Flashes of light danced outside Nick’s closed eyes. He clenched them shut tighter, trying to keep that light out. God. Oh…God. Everything hurt. From the top of his head down to the tips of his toes, he just hurt. Even breathing hurt, a sharp kind of stabbing in his ribcage that had his eyes flying open and a gasp slipping past his lips.
Where was he? What the hell had happened? He looked around him, his mind and vision hazy. A steady dripping sound filled his ears, along with this strange hissing, but he couldn’t place where it was coming from. His eyes couldn’t seem to make sense of anything either. The world seemed to have gone crazy around him.
Something trickled down into his eyes, blinding him for a minute. He automatically tried to raise a hand to wipe it away. Pain, white hot and blinding, ripped him to shreds. He didn’t hear his own scream; didn’t notice how his head dropped back as he gasped for air.
When his eyes opened again the world seemed kind of misty around him. He looked down, noticing the steering wheel he was mostly lying on. A car? Was he in a car? Images came back to him. Driving down the road, headlights in his rearview mirror. Trying to let the car pass, but it did nothing, only stayed behind him. Telling Brian that he thought someone was following him.
Shit, Brian. They’d been on the phone together. Talking as Nick had tried to figure out a way to control a car with no brakes without telling Brian that his brakes were out. Then the car behind him had accelerated. Shit, shit. The car had slammed into the back of him, shoving him off the road, careening down the hill, his car rolling a few times before landing on its wheels, in just enough time to slam into a tree.
It all came back to him with sickening clarity. The images were bright and clear. With those memories came a return to reality for Nick. It sharpened his brain, bringing him back to the present. He saw the crunched car around him. The front end wrapped around a tree. He was still on a hill because the car was angled downward, toward the tree, which was why he was lying on the steering wheel. The dripping sound he heard was rain falling on the top of the car. The hissing came from the engine.
Had Brian heard everything? Had he called 911? Looking around him, trying not to move, Nick tried to think of how the hell he was going to get out of here. If Brian hadn’t called 911 then no one would know he was here. He had to find a way out. Out and back up the hill to get help.
Slowly, gently, he shifted his hand toward where his seatbelt hook was. Surprisingly it unhooked easily. Ok, that was one part. Now for another. He moved both hands to the steering wheel. This was going to hurt. He knew it was going to hurt. But there was no way he could just stay here. There were too many things that could go wrong! The car could blow up. Help might not be able to find him. The guy who ran him off the road might come and find him and finish it.
Nick gritted his teeth and gripped tightly to the steering wheel. Then, once he took a deep breath, he pushed off from it, lifting his chest off of the wheel and letting the buckle slide across. It hurt; sweet God it hurt! The world seemed to spin around him, threatening to take him down, drag him under.
But he couldn’t stop now. No, no, he had to keep going. Even as blood poured down his face, as he wiped it away with his hand, he knew he had to keep going. So he grabbed the door handle and tried to open his door. No luck. It wouldn’t budge. On the off chance it might work, he pressed the power window button, trying to bring his window down. To his surprise, it did!
Ok, now to just get out that window. From about his chest down felt like it was on fire an being run over all at the same time. But he couldn’t stay here. No, got to go, got to move, go, go, go. He chanted to himself as he took hold of the window and, with one big, deep breath, yanked himself up until he was sitting on the window, his upper half sticking out.
How he managed to do it without passing out, he had no idea. It was a close thing. The world swam around him sickeningly, threatening him with the blackness again. There was no time for that! Nick looked around, trying to figure out how to get to the ground with the minimum amount of fuss. He couldn’t stop. He had to get safe! Not only that, but he was terrified that, if he stopped, he might not be able to start again. He might just lie down and bleed out without anyone around to help him.
Just above him was a thick tree branch. Nick made his decision quickly. He transferred his grip from the car to the branch, holding it tightly and trying to pull his lower half from the car. His left leg seemed to work fine, but his right felt like it was being stabbed from the inside out. Nick gritted his teeth against the pain and pushed off the steering wheel with his left leg, forcing his lower half out of the car. He had just enough presence of mind to catch his weight on his good leg and to try to keep the right one off the ground.
