You Are Exactly My Brand of Heroin
Hospital.
Tears streaked my cheeks as I stared down at Brian's gorgeous face that had been drenched in his own blood. He'd collapsed face first onto the hard concrete just moments before, causing his nose to bleed, and Matt, Val, Zack, Taylor, Ciara, Garrett, and I, along with Brian who's head rested comfortably in my lap, were speeding to the hospital. Everyone else had piled into other vehicles and followed behind us.
I continued to cry, unsure of what had just happened to the love of my life, as I ran my fingers through his hair and stroked his cheek. He was completely white now, and he was still burning up only he'd broken out into a cold sweat. His nose had to be broken or just busted up pretty good because blood had been flowing like a river from it since he hit the concrete. A good percentage of that blood covered my torso, but I didn't care at the moment. All I was concerned about was the lifeless body in my lap.
I'd cried so hard for the past few minutes that the tears in my eyes were blurring my vision, and I could barely see Brian's face or what was going on around me. I'd reduced Val, Tay, and Ciara to tears and their boyfriends resorted to calming them. Lucky them. They have a boyfriend to calm them in a situation like this. At least, one that's conscious. Once we arrived at the hospital, everything moved very quickly. Before I knew it, a team of paramedics had taken Brian from my grasp, and we were all on our way to the waiting room.
"Come on, Abby. We'll get you cleaned up," Natalie said as she grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom, all of the girls behind us. At that precise moment, it set in that I was covered in blood, and I just barely made it to the bathroom in time for my body's reaction to take over.
As I leaned against the porcelain structure of the toilet, I heard all of the girls enter the bathroom. I heard Taylor command Val to get some damp paper towels as she walked into the stall behind me. She knelt down and held my hair back as my body reacted to the stench and sight of the blood that covered my bare skin once again. Taylor continued to rub my back as I hovered over the bowl, my tears subsiding.
"Let's get you cleaned up, sweetie," Val said as I finally stood up and followed the two of them out to the row of sinks. I held my nose and stared up at the ceiling to be sure that I didn't get sick again as Val and Taylor washed my torso clean of the grotesque substance.
"Thanks, you guys," I said to the both of them as they finished wiping my body clean.
"You're welcome, honey," Taylor said with a smile. I washed my face a few times before turning back to the girls who stared at me, waiting for me to say something.
"So, should we get back out there?" Everyone nodded and I led the way out to the waiting room. The hospital was nearly empty today, so our group pretty much filled up the entire waiting room.
"You okay, Abbs?" Logan asked me as we all walked into the waiting room and I took a seat between my brother and JB Diz. I nodded and smiled as Matt kissed the top of my head and put his arm around my shoulders. JB laid a reassuring hand on my knee and smiled at me.
"He'll be fine," Matt whispered to me. I simply laid my head on JB's shoulder, resting my eyes, and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.
I awoke some time later to JB shaking me and telling me that the doctor was here to tell us about what happened to Brian and how he's doing. My eyes instantly fluttered open to find Suzy and Papa Gates sitting next to a woman in a white lab coat, who was obviously Brian's doctor.
"Can you tell us what happened to my baby?" Suzy asked frantically. The doctor nodded, and everyone's full attention rested upon her.
"Well, Brian's collapse was completely stress-induced. He's become so mentally stressed that it's caused him to become very physically strained. His fever spiked even higher than it already was, and that caused him to fall unconscious while getting up. Of course, when he collapsed, it was face first. His nose isn't broken, just a bit busted up and bruised, but it'll be fine in a few days. Right now, he's being given some pain medication for a severe headache and another medication to reduce his fever. He's also being given saline through and IV just to be sure that he stays hydrated. Other than that, he's stable and sleeping. Lucky for him, he's in good health, and he'll be out of here by tomorrow morning. He'll need to stay overnight for evaluation just in case -"
"I'll stay with him," I blurted out, cutting the doctor off. Everyone stared at me but said nothing. I held my gaze with the doctor who simply smiled at me. To be honest, at this very moment in time I didn't care who knew what and if I was risking anything. All I wanted was to see him. I'd put all of this stress on him that caused this. Little to everyone's knowledge, I'd caused this, and the least I could do was stay with him to try and fix it. I felt terribly guilty, and I needed to see him, talk to him, and touch him to know that my guilt could ever subside. Even then I wasn't sure that I'd ever be able to forgive myself for letting this happen. He never dealt well with stress, and I knew that. How could I do this to him?
"Very well, then. We can have that arranged. If you all would like to see him, you can but only a few at a time. He's still a bit groggy from his meds, but he should be coming around very soon," the doctor finished.
