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Both Brian and AJ rushed to Kevin’s room and began to knock rapidly on his door. “Alright, hold on, hold on… hold your freaking horses!” Kevin shouted as he got up off his bed and made his way to the door, opening it and staring at Brian and AJ, who were grinning back at him. “Am I missing something here? Why are you two grinning like maniacs?”

“AJ wants to show you something… ready AJ?”

AJ nodded and Brian began to count down. They began to sing the song for Kevin, harmonizing the chorus and all, and when it came to the bridge, AJ belted out his part, his raspy, strong voice clearly shining through. A slow grin crept up on Kevin’s face, proud of the way AJ had remembered the song. “And may I ask what brought this on?”

“Well,” Brian began. “We were at McDonalds and he wanted me to sing the song for him. I did just that, but when it came to his part where he did the bridge, I only said the words to him and had him sing it back to me. I didn’t have to sing it to him or anything Kevin… he remembered how the part was supposed to go, and he matched it perfectly to the tune of the song, without my help.”

AJ nodded, agreeing with what Brian was saying. “I have to go get Howie and show him!”

“There’s no need to, because I was right here the whole time… and I heard you.”

The three of them turned around and seen Howie standing there, staring at them. “Take it from the top Brian…” Howie said with a smile, joining the small circle that was created in front of Kevin’s door.

Brian continued to stare at Howie and slowly smiled. “Even in my heart, I see… your not being true to me… deep within my soul, I feel… nothing’s like it used to be… sometimes I wish I could, turn back time… impossible as it may seem… but I wish I could, so bad… baby…”

They all joined in for the chorus and began to harmonize with one another, the way the used to back in their younger days. “Quit playing games with my heart, quit playing games with my heart… with my heart, before you tear us apart… with my heart, quit playing games with my heart… with my heart… I should’ve known from the start, you know you gotta stop… from my heart, quit tearing us apart… from my heart, quit playing games with my heart… from my heart.”

They all fell silent, as if awaiting for Nick to jump in, and realization had hit Brian hard when realized that time would not come, Nick wasn’t here with them to jump in. “I’m sorry you guys.” Brian quickly apologized and left them, walking back briskly to his room.

“Brian.” AJ called out, but Brian ignored him, continuing to walk away until he reached his room. He opened his door and walked in, closing it quietly behind him, not even bothering to lock it. The three of them remained rooted to where they stood, in front of Kevin’s room. AJ backed away, leaning back on the wall and Kevin began to walk out of his room to go talk to Brian, but Howie had stopped him.

“No.” Howie said, placing his hand on Kevin’s chest. “I’ll talk to him.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Brian quickly looked up when he heard his door open, and he seen Howie slowly walking in. “Hey Rok.”

“D.” Brian replied with a sigh. “I’m really sorry I just left… I just…”

Howie held up his hand, preventing him from speaking any further. “I was kind of looking for an explanation, but I’m not going to keep bothering you for one. If you want, you’ll give me one where your good and ready to… until then, I’ll just be here for whenever you need me.”

“It’s Nick.” Brian suddenly said. “I mean… he’s not the problem, it’s actually me, but the reason I left was because… I miss Nick. When we were singing, everything was fine… and when it came to his part, I actually found myself standing there, waiting for him to jump in as if he was standing right beside me or something. I must be losing it or something D.”

Howie sighed and began to walk towards the bed, sitting down on it, next to Brian. “Your not losing it Brian. To tell you the truth, I think we all stood there, waiting for him to jump in, as if he was there, you know? We’re just so used to each other, that’s all. Everything in our lives happened on cue, on a beat. When we were down, someone was always there to comfort us. When we were in trouble, someone was always there to help us out. If no one came the very next time we needed them, of course it would be awkward. Right now, Nick’s not here, and our lives are skipping a beat. We became so dependant on one another, that it feels awkward when one person is not here… and that’s expected Bri… it’s nothing abnormal, and nothing is wrong with you.”

“Well, what do I do then?” Brian had asked him helplessly. “I don’t know what to do anymore Howie. Almost everything reminds me of Nick, and brings back the nagging guilt deep within my heart. I need to talk to him again… I need to see him again.”

“Then you know what you need to do Brian.” Howie reached over to the desk beside the bed and picked up the hotel room phone and handed it to him. “You give him a call. After you get out what you’ve wanted to say, you simply let go, and let God.”

Brian hesitantly grabbed the phone and stared at it. Howie rose from the bed and began to walk out of the room. “Remember what I said Brian… and if you need anything or anyone, you know where to find me.” and with that, he left Brian alone, closing the door behind him.