So far no one had come after him. Just as Nick was bracing his body, he saw lights move toward the top of the hill. Instinct took over. Before those lights could reach his car, he dropped down and slid down the hill, hiding behind the tree. He stayed there, waiting, as the lights moved over his car and rested there for a minute. He held his breath; terrified to even breathe for fear that he’d be discovered.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nick heard one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever known. Sirens. Just as quickly as he heard them, the lights from the car on the hill moved and Nick could hear the car racing away. He dared to dart out from behind the tree, stumbling to the ground right near the driver side door.
Hitting the ground had him hissing in pain. The world spun yet again, but this time it was stronger. This time he didn’t know if he could fight it.
Lights flashed around him, illuminating the hill. There were the sounds of something thumping. He couldn’t make out what it was. Nausea rolled in his stomach and the blackness came closer and closer. As it sucked him under, Nick heard voices shouting and the sound of leaves crackling as people slid down the hill toward him. His last thought was that he hoped to God someone got to Zach before he tried to take out anyone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was Micheal who drove AJ and Brian to the hospital once he called around and got the information he needed to find Nick. The two men sat in the backseat of his car, hands clenched tightly together. Prayers slid past Brian’s lips the entire time. He couldn’t seem to do anything else. It made him pause when he heard AJ join in, repeating the prayer right along with him. With a grateful look, Brian continued, his and AJ’s voices blending together in a whisper soft prayer.
Time seemed to slow down and yet they were at the hospital in no time. Brian and AJ, still holding hands, rushed into the emergency room with Micheal, Harold and Jackie right behind them. The two reached the desk first.
“Nick Carter.” Brian gasped out to the nurse. “Please, where’s Nick Carter? Is he ok?”
The nurse turned to his computer screen, typing for a moment before bringing up the information. “Room 314, Sir, end of the hall. But the doctor’s in with him…”
Whatever else the man had to say was lost and AJ and Brian took off down the hallway. They dodged around other patients and nurses, ignoring their cries as they tried to jump out of the way. Together they burst into room 314. The very first thing they saw was Nick, lying pale as can be on a hospital bed. Blood was still on the side of his face and his chest. The bed was propped up, putting him in a reclined position, and they had thrown a blanket over his waist for modesty’s sake.
“Oh man.” Brian swore softly. He gripped tighter to AJ’s hand, feeling AJ’s trembling mixing with his. “Nick.”
He paid no attention to the doctor who stood beside Nick’s bed. All of his attention was focused on the pair of blue eyes that opened and locked on to him. They looked slightly woozy; whether from pain or from medication, Brian didn’t know. All that mattered was that Nick was there and he was alive.
A corner of Nick’s mouth tugged up. “Frick.” He sounded a little hazy. Definitely pain meds. “You found me. You’re safe.”
Brian stepped up to the bed. He finally let go of AJ right as they reached Nick’s bedside so that he could reach out and take Nick’s hand in his. “Yeah, bud, I’m safe. I’m right here. Boy, you sure had me terrified.”
“Sorry.”
Smiling, AJ stepped up beside Brian, slipping an arm around his waist to offer comfort. “Yeah, well, don’t do it to us again, kid.” He teased Nick. “You about gave Bri and I a heart attack.” That was putting it mildly. They’d been absolutely terrified when they’d heard the crash over Brian’s cell phone. Afterward, not being able to get an answer on Nick’s cell, Brian had panicked. AJ had called Micheal and soon the entire house was awake and rushing around while Micheal made calls, calling in favors to trace the cell phone call for location. Then, once they’d found him, paramedics had been dispatched.
The doctor looked up at the three of them, compassion in his eyes. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I need to finish getting him cleaned up and get him down to get this leg in a brace. Once he’s settled in a room you can come back and visit.”
“Wait.” Nick croaked. He squeezed Brian’s hand, obviously trying to focus. “Bri, s’ important.” The drugs were making him hazy but he was working hard to try and say something. Brian squeezed his hand reassuringly. “What, Nick?”
“The crash. Was him.” A small shudder ran down Nick. “My…my brakes. He cut my brakes. Hit me. B’stard pushed me off the road.”
“Who?”
The doctor was adjusting Nick’s bed, preparing to move him. Brian watched as Nick’s eyes started to slide shut. The younger man forced them back open. “Huh?” he mumbled.