"Thank you so much. We appreciate your help," Papa Gates said as he and Suzy shook the doctor's hand and she left the room. Brent and McKenna stood up along with their parents moments afterward and stared over at me.
"Abby, would you like to come with us?" Brent asked me. I smiled and shook my head.
"I'll wait until everyone else has gone in to see him, but thank you for offering," I replied.
"No problem," Brent said before leaving with his family. I smiled, once again, to myself and laid my head back on JB's shoulder. Knowing that Brian was fine, I could rest much better. Within minutes, I'd fallen into another dreamless slumber.
It seemed like forever before I awoke again to find the waiting room empty. JB must've laid me down across the chairs and gone out for some fresh air or something. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes as someone entered the room.
"Hey you," Brett said.
"Hey," I said as I looked up at him. "Where is everyone?"
"I'm pretty sure that Matt, Val, and Cam are still in the room with Bri, and everyone else is outside getting some fresh air. Jordan and I went back to Matt's to get you and Brian a change of clothes and some other stuff," Brett said as he handed my Louis Vuitton overnight bag to me. He sat down beside me and sighed. "Nice underwear, by the way."
"You went through my underwear?" I asked mostly laughing. He smiled at me.
"We had to. It was just there and very tempting, at that." I smiled and laughed again.
"Thanks, Brett. So what does everyone think of my family and friends?" I hadn't had much one-on-one time with my boys since I met up with my other boys, and I wanted to know what they all thought about everyone and everything.
"These people are amazing, and I can say that for all of us. We've never met anyone quite like them, and it's really great to see that you're happy again." I smiled. "Um... Abbs? We have a bit of a problem. You see, Brian told Jordan, Logan, Garrett, and myself about you two being in love when we went in to see him, and Garrett's been acting like a total asshole since then. Tay got into a fight with him over the fact that him wanting to be with you and how him acting like this was going to ruin yours and Brian's relationship. That also caused a fight between Garrett and Ciara. She's not upset with you, though, just Garrett. She's hurt because he was only using her for sex, and she's been finding her safe harbor in Logan. On top of all of that, Leana and Lacey had to explain everything to Jimmy, Johnny, Brent, and Baker Boy. Matt, Val, and Cam were gone for the whole thing, so Matt never suspected anything. I just... I just wanted to apologize ahead of time for what Garrett's doing. You really don't deserve this kind of treatment after all that you've been through in these past few days." I sighed and rested my face in my hands.
"Thank you for your sympathy, Brett, but you're not the one who should be apologizing and you know that. Garrett has a lust for me, not a love for me like Brian has. Garrett's always been there for me and he'll always be a close friend of mine - believe me - but I will not let him ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me. I just hope someone talks him out of being this way before I get a hold of him because it's not going to be pretty when I do."
"I'll see what I can do, but you know how stubborn he is. He won't listen to a damn thing anyone says to him. Jordan was trying to talk some sense into him when I came inside, but I'm not sure if he was getting anywhere with him," Brett said.
"He can do whatever he wants as long as he's aware of what's coming to him if he ruins this for me. Brian's the best thing I have ever had, Brett, and I can't let someone I've known for four years of my life tear someone away from me that I've known my entire life." Brett smiled and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze just as Matt, Val, and Cam entered the waiting room.
"Abbs! You're awake!" Cam said. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine. The real question is: how is he feeling?" I said, gesturing in the direction of Brian's room.
"He's fine, and he's asking to see you," Matt said. I smiled up at them as I got up to hug all three of them and Brett and to say my goodbyes, seeing as they were about to leave.
"We'll be here around nine in the morning to get you two, alright?" Val said to me. I nodded and she kissed my forehead. "Get some more rest while you're at it."
"Alright," I said as I picked my bag up and Cam pointed me in the direction of Brian's room. The four of them trailed off in the opposite direction of me as I ran down a long corridor to Brian's room. I swung the door open without knocking to find Brian fully-alert, sitting up in his bed. I closed the door behind me and dropped my bag on the floor before running over to him and climbing onto his bed.
"Hey beautiful," he said to me with a smile.
"Hey handsome," I said as my lips crashed onto his. I straddled his lap as he rested his hands on my hips, cupping his face in my hands. It felt so good to touch him.
"Matt said you were staying with me," he said as he pulled away. I nodded.
"Someone had to keep an eye on you, didn't they?"
"Babe, I would've been just fine. You could've called or something."
