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Chapter 18
She was annoyed by the heaviness of her limbs at first. The fact that she couldn't seem to move them scared her to no end. Fighting off the sleep, she raised her head, and remembered Brian. Her eyes shot to the window, but he was not there. Panic filled her, chokingly so she could barley breath. Maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe none of what she remembered actually happened. She never was in a crash, and she had never seen him there that first time on the beach. Sierra waited. Unknowingly praying that she wouldn't wake up and find all of it a dream; whether terrifying, or incredible, it would still be a dream.
She waited for nothing. Taking a deep breath, she quickly looked to her other side. Relief came silently at the sight of a chair pulled up close to her bedside. Slouched in it lower, lay Brian. Her eyes followed up his out stretched arm to his hand, which covered one of hers. She only needed to move her fingers slightly to have him jerk awake.
"Good morning." He smiled. Sitting up and scotching a little closer. She looked so fragile, but held her hand tight in his.
"What…" Impatiently, Sierra began again, trying hard to overcome the whisper. "What happened?"
"You were in an accident." Speaking softly, though his voice seemed so tired. He smiled. "But you're alright now. You're going to be fine."
She let out a long breath. "Taylor and April?!…" Her voice quickened. "…My friends, Brian…are they...?"
"No." He soothed her, running his fingers back and forth over her knuckles. "They both came out of this with a few cuts, that's all." He paused. "It's you everyone's been worried about."
She smiled. "I'm okay Brian."
It seemed like so long since he had seen her smile.
"I'm going to go get the nurse. She told me to tell her the moment you wake up." Brian brought her hand to his lips and kissed it as he stood up.
"Brian wait…" Her voice pleaded. "Please don't leave me alone."
"I won't be gone long. I promise." His warm smile comforted her.
Her eyes followed him to the door. Watched him hesitate, and look back at her. They shared a smile.
Brian walked through the door and towards the nurses' station. The whole while, he quietly thought to himself. He couldn't figure out what it was about her that got to him. What was it that dug so deep, awakening ever nerve in his body? Those made him feel amazing and wonderful, all at the same time. What was it? She drove him crazy. Plain and simply. Just crazy. Throughout the days, he found himself consumed by thinking about her. Her smile. The way she laughed. Her touch. Her smell.
"Yes?" A sharp voice cut through his thoughts. Brian looked up into the face of an older woman sitting behind a desk. She stared at him coldly, waiting for an answer.
"Oh, sorry," He shook his head slightly, at an attempt to regain his reason for coming over to this woman. " I was just in Sierra Page's room in 124 A." He beamed. "She's awake now."
The nurse nodded and put a call through her intercom to the doctor. After a moments delay, she spoke, never once raising her eyes from the computer screen.
"The doctor is on his way. It would be better if you would just let him see her. You can wait in the visitors room if you are that intent on staying."
This woman had obviously been new to her job. She had obviously not seen him day and night in the hospital. He knew that 'visitors room' better than anyone else in the building. However, he wasn't going to let her ruin his mood. The girl he had been worrying himself sick over the past few days was awake, and that's all that mattered.
"Yo, Bri, what's with you?" A.J. stepped off the elevator. He gave a crooked glance towards Brian, who stood a few feet away. His hands rested slightly in his front pockets, he looked more like himself than he had in days.
Brian smiled greedily like a little child. "Sierra's awake, A.J."
"She's awake? Man, I gotta go see her." A.J.'s smile matched Brian's.
"We can't see her yet. The doctor is going to check her first, then we can go in." He watched as a man in a long white over-coat disappeared into her room.
"Alright." AJ fumbled in his back pocket, retrieving some change. "I'm gonna call the girls. They're going to want to be here too."
"Aren't they still asleep?" Brian remembered the way Taylor had looked the night of the accident. He remembered crouching down on the porch with her, at an attempt to comfort her along with himself. He remembered the drive to the hospital. How endless it had seemed. After a while, Taylor began to calm down, and she explained everything to them. She told them about the crash, at least what she could remember of it. Then they had met April at the hospital. She was calling Sierra's father, but could not get a hold of him. He was away on business, and wouldn't be back for another few days. Brian remembered how both of Sierra's friends had sat there and cried. He remembered crying too, but didn't know why.
"They got up a few hours ago." AJ answered, as he walked over towards the payphone. "Nick and Kev took them down to the beach. Ya know, to calm them down."
Brian dropped into one of the connected chairs behind him. Taking a deep breath, he let his head fall back, and slid lower in the seat. Sighing evenly, his eyelids hovered over his eyes for a moment. Though his body desired much more sleep than this…he relaxed, and took in the seconds of vacant peace.
"Oh my god…. Ashley, I swear…. that's H I M!" Brian could barely decipher the voices he was hearing
"Are you sure…Wait, lemme see…"
Brian jerked awake, causing the two girls that were standing in front of him to jump back. They looked at him, with their mouths wide open.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled, trying to adjust his eyes. "I just wasn't expecting anyone standing right there." Brian Laughed.
"You…. you…." The redheaded girl on the left stared at him. "You're B-B-B-Brian…Brian Littrell."
He tried not to get upset, but fans were the last things that he needed right now. Yet somehow he couldn't leave when he looked at the two of them. They were very young, at most, 12. He thought.
"Yes I am…last time I checked." He smiled again, happy when they giggled.
"Wow…I mean, this is so cool!" The other girl stepped forward, her blonde curls bouncing around her face as she spoke. "Can we maybe…have your autograph?" She took a deep breath and blushed when he smiled at her.
"Sure, it would be my pleasure." Brian made a quick look around him for a pen, then fumbled in his pocket and gave an "Ah-HA!" when he found one.
"Here ya go." He laughed and gave the girls a warm smile as he finished signing their t-shirts.
"Thank you." April took the coffee that Kevin handed her. She took a small sip and watched over the rim as Howie and Taylor came out to join them on the deck.
"So, Do you girls like it here?" Howie tried to make conversation. "Yes, it's very relaxing." April answered Howie's question, but kept staring at Nick unknowingly.
Kevin leaned over his chair to Howie. "Looks like we have another crush." He whispered, and they both laughed.
"Secrets, secrets are no fun," Taylor grinned at both of them. "Secrets, secrets hurt someone." She knew what they were laughing at, and looked back over at her friend who was still intently watching Nick. The three of them burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" April glanced at them, confused.
"NOTHING!" Taylor, Kevin and Howie answered simultaneously.
"Hey," Nick took a seat next to April. "Can I ask you a question?"
April could feel her heart racing. She tried her best to look into his blue eyes without grinning like an idiot.
"Sure, go ahead." She failed.
"Well, I was just wondering about Sierra's parents. How come they never came to see her?" He had been thinking about that all afternoon. "Oh...um...her dad's...um...he's away on business." She looked away from him.
"What did he say when you called him?" He still couldn't believe that he hadn't come to see her.
April shot a nervous glance to Taylor. "You see...well-"
Her words were cut off when Kevin's cell phone rang. He answered it while the others watched him.
"Yeah.........oh....really? That's great...yeah...we'll leave right now...uh-huh.Okay.Bye" Kevin closed his cell and smiled at the four people that were waiting for a word from him.
"Sierra's awake." He smiled.
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