Brian squeezed his hand again. “Who, Nick? Who was it?” A sick feeling was growing in his stomach, burning up his throat. He knew what Nick was going to say. There was only one person who would want to hurt him this way. One man who was trying to ruin his life.
When Nick looked at him and mumbled “Zach.” It came as no surprise. A part of him even registered that AJ didn’t seem surprised either. Numbness stole through him. Zach had tried to kill Nick. Tried to kill someone he saw as competition. What was next? Who was next?
AJ seemed to sense that Brian was at a loss for words. He reached over, taking Nick’s hand from between Brian’s and gently tucking it on the bed. Then he leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Nick’s forehead. “You go with the doc an get set up, kid, ok? We’ll be here to see you when you come out.”
Blue eyes locked on to AJ. “Promise?” he whispered.
A smile curved AJ’s lips. “Cross my heart. Now, go on, go get your brace on. We’ll go get some bad hospital coffee and hang out in the waiting room till the Doc says we can come back. You just be good and we’ll see you soon.”
Content, Nick let them roll him out of the room. The instant the room had emptied, AJ spun and cupped Brian’s face in his hands. “Don’t you dare start this on me, Littrell. Don’t you fucking dare.”
Surprise had Brian focusing on AJ. What on earth was AJ swearing at him for? “Excuse me?”
“I can see it right there on your face. You’re starting that guilt trip bullshit.” AJ said firmly. His expression was strong and serious. “Earlier you were mad because I was sheltering you, so I’m going to be blunt right now, Brian. You don’t have time to indulge in being upset here. You don’t have time to indulge in guilt. Nick needs you. He needs his best friend to be a little stronger than him right now so he has someone to fall back on. He needs you not to panic on him.”
“But Alex…I…” Stammering, Brian tried to find some of his control. The room threatened to spin on him. “How can I not panic? Zach did this to him! Zach!”
“And your point is?”
Those words had Brian startling back in surprise. He stepped away from AJ’s hands, not sure what to say or do. This hadn’t been what he’d expected from AJ at all. “My point? That man tried to take out Nick because he saw him as an obstacle to me! Me!”
AJ put his hands on his hips and leveled Brian with a firm glare. “Did you mess with Nick’s brakes? Did you go find Zach and ask him to do this, Bri? Did you tell him you wanted Nick out of the picture? Did you do anything, anything at all, to encourage him in his pursuit of you?”
“No!”
“Then none of this is your Goddamn fault!” AJ exclaimed. “You can’t take responsibility for someone else’s actions, Brian Thomas! This man is twisted. He’s sick. What he does has nothing whatsoever to do with anything you’ve said or done. All of this is some sick thing he’s built in his head. If it hadn’t been you that he chose, it would have just been someone else. Guys like him don’t need a reason. There’s something in his head that’s messed up.”
“But it’s not someone else, Alex! It’s me and it’s my friends that are getting hurt.”
“So you’re going to take it all on your shoulders, are you? Don’t be a martyr, Brian, it’s not becoming.”
Shocked, Brian took a step back. Neither one of them realized that they were both yelling by this point, or that Brian wasn’t cowering back from AJ’s temper. He wasn’t scared of it. Instead, he felt himself responding in kind. “How dare you tell me that?” He shouted back. “Who the hell do you think you are, Alex? You have no idea what it’s like to be in the position I’m in! You don’t have someone stalking you, killing off your friends!”
AJ scoffed at him. “No, of course I don’t understand.” He snapped. “I just have someone stalking the man I love, trying to kill him and me and my friends. You’re right. How the hell could I understand? You act like this whole thing is your fault. Well, let me tell you, from the position of someone that Zach wants to kill, I sure as hell don’t blame you. I blame that twisted little son of a bitch. I bet Nick feels the same fucking way.”
The blunt way AJ spoke was getting to Brian more than any soft words would have. He stood there and stared as AJ continued to try and put him in his place.
