[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
<h1 align="center">Chapter Thirty-Four</h1>
<br><br>
Jessica managed to meet the guys in the main lobby of the
hospital before they tried to go to Nick’s room. Each one
of them hugged Jess hello when they came in.<br><br>

Once all of the guys were present, Jess gathered
them in a corner of the waiting room.<br><br>

“Nick is doing okay. I’m sure you’ve already
guessed that he finally pushed himself to the edge and he
suffering from exhaustion. The doctor admitted him for
strict bedrest so that means absolutely no visitors and no
distractions whatsoever.”<br><br>

“How long are they keeping him?” Brian asked
Jess.<br><br>

“He told me at least three maybe four days. They
were gonna keep him on some IV’s for dehydration and I guess
he was gonna have to be on some stuff to relax him and help
him to sleep so it sounds to me like he will be out of it
for awhile.” Jess told them.<br><br>

No one spoke as they let the news soak in. Each
were thinking about Nick and if this will be the thing that
will cure him once and for all. <br><br>

“Jess, do you want me to take you back to get
Nick’s car?” AJ asked quietly.<br><br>


“Yeah, if you can I would appreciate it, thanks
AJ.” Jess replied. She wanted to desperately to go and see
Nick, but visitors of any type were strictly forbidden. She
would be treated like a fan that tried to get into his room.<br><br>

In his room, Nick laid back into the pillows and
looked wearily at his surroundings of the private room. He
sighed deeply. A nurse was in the room preparing to
administer a medication the doctor prescribed to help Nick
relax and sleep. Nick didn’t want anything and tried to
refuse it.<br><br>

“You know that if you don’t take the help you are
supposed to be getting, this will only extend your hospital
stay, do you want that?” the nurse said as she looked
directly into Nick’s eyes.<br><br>

“Oh, go ahead and get it overwith then.” Nick
said reluctantly. His voice cracked as he spoke.<br><br>

The nurse injected the medication directly into
the IV line. Nick started to feel a warm burning sensation
go down into his arm where the IV started. Suddenly, his
eyes felt droopy and he could not keep them open. Nick
drifted off to sleep.<br><br>

Jess and AJ got to the parking lot in the Orlando
arena in record time. Jess knew that AJ had a reputation
for being a speed deamon, but now she found out for herself
first hand.<br><br>
“Um, thanks for the lift, AJ.” Jess said as she
opened the car door.<br><br>

“You’re welcome. Are you gonna be alright Jess?
I mean, do you need anything, anything at all?” AJ looked
at Jess over the top of his sunglasses.<br><br>

“No, I think it’ll be okay. I’ll take Nick’s car
back to his place and park it in the garage and go home.”
Jess really hated the sound of just going home and not
seeing Nick at all. It was tearing her up inside. She felt
as if he was gone forever. <br><br>

“Ya know, Jess, you really don’t sound convincing
to me. Just for the hell of it, I am gonna follow you to
Nick’s, okay?” AJ took a deep long look at Jess waiting for
her answer.<br><br>

“Suit yourself.” Jess said as she closed the car
door. Walking over to the forest green Durango, Jess hit
the car alarm button and jumped even though she knew the
beep of the alarm being disconnected was going to happen. <br><br>

She opened the car door and threw her jacket into
the passenger seat. It was weird, she thought to herself,
the car smelled so much like Nick, she never noticed that
before. It was a warm pleasant feeling that enveloped her
as she started the car up. It made her miss Nick even more. <br><br>

Jess absently turned the radio up and listened to
the songs that played. Most of the songs on the radio
stirred memories of times that Nick and she shared when a
particular song was on.<br><br>

The two hour drive back to Tampa was going to seem
to take forever in the night. Jess could see AJ’s
headlights in the distance, for a brief moment, it appeared
that the lights were swerving towards the middle lane and
then to the shoulder of the road. Jess could feel the hair
on the back of her neck stand out. There was a rest area up
ahead and she did not hesitate to put her directional lights
on and exited. Thankfully, AJ followed her move and pulled
into the rest area right behind her. As Jess parked the
vehicle, she sat and waited for AJ to pull in the spot
beside her.<br><br>

Jess rolled her window down, “Hey, sleepyhead, are
you gonna be able to stay awake?”<br><br>
“Believe me, I am really awake now.” AJ replied. <br><br>

“You fell asleep didn’t you?” Jess asked.<br><br>

“Yup.” was AJ’s brief reply.<br><br>

“Are you gonna be alright, or shall we rest for a
bit so I don’t lose you too?” Jess was concerned.<br><br>

