"Celebrate what?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh you break my heart! Uh how about celebrating our newly-engaged status? I'd like to take you out to dinner tonight," he said. Then he leaned over to whisper, "What do you say, me, you, a few scented candles..."
"I say it would be great..." she whispered back. He got closer to kiss her when the door opened and in burst in Kevin and Howie.
"Hey you guys! Oops, did we interrupt something?" said Howie with a sheepish grin. "Anyway, Brian, let's go!"
"You're leaving now?" asked Rye.
"Yeah!" replied Brian. "Just a few minutes before you came, the doctor said I would be able to leave this place today."
There was another knock at the door, and they all turned to see a nurse looking at a clipboard beside her, with a wheelchair in front of her.
"Room 206, right?" she asked. "Yup, ok, then Mr. Littrell, hop in, I'm going to escort you out."
"Not in one of those little thingys, "groaned Brian. "My feet are perfectly ok, I can walk..."
"Sorry, hospital rules."
"Alright then, "he muttered, as he sat on that wheelchair. He turned to Rye and said, "8:00 tonight, ok?"
"Ok," she grinned. "Sorry I can't go with you right now, but I couldn't get out of it."
"It's ok, really, I understand, I'll see you in a few hours," he said, giving her a soft kiss, just as the nurse wheeled him out, mumbling something about having better things to do. Rye looked on as he got to the elevator, and she sighed as she turned back to her work.
Nicole sat staring at the blinking light of her answering machine. She just kept on staring at it with tears in her eyes, then finally clicked on the button to hear the message, "Uh, Nicole, hi, uh this is Nick, please, I need to talk to you, it's very important that you at last listen to what I've got to say, ok? I love you, and I really care about you. And I can't let you know how much if you keep ignoring my phone calls, if you keep ignoring me..." there was a little pause there, then he went on, "about that kiss..." she clicked off the answering machine, not wanting to hear the rest of the message. It was just not worth it...
Nick stared at the phone receiver in the hand, then with a sigh, put it down. This was the seventh message he had left her, and she never picked it up. He knew she was there, which is what made him feel even worse...
"This place is really beautiful," said Rye, looking around the restaurant, which was dimly lit, with a few scented candles on their table, just as promised by Brian. "Thanks for bringing me here, this place seems so magical, so special," she said with a smile.
"That's exactly what you are to me," he whispered, then reaching for his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small black box, and handed it to her.
"Open it," he said with a smile.
She slowly opened it and inside was a delicately beautiful gold ring, and Brian picked it up to put it softly in her finger, as they both looked at each other's eyes. With a short laugh, he said, "I know I asked you to marry me, but hey in the hospital I never got the chance to get you this."
"Brian, gosh, this is beautiful, it's-wow..." she looked at him again and this time leaned over and placed her lips over his in an embrace.
The moment seemed forever there as they kissed passionately, when they heard someone clear their voice. They looked up to see the waiter standing right next to them, with an annoyed expression.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked impatiently, with a phony French accent.
Brian rolled his eyes and said, "No, we are not ready to order," with a really weird accent, shooing him away. Rye stifled back laughter and watched as the waiter muttered as he walked away.
Brian turned to her and said, "Now, where were we? Oh yes, I remember..." he said with a smile, as he leaned over to kiss her...
Nicole reluctantly stood up from where she was sitting on the couch to open the door at the sound of the knock. She was surprised to see it was Nick, standing at the door step. She felt a rush of emotions at the same time, feelings of love, then hate...
"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly, ready to close the door.
Nick stopped the door from closing and said, "Wait!"
She opened it again, and said, "You know, I really don't have the time for all this-"
"Why haven't you been answering my phone calls, Nicole?"
"Why? Uh, I should think it was obvious by now, or do you need an explanation?" she asked sarcastically. "Read my lips, I do not want to see you again- did I make that clear enough? Or do you need me to say it even more slowly?"
"Nicole, come on, you could at least listen to me. Gosh, why do you have to be so stubborn! I told you over and over that she kissed me, ok? Why would I lie to you?" he asked in an exasperated voice.
Nicole started to think that maybe he was right, maybe she should just listen to him, give him a chance, but then that image of the two of them kissing came back to her again, and she turned cold again, "Nick, please, just leave..."
"No," he replied, and with that he kissed her passionately. Nicole found herself enjoying it, but then realization of what she was doing dawned on her and she pulled away, slapping him hard on the cheek.
“Don’t,” she started angrily, ready to cry, “touch me when you’ve kissed someone else-just don’t.” and this time she slammed the door hard, leaving Nick standing outside.
He slowly put one hand over that stinging cheek, and with his other hand in his pocket, he turned to leave, his face baring no expression, no emotion…
“This has been a great night for me, really,” said Rye, “But I have to wake up early tomorrow and, well…”
“That’s ok,” smiled Brian. “I guess it was about time we started going,” he said. He was partly glad, too, that she had brought it up, anyway, because he had started to feel some pain around his chest while eating. He didn’t think it was anything, he HOPED it was nothing, but he was still feeling a little dizzy and he sure needed to rest, although he wouldn’t tell her that, he thought, looking at her. He didn’t want to worry her or anything… after all, it was probably not serious or anything…
They got outside, and when they got to his car, he opened her door, and she smiled and went in.