“You think that everyone is going to blame you, Brian, and you sit there and blame yourself. What good does that do? Right now one of our best friends is down there getting cleaned up and patched up, not because of you, but because of Zach. You want to be upset? You want to be angry? Put those emotions where they belong. Put them on the person that’s at fault. Zach. It sure as hell isn’t you. But either way, suck it up. Nick doesn’t need this right now. He needs you and I to be strong. Later, you can break. Later, you can have that luxury. Right now, your best friend needs you. If you can’t keep it under control, then go home.”
Brian stood gaping at AJ. Had all of that really just come out of AJ’s mouth? AJ? The one person who’d been his protector this entire time? No one had dared to speak to Brian like that, to yell at him that way, since the rape had happened! Yet, somehow, instead of hurting him or pissing him off, Brian found himself appreciating AJ.
He stepped forward, one hand coming up to lie on AJ’s cheek. Neither of them commented on the shaking in Brian’s fingers. A million different emotions worked their way through Brian. Most prominently, though, was that strength that he’d slowly been finding inside of himself lately. “Thank you.” He found himself whispering.
His words took all the starch out of AJ’s speech. Brian was rewarded with that crooked grin he loved so much. “Anytime, baby.” AJ said cheekily.
Chuckling, Brian smiled at him and wished, oh how he wished, he had the guts to try and kiss AJ right then. “I’ll keep my fears to myself as best as possible, I promise. I won’t let Nick see them. Thank you for arguing with me until I had the strength to be able to do that.”
“Sometimes that’s what a guy needs. I know nothing clears out crap emotions for me like a good mad. I figured, if I got you to fight with me, you’d just be mad, you wouldn’t be terrified and hurting.” AJ moved forward slightly, sliding his arms around Brian’s waist, pulling him in for a soft hug. Their faces were only inches apart as they stood there. “But I don’t want you going all super tough on me. I wanted you to see that Nick doesn’t need to see those fears. But you can always bring them to me. You can always tell me about them. I just don’t want you to let them consume your life anymore. I want to help you find your feet again, Bri.”
“I think you are.” Brian admitted. He looked down at their bodies and back up to AJ’s face with a smile. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this a short while ago. I’m making progress.”
“You are, baby. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come.”
It was the honest pride in AJ’s eyes that did Brian in. The love and pride that burned in equal measures in those beautiful chocolate eyes. Before Brian even realized what he was doing, he tipped his head, closing that small distance between them. Their lips brushed against one another, tasting, teasing. He heard AJ’s sharp intake of breath; knew that he’d shocked him.
But Brian was busy exploring the feeling. He let their lips touch again, the gentlest of kisses. He deepened it just a little, enjoying the flutters that started in the pit of his stomach. God! Never had he thought he’d feel this sensation again. It surprised him so much that he almost broke the kiss out of shock. That was desire he was feeling. Low grade, but there!
When he finally pulled back, he smiled at AJ, enjoying the desire and love that flashed in his ever expressive eyes.
AJ licked his lips before he found the words he wanted. “Wow. That was, um, yeah.” He stopped himself, paused, then blew out a breath. “Hell.”
A chuckle slipped up Brian’s throat. Hearing it, AJ pretended to glare at him. “Don’t laugh at me, Littrell. Your kiss, hell, it fried my brain cells.”
“Thanks.” Brian said with a smile.
They shared another smile, this one softer. Brian watched AJ as they shifted their positions, linking hands instead of hugging, and left the room side by side. That was another thing he loved about AJ. The younger man didn’t pester him with questions on so many things. He just took them at face value. This was good, because half the time anymore, Brian didn’t have answers to those kinds of questions.
The two made their way to the waiting room where Jackie, Harold and Micheal were all waiting. Jackie was on the phone; from the sounds of it, she was talking to Kevin. That was good. Someone needed to let him and Howie know what the hell was going on.
AJ gently deposited Brian in his dad’s care, giving him a soft smile. “I’m going to go get us some coffee. Anyone want anything else?” he offered. Everyone agreed to coffee but declined other things.
Stepping up, Micheal smiled at AJ. “I’ll give you a hand.” He offered.
With one last smile for Brian, AJ was off down the hall, Micheal by his side. Brian watched him go, thinking to himself that he was lucky to have so many people in his life who cared so much about him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing in the cafeteria, AJ pulled the lever on the coffee machine, filling the cup he held underneath it. He capped it once it was full and set it on the counter, moving to the next cup. As that one filled, he glanced over at Micheal. “So, I imagine there’s more to you coming with me than just offering to help carry hot cups of coffee.” He said conversationally.