“Naw, I’ll be okay.” AJ insisted.<br><br>

“Let’s go for a walk and get a soda, my treat,
okay?” Jess got out of the durango and tried to encourage
AJ to get out and stretch his legs.<br><br>

AJ got out of the car reluctantly. He wanted to
go home and go to bed, bad part of it was that he lived in
Orlando, not Tampa. Jess had already told AJ that he could
either stay at Nick’s or come to her place. AJ still hadn’t
told her of his plans yet.<br><br>

“It’s a nice night out, isn’t it?” Jess asked as
they walked on the sidewalk towards the building.<br><br>

“Yeah, pretty nice for um, 4 am.” AJ said as he
looked at his watch.<br><br>
“Man, you sure are a grumpy bastard late at night,
has anyone ever told you that?” Jess said.<br><br>

“Ah, yeah, I’ve been told that I am an asshole if
I don’t have a beer in my hand and I am up at this hour of
the night, but what the hell.” AJ smiled as he replied.<br><br>


Jess and AJ took in the beautiful Florida night
sky. It was even nicer because they were out in public and
there wasn’t a soul around that was bothering AJ.<br><br>

“I guess it don’t get better than this.” AJ said
as he settled back onto a bench.<br><br>

“I’m gonna grab a couple of sodas, I will be back
in a sec.” Jess called back over her shoulder.<br><br>
“Make sure mine is leaded.” AJ called out to her.<br><br>

Jess waived back as she walked towards the vending
machine. She usually preferred pepsi, but she knew that
coke would have the stronger of the two with the caffeine so
she bought two cokes.<br><br>

AJ laid back and looked up at the stars while Jess
walked to the vending machine. He was deep in thought when
she handed the pop over to him.<br><br>

“Here, you really need this.” Jess said as she
held the bottle out to him.<br><br>

Taking the bottle of coke, AJ thanked Jess. He
drank almost half of it before he stopped for air.<br><br>

“Man, you were thirsty!” Jess remarked to him.<br><br>

AJ smiled as he looked at the half full bottle.<br><br>

“Naw, I just get so dehydrated after we do a
concert, and caffeine is the worst thing to drink when you
are dehydrated, but I am really beat.” AJ replied.<br><br>

“I understand fully,” Jess said.<br><br>
As AJ finished off his bottle, he stood up. “I’ll
be right back, I’m gonna splash some cold water in my eyes.”<br><br>

“Please do, I don’t want to scrape your ass off
the side of the road.” Jess laughed as she watched AJ walk
into the bathrooms.<br><br>

Sitting by herself on the bench, Jess let her mind
wander to how Nick was. She was hoping that this would be
the thing that would cure Nick from his exhaustion. He was
always trying to please others and put himself in last
before his own needs. It finally cost him when he collapsed
on stage during the concert. Jess couldn’t begin to imagine
the rumors that would soon begin to circulate from this. She
was almost afraid of what was going to leaked into the
press. As a car pulled into the parking lot, Jess felt a
little uneasy and looked warily towards the building hoping
that AJ would be walking out.<br><br>

An older couple got out of the car, and Jessica
relaxed back onto the bench. It was so late at night she
felt uncomfortable about sitting outside a rest area by
herself. She laughed to herself as she saw AJ nearly run
into the old man that was walking into the bathrooms. AJ
kind of did a slight nod as to appologize and did a half run
towards the bench where Jess was sitting.<br><br>

“Are you feeling better now?” Jess asked as AJ
sat down next to her.<br><br>
“Yeah, I’m ready to run the quarter mile, ha.” AJ
replied dryly.<br><br>

“Yeah, right.” Jess rolled her eyes when she
looked at him. “Did you want a coke for the road, something
cold and wet to drink in case you start getting sleepy
again?” Jess asked.<br><br>

AJ thought about the idea for a moment. “Yeah,
that does sound good, did you want me to grab one for you
too?” <br><br>

“Nope, I still have almost a full bottle, I can’t
drink coke as fast as you.” Jess said as she looked at her
bottle.<br><br>

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” AJ got up off the
bench and was reaching for his wallet as he walked towards
the vending machines.<br><br>

Jess couldn’t help but think about how lucky Nick
was to have such good friends that will help out with all of
the problems he has had lately. AJ was a hard person to get
to know right at first, but now Jess felt comfortable with
him as she did with the rest of the guys in the group.<br><br>