Loyalty

Chapter 9: Headache?

Jessica's POV

Within the past two years, there's been a slight change in my friendship with Brian. At one point, he was filming two TV shows, which made him mentally and physically exhausted. He was also committed to recording TESD almost every other week. Not to mention the Tenderloins had an exhausting touring schedule, which took up almost every weekend.

So, when Brian and I couldn't hang out as much, I wasn't thrown off. When he canceled plans because he was too exhausted from a long day of shooting, I didn't think much of it. Don't get me wrong, I was disappointed to not spend as much time with my best friend. But I understood that his career and life was busy. Despite not being able to hang out with him as much, I was incredibly proud of how successful his career has become. I still watch the show every week, as well as the constant reruns that play on TruTV. I would still consider myself Brian's biggest fan. I truly feel that the guys deserve everything that they've accomplished.

Brian and I had developed a routine of hanging out on almost every Monday, assuming he wasn't on tour. We would order some food and watch Monday Night Raw. Sometimes Sal would join us, but mostly it was just the two of us. I think Brian and I developed this little tradition as an excuse to hang out. Despite things being so hectic in both our lives, we did our best to maintain our friendship. I considered Brian to be one of my best friends, and I'm pretty sure he felt the same way. I think that if you care about someone, you'll put in the effort to make that friendship work, no matter what.

But things took a turn around July 2015. Brian wasn't just busy. There was something else going on. After getting off work one Monday, I saw I had a missed call and a voicemail from Brian.

"Hey, Jess. I uhh... I don't think I'll be able to hang out tonight. I'm not feeling great. Sorry," Brian said, hanging up abruptly.

Brian sounded exhausted, which wasn't completely out of the ordinary. But something still seemed off. I was worried about him so I immediately called him back. I called twice before he finally picked up.

"Jess, I'm sorry I had to cancel our plans."

"No, don't be sorry. I was just calling to see if you were okay?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I've been having these terrible headaches these past couple of days, and I can't sleep," he told me. Poor guy. I hated hearing that my best friend was in pain.

"I'm sorry, Brian. Do you need anything? Have you eaten? I can bring you food," I said. I probably sounded like an overprotective mom. But I was only asking all these questions because I cared about him.

"Really, I'm fine. I'm just going to try to get some rest. Hopefully, I can sleep it off," he said.

"Okay. But if you change your mind, call me. I'm here for you if you need anything. Even if it's 3 AM. The offer is always there, not just for when you're drunk," I said, making him chuckle a bit.

"Thanks, Jess. I appreciate that. But I should go, I'm exhausted."

"Okay. Call me if you need ANYTHING."

"Thanks, Jess," he said, hanging up the phone.

After getting off the phone with Brian, I still wasn't content. Of course, I wouldn't want my friend to be sick at all; But, my gut was telling me that something else was going on, and he wasn't being completely honest with me. Maybe he was sicker than he was telling me? Maybe he was trying to act strong? I didn't want to force him to tell me. Otherwise I feared that he would isolate me even further.

The next day I gave him a call, to see how he was doing.

"Hey Brian, how are you feeling?"

"Headaches have gotten worse. I'm sleeping all day, but I'm still exhausted."