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Just Call My Name…



“The last place I ever wanted to die was in a bathroom Brian”



“You’re not going to die Nick we’ll get out of this okay” He looked up at me as I continued to caress the top of his head as if he were a puppy.



“You’re a liar” And I was lying to him. I knew better. Our time was up and we weren’t going to live to see the end of the day. Nick was fading fast and I knew he was going to die right there in my arms and there was nothing I could do about it…nothing.




“Sir are you okay?” I felt her hand on my shoulder, looking at me with concern as the elevator doors opened up to the lobby.



“I’m fine”



“You look as if you are ready to pass out, let me help you to a chair” It was hard to understand what she was saying because of her thick Spanish accent but she grabbed my arm and led me to the lobby where she helped me to sit down.



“Really I’m okay…your laundry” I said as I saw the elevator door close.
“You left your bin in there”



“It’s okay” She said as she walked towards the nurses desk. My heart was racing and if I didn’t know any better I would swear I was having a heart attack. I couldn’t catch my breath, it’s as if those memories grabbed a hold of my chest and were squeezing until it finally burst.



He was dying in my arms…of course I didn’t want to remember that.



“It hurts Brian” He was grimacing in pain slowly trying to shift his body into a more comfortable position. There was blood everywhere all over the floor puddling around us, all over him and all over me. I was covered in Nick’s blood.



“I know it does Nicky…but it’ll be okay” I tried my best not to cry but the tears were just naturally streaming down. I was petrified yet I couldn’t show him. I had to make him comfortable.



“I am so tired”



“Try to keep your eyes open Nick okay? Don’t go to sleep”



“It hurts too much to stay awake Brian…let me sleep”



I didn’t want him to go to sleep; I wasn’t ready to let him go. I realized that once he closed those eyes I would never see them again. But even scarier at this point was that would mean I was all alone.



I didn’t want to be alone.



“Why?” I looked down at him, his big blue eyes glazed over with tears. “I’m a good person…why?”



“I wish I knew Nick, but I don’t”



“I’m scared Brian”



“I am too Nick…I am too” He turned his head back towards the floor, “I’m bleeding” He said as if it was the first time he realized it.



“I know” I hugged him with my free arm while I caressed his head with the other.



“It’s not good to bleed this much”



“I know” I was at a loss for words.



“I don’t want to die” I wanted him to just shut up. Was that wrong of me to think? I couldn’t stand hearing him anymore; it was just getting to be too much.



“You’re not going to die Nick, you have to be strong and have faith” Although as I said those words I wasn’t believing them myself. How much longer did we have? I looked over at the hourglass our captor had so dramatically placed in the bathroom with us.



“When the sand runs out so do the both of you” He had said, “But maybe one of you will be gone before the sand?” He had given Nick one of his cruel smiles then looked my way and winked at me. By that time I was too emotionally drained to do anything but stare.



Maybe if we made it out of this alive, people would ask me how it was I could sit and do nothing, especially not being restrained, at one point he had even left the bathroom door a hair opened.



I don’t want to say I gave up because I am not a quitter. I like to think I fight for everything I have ever wanted, but sitting on that bathroom floor with my little brother dying on my lap just froze me in place I guess.



He groaned which made me once again look down at him his eyes were closed at this point which scared me, “Come on Nick open those eyes…don’t make me tickle you” I tried to laugh but it came out as more of a desperate cry.



“What do you think it’s like Brian?”



“I don’t want to have this conversation with you Nick”



“Please…you need to tell me”



“You’ll be fine” He was breathing as if he had run a marathon, every breath was getting harder and harder for him.



“I always said…” He paused to suck in some more air, “That you were…” One more pause, “The biggest liar”



“I’m not lying”



He grabbed my hand then, with the little strength he had left and I started to cry. “What do you think it’s like up in heaven?” I tried to control my breathing before I answered because I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I think he knew that but still, I couldn’t do that to him, or me.



“Peaceful”



“I hope so” He groaned once more.



“Peaceful and fluffy…like walking on marshmallows” I smiled at that. “I bet you can bend down and take a big chunk out of a cloud and it would taste like marshmallows” I smirked, God I would miss that smile of his.



“Maybe I should bring some peanut butter with me” I couldn’t believe I was making jokes knowing full well that very soon we would both cease to exist.



“Fluffernutters”



“Yes” He let out a deep breath followed by another grimace of pain, “I don’t want to die” Then for the first time, I admitted it myself. “I don’t want to either Nick”



“At least we are going to be together right?”



“Right”



“What if that doesn’t happen?” He sounded shaky now and I noticed his entire body was shaking. I moved both of my arms around him to try to keep him warm, “What do you mean baby?”



“I mean what if I can’t find you?”



“I’ll be there Nick, I’ll be waiting for you” And I would, I was going to tell that damn guy to kill me first, just be done with me, Nick wouldn’t even realize it he’d be too far gone himself. I however would not be able to watch him be killed; it was hard enough feeling him die in my arms.



