Forget Me Not: Remembering Sunday

The world was in slow motion. I saw Alex dancing to the edge of the stage and he did his dorky hop-skip-spin thing like he always did. But then the clocks seemed to only go half speed as I watched my best friend's feet slide out from under him, and time seemed to continue to slow down until Alex's head smashed into his amp and he lay still.
The world stopped.
I couldn't hear anything at first, probably because it was dead silent for a minute. The first sreams started, shaking me into action.
My guitar was abandoned on the stage and I was sprinting to my fallen friend.
Alex was barely conscious, his eyes were glazed over and there was blood, so much blood, seeping from the back of his head. His eyes started to drift closed and I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him, shouting for him to stay awake.
But he didn't.
His eyes slipped closed and his body went limp and I had a fleeting moment of complete panic. "He's dead," was my first thought. But he wasn't, my hand was on his chest, I could feel his heart still beating, I could see his still breathing. My next thought became a spoken command, "Zack. Get him off stage." Zack had, at some point, knelt beside me, and he nodded, carefully picking ALex up and rushing off stage. I told Rian to say a quick goodbye to the fans- who were freaking out, tears streaming, horror evident on every screaming face- and then to come find us. Then I rushed off after Zack's retreating figure through three doors to the dressing room. Alex was laid down on the couch Flyzik was using a towel to try and stop the bleeding and Zack was on the phone, calling for an ambulance. I couldn't take my eyes off of Alex's pale face. Even though he was hurt and unconscious, he still looked like an angel, his sweaty hair stuck out in every direction, his tight pants slung low on his skinny hips, his Glamour Kills tshirt clinging to his skin.
But there was now blood caked in his thick hair and his skirt was stained, the dark red turning the gray fabric black. I couldn't stand to see him like this.
I didn't cry, I just sat down next to the couch and took Alex's clammy hand and held it in mine until the medics arrived. They came in through the back exit and loaded him onto a stetcher, wheeling him out quickly into the emergency vehicle. They were working really fast, frantically even, and I was worried. Why would they look so concerned if it wasn't serious? What if he DOES die? I felt my throat constrict and the blood drained from my face, I felt like I was going to fall over, but then Rian was there, suporting me. The ambulence sped out of the parking lot and turned left, sirens clicking on as they went. There was a crowd of fans gathered in solemn silence at the back of the venue, holding each other, watching the ambulance drive away with looks of concern on their tear stained faces. The crew was eeriely silent and I couldn't take this for one more second.
"I'm going to the hospital." I said to no one in particular. I went to grab the keys to the van but they were snatched out of my grasp by Matt. "I don't think so, Barakat."
The look I gave him should have caused him to spontaneously combust. But instead of turning into Mickey Mouse and exploding in a shower of rainbow confetti, Matt grinned. "We don't all want to die Jack, so you can't drive." At that I couldn't help but crack a weak smile.
Next thing I knew, me, Rian, Zack, Flyzik, Colussy, Danny, Evan, and Vinny were all crammed in the van and were speeding to the hospital Alex was taken to. We all burst through the door to the ER as soon as we arrived and charged to the front desk, all shouting to "see Alex Gaskarth right fucking now before someone has to pay and we're famous Goddammit and he's our best friend and family only Vinny's saggy ass, we ARE his family!"
After a ton of yelling, we were seated in the waiting area with a security guard standing nearby to keep us from "creating more of a ruckus" while we waited to see Alex.
A few hours passed and I was pacinglike a caged animal, snapping at anyone that tried to talk to me. It was past midnight and I was exhausted from the show already and all this worrying wasn't helping. Rian had started a game of poker, using M'n'Ms for poker chips and the guys were absently playing as we waited... and waited... and waited.
"Jack, sit the fuck down, this pacing is driving me fucking insane, I'm getting jittery just LOOKING at you." Rian snapped awhile later. I stuck my tongue out at him and gave him the finger before dropping into on of the plastic waiting chairs next to Zack, who was sitting there, staring blankly into space.
