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“If I don’t find her tonight so help me god.” A.J mumbled to himself, his hand slowly gliding across the leather steering wheel, peering aimlessly into the highway, the yellow line sped by as the car took down the highway, Nick thinking his exact train of thought, searching the two sides of the road, his eyes remaining on the scene just a few feet away from the car’s tires. There was an ambulance flashing its red lights around the front parking lot, the two men swapped glances at each other, and the instinct took over, making the giant SUV speed into the lot, approaching the scene.

“Excuse me sir, would you mind telling us what’s going on?” A.J asked, the worry and desperateness clearly spotted in his voice, but he tried to keep his voice tick, like any man would, but he was doing a half-hearted job.

The EMT looked at him from the cab section, clearly surprised that A.J would be so blunt to actually tap on the man’s shoulder. “Um, yeah, nothing unusual here tonight here boys, just a teenager knocked out from an alcohol and drug mix inside, the other EMT’s are getting her into the gurney, they should be out here very soon.”

“She? Would you mind...describing her to us, she may be someone close to us both.” Nick stepped in automatically taking the role of the questionnaire, his wonder and worriment for the sixteen year old sky rocketing higher and higher by each passing second.

“Um, sure no problem, we don’t know very much all we know she’s about 5’4, blonde with dark brown highlights in her hair, and she has a tattoo on her lower back.” The man described her to them both, it felt like a shot went off for them both, spinning them around like a speeding bullet, both were at a loss of words, trying to speak something wasn’t in the cards at the moment. Both in their own train of thought, they couldn’t lose Leigh-Anna, not like this, she had too much to live for, they experienced what true life was about and she should have her chance as well.

“Come on, over here, come on we need to get here to the hospital quick!” One of the paramedics shouted, as two ran out into the parking lot toward the open doors of the ambulance. The twosomes eyes grew wide, seeing Leigh-Anna in the stretcher, neck up into the air, eyes shut and showing no signs of responsiveness. Before they knew it the two men’s feet ran swiftly into the back of the ambulance, sitting down on the metal sitting bars. “Excuse me, but who exactly are you two?”

“I’m her cousin, I’m not leaving her side.” A.J said, his voice hard.

The EMT sighed. “Alright you can stay. But who’s he to her?”

“I’m her boyfriend.” Nick blurted, A.J looked at him surprised, but he just shrugged as they lifted the gurney into the ambulance, whisking the teenager toward the hospital. A.J couldn’t help but notice the stare that Nick was giving Leigh-Anna, full of concern and love as he smoothed his hand over her forehead multiple times, his hand placed into hers.

Everyone hates hospitals. The smell, the atmosphere, the length of the time stretch as it passes, and you’re left wondering why it passes so slowly while all the other aspects of life speeds by like a bullet. And the worst part of all is, when someone you love is in there, your left wondering for the longest amount of time, wonder what’s wrong, and if they’re alright. And that is exactly what it is like for Nick and A.J on a chilly late May night, at the Orlando general hospital.

“What the hell happened to her, what the hell happened to her?” A.J kept repeating, in a low dull voice, his raspy voice in a hopeless tone, the worry clearing evident in his voice.

“Don’t worry man, everything is going to be okay.” Nick tried comforting him, his words meaning nothing to them both, he wanted them all to ease the pain, but nada.

The clock ticked, and the minutes passed by, those minutes felt like hours, like they always do in hospitals, but the time here seemed different, it felt even longer, like when someone finds themselves lost in a really huge forest. Both lost in the own thoughts, A.J couldn’t lose his cousin, to him, she wasn’t even his cousin, she was the little sister he never had. But Nick, Nick couldn’t even think about it, he knew that she wouldn’t leave them, ever. Could she?

“Are you two here for Leigh-Anna Roberts?” A serious voice, came into the room, their heads locked onto the man in a white trench coat and black pants, sticking his body half way in through the oversized green doors, it had to be the doctor, no one else was going to ask them both that at two AM in the morning. The two men nodded, confirming the young man’s assumption ,the doctor nodded and tilted his head, indicating for them to follow his way, Nick and A.J looked at one another, worried and hearts beating a mile a minute.

