Colder Than My Heart

“I can’t do this,” Sarah muttered close to a half hour after Andrew had left. Once again, she was staring off into nothing but no one had thought it was anything out of the ordinary. The two guitarists, Blake and Thomas halted their conversation at the sound and looked at the girl huddled up by the door. They exchanged a confused glance before looking to their other band mates, Nick and Jersey with the same expression.

“What are you talking about? Of course you can do this,” Jersey smiled softly placing a hand on her back. At the contact Sarah’s whole body tensed and Jersey instantly pulled his hand away. “Whoa, Sarah do you want me to get you another jacket or something? You’re freezing. ” He commented as the men began to grow more and more concerned.

“Dude she can’t be cold she’s sweating,” Thomas frowned from the front seat noting the visible beads of sweat lining the girl’s forehead.

“Dude I am telling you she’s freezing,” Jersey half-yelled pulling his own hoodie off and tying it around her shoulders. “Are you feeling okay?” He asked wiping her forehead and sitting directly in front of her. The girl suddenly grew more frantic; she began trembling, her breathing was shallow and sharp.

“I can’t breathe,” she choked out as the shaking of her small frame grew more violent. “I can’t breathe,” she repeated a little louder as she gripped onto Nick’s leg beside her. The girl was starting to lose her balance, even in a sitting position the overwhelming feeling made her feel as though she could pass out at any moment. A strong stabbing pain began to tear its way up from her abdomen to her stomach and her heart rate was speeding, of course, none of the others knew this.

“Sarah? Sarah, speak to me,” Blake instructed appearing in front of her and taking her face in his hands. Her eyes were rolling, a clear indication that she wasn’t taking note that he was in front of her. “Sarah!” He yelled.

“Don’t let me die,” was her strangled reply. Blake kept her face in his hands but quickly turned to the others thinking fast as to what he could do to cure the situation.

“Tom! Go find Andrew or anyone, she’s having a panic attack,” he explained. The looks on the guys’ faces turned from horror into a more serious and understanding look. “Jersey you need to help me try and snap her out of it.”

“What should I do?” Nick asked as Thomas opened the door and hurried out onto the floor of the parking lot.

“Go with Tom, try and get some water off someone,” he instructed. With nothing more than a simple nod he slide the door at the side of the van open and both boys slammed them shut once again. Both boys took off at a quick pace, racing past the vans and beginning to weave through the seemingly unoccupied buses. Approaching a more populated section of the lot the boys instantly flew to the nearest people.

“Hey, sorry, you wouldn’t happen to know if anyone called Andrew Nielson just walked past or came here would you?” Thomas asked frantically as Nick stopped beside him.

“I’m afraid not, sorry,” a blonde girl replied shaking her head with the other taller guys who bit their lips. Nick quickly glanced over the area, no water bottles.

“Okay, thanks anyway,” Tom rambled before the pair took off once again. Reaching another group, the same conclusion was drawn. Another group: no such luck. The boys were beginning to grow anxious when yet another group declined them. They caught sight of three men talking in the doorway of a bus. They instantly recognised two of the guys stood there but they had no time to be star struck.

One boy, a lanky frame clad in a Glamour Kills T-Shirt and skinny jeans was leaned against the frame of the door. A diamond stud pierced his left ear and despite the hat sat atop his head the hair beneath it clearly resembled that of a skunk. The shorter man to his left had a lip ring, short brown hair which yet another hat covered. The other man stood on the ground didn’t hold any resemblance to anyone either of the boys had seen but they were too rushed to notice even if he did.

“Hey, sorry guys but do you any of you know who Andrew Neilson is and if he took off in this direction?” Thomas panted as he slowed and the men halted their conversation.

“No sorry. Is something wrong?” The man they knew to be Matthew Flyzik asked looking curiously between the two boys gathering their breath.

“Yeah, our friend, uh, singer,” Nick began correcting himself. “She’s having a panic attack and we need help,” he confessed. The unknown man instantly looked to the others with a serious expression and took off, clearly going to look for the band’s manager. The lankier boy, Jack Barakat stood up straight as if he were ready to take off from behind Matt.

“Shit. Okay, what’s your band’s name?” He asked in a serious manner.

“Too Close for Company. Andrew’s our tour manager,” Thomas explained. Matt nodded once before turning and rushing a muttered instruction to Jack before Nick continued their request.

“Have you got any vitamin water or anything?” He asked causing both guys to turn their attention back to him.

“Yeah, one second,” Jack muttered disappearing inside the bus as Matt stepped down from the bus only to return moments later with a couple of bottles in hand.

