It took them a while to get back to the hotel. Kevin had called ahead, and taken care of everything with their management to postpone the next three shows. After that they would evaluate how AJ’s leg had healed and see what needed to be done. But word had got out about the accident, and they were swarmed with fans at the hospital. They had to book new hotel rooms the next town over in an effort to hide from all of their fans.
By the time they got to the hotel and had checked in, both AJ and Brian were looking a little white. The other guys bundled them upstairs, but when they tried to get them to separate rooms, Brian protested. “Guys, we’re big boys, we can do this ourselves. I need to talk to J for a bit first.”
“What you two both need is a pain pill and some sleep.” Kevin said, crossing his arms over his chest. He wore his stern, fatherly look. “You guys get those scripts filled before you left?”
“Yes.” Brian answered right as AJ said “No.”
Kevin turned his full glare on AJ. “Why not?” he asked. You could almost hear the ‘young man’ tacked on to the end of it.
With a shrug, AJ adjusted on his crutches. He pulled his keycard out of his pocket and opened his door. Just as he started in, he had to pivot to look at Howie. “D? You got anything extra I can wear till I get shopping?” All of his stuff had been inside of Brian’s bus. Realizing that, Howie nodded and popped open the rolling suitcase he had with him. He pulled out two pairs of sweats and a couple shirts to go with them. They were things he always kept extra of, just out of habit. AJ had used to crash in his room all the time, and it was easier to have extra stuff packed if he needed it. After a while it just became habit.
AJ took them with a grateful smile and turned to hobble in to his room. His leg was killing him, and he wanted to get off it a.s.a.p. Unfortunately, everyone followed him in. He ignored them as he went to the bathroom and used the facilities. After a few painful attempts, he managed to get the sweats on. More comfortable, and extremely ready to lay down, he grabbed his crutches and swung his way back out, heading straight for the bed.
He climbed right in, propping himself against the headboard. Brian walked in with extra pillows under his arm. He must have grabbed them from his own room. Together they managed to get them under AJ’s leg so that it was elevated. That eased some of the throbbing.
No one else had taken the hint and left, though. Kevin was standing at the end of the bed still looking annoyed and fatherly. “Did you get anything for the pain, AJ?” he demanded. “You need to take something and get some sleep.”
“Look, dad, I don’t take pills, ok? Let it drop.” Something in AJ’s tone had them all looking at him. Slowly the light dawned on them. One of the addictions that AJ had abused had been medication. When he saw that they had all remembered, he gave a glare of his own. “Now can y’all jet so I can talk to Brian, then get to bed?”
Slowly the others filed from the room. When the door finally clicked shut, Brian turned and flashed AJ a crinkly smile. He didn’t hesitate to climb into bed with him, using what was left of the pillows to prop himself up. It eased the pressure on his arm, and he sighed in relief. He had already taken his pain pill and it was starting to kick in.
“So,” Brian started, staring at their feet. “I heard Kev talking to the cops out there. He didn’t want me involved in it, and told the cops that we didn’t know anything. Apparently from what little they could tell, someone made a small cut so that the brake fluid ran out. That way they didn’t crap out right away.”
“Go figure.” AJ scoffed. He laid his head back, letting it loll sideways so he could look at Brian’s face. “You really think he did this?”
It was hard for him to think that Dave would do something like this. A man had died because of it. They were lucky that they had survived. “When I kicked him out…” Brian paused, looking over at AJ. “…well, he told me something like ‘now you think you’re free to go to him. You’re making a fucking mistake.’ I don’t know how much that counts in anything, but the way he said it weirded me out.”
AJ let out a deep sigh. His one hand went to his knee, massaging it right above where the cut ended. His eyes were pinched from pain, but Brian knew better than to say anything. When AJ spoke, his voice was low and angry. “I believe it was him. When we were fighting in the hall, well, he told me ‘You’ll never have him. I swear to God, here and now, that I’ll never let you have him.’ That sounds like a threat to me.”
It was like his worst fears coming true. Ever since AJ had suggested it right after the accident, the idea had been praying in Brian’s mind. He had hoped that they would be able to discount it. But everything they were saying only cemented it more and more. “God, Alex. What’re we going to do?”
“We don’t have any proof to give the cops. There’s nothing that comes right out and says that he’s going to kill us. An what he did say he was smart enough to say without witnesses around, so it’s us against him. He could play it right and make it sound like we’re making it up.”
“So, what? We just wait to see if he tries it again? Or do you think this once will be enough for him?”
The hatred that flashed into AJ’s face had Brian blinking in shock. “I aint waiting around for him to try again, Bri. He killed a man. A good man. That mother fucker is going to go down. I expected him to come after me. But this was aimed at you, personally. He had no way of knowing I’d be on your bus, unless he did it while we were both on there.”
But Brian was shaking his head. “If he bled the brakes, it would have had to have been right before we left, or they would have bled out before the bus even started. He had to have done it while we were talking, which means it was geared at us both.”
“How the hell didn’t we hear him!”
“I don’t know. But I think we need to tell the guys what’s going on.”
With a groan, AJ let his forehead drop to rest on Brian’s shoulder. “That is going to suck.” He whined. Involuntarily Brian chuckled. “You’re such a nerd.”
“Oh, shove it. They’ll all have pity for you in this one. But they’re going to look at me like I’m a Jezebel!”
The image that gave Brian had him laughing. “Oh, J, you’re hilarious.” He chuckled, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “A Jezebel.”
“You only laugh cause it won’t be you! They’ll all think I led you to sin against your ol’ man. I mean, I am the bad influence of the group.” There was a slightly self-mocking note in there that had Brian turning his head to look at AJ. Now that he had gotten to know this other side of AJ, he was seeing it more and more when he spoke with him. Either he had been blind before, or AJ was opening up to him in a way he hadn’t before.
With a gentle touch, Brian reached up and ran his knuckles down AJ’s cheek. “I won’t let them blame you.” He said softly.
Heart in his eyes, AJ looked directly at Brian. His voice dropped and filled with such sincere emotion that it touched Brian’s heart. “I am sorry for lying to you, Bri. I hope you know that. But, after everything I told you about my old relationship, can you at least see why I wanted to have you get to know the real me first?”
“I can.” Brian smiled and leaned in, surprising AJ by giving him a soft, quick kiss. “Plus, I don’t hold grudges very well. I may not have realized it until after Dave was gone, but I fell for James. I’d already liked you to begin with, I just thought you were straight. But getting to know James let me get to know you more than I ever had. Now that all the puzzle pieces are together, I like what I see even more. A whole lot more.”
AJ’s smile was so wide it crinkled his eyes. He snuggled in closer. Brian lifted his arm, wrapping it around AJ’s shoulders so that they could stay cuddled together, propped up by pillows. “So, what’re we gonna tell them?” AJ asked.
“Thought you didn’t want to?”
The teasing note to Brian’s voice had AJ grinning. “Yeah, well, with you on my side, they can say anything they want.”
“You’ve always got me on your side, Alex.”
“I’m starting to realize that. It’s nice. I hope you know you’ve got me on yours, too. You mean a lot to me, Bri. You have for quite a while. I just never thought I’d be here, lying in a bed with you.”
“Wrapped in bandages after a horrific car accident? Yeah, never saw us here either.”
AJ chuckled and snuggled further in, poking Brian lightly in the side. “Smart ass.” He mumbled. The stress of the day combined with how comfortable he was now was bringing sleep to AJ fast. Neither of them said another words as slowly, they drifted off with one another.