Surrender (10 page)

Jeremy

As soon as Ava disappears into Brody’s bedroom, Jo walks into the kitchen and starts helping me clean up.

“I’m really worried about her, Jeremy.”

“Yeah, I am too.”

“She is so out of it and she hardly ate a thing. She’s lost weight, and her eyes just look…blank. Like there’s no life behind them anymore.”

“I know. The only thing we can do is support her, Jo. We need to reassure her that he is going to pull through this and be fine.”

Jo looks up at me with sad eyes.

“But what if he doesn’t pull through? What if he isn’t fine? I was doing a bit of research and I discovered that there can be permanent damage after a brain injury like Brody’s.”

“Jo, don’t even think like that. He will be fine. He’s tough. He won’t let something like this tear him down. Not after everything he’s been through.”

“I hope you’re right Jeremy. I really do.”

Seeing the tears sliding slowly down her cheeks¸ I pull Jo into my arms offering as much comfort as I can. Her body trembles slightly and she slips her arms under my jacket, wrapping her arms around my waist. The feeling of having her in my arms feels nice and I rest my chin on the top of her head as my hands rub circles on her back. We stay like this for a few minutes until Jo pulls away and says she’s going to bed. I give her a quick kiss on the cheek and then head toward Brody’s room to check on Ava.

As I approach the door, the sound of her sobbing breaks my heart. Pushing the door gently, I kick my boots off and slip off my jacket before climbing onto the bed. She has her back to me and is curled into a ball, so I tuck my body up behind hers and wrap an arm around her waist, feeling her slender frame tremble as another sob takes over her body. She covers my hand with hers as if she is silently thanking me for being here. I hate seeing her this upset. I wish there was something I could do or say to take away her pain, but I know the only thing that will relieve her pain is Brody waking up and everything going back to normal. I’m not a religious man, but as I feel her body relax and her breathing regulate, I pray that day will come sooner rather than later.

***

The next morning, after eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast, Ava and I head back to the hospital. She woke up looking a little better this morning, but has still been anxious about getting back to be by his side.

When we arrive Hunter and Luke are sitting in the room playing a game of cards on the little trolley table. Ava doesn’t even acknowledge them at first; she just goes straight to the bed, leans down over Brody and whispers something to him before placing a gentle kiss just below the bandage on his head.

She then looks over to where the guys are sitting and thanks them for staying the night. She sits down on the armchair beside the bed and I don’t hear another word from her until lunch time.

I’m sitting in the chair on the other side of the bed and playing a game on my phone and her words make me jump a little.

“Jer, his fingers moved.”

“What?”

“His fingers on his left hand just moved. They twitched. Do you think that means he is going to wake up?”

Leaning forward, I study Brody’s face for any movement, or sign that he might be waking up.

“I don’t know, Ava. I might go and see if I can find a Doctor and let them know what happened.”

After speaking with Brody’s Doctor, I return to the room to find Ava leaning over Brody, her hand stroking his cheek, as she whispers to him. I think that slight bit of movement from him has given her the hope she so desperately needed and I don’t want to take that away from her by relaying what the Doctor said about comatose patients having random, involuntary movements while unconscious. Instead, when she looks up at me with her beautiful golden eyes that look like they are begging me for good news, I tell her that the Doctor said it may be a sign that he is beginning to come out of the coma. The enormous smile on her face reassures me that I made the right choice.

***

Twenty four hours later and we are still sitting in the hospital room, Ava staring intently at Brody, scanning his face and body for any sign of movement. I tried to get her to go home again last night for sleep, but she wouldn’t even consider leaving now that she thinks there’s a chance he’s going to wake up soon.

My phone vibrates and as I pull it out of my pocket, I see Jo’s name on the screen. I stand up and quietly walk out into the corridor before accepting the call.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Jeremy. I was just calling to let you know I’ll be coming back to the hospital straight after class and I just wondered if you need me to bring you or Ava anything.”

Jo had brought in fresh bagels for breakfast this morning on her way to class, which was a nice change from the slop they call food in the hospital.

“No, that’s okay. We should be alright.”

“Okay. Listen, I have an idea and I know at this stage it probably sounds completely crazy. But, I remember Brody mentioning that Ava’s birthday is coming up this month and I know Luke’s birthday is in August too. Do you think it would be ridiculous to throw them a surprise party?”