They traced his steps out into the long white hall, he spun around and looked at them strongly. “There is both good news and bad news to this, good news is that Leigh-Anna is fine, she’s resting in room 308 down the hall, and we’re going to release her in a couple of hours, give her a little time to rest...” The doctor began to explain.

“Okay, she’s okay, that’s more than good. But...what’s the bad news?” A.J questioned, arms crossed, his tone mono.

“Bad news is, Leigh-Anna had a scary amount of alcohol in her system tonight...and...she had traces of ecstasy in her, which we all know is a dangerously alarming drug to intake, especially at her age. We had her stomach pumped, the amount of toxins she digested simply didn’t agree with her at all, making her pass out cold, as I said, she’s awake and resting now, but...Mr. Mclean, I have to tell you if I ever hear of her name in a case even the smallest bit similar to this, I’ll be contacting the rehabilitation center, you should be thankful I’m doing it this second, but I think with a good lecture, she’ll come around, she seems a good kid. Best of luck.” He finished, nodding as he strode off, the white coat tail having a hard time staying at his legs as he walked the quick, steady places.

The two backstreets didn’t have to say anything to each other, just nodded firmly and strode into Leigh-Anna’s room, and there she was, she looked like she just passed out, she was ghostly pale, a sickly color that made stomachs churn. Dazed and disoriented she kept looking out the window. “I know you’re both here. I just don’t know why.” Her voice was quiet, but still the same, sweet raspy sound Nick loved hearing every time words would come from her mouth.

“You don’t know why you’re here Leigh-Anna?! Your here because you were stupid, reckless and possessed to do something that isn’t like you to do!” A.J snapped, automatically flipping out.

“Just because it isn’t like me doesn’t mean I didn’t want to do it. This was all my idea okay? Everything was, escaping to Amanda’s for a few days, the drinking, partying, but I’ll admit I took it a tad over braod but I don’t need you rubbing it in okay?!” She retorted, her eyes shifting from her cousin, to the man looking at her aimlessly. “Why are you here?” She adding coldly, the icy words storming from her mouth.

“He’s here Leigh-Anna because he cares about you just like I do!” He said, voice hard and thick. He stopped dead in his tracks A.J did, taking a deep sigh and taking her hand into his, her eyes went from her hand, to the softer face of her cousin. “Leigh-Anna, honey, I’m not here to yell, or scream, or even sound the least bit mad at you, but, you need to promise me something, right here and right now alright? Never, ever, do this again.”

Leigh-Anna huffed. “It’s a deal.”

“Good, now, if you excuse, I’ve earned another coffee tonight. I’ll be back.” A.J said, walking out of the room, leaving the once, star-crossed lovers alone in the dry, lone room. They both kept staring at each other, Nick slowly took a seat and took his warm hand into her shivery one, giving her helpless looking self a look of warmth and comfort, he could tell just by him being there she started getting more at ease, the color starting to come back to her face when his lips connected with hers for a quick kiss.

“Nick, why did you come here?” She asked.

Might as well tell her upfront. “Because I needed to know where you were, if you were alright, and...if I could make it better, in some way.” He told her.

“I’m fine now, I know, it was a very stupid thing to do, and let me tell you, it was my frist time using drugs and it’ll be my last. But Nick, I can’t help but...not think about you, you’re everything I think about, every second of the day.” Leigh-Anna admitted, two horizontal wide strips forming in her eyes.

And then she said it. “And that’s... exactly why I have to leave.”

“Leave?” He repeated, somewhat astounded. “Where are you going?”

“Memorial, Nick, maybe we do need to spend some time away from each other, like everyone’s been telling us all along.” She chuckled softly to herself.

“When are you leaving Leigh-Anna?” He asked.

Hoping she would say she was kidding, he wasn’t ready to let her go, nothing made sense to him anymore, what to think, what to say, how to react, how to feel. Either way, with every fibre of his being wished she could stay, for his own selfish reasons.

“In two days.”