Brian began to punch in the Carter’s house digits, waiting anxiously with every ring that was heard. Finally, a young female’s voice answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello, Leslie?” Brian asked. “Is Nick there?”

Leslie fell silent for a while, as if wondering is she should tell him the truth or not. “He is Brian, but I think he doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now.”

“Wait Les, please don’t hang up.” Brian begged. “I need you to do me a favor… just this one, simple favor. I need you to give the phone to Nick and tell him you don’t know who it is. Don’t tell him it’s me who’s calling. Can you do me this one favor sweetie?”

Leslie sighed and everything fell silent, he could hear her shuffling around as she handed the phone over to Nick. He could hear him ask her who it was, and Leslie did exactly what Brian asked of her, which was to tell Nick she didn’t know who was calling for him.

“Hello?” Nick’s gruff voice answered the phone.

“Nick, please don’t hang up buddy!” Brian quickly said.

“Who the f***? Brian… is this you? You have the nerve to be calling me right now.”

“I know that, but please don’t hang up… just give me a minute or so to tell you something… please Nick, I’m begging of you.”

“Well, hurry up, you’ve got one minute and it’s counting down now… 59... 58...”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Brian exclaimed, stopping Nick from counting. “Nick… I’m very sorry for what I’ve done to you. I know I hurt you deeply, and I’m really sorry Nick… please believe me. I did not mean to hurt you, I did not mean to lie to you. When you asked me why I never told you the truth in the first place, I was telling you the absolute truth when I said I wasn’t ready to tell you. I was afraid Nick… afraid that you would hate me for the rest of my life. I didn’t want you to shut me out Nick… especially during this time. I was going to tell you, believe me, I just thought you needed time to properly heal and everything. But in actuality, it was I who wasn’t ready to tell you from the beginning… and I only realized that now. I should’ve told you as soon as you became conscious, but I didn’t… and I’m sorry. I don’t want to lose you forever… you’re my best friend Nick… always have been, always will be.”

Nick kept silent, letting Brian’s words sink in. “You should’ve done a lot of things Brian… you had the chance to do those things, but you decided not to take those chances. That’s the problem with you Brian… you prefer to play it on the safe side, you’ve always been the one afraid to take chances, and that’s one thing you need to realize. Life is all about chances… and if none of them are taken, that what will you have learned? I always looked up to you Brian… ever since I was 12. I always thought you to be wise, smart, loyal… I always thought you to be my best friend. But best friends would never keep anything away from them. You’ve blinded me for years Brian… you kept me from seeing who you really were, but now I see who you are…”

Brian started to cry at this point. “Nick, I’m still the same person you’ve known for the past 14 years! I thought I was being your best friend by thinking what was best for you. Now, I’ve realized that I was being nothing but a coward for keeping you in the dark. Right now, I’m being your best friend by admitting my faults and apologizing. A best friend would literally break down to their knees and would beg, plead and cry for your forgiveness. I’ve let you beat me without resisting… I’ve let you yell at me without yelling back. I don’t know how else I can say that I’m sorry… if you want me to write it in blood, I’ll do just that. And Nick, if you hadn’t realized, I’m taking a chance right now… I took a chance by calling you, I’m taking a chance right now by telling you how I feel and apologizing over and over. Now, I thought you were my best friend because I thought you knew me better than that, but obviously, you don’t. You think of me to be the one who would always play on the safe side, never wanting to take chances. Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve took many chances in my life Nick… I’ve taken more chances than you will ever know.”

“Well, what do you expect me to do Brian? Forgive you and let everything go back to the way it used to be? If you hadn’t notice, this accident has changed all of us… things will never go back to the way it used to be. AJ can only remember his 12 years of existence for crying out loud. How can I forgive you for this Brian?”

Brian remained silent, thinking his question over. “I thought best friends are always forgiving…”

Nick scoffed. “But remember, your not my best friend anymore…”

“Well, if you were such a good friend, then why don’t you seem to remember that I am one who will never give up and let go, no matter what you do or say? I won’t let this accident take away the best of me… the best of us. I would rather die than to let this man think that he has the best of all of us.”

“Open your eyes Brian!” Nick snapped. “Don’t you get it? He’s already got the best of us. Everything has slipped from our grasp, we’re not in control anymore. Things will never go back to the way they were, no matter what you do or how hard you try. Look at us Brian, and where we are now… not only did this man get the best of us, but he’s also left our lives incomplete. You should just give up already…”

“That’s exactly what he wants!”

“I don’t care anymore…” Nick replied in a mutter. “Because he already has what he wants… you’ve passed your one minute limit… goodbye Brian.” and with that, the line went dead.