Wow, I hadn’t even realized we were in August already. Days and dates have just completely slipped my mind over the last couple of weeks. It’s been a week since Brody’s accident and before that I was so distracted being drunk and angry and acting like a douche that I didn’t even think about the date.

“I think that’s a great idea Jo. When were you thinking of having it?”

“Well, you mentioned the Doctor said it still may take days for Brody to wake up, so I was thinking maybe two weeks away. That will be after their birthdays, but I don’t think it will matter. And this way, hopefully Brody will be released from hospital by then and everyone will have another reason to celebrate.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

“Alright, well I’d better go. Have a think about a venue, I’ve got no idea. You will probably need to help me with the invitation list as well.”

“Okay, Jo. I’ll help you with everything.”

I smile as I hear her sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Stone. You’re a really great guy, do you know that?”

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

“Haha. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Okay, see you then.”

When I walk back into the room, the sight that greets me shocks me to the core. Ava is standing over the bed looking down at Brody, who is staring straight back at her. Holy shit! He’s awake. When my legs start working again, I rush over to Ava’s side. Brody’s eyes are still quite puffy and bruised but as he looks over at me, he smiles.

“Hey, man. You’re okay. You had an accident and you’re in the hospital, but you’re going to be just fine. I’m just going to go and let the nurse know you’re awake.”

I give Ava’s shoulder a quick squeeze when I see her body trembling as she cries tears of joy, then I run out into the corridor and alert the first nurse I see.

As I walk back into the room, I notice Brody’s eyes have closed again and a few seconds later a Doctor walks into the room. He checks all of the monitors and machines and asks us a few questions about what happened when he woke up and whether he said anything. When I told him that he smiled at me, he said that the fact he recognized us and showed some emotion is a good sign that there will be no permanent damage to his brain. He also explained that it is normal for patients coming out of a coma to only wake up for a few minutes to begin with, but gradually over the next few days, he will be able to stay awake for longer periods of time.

I reach out for Ava’s hand and feel her squeeze mine in response. Tears of joy are still streaming down her face as she smiles at me. I pull her into my arms and she lets it all go. The Doctor leaves the room as she sobs in my arms; the relief of seeing him awake has finally allowed her to release the emotions and stress that have taken hold of her for the last week.

She places a gentle kiss on my cheek and then her golden eyes stare into mine.

“Thank you so much for being here for me Jeremy. I wouldn’t have made it through this without you.”

“Ava, I’ll always be here for you and Brody. I know I’ve acted like a fool the past few weeks, but that was just my stupid pride. It still kind of hurts me to see you with him, but I can also see how much you two love each other, how you belong together. In all the years I’ve known Brody, I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

She smiles and whispers “Thank you.”

Later that afternoon, Jo and I are sitting in the room with Brody. Ava decided to go for a walk and call her Grandma to let her know about Brody waking up.

“Jeremy?”

I didn’t realize Brody was awake until he spoke my name, his voice sounding deep and hoarse. I guess not speaking for a week will do that.

I lean over the bed.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Sore. Thirsty. What happened?”

Jo reaches over to Ava’s cup of water on the table beside the bed and holds the straw out for Brody to sip on as I explain the details I heard about his accident and why the Doctors put him in an induced coma.

“Hey, Jo. What are you doing here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be here? I came to see you.”

“You came all the way here just to see me?”

Jo looks at me in confusion.

Suddenly we hear a small gasp from the door, and we all turn to see Ava standing there looking at Brody.

“Stone?”

“Yeah, Brody.”

Brody is still looking toward Ava.

“Who’s that girl?”

Brody

The girl slowly walks further into the room and I can see tears glistening in her pretty eyes, I wonder why she’s crying. I try to move into a sitting position but my body refuses to move an inch and my head is pounding. What was Jeremy saying about my accident? Head injuries? Coma? I honestly can’t remember any of it. Searching my brain, I try to think of the last thing I remember before waking up. I remember me and the boys having a meeting with Travis and the record label to discuss the details of our tour. Fuck! The tour! We’re supposed to be leaving in a month.

Turning back to Jeremy I offer an apology.

“Stone, man. I’m so sorry. I hope this hasn’t messed up the tour. I know I’ll be fine to play and I should be completely recovered by the time we leave.”

