A.J. was sitting in his living room, his feet on the coffee table, his head resting against one of the pillows and his eyes closed. For some reason he was suddenly having nightmares again about the darkest period of his life. The period in which he hurt the ones closest to him. Time and time again. He let out a sigh. Last night hadn’t been any different. He had no idea as to why these memories were haunting him in his sleep now. They weren’t angry or sad over it anymore. He had apologized a million times and they had accepted his apologies every single time.
A.J. let out a sigh. The last time he visited her was three days ago. For some reason, he felt guilty again everytime he saw her and it only brought back more memories.
"Let us help you!! We're here for you..please.."
"Leave me alone!!! I don't need help, YOU do!! The stupid sucker with the broken family that can't even take care of himself!!!!!!!!!"
"STOP IT!!"
"And YOU, still sobbing over your parents'death! Get a LIFE!!"
A.J. shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the memory that had been haunting him last night. He was such an idiot back then. So in denial and verbally agressive to everyone around him. He even got away with it for a while. That was until Kevin thought it had been enough and he didn’t take his bullshit anymore. If it hadn’t been for his friends, he probably wouldn’t be breathing today.
”LEAVE ME ALONE!”
“Fine, but don’t expect me to come rescue your sorry ass one more time!!” Kevin growled.
“FINE!!” A.J. spat.
“A.J., please..”
“Oh SHUT UP, you so-called saint. Get OUT!! I don’t need you anymore!!”
“Let’s just go, Brian.”
”Yeah you do that, D. Get the hell out of my sight!!”
A.J. thanked God that they didn’t give up on him and decided to stand by him while he went into rehab. He needed them to get his life back on track and still needed them today. He needed her. He needed her to fight. But it seemed like she was fighting a demon that was too strong for her. She had been through so much and always found a way to overcome the worst of situations. Until now.
~~~~
She sat behind the desk, just like every shift when none of the patients needed her help. But today everything was about to change. She’d be there to comfort Kevin when Dr. Greene or Lockhart would tell them that Wendy had lost the fight against the mysterious enemy. She’d hold him, soothe him and tell him that maybe now his friend had found peace. And the best thing was that there’d be no way of saving her. When she would inject that amount of Xynelyxoniamide, Wendy’s body would immediately shut down, go into cardiac arrest and there’d be nothing they could do to revive her. Debra smiled at the thought. And even if that wouldn’t make Kevin fall in love with her, at least he’d have to bury one of his friends... So she would win either way.. Either Kevin would be happily in love with her, or he’d be as depressed as hell..
~~~~
The five young men were all at Brian’s who himself sat on the couch, his face tear streaked and his eyes puffy and red. The others had decided to go over to check on him, since Kevin got worried after the call and couldn’t get in touch with him to ask him what he had been talking about. So there they all were. Howie, Nick and A.J. on one couch and the cousins on the one across from them. Brian was fiddling with a coaster and seemed unaware of the presence of the others until Kevin softly squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. Brian turned his head to look at him, but remained silent since he had the feeling he wouldn’t be able to speak even if he tried.
“What’s wrong? You talked about being needed somewhere else. What happened?” Kevin asked.
“Boys...” Jackie Littrell started as she walked into the living room. She too looked like she had been crying.
She stopped behind Brian and gently rubbed his shoulders. “It’s about-”
“It-it’s okay, mom.” Brian cleared his throat. “I’ll tell them, alright?”
“Okay Brian..” Jackie kissed him on top of his head, again gently squeezed his shoulders and walked up the stairs, leaving behind the five men. As she disappeared out of sight, they could hear a sob escaping her.
Brian threw the coaster on the coffee table and took a deep breath before breaking the news to the others. “David and Julia died tonight.” He rushed out with his eyes closed and his hands clasped. None of the others reacted at first, but a few seconds later they all started talking at the same time.
“Oh my God..”
“Wendy’s parents?! What happened?!”
“This cannot be true.”
“How’s Wendy?”
“God Nick, how do you THINK she is?!” Kevin spat at the question asked by the youngest, who now kept his gaze fixed on the carpet, feeling ashamed of himself for asking. Howie shot Kevin a glare and rested his hand on Nick’s wrist. “It’s okay Nick, I was wondering the same thing.”
“Sorry Nick, I didn’t mean it like that, okay?” Kevin softly said, now realizing what the youngest had meant by the question. It was obvious to all that she’d be devastated, but even that came in different degrees. Nick simply nodded in response, his gaze still fixed on the carpet.
The sound of sobbing made everyone turn their attention back to Brian who was again crying, just like he had been ever since the news sank in. Kevin hugged him and just let him cry into his shoulder. A few minutes later, Brian wiped away the tears and turned to face the others. “They were in a c-car accident..” he stuttered. “When I called you, I was over at Wendy’s who told me the news. She was... “ his voice trailed off.
“She was what, Rok?” A.J. asked.
“Oh.. right.. She was in shock. Like distant and stuff. The police had stopped by to tell her and then just left her by herself.. So she called me and wouldn’t tell me what was wrong at first, but when she did. Oh my God.” Brian whispered. “She just got totally hysterical and clung onto me as if to make sure I wouldn’t leave her by herself too. And that’s when I called you.” Brian said as he looked at his cousin who held his head in his hands.
“So.. Where is she now? At Suzie’s?”
Brian shook his head as he rubbed his face. “She’s here, in the guestroom. Suzie’s with her. My parents thought it’d be best if there were adults around and since her parents are out for the weekend...”
“How is she holding up?”Howie softly asked.
“Hopefully she’s asleep by now. Doctor came by to check on her and prescribed a mild sedative to help her to get some rest for now.” Brian sighed. “Think I could use some too. You should’ve seen her. So.. so...“
“Lost?” Nick tried.
“Yeah.. Lost..”
A feeling he knew all too well. He didn’t even want his mind to wander off to that part of his life. He didn’t want to think of this memory either, but lately it seemed like he didn’t have a choice. Memories of difficult times in his own life, or those of his friends, chose to haunt him whenever he had nothing to do. So he felt like he had to keep himself busy. As Nick walked out of his house he glanced at a picture on the wall. Howie, A.J., himself, Brian, Wendy, Suzie and Kevin all acted goofy when Brian’s father had made the picture. Seeing it now, brought a smile to Nick’s face, which fell away when he realized one person was now missing in his life. As he closed the door behind him on his way out to go over to A.J.’s place, he could only think of her. Maybe she was just lost in her struggle to find the strength to recover. And if she was, there was nothing he could do to help her this time. Absolutely nothing. “FUCK!” he hissed as he slammed his hands on the steering wheel. “Fuck..”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Alright, a new chapter.. Nothing much to say about it really. Enjoy and please review.. :)