I sighed heavily and dropped my head into my hands. Today was turning out to be an absolute nightmare. "Hey, you okay?" Zack asked, poking me in the knee. "What? Oh. Yeah. Sure, why wouldn't I be?" I mumbled moodily. "Come on." I was silent for a moment, then I flicked his hand off my leg and said, "Yeah, I'm freaking the fuck out." I hopped up and started pacing again, "There was just so much BLOOD Zack." I could feel the tears starting to sting the backs of my eyes and I choked back a sob. Luckily, the breakdown I felt coming on vanished as a dude in a white lab coat thing called, "Alex Gaskarth?"
We all jumped up and rushed the doctor, shouting questions all at the same time. "Woah WOAH! Everyone CALM DOWN! Whish one of you do I talk to regarding Mr. Gaskarth's health?" The doctor exclaimed. Flyzik raised his hand and said, "Well I'm the manager, so that would be me I guess." The doctor, who I shall refer to as Dr. Receding Hairline, frowned, "Is anyone here family? Usually thisd kind of information should only be disclosed to those of blood relation." "Look buddy," I snapped, getting up in Dr. Receding Hairline's face, "That is my best fucking friend in there, we've known each other for a REALLY long time and me and these guys here are closer to him then his family ever was and if you don't let us see him right fucking NOW I will --" "OKAY! You can go in and see him! Follow me!" The doctor cut me off, giving me a looking somewhere between pity and annoyance and he led us through the winding halls of the hospital, eventually stopping outside room A69. I didn't even snicker at the number, as I usually would have. I just stared at the dark wood of the closed door and the beige blinds drawn over the window.
"So, Alex is currently in a medically induced coma for the night, due to the severe concussion which is causing some major brain swelling. He bruised his tailbone as well and his spine needed to be realigned so he's going to be sore and should be very careful when walking when he wakes up. We won't know more until he actually wakes up sometime tomorrow but based on the obvious damage, he SHOULD recover just fine." Dr. Receding Hairline lectured. I barely heard anything he said past "coma" and then pushed my way past everybody and barged into the room.
The sight was horrible and my heart slammed to a stop once again. Alex was lying unconscious in a sterile bed, a large white bandage wrapped around his haed. He was in a gross blue hospital gown and a scratchy blanket was pulled up to his waist. There were IV's stuck in his arms and wires snaking underneath his hospital gown to attach to his chest. He was hooked up to an impressive set up of machines, heart monitors, brain monitors, all other kinds of monitors. The scene looked way worse then the doctor had said it was.
And I was terrified.
I timidly walked to my best friends bedside and pulled a chair close, situating myself, then taking Alex's limp hand in my own. I didn't notice the guys crowd around me until Zack said softly, "He looks so fragile like this." There were murmurred agreements between us all. The guys quietly chatted aboutAlex, the tour, that kind of stuff, but I couldn't bring myself to join in. Once again, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Alex's face. A fallen angel amongst men. The fans were probably besides themselves with worry.
My free hand went up to Alex's face and I brushed his long bangs away from his eyes, my fingers lingering on his cheek, my thumb grazing the side of his mouth. I sort of saw why our fans thought Alex was so much cuter when he was sleeping, he looked so innocent and angelic and boyish when he was. But this wasn't normal sleep, he didn't look peaceful. His brow was creased and his lips were pinched together in a semi-frown that seemed filled with pain. I started choking up at how helpless he looked and the crew, Rian and Zack caught on and left, saying they would give me a bit and go get coffee.
Once they left, I pulled my chair closer to the bed and laid my head down on the mattress, next to Alex's hand. I couldn't believe this had happened to him, during a show, when he was doing what he loved most. Alex had been through a lot, he didn't deserve this, he was the best person I knew, he deserved the universe.
I felt a few tears slide down my face and onto the course blanket under my cheek. I pressed a kiss to one of Alex's fingers and whispered, "Alex, please wake up..." As I closed my eyes and, in turn, fell asleep.