The look of confusion on Jeremy’s face has me worried. Maybe I was out of it longer than I thought. “How long have I been in hospital?”

Jeremy shakes his head slightly and whispers “Almost a week.”

Sighing in relief I smile. “Well that still gives me three weeks to recover. Easy.”

My eyes feel heavy as I settle back on the pillow and my eyes drift to the girl again. She’s standing just inside the door with a smile on her face, but tears are running down her cheeks. I give her a friendly smile just before my eyes close and sleep takes me.

When I open my eyes again I can hear familiar voices. Lifting my aching head a little, my eyes focus on a group of people standing at the foot of the bed. I see Jeremy, Hunter, Luke; and that girl is here again. Jeremy has his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She must be his latest conquest. It’s weird for him to bring her to the hospital though. They’re standing there speaking in hushed tones to a woman in a white coat, probably trying not to wake me up.

My mouth is still dry as I try to get their attention.

“Hey.”

All eyes turn to me and Hunter and Luke walk toward the bed. Jeremy and the girl stay at the foot of the bed as the lady I’m assuming is my Doctor pulls a chair up beside me.

“Hi, Brody. I’m Doctor Graham. It’s nice to see you back with us. I’m just going to raise you into a sitting position if that’s okay with you.”

Nodding my head I watch her as she presses a button beside the bed and I feel it slowly rising. I feel a slight ache in my head, ribs and shoulder, but apart from that I don’t feel too bad.

“Okay, that’s better. Now, Brody, Jeremy told me he has informed you a little bit about your accident. You had severe swelling on the brain as a result of the head trauma and we tried to reduce the swelling with steroids, however, they did very little, so we went with an induced coma as a last resort. The good news is it worked beautifully. We ran some scans on you a couple of days ago and the swelling had lessened considerably, so we were able to slowly bring you out of the coma.”

I nod my head even though most of what she says doesn’t even sink in, but I can tell she’s happy with my recovery.

“The bad news is that you seem to be displaying signs of a very serious after effect of a traumatic head injury. From what Jeremy has told me about your last discussion, it seems you may be suffering from short term amnesia.”

What? What the hell is she talking about? I don’t have amnesia. I glance around at each of the guys to see them all staring back at me with sad and somewhat pitiful expressions.

“I don’t have amnesia. Apart from Jeremy’s girl, I recognize everyone. The only thing I can’t remember is the accident.”The girl lets out a small sob, why the hell is she crying so much? Jeremy puts his arm around her again and pulls her close.

“Brody, we’ve already been on tour, man. I hate to say it, but the Doc’s right. You’ve forgotten all about the tour, you’ve even forgotten about what happened a month before the tour.”

“What the hell are you talking about Stone? The tour isn’t for another month. We just had a meeting about it the other day.”

Jeremy shakes his head at me. “The tour finished a month ago, man. It’s done. But you don’t remember it at all do you?”

What the hell? Is he serious? Surely he’s just bullshitting me. How could I forget something like that? It was one of the most important things to ever happen in my life and I can’t remember it. Fuck!

“Will…will my memory come back?”

The Doctor nods her head as she smiles down at me.

“Most people suffering from injury induced short term memory loss do recover their memories eventually.”

“Eventually? How long will it take?”

“Brody, everyone is different. It all depends on your brain’s recovery from the trauma. I can’t give you a time frame.”

“Shit.”

Suddenly, the girl asks a question. “Will it help if he looks at photos or if we talk about things that he has forgotten, try to jog his memory?”

The Doctor nods in agreement again. “There may be certain triggers that will help Brody recover his lost memories. Things such as sounds, scents, places, for example.”

I wonder if I have met the girl before. She seems to know me.

The Doctor stands and says she needs to complete her rounds but she’ll be back to see me in the morning.

The room is eerily silent for a few minutes after she leaves. I rub a hand over my tired eyes as I try to process the information I just received.

“You guys are going to have to tell me every little detail about the tour.”

They all look at the girl and I wonder what the hell I am missing.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Jeremy walks over and sits down on the chair the Doc had been sitting in. Leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, he says in a soft voice.

“Brody, there was a pretty important event that happened while we were on tour.”

“What? What happened?”Jeremy glances over at the girl, who is now smiling, the tears gone and then looks back at me.

“You fell in love.