Rehearsal

Part XIII

The first thing Brett noticed was a regular beeping. He groaned. He didn't felt pain but he felt stiff and just really uncomfortable.
As he opened his eyes the afternoon sun shining onto his bed seemed too bright.
Where am I? Thought Brett. What happened?
He felt cables attached to him and an IV in his arm. Why am I in a hospital?
He turned his head and started to laugh what he regretted immediately as a sharp pain went through his chest.
There was just one person who would make sure Brett had Bubble tea while staying in the hospital. But where was Eddy?

Eddy heard somebody honk. He opened up his eyes in fear and saw a car directly in front of him.
In the last second without even thinking about it, he steered his car back to his lane and hit the breaks. He stopped with squeaky wheels.
He breathed heavily. His hands were shaking. He turned down the engine and stepped out of his car. With shaking legs he took a few steps and then vomited onto the street. He felt like passing out but managed to keep standing even with black spots in front of his eyes.

Back in his car Eddy realised the silence in his head.
"I bet this is not what you wanted, Brett." Whispered Eddy. "I am sorry"
He started the engine again and drove home. More safely this time.

The sliding hospital doors didn't open fast enough so that Eddy nearly dumped into them as he was running as fast as he could. He was completely out of breath as he reached Brett's room. Mrs Yang just closed the door behind her. "Eddy. Finally, you are here. Brett asks for you all the time." - " How is he?", gasped Eddy. "He is fine. He doesn't remember much from that day. He asks a lot of questions. Please don't overwhelm him, would you?" "Sure. Sure." "Okay. I am going to get some water for him and give you two a little bit of time." - "Thank you, Mrs Yang."

Eddy entered right away. As he saw Brett all his bad thoughts just went away. He felt more relieved than ever in the last couple of months. Just now he realised under what pressure he had been and his eyes became wet again. "Brett, I am so sorry." was the first thing he said, not even knowing what he was sorry for.

As Eddy entered his room, Brett's heart sunk. His friend looked horrible. Big dark shadows below his eyes, his hair a bit long and sticking in every direction, his skin was paler than ever and for some reason, a kitchen towel was tied around his left arm. Still, Brett was so happy to see him.
He smiled brightly. "What are you sorry for?" Eddy just shrugged, he was obviously fighting his tears. "Thanks for the bubble tea. Unfortunately, the nurse took it away. She said it would be better to start with a tea with less sugar in it."

Eddy laughed at that statement. It was the first real laugh in a long time. But it vanished with Bretts next question: "What happened that day Eddy? My memories are kind of blurry. I just got a couple of pictures in my head." Eddy sat next to Brett and took a deep breath. "Now is not the time for that. The only important thing is that you are okay now." - "I want to know, Eddy." - "But I am not gonna tell you." His voice got harsher than he wanted to. "Sorry, Brett. I am just not ready to talk about it yet." - "It's okay." Brett smiled, but Eddy could see that his friend was hurt.

A few seconds passed then Brett's face brightened up again. "I am curious. How did you know I was waking up today? Or did you bring me bubble tea every day?" Eddys face reddened. "Well..." He laughed nervously. "It might not be the first cup of Bubble tea the nurse had thrown away." Brett laughed and Eddy's heart became lighter again. "You are crazy, Eddy."

Eddy couldn't help it. Seeing Brett awake and laughing with joy, he stood up and hugged him tightly. And all went loose. His tears were streaming down his face as he gripped his friend tighter. "Oh, Thanks but.. Eddy that hurts a little bit.", whispered Brett.
"I thought you were never going to wake up again," said Eddy with a shaking voice, not letting go. "I was so afraid you were going to die."