"Do you honestly think that I'm going to let you stay in a hospital alone where I'd worry about you all night?" He shook his head and smiled at me. "I didn't think so. Besides, there are some things we need to talk about," I said as I climbed off his lap and sat down beside him.
"Like what?"
"You're about to find out."
I continued to cry, unsure of what had just happened to the love of my life, as I ran my fingers through his hair and stroked his cheek. He was completely white now, and he was still burning up only he'd broken out into a cold sweat. His nose had to be broken or just busted up pretty good because blood had been flowing like a river from it since he hit the concrete. A good percentage of that blood covered my torso, but I didn't care at the moment. All I was concerned about was the lifeless body in my lap.
I'd cried so hard for the past few minutes that the tears in my eyes were blurring my vision, and I could barely see Brian's face or what was going on around me. I'd reduced Val, Tay, and Ciara to tears and their boyfriends resorted to calming them. Lucky them. They have a boyfriend to calm them in a situation like this. At least, one that's conscious. Once we arrived at the hospital, everything moved very quickly. Before I knew it, a team of paramedics had taken Brian from my grasp, and we were all on our way to the waiting room.
"Come on, Abby. We'll get you cleaned up," Natalie said as she grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom, all of the girls behind us. At that precise moment, it set in that I was covered in blood, and I just barely made it to the bathroom in time for my body's reaction to take over.
As I leaned against the porcelain structure of the toilet, I heard all of the girls enter the bathroom. I heard Taylor command Val to get some damp paper towels as she walked into the stall behind me. She knelt down and held my hair back as my body reacted to the stench and sight of the blood that covered my bare skin once again. Taylor continued to rub my back as I hovered over the bowl, my tears subsiding.
"Let's get you cleaned up, sweetie," Val said as I finally stood up and followed the two of them out to the row of sinks. I held my nose and stared up at the ceiling to be sure that I didn't get sick again as Val and Taylor washed my torso clean of the grotesque substance.
"Thanks, you guys," I said to the both of them as they finished wiping my body clean.
"You're welcome, honey," Taylor said with a smile. I washed my face a few times before turning back to the girls who stared at me, waiting for me to say something.
"So, should we get back out there?" Everyone nodded and I led the way out to the waiting room. The hospital was nearly empty today, so our group pretty much filled up the entire waiting room.
"You okay, Abbs?" Logan asked me as we all walked into the waiting room and I took a seat between my brother and JB Diz. I nodded and smiled as Matt kissed the top of my head and put his arm around my shoulders. JB laid a reassuring hand on my knee and smiled at me.
"He'll be fine," Matt whispered to me. I simply laid my head on JB's shoulder, resting my eyes, and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.
I awoke some time later to JB shaking me and telling me that the doctor was here to tell us about what happened to Brian and how he's doing. My eyes instantly fluttered open to find Suzy and Papa Gates sitting next to a woman in a white lab coat, who was obviously Brian's doctor.
"Can you tell us what happened to my baby?" Suzy asked frantically. The doctor nodded, and everyone's full attention rested upon her.
"Well, Brian's collapse was completely stress-induced. He's become so mentally stressed that it's caused him to become very physically strained. His fever spiked even higher than it already was, and that caused him to fall unconscious while getting up. Of course, when he collapsed, it was face first. His nose isn't broken, just a bit busted up and bruised, but it'll be fine in a few days. Right now, he's being given some pain medication for a severe headache and another medication to reduce his fever. He's also being given saline through and IV just to be sure that he stays hydrated. Other than that, he's stable and sleeping. Lucky for him, he's in good health, and he'll be out of here by tomorrow morning. He'll need to stay overnight for evaluation just in case -"
"I'll stay with him," I blurted out, cutting the doctor off. Everyone stared at me but said nothing. I held my gaze with the doctor who simply smiled at me. To be honest, at this very moment in time I didn't care who knew what and if I was risking anything. All I wanted was to see him. I'd put all of this stress on him that caused this. Little to everyone's knowledge, I'd caused this, and the least I could do was stay with him to try and fix it. I felt terribly guilty, and I needed to see him, talk to him, and touch him to know that my guilt could ever subside. Even then I wasn't sure that I'd ever be able to forgive myself for letting this happen. He never dealt well with stress, and I knew that. How could I do this to him?
"Very well, then. We can have that arranged. If you all would like to see him, you can but only a few at a time. He's still a bit groggy from his meds, but he should be coming around very soon," the doctor finished.
"Thank you so much. We appreciate your help," Papa Gates said as he and Suzy shook the doctor's hand and she left the room. Brent and McKenna stood up along with their parents moments afterward and stared over at me.
