Westlife Romance - Part 44
Nicky glanced at his watch. Seven o'clock. He walked over to a payphone and picked up the receiver. "At least the lines are back up," he thought as he slowly dialed Shane's number.
"Hello?" It was obvious that Shane had been up for a while now. As a matter of fact, Shane had been up all night.
"Shane...it's Nicky..."
"I don't have anything to say to you, Nicky," Shane answered coldly.
"But Shane..." The line was cut. Shane had just hung up on him. Sighing, Nicky dialed again. This time, he dialed Mark's number.
"Hello?" Mark answered groggily, though more awake that Nicky would've expected at seven in the morning.
"Hey Mark...it's Nicky..."
"Nicky...where were you??" Mark asked with a more awake tone. "We couldn't find you anywhere and it was raining outside and your mobile had no answer..."
"It ran out of batteries..." Nicky answered.
"So where are you? You know that Bryan's missing too? He ran out yesterday afternoon and he's still not back yet," Mark asked worriedly.
"I know, Mark...Bryan's at the hospital," Nicky continued. "He..."
"He's WHERE??" Mark shouted so loudly that Nicky had to pull himself away from the receiver.
"He's in the hospital, Mark," Nicky replied again. "But he's fine. They're going to release him later today. You lads should come..."
"Which hospital?" Mark asked in a more calm tone.
"St. Mary's...Room 405..."
"Okay, we're on our way..."
"Great," Nicky answered.
"Nicky?" Mark asked before hanging up.
"How 'bout you? You alright?"
"I'm fine, Mark. Thanks."
Within ten minutes, the three lads were in a taxi heading to the hospital. Shane was upset with himself for hanging up on Nicky, but was more worried about Bryan's well-being. Kian, who was feeling somewhat better, was shocked to learn that Bryan was in the hospital, though he was still preoccupied with the Derek question. Mark was the calmest of the three lads, though he too was worried about Bryan, but also about Nicky.
The three lads walked into Bryan's room just as he was stirring from his sleep. "Hey, look who's here?" Bryan managed to ask with a smile.
"Well, you're certainly cheerful for someone who just spent the night in a hospital," Mark commented.
"Hey, it wasn't anything serious," Bryan answered.
Shane still looked worried despite Bryan's apparent good spirits. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yep," Bryan answered. "Doctors say I can leave later today."
"What the hell happened anyways?" Shane continued. "You were gone for the entire day and next thing we knew, you end up in a hospital!"
"I just went out for a drink at some bar, and then ran into two lunatics and then I ended up here," Bryan stated matter-of-factly. It was then that Bryan noticed that Nicky wasn't in the room. "Hey, where's Nix?"
"I don't know," Mark remarked. "Maybe in the cafeteria getting some breakfast or something. He was the one who called me this morning..."
"Oh..." Bryan answered, somewhat disappointed that Nicky wasn't there. Even though what Nicky said yesterday still hurt him, Bryan was eager to see how his friend was holding up.
For the next hour, the four lads just chatted. They had cancelled everything for the day since finding out about Bryan's condition. The door opened and in came the nurse. "Breakfast time, Mr. McFadden," she said cheerfully as she set down the tray of food.
"Thanks!" Bryan answered happily as he began to eat as he was famished. "Oh, and have you seen my friend by any chance?"
"Oh, you mean the young man who brought you here last night?"
Bryan looked confused. "Was he blond? A little shorter than me?"
"That's him," the nurse commented. "You two caused quite a commotion last night in the emergency ward. I hear you were both drenched and sporting quite a few wounds. The other nurses tell me he carried you in the rain from a few miles away."
Bryan sat silent for a minute as he absorbed the information before turning to the nurse again. "So do you know where he is?"
"Well, I just came in for my shift. Let me check with the other nurses."
A couple of minutes later, a slighly older nurse walked into the room. "Hi Mr. McFadden, I understand that you're looking for Mr. Byrne, is that right?"
"Yes," Bryan answered. "Where is he?"
"I'm afraid that I can't seem to locate him at the moment. He might have gone to the cafeteria for some rest. He didn't sleep at all last night," she continued. "But he did ask me to give this to you."
...to be continued....