“Okay, I’m gonna come with you guys and help you look after him until he comes around,” Matt informed them. The boys listened closely and nodded in understanding.

“I’ll come too,” Jack butted in joining the boys on the hard floor.
“It’s a girl,” Thomas corrected quickly.

“Shit, that’s even worse,” was all Jacky could mutter before they all took off in the direction of the trembling girl in the van. When they finally got to the van they saw the side door had been reopened so the girl was clearly on view.

By the looks of things the attack was still taking place, however she was able to focus on the people surrounding her. Matt, Thomas and Nick all slowed as they approached the van, crowding around the outside of the door so they didn’t cause any disruption. However, Jacky didn’t slow, only leaped into the van and crouched next to Blake who was doing all he could to assure the girl she would be okay.

“Dude let me get to her I can help. My dad’s a doctor,” Blake heard from beside him just after he’d felt a large thud. Turning his head to see who the voice was he was shocked from a brief moment before realising the situation at hand was one of danger and there was no time for hesitation. Instead of verbally agreeing to anything he simply moved out of the way and allowed Jack to take his place in front of Sarah. “What’s her name?” He asked steadily opening one of the bottles in his hands.

“Sarah,” Blake replied not letting his eyes leave her tearstained face. Jack took Sarah’s face in his hands in an attempt to calm her crying and get her to focus on him. “Sarah you need to listen to me,” he told her calm but sternly. Her sobs continued to rack through her and she continued to hyperventilate. “Sarah. Listen to me,” he repeated even firmer as he brought her face closer to his so he was all she could focus on. “Listen,” he repeated even softer as the other men watched in awe. Jack began to count slowly. At first it seemed there was no point to the exercise until they realised he was counting in time with the rhythm of all their breathing.

“Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” he continued making sure the girl was focussing solely on him. After what seemed like several long minutes of no effect her breathing became less jagged. Her eyes almost bore into his as she gradually slowed down. It didn’t matter how long this took, Jack counted at the same steady pace with the same firm tone. Sarah focussed entirely on the man instructing her. Eventually her breathing got quieter, signalling a good sign. With one last breath she eventually calmed and all was silent throughout the van. Sarah’s large green eyes stared directly into Jack’s for a long moment as he made sure she was okay. A smile broke out across his face and he let his hands drop to his sides.

“How did you do that?” Thomas asked in shock at how perfectly the guitarist before him had handled such a situation. Jack simply shrugged and rested his hands on his knees as he leaned back on his heels.

“Like I said, my dad’s a doctor,” was his simple reply.

“Jack, your dad’s a gynaecologist,” Matt rolled his eyes from the door.

“So? He didn’t just study vaginas his whole life,” Jack quipped adding a smirk to the end of his sentence before turning back to the brunette who was removing the second hoodie she had on from around her shoulders and sitting in a more comfortable position. “Are you okay now?” He asked.

“Yeah, thank you,” Sarah whispered as she let a one of her dainty hands run through her hair.

“Here.” Jack swept up the open bottle beside him and extended his arm for her to take it. Sarah’s cheeks flushed as she took the bottle and took a sip. Her throat had become painfully dry and the cool liquid sent shiver down her spine causing her to nearly spill the drink. Jack smiled to himself, the feeling that the knowledge he’d been given had actually potentially saved someone from a heart attack overwhelmed him.

When Jack and Matt returned to the bus Jack still had a smile on his face.

“You were amazing though, honestly I wouldn’t think you’d be able to do that,” Matt commented as they unlocked the door at the side of the bus and walked onto the bus.

“What did Jack do?” Alex asked from the sofa at the side of the room. Rian and Zack were sat on seats opposite to Alex who had Lisa curled in his lap.

“He saved a girl’s life,” Matt answered with a large smirk on his face as Jack hid his smile and slung a towel over his shoulder.

“Seriously?” Rian asked seemingly in shock that Jack was capable of such things.

“It wasn’t like that, she was having a panic attack and her band mates were asking people for help,” he shrugged convincing himself that there was no big deal to be made.

“But it could have lead to something more serious,” Matt pointed out.

“A girl? Which band is she in?” Alex asked with a confused look on his face as Lisa shifted in his lap.

“Too close for comfort or something,” Matt shrugged. “And Jack just saved her from seeing the grim reaper,” he beamed patting his friend on the back.

“Yeah man she could have had a heart attack or a stroke,” Zack commented leaning forward in his seat. Jack stayed quiet to this and simply smiled wider. He placed the spare bottle of water on the side and looked up towards his band mates.

“That really is amazing,” Rian grinned making Jack realise what had just happened had been a big deal. He’d just saved Sarah’s life.