Chapter Six
Later that night, I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. I was so happy I had been dancing and singing around the house and now I was paying for it. It hurt to move. I knew I just had to make it to bathtub and soak my muscles and I would feel better, hopefully. The only problem was that I could hardly move.
I had my headset on in case the phone rang, which it did. I lazily flipped my hand towards the phone, hoping to knock the receiver out of the cradle. By the third ring I had it.
"Hello?" I said into the headset mike.
"Hi Bre."
"Hi Bri."
"What 'cha doing?" Brian asked.
"Staring."
"At what?"
"The ceiling."
"Why?"
"I can't move."
"Why?"
"Pain."
"Do you want me to come over?"
"Please."
"Okay. Where do you live?"
I gave Brian my address and thanked him profusely.
"I'll be right over," he told me.
"Okay."
"See you soon."
"Yeah. Bye."
"Bye." I heard him hang up the phone and I tried to return the phone to its cradle with no avail. I finally gave up and told myself that Brian would be over soon.
About ten minutes later, I heard the front door open. "Down here, Bri!" I called to him. A few moments later I glimpsed Brian around the corner of the doorframe. "Hey Bri," I said with a grimace.
"I hope you don't mind, I brought the guys along."
"Of course not," I said. He had no idea that I wanted him to help into the bathtub. Oh well, I guess I'd manage. The rest of the guys came into the room.
"Hey girl, what's up?" Kevin asked.
"The ceiling."
AJ came in and jumped on the bed. "Hey, ever thought of hanging stuff up there?"
I looked up at AJ standing over me. "Yea, but it's kinda hard when you're so short, like I am."
"So what can we do for you, Lil' Rok?" Nick asked me.
"I wanna take a bath."
"Okay, we're gone," Howie said, holding up his hands. AJ jumped off my bed.
"No, it's okay guys. I don't think Bri can handle me." I told the four guys as they backed towards my bedroom door.
"Nah, it's okay. I think Bri can manage," Kevin said as he stepped out of the door.
"Yea, we'll be in the living room." Nick slapped Brian on the shoulder and said through gritted teeth, "Why didn't you tell us?"
Brian threw up his hands and said, "I didn't know!"
As soon as the guys had left, Brian walked into my bathroom and turned on the water. Brian came back into the room and grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet.
"Ow, ow, ow." I was standing, but I wasn't feeling very good. "Brian, you don't have to."
"Yes, I do. Now come on." He led me to the bathroom and helped me undress and get into the tub. I wasn't embarrassed. Once I was situated, he said to me, "So are you going to the doc to see about these pains?"
"Tomorrow. Ahhh. Oh, I am in so much pain."
"I thought you could block the pain."
"I can, but this is so much. It's hard to block it when you're not doing anything."
"Okay. How you feeling?"
"Better. Thank you. I think you can leave now."
"No way! I'll just go keep the guys entertained so they don't tear the place apart. Don't turn into a prune."
I grinned at him and told him to leave. Fifteen minutes later when the water was cold and I was a prune, my pain had finally subsided enough for me to walk. I got out of the tub and threw on some clothes. I headed out into the living room and found the guys plopped in front of my television with my Sony Playstation plugged in. Brian and Nick were battling each other at Crash Bandicoot.
"So, how you doing?" Kevin asked.
"Better. I'm going to the doc tomorrow and I'm gonna see if I can go on something a little stronger to help dull the pain."
"Do you want us to take you tomorrow?" AJ asked.
"Nah, I think I can handle it. I see you found my Playstation."
Nick looked up from the game. "Yeah, but you need some new games."
"Hey, I've been a poor starving college student for the past five years. I can't afford new games. Plus hospital bills are a little expensive. I've been fortunate enough that a couple local charities have been helping me."
"But wait. Didn't you donate like three grand to my foundation?" Brian asked.
"Yea, but...I'd saved that for you."
"You mean to tell me you could have used that money?"
I looked at the ground and whispered, "Yes."
Brian got up from the ground where he was sitting playing against Nick. He came and wrapped an arm around me. "Bre, why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, you were so busy and worried about your own surgery. Plus I don't want to use your fame for my advantage."
"Advantage? Briann, it's not an advantage if you need help. I know the morphine can't be cheap. I'll pay. Whatever the price. I'll take care of you." He wrapped his arms around me in a hug.