I almost wanted the guy to come back in now just shoot me in the head and be done with it. This was worse than death could ever be.




I looked over at the kind lady as she walked back towards me with a receptionist at her side. I sat up a little straighter and tried to get control over my breathing. My heart was pounding so fast in my chest that I really thought it was going to explode out like a cartoon.



The receptionist bent down, “Sir are you waiting for a doctor?”



I shook my head unable to get any words out.



“Are you here seeing a patient?”



“Yes” I whispered it; I sounded like I was having an asthma attack minus the asthma.



“Are you having difficulty breathing?”



“I’ll be okay...I think its anxiety” And it was A good old fashioned anxiety attack. What would be my very first but unfortunately not the last.



“Take some deep breaths and I’ll have a doctor come to check you out in a few minutes” I nodded, not ready to take a chance when it came to my heart. I had enough problems with my ticker to begin with.



“Thanks” She pat my shoulder and walked away. The nice lady who helped me from the elevator gave me a small smile and turned back to her chores leaving me alone on the chairs.



The lobby was very quiet only a few people here or there walking in and out of the gift shop or talking right outside the revolving door while coming out for a quick smoke. No one seemed to notice me or care. It was like I was a ghost and I couldn’t help but think for a brief second maybe this was all some kind of dream. Maybe I really had died.



I placed my hand on my chest just to confirm the fact that I was still very much alive and that thankfully my breathing was returning a bit back to normal.



“What if I don’t see you when I get up there?”



“You’ll find me”



“I’m sure heaven’s a big place Brian…what if you are …” He suddenly stopped talking which scared me to death. I looked down to see his eyes closed once more and all I could think to do was try to shake him awake. I let out a sigh when he moved and slowly opened his eyes for me once again. “It’s getting harder to stay awake Bri”



“I know Nick…but you have to try okay?”



“What if you are on a higher level than me?”



“What?”



“In heaven”



“Nick that’s not going to happen it’s not like playing a video game” I laughed but once again it came out more as a sad sigh. He started to cry at that point and I wasn’t ready for it. Tears were streaming down his face and I had to look away.



“I am so scared of being alone…and I don’t like the dark Brian”



“I know” Now I was crying right along with him. “You won’t be alone I’ll be there Nick”



“But what if I can’t find you?”



“Just keep saying my name…I’ll hear your voice and come to get you”



“You promise?” I paused, could I make a promise like that? By saying yes I was basically confirming the fact that we were soon going to die. I had to though, because it was the truth. I was 22 years old, far away from home and about to die next to my best friend. At the beginning of what was going to be a great and promising career. I had so much to live for; so much faith in life but it was soon going to be pulled out from under me.



I would never see my mom’s beautiful smile again or my dad trying his hardest to beat me at basketball. I’d never hear my brother’s calming voice in my ear telling me everything would be okay. It was all gone.



“I promise” I finally said looking down at him and grabbing his hand in mine, “I promise I will find you. Just keep saying my name”




“That’s why he was saying my name over and over again” I said to the empty lobby, “He wanted me to find him”



I placed my face in my hands and once again started to cry.



“Brian”



“Yeah Nick?”



“Just trying it out” I smiled at least tried to. I was petrified, never been so scared in my life.



“I love you Nick”



“I love you t…” The door to the bathroom swung open which made me jump but Nick remained still. He grabbed me tighter than, as tight as he could considering how weak he was.



“It’s about that time boys” I looked over at the hourglass to see it was still half way full.



He saw me glance that way and took it and threw it in the garbage, “I was just using that for dramatic effect, truth is, I need to get going” He walked over to the bathtub and put the water on, “We need to wash some of that blood off of you Nick, we don’t want people to think I was messy now do we?”



I held on to him tighter.



“And you need to get some new clothes on. You look like a mess” He looked at me disgusted like I had any say on how much blood I had all over me.



He sat on the rim of the tub as it filled with water, “I’m sorry this had to happen this way fellas” Nick groaned as he tried to shift in my arms.



“Please let us go” I begged one final time.



“Sorry no can do, better say your goodbyes, you and I will be making our exit shortly” I panicked when he said that. I had planned on dying next to my friend.



“No I want to stay in here with him”



“You need to go change Brian” He stood up then as the tub continued to fill. He walked over and grabbed my arm yanking me away from Nick. “No!” I screamed but at this point all my energy was gone. It was more like a quiet command.



“Brian” Nick said as he dropped to the floor and groaned. He looked at me and I looked at him and it was such a weird feeling. Peaceful and deep as if for just that moment we were one and the same person. “Keep saying my name Nick” Was the last thing I was able to say before I was yanked out of the room. I heard his faint cry of “Brian” Then Derek closed the door.




I took my hands away from my face, needing now more than ever to go to my friend once again and tell him he was alive and we had made it. “Hello” I looked up when I heard the all too familiar voice. I didn’t have to see the face to know who it was, but I did see his name tag on the white lab coat. It said Dr. Derek Jones.



He was at the hospital this whole time and there we were suddenly face to face.


Be back on Sunday with chapter 15