A grin flashed over Micheal’s face. “Imagine there is.” He admitted. He handed AJ another cup when the one that AJ had been filling was done. “I wanted to talk to you while things were calm. The nurses, they told me how Nick is, so I didn’t panic anymore about that. I didn’t want to have to call my wife until I knew all the facts. She’ll panic bad enough as it is.”
His words reminded AJ that this man was close with Brian and Nick. He hadn’t stopped to think about that before. “He looks ok. A little druggy, a little scared, but ok.”
“Does he know anything about what happened to him?”
The question was purely a cop question, but it held the tone of a friend to it. There was also a slight anger underneath Micheal’s casual demeanor that AJ could very well sympathize with. “He said his brakes weren’t working. When Bri was talking to him, I woke up and heard Nick say something about someone following him. Back in the room there he said that someone hit his car and pushed him off the road.” AJ closed off the last cup before lifting his eyes to meet Micheal’s stormy ones. “He said, clear as a bell, that it was Zach.”
The look on Micheal’s face said that this didn’t surprise him at all. “I’ll be the one to take his statement, to make it a little easier on him.”
“I appreciate that. Bri will probably want to sit with him.”
“How’s he taking this, Alexander?”
Hearing his full name, AJ had to stop himself from shaking his head. The Littrell family had never called him AJ, even back when he’d tried to insist on it. To them, his name was Alexander for a reason. The biggest concession they’d give was to call him Alex. So, naturally, that was now they spoke of him to other people, Micheal included. This meant that the trait had now passed to Micheal as well. He didn’t comment on it, though. “He’s doing ok. For a minute, after they took Nick out, he looked like he was going to break a little, beating himself up and such. I, well, I yelled at him a little.” A small flush covered AJ’s cheeks.
Micheal chuckled. “Sometimes a good shouting match clears the air. I thought I could hear both your voices. Sounds to me like he yelled back at you.”
“After a fashion, yeah.” AJ gathered up three cups, leaving the last two for Micheal to carry. Together, the two set out from the cafeteria. “It helped, he said. Calmed him down, put his focus on Nick and not on the root of this all.”
They’d reached the elevator by then. “How’re you taking all this?”
The question threw AJ. He bent a little, pressing the button to take them up. He shrugged his shoulders a little. “I’m coping.”
Even to Micheal, who was just getting to know him, the words sounded forced. He waited until the elevator doors closed before he said any more. “You know that if you need someone to talk to, someone to listen while you get this off your chest, I’m here for you, son.” He offered. At AJ’s surprised look, Micheal smiled. “Those two boys mean the world to me and my wife. You mean a lot to both of them, but especially to Brian .That alone is enough to make you important in my world. We’ve heard plenty from them over the years that tell me you’re a good kid. Add on that I’m starting to like you quite a bit. I’ll listen if you need it.”
The offer genuinely surprised AJ. “I…thanks.”
“Can’t be easy, being the tough guy so much.” The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, letting the two out into the empty hallway. “Just know I’ve got two shoulders if you need them.”
They walked quietly for a few minutes before AJ spoke again. “You guys will find this bastard, right?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
“Good.” AJ paused outside the waiting room, taking a deep breath. As he had in the bedroom, Micheal watched now as AJ gathered his strength around him like a cloak, firming his spine. Yet again, AJ wasn’t aware of these observations. He was concentrating on controlling the black rage that was gripping him from head to toe. As he did, he looked through the window in the door, looking to where Brian sat with his parents, their three heads bowed in prayer. “I hope you find him.” He whispered.
“We will.” Micheal assured him.
AJ smiled, sharp and lethal. “You better pray you find him before I do, Micheal. Because if I find him first, I’m taking him apart, piece by piece, until the little bastard is begging for death. Once he’s suffered, once he’s hurt for every second that he’s caused Brian pain, then I’ll kill him. Slowly.” Hard, dark eyes turned to lock on Micheal. “You better find him first, or there won’t be enough left when I’m done with him to put into a Ziploc bag.”