"Abby, would you like to come with us?" Brent asked me. I smiled and shook my head.
"I'll wait until everyone else has gone in to see him, but thank you for offering," I replied.
"No problem," Brent said before leaving with his family. I smiled, once again, to myself and laid my head back on JB's shoulder. Knowing that Brian was fine, I could rest much better. Within minutes, I'd fallen into another dreamless slumber.
It seemed like forever before I awoke again to find the waiting room empty. JB must've laid me down across the chairs and gone out for some fresh air or something. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes as someone entered the room.
"Hey you," Brett said.
"Hey," I said as I looked up at him. "Where is everyone?"
"I'm pretty sure that Matt, Val, and Cam are still in the room with Bri, and everyone else is outside getting some fresh air. Jordan and I went back to Matt's to get you and Brian a change of clothes and some other stuff," Brett said as he handed my Louis Vuitton overnight bag to me. He sat down beside me and sighed. "Nice underwear, by the way."
"You went through my underwear?" I asked mostly laughing. He smiled at me.
"We had to. It was just there and very tempting, at that." I smiled and laughed again.
"Thanks, Brett. So what does everyone think of my family and friends?" I hadn't had much one-on-one time with my boys since I met up with my other boys, and I wanted to know what they all thought about everyone and everything.
"These people are amazing, and I can say that for all of us. We've never met anyone quite like them, and it's really great to see that you're happy again." I smiled. "Um... Abbs? We have a bit of a problem. You see, Brian told Jordan, Logan, Garrett, and myself about you two being in love when we went in to see him, and Garrett's been acting like a total asshole since then. Tay got into a fight with him over the fact that him wanting to be with you and how him acting like this was going to ruin yours and Brian's relationship. That also caused a fight between Garrett and Ciara. She's not upset with you, though, just Garrett. She's hurt because he was only using her for sex, and she's been finding her safe harbor in Logan. On top of all of that, Leana and Lacey had to explain everything to Jimmy, Johnny, Brent, and Baker Boy. Matt, Val, and Cam were gone for the whole thing, so Matt never suspected anything. I just... I just wanted to apologize ahead of time for what Garrett's doing. You really don't deserve this kind of treatment after all that you've been through in these past few days." I sighed and rested my face in my hands.
"Thank you for your sympathy, Brett, but you're not the one who should be apologizing and you know that. Garrett has a lust for me, not a love for me like Brian has. Garrett's always been there for me and he'll always be a close friend of mine - believe me - but I will not let him ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me. I just hope someone talks him out of being this way before I get a hold of him because it's not going to be pretty when I do."
"I'll see what I can do, but you know how stubborn he is. He won't listen to a damn thing anyone says to him. Jordan was trying to talk some sense into him when I came inside, but I'm not sure if he was getting anywhere with him," Brett said.
"He can do whatever he wants as long as he's aware of what's coming to him if he ruins this for me. Brian's the best thing I have ever had, Brett, and I can't let someone I've known for four years of my life tear someone away from me that I've known my entire life." Brett smiled and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze just as Matt, Val, and Cam entered the waiting room.
"Abbs! You're awake!" Cam said. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine. The real question is: how is he feeling?" I said, gesturing in the direction of Brian's room.
"He's fine, and he's asking to see you," Matt said. I smiled up at them as I got up to hug all three of them and Brett and to say my goodbyes, seeing as they were about to leave.
"We'll be here around nine in the morning to get you two, alright?" Val said to me. I nodded and she kissed my forehead. "Get some more rest while you're at it."
"Alright," I said as I picked my bag up and Cam pointed me in the direction of Brian's room. The four of them trailed off in the opposite direction of me as I ran down a long corridor to Brian's room. I swung the door open without knocking to find Brian fully-alert, sitting up in his bed. I closed the door behind me and dropped my bag on the floor before running over to him and climbing onto his bed.
"Hey beautiful," he said to me with a smile.
"Hey handsome," I said as my lips crashed onto his. I straddled his lap as he rested his hands on my hips, cupping his face in my hands. It felt so good to touch him.
"Matt said you were staying with me," he said as he pulled away. I nodded.
"Someone had to keep an eye on you, didn't they?"
"Babe, I would've been just fine. You could've called or something."
"Do you honestly think that I'm going to let you stay in a hospital alone where I'd worry about you all night?" He shook his head and smiled at me. "I didn't think so. Besides, there are some things we need to talk about," I said as I climbed off his lap and sat down beside him.
"Like what?"
"You're about to find out."