I guess.”
She patted me on the shoulder, giving me a weird look. “I dunno if you’re telling me the truth, but if you say it was a bad dream I guess I have to take your word for it. How about you tell me what the dream was about then.”
Boy she’s persistent! I could tell she wasn’t going to leave until I said something. I licked my lips as I tried think of what to say.
“I fell out of the plane on our flight back home,” I blurted. “Is Kevin okay?”
“Nick? You think you fell out of a plane? Is that what you think happened?”
“I told you it was a dream,” I protested.
“You just asked if Kevin was okay…do you remember what happened to you that got you here?”
I searched my brain and gave up when the only thing that stuck in my mind was a plane crash. I shook my head. “No.”
Five minutes later I found myself trying not to cry in front of her after she laid out all that has happened to me in the past week. She had finished just in time for someone named Trey who said he was from therapy.
He didn’t waste any time once the nurse left the room, pulling a chair up to the side of my bed.
“Okay Nick, I want you to repeat these three words to me and then try and remember them…..apple….tree…..penny.”
I rolled my eyes. This sounded like a baby game.
“Apple, tree, penny.”
“Okay, do you know if it day or night?”
I stared at the guy before I looked out the window. He was a retard. “Night.”
“Easy question, I know,” Trey said with a grin. “Can you tell me what your birthday is?”
“January 28.”
“And the year?”
I let out a deep sigh. “1980.”
“Okay, what were the three words I asked you to remember?”
SHIT…..shit
“One was a fruit, right?”
“Yes Nick, a fruit, but what was it?”
“Can’t you just give me that one?”
Trey shook his head. “Nope, sorry. I can give you a hint, it starts with an A.”
”APPLE! Oops, sorry, apple.”
“Good, and what were the other two?”
“Tree….and um, cents?”
Trey raised his eyebrows, leaning forward. “C’mon Nick, you almost have it. Starts with the letter P.”
“P…p….”
What the fuck was that word? I could see it….
“P..penny?” okay that sounded more like a question than being a definite answer. God, why couldn’t I think of that word right away? I guess the guy could see I was about ready to lose it because he stood up and pushed the chair back into the corner.
“Okay you’ve done pretty good for now, I’ll be back in a few to work with you again.”
“Aww and I was just starting to have fun,” I lied. I wasn’t going to protest, to be honest just trying to work with this guy and the 20 questions thing had me pretty tired.
“Yeah, take a nap and I’ll see you again soon.”
Take a nap…..like that was going to be a hard thing for me to do? It seems that’s all I’ve been doing lately…
AJ grabbed his pack of cigarettes from the nightstand.
“You know you have to go out on the balcony if you’re gonna smoke,” Howie reminded the rebel.
AJ gestured toward the sliding glass doors with a thumb. “Kevin’s out there.”
“Then I guess you’re going to have to wait then, eh?” Brian replied with a cheeky grin. He hated AJ smoking.
AJ shook his head, placing a cigarette to his lips. “Nah, I’ll just stay put.”
Before anyone could say another word, the tattooed man lit up the cigarette, inhaling deeply.
Kevin stormed into the hotel room, grabbing the smoke from AJ’s mouth in a sweeping motion. “Goddamn it McLean! This is a non smoking room!”
“Well I didn’t have any other choice since you were outside on the phone,” he defended.
Howie was desperate not to have another replay of the earlier confrontation between AJ and Kevin. “Just go outside now, okay?”
“Forget it, we have to go,” Kevin announced as he shut the television set off.
“Go?” the others asked in unison.
“To go see Nick?” Brian questioned.
Howie’s eyes grew wide. “Something wrong with him?”
“No….not that, I have an appointment to meet with Bob Carter in fifteen minutes. I thought it would be good for all of us to meet with him.”
“What? No Jane?” AJ asked, sarcasm thick in his voice.
“That’s why we have to go now,” Kevin said, not offering any further answers.
With that, the four men quickly left the hotel.