Without The Bitter (A Mayday Parade Fanfic)

Chapter 4

    Jakes POV

I woke up to a loud thud in the room, and I sat up quickly, to find Brooks lying on the floor, unconscious. The other guys woke up, and we were all surrounding him, shaking his shoulders, trying to get him to wake up.

“Alex, go tell Dave we have to get him to a hospital,” I yell, shaking him, staring at his pale face. I feel the bus speed up under us, and I start shouting at Brooks.

“Wake up Brooks, this isn’t funny!” I yell. I was losing it, and I knew they guys were going to know what was going on in probably four seconds.

“Brooks, stop it right now!” I yell louder, as I feel tears swell up in my eyes. Cabby grabs me and pulls me away, while Derek shakes Brooks more.

“Jake, he’s going to be fine,” Cabby tells me. I can tell we are pulling into a hospital now, and Dave yells back to us.

“Jake, you’re the strongest, do you think you can carry him in?” Derek ask tentatively.

“Yeah,” I reply, and I lift Brooks over my shoulder and quickly get him inside the emergency room we have just pulled up in front of.

They put him on a stretcher and wheel him away, and I fill out forms, while they take tests. I sit in the waiting room with the rest of the guys, half asleep. One after the other nods off to sleep for a few minutes, wakes up, and then looks at me. They know now, I think, but I’m too worried about Brooks to care. After what seems like forever, we’re finally let in to see him. He is laying in a bed, eyes half closed, hooked to all sorts of machines and wires.

“Which of you is closest to him?” The doctor asks as we stand in the doorway. Everyone turns to look at me, and I tell the doctor that I am.

“Will you step into the hallway with me for a moment?” The doctor asks, and I nod, while the rest of the guys go in to talk to Brooks.

“So how close are you and the patient? I’m sorry, I have to ask,” The doctor starts.

“Well, we’ve been best friends since grade school, and we’ve recently started being in a relationship together,” I say.

“Alright,” She says, “Have you noticed any changes in his eating habits or his general being lately? Has he been slow, tired, not eating much, depressed, anything?”

“Um, he’s been really tired these past couple of days. He seems a little quieter, but everyone, including him, thought he was coming down with a virus or something. He hasn’t been eating a lot lately, in the past couple of months, but we’ve seen him eat a lot of food at one time. We figured his appetite and ‘eating schedule’ changed while we were on tour, because it usually does for all of us,” I explain quickly.

“Well, Jake, it seems that Brooks has an eating disorder. He was malnourished when he arrived here,” The doctor says.

“Oh my gosh,” I say back, leaning backwards, trying to find the wall.

“Are you alright?” The doctor asks.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I say, standing up, the room spinning.

“May I go see him now?” She nods, and I walk into the room.

I whisper what I was just told to Alex, and ask him to take everyone outside and tell them, so I can talk to Brooks. He eyes were more open now, and he seemed more alert. Once the door shut, I didn’t know weather to scream at him for not telling me, or to sit and talk. I opt for my second option and sit on the bed, turning to him.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper, staring at his chest.

“I’m sorry, please don’t be angry,” He panics.

“I’m not angry. I’m just upset that you didn’t tell me,” I say, finally bringing my eyes up to meet his. I take in his pale skin, tired eyes, missing smile. I frown.

“I’m sorry,” He whispers again, and I take my hand in his.

“The guys-” He starts to say.

“I think they know, after what just happened on the bus, and anyway, I don’t care.” I say.

“What?” He asks.

“I kind of freaked out. Cabbage had to pull me away,” I say.

“Sorry,” He says again.

“Me too,” I whisper, and lean in and kiss him, just as the door handle clicks.