“Too bad I can’t see you all the time now at the hospital,” she said when he went in.
“Nah, don’t worry,” he said waving his hand, as he started the car.
“You’ll see so much of me that you’ll get sick of me.”
“Never…” she said smiling, putting her hand on his free hand.
He smiled back, then focused on the driving. He started feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden again, but decided not to show it. He was sure he could make it, after all, it was only driving, he thought, as he felt a trickle of sweat go down his neck.
Rye felt Brian’s hand tense up, and she turned to look at him with worry. He was sweating, and it looked like he was gasping for breath. “Brian, are you ok?” she asked nervously.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” he said quickly, but then the wheel got out of control as his hands shot to his heart, and the car swerved to the left.
“Oh my God, Brian!” Rye screamed. She heard the crash of glass and metal, and everything went black.
Nick looked back at the door Nicole had just practically slammed at his face. He thought of leaving, but then decided he would rather stay there, he felt like being nowhere else anyway… Sitting on the doorstep, with his hands on his face, he tried to think about something happy, but he couldn’t. He was feeling so miserable after Nicole’s words. Why was she being so stubborn? Why wouldn’t she believe him? He had never felt like this for somebody before, and never even told them that… “Women,” he thought, with a sigh. “They can drive a guy crazy, I can never understand them,” he said out loud, shaking his head.
He heard the door behind him open and he practically jumped from where he was sitting. He turned around and found Nicole standing there, looking surprised. “What are you still doing here?” she asked.
“I-I couldn’t go, because I had to make you understand and-“ he started.
“Save it,” she said walking past him. “I’m in a hurry.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, walking with her. Could it be that she was meeting someone? He thought, horrified. Relax Nick, he thought again, she wouldn’t do that to you… yeah right, after what happened, who knows…
She turned to look at him, interrupted all his thoughts and said, “Brian and Rye have been in a car accident tonight. I’m going to the hospital now so if you’ll excuse me…” she pushed past him.
Oh God, no, thought Nick, not to them… he took a deep breath then said, “I’m going with you.”
“Uh, no, I’m going alone, and you go alone, ok?” she said with a bitter smile, as she went in her car. She tried starting it, but it wouldn’t, and it just kept making this weird noise. “Come on, come on…” she said, then turned to see Nick standing right outside.
“Oh, ok, fine…” she said, getting out of her car to get in his. “But I’m not doing this for you, only because I’ve got to get there… I could have gotten a cab or something so don’t get any ideas…”
“Ok, Nicole, I won’t…” he whispered sadly. Right then, his mind was killing him with all sorts of worries. The only thing that was clear was that he had to get to the hospital fast…
Rye opened her eyes slowly. Her head was throbbing, her body was killing her but she could only think of one thing- Brian.
“She’s waking up,” said a voice next to her. She looked to see where it was coming from and saw Lauren standing right there, with Kevin behind her. “How are you feeling?” she asked her in a worried voice.
“Where-where is he? Where is Brian?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Calm down, you just rest and go back to sleep, ok? Don’t worry about any-“
“Where is he?!” she practically yelled this time, getting up from the bed.
“Rye, please, just lie back down…”
“Please, just tell me!” she said, crying.
Lauren hesitated, then said, “He was brought in a very critical condition, Rye… he’s in the ER right now, but after that he's going to be taken to... surgery, to be operated on his heart, right away...”
“Oh God,” she whispered, sitting back down. Then she stood up again, “I have to see him…”
“No, Rye, no, you can’t! You’re not allowed in there and you are not in any conditions to go there!” she said, but Rye ran past her, ran down the hall, not caring about all the pain she was feeling, wanting to only see him…
She got to the emergency room and from outside she could see him- he was on the bed, attached to all these machines that she wanted to cry. She couldn't stand watching him hurting in there from outside, so she opened the door and ran to his side. He looked so vulnerable, so unlike the Brian she knew. She bent down and held his hand. “What are you doing to him?” she yelled at the doctors, looking at the breathing mask that was just put over his face. “He’s not breathing, oh God, can’t you see you have got to help him?” She turned to Brian this time, and kissed his hand. “Brian, you’re going to be ok, please be ok, oh God, Brian I love you,” she whispered, crying hard.
“What is she doing here?” asked a doctor. “Get her out now!”
Lauren walked up to her and putting one hand on her shoulder, she tried to help her up, “Come on Rye, he’s going to be ok, you’ll see…”
Rye looked up at her, her eyes blurred with tears and wondered why all these people’s voiced sounded so far away. She turned to Brian again, and kissing his hand, she slumped back into his arms as everything turned black.
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