"Hey sonny are you alright?", a man in executive suit, with graying hair asked the eldest of the Hardys'. Chocolate eyed and chocolate haired , about whom his younger brother always used to say that whenever he feel hungry he feels like eating them as they resemble chocolate so much, youth shook his head slightly so as to pass the dizziness. Frank along with the man in executive was standing near the edge of stairs at the top floor of the Grand Hotel New York. Frank was about to slip from the stairs, when the passing by man caught hold of his arm.
"yeah sir, Thank you very much, I am fine just a little shaken up." Frank replied politely
"you know you could have been killed, hey you are not drinking I suppose, at least I don't expect a fine lad like you into drugs.", They guy said when he saw the glazed look in the kids eyes.
"No no sir I am not in drugs, I am just tired.", He was now really getting annoyed at the man, although he has just been saved by him but the man was being too nosy.
"Okay kid! Take care and take rest then, bye" the elderly man sensing the discomfort of the teenager left the Frank alone.
"Hell this headache…..", Frank Hardy muttered to himself as he started going down the stairs, he had the appointment with the Chief Peterson about the new case his father was working on and he was getting late.
Fenton Hardy, a well known Private Investigator has sent his eldest son to New York to collect some files from the Chief of the New York Police Department. His youngest son, a blonde blue eyed and much more attractive, Joe Hardy also wanted to accompany his brother, but he had a football match. He was an ace player of Bayport Highs' and the football team is always incomplete without him. So this left the serious and calm natured Frank Hardy to do the job alone. And as he reached New York very late, thanks to the traffic, he had to spend the night in the hotel and he called the Chief so as to postpone their meeting till the morning.
Frank Hardy has been suffering from these continual headaches for a quite a while now. His vision gets blurry and he also can't concentrate on things now easily, whenever he tries to do so his head starts to hurt more and he often feels dizzy. He has not told this to any body considering it just normal headaches he gets from exhausting himself. After all he and his brothers are very good amateur detectives and are usually busy with many dangerous cases.
While he was in the New York and he had the time and as his head was killing him, he decided to pay a visit to a private doctor there.
"Ah so your age is eighteen? Right Mr. Hardy?" asked Doctor Barley looking at the CT scan of Frank Hardy.
"Yeah"
"So tell me about these headaches you are having, do you feel nausea in the morning."
"Yeah I do but the feeling remains only for the few hours after I wake up in the morning, what does this have to do with my headaches?"
"Hmmm, so kid tell me about your balance."
"Its perfectly normal", Frank replied now completely lost.
"When your head hurts a lot, then what about your balance?"
"I could not contain it, I can not even walk straight and without falling."
After asking few other questions like this, the doctor said, "Ok now have you banged your head terribly in the past?". This question brought a little bit of smile to young Hardys' face and he said "Oh yeah many times." "Hmmm so when was the last time you got a good bump on your head?"
Start of flash back:
Frank and Joe Hardy both were playing soccer with their young friends. But this time the friends wanted to have a game in which every body plays the position totally opposite to his nature. So although both the Hardy Boys are very close to each other, they were playing against each other. Hot headed Joe Hardy was the defender and Frank Hardy was attacking the goal post for the other team.
Joe saw his brother tactfully tackled the ball towards the D of his team and he rushed forward to save the goal. He tried to tackle his brother in order to get the ball, but Frank had so much speed that after tackled and tripping over his brothers feet he could not keep himself steady, he fell on the ground and kept sliding to the post. And then with a sickening crack his head collided with one of the pole, he felt as if his world had exploded in pain. After few minutes when he opened his eyes he saw all of his friends kneeling on his side, with worry etching their faces. At that time Frank Hardy was able to give a weak smile to all and declared that he is fine despite all the pain he was in. this was the end of their extra ordinary game…..
End of flash back.
"When I was playing football with my friends and my head got stuck to the goal post pole." Frank Hardy informed the doctor.
"So did you visit the doctor after that, so as to get your injury checked?" the doctor kept interrogating him like he was some sort of a criminal.
"Nah, although my brother wanted me to do so, I did not go to the doctor."
"Why?" here comes another question.
"No particular reason, just did not feel like it." Frank Hardy was easily irritated now a days because of the continual headaches and now he was too much irritated by being questioned like some criminal. Hell! Now he knows how the suspects felt when the detectives or the police interrogate them.
"Well sonny I think that was a terrible mistake", the doctor look real sad for some reason.
"Huh?"
The next words that came out of the doctors' mouth were very blunt, and they mercilessly pierced into brunettes' heart. "You see, at that time you had internal bleeding in your head, and when you did not get it treated, it has now become a tumor, and the worst part is this as it is in your medulla oblongata there is no chance of removing it. I am terribly sorry son."
"Hey bro!!! you know you seem to be dazed out, you seem out of character." Joe Hardy asked his elder brother, with pure concern. He has always seen his elder brother active and attentive all the time, never had he seen the dazed out look on him. He had been watching his brother play with his cereal for quite a time a now. "Huh?!? Oh yeah baby brother I am perfectly fine" with that the elder Hardy ruffled his brother affectionately.
Frank has been acting real strange since the time he has returned from his trip to New York and lately Joe has been real amazed of his brothers' attitude. Agreed Frank loves him a lot but lately he has been showing it altogether too much. The way he looks at Joe, makes Joe nervous, his eyes are always full of love for him. And never did the older Hardy try to hide the affection for his brother.
Smiling Joe suddenly felt a rush of love towards his brother; he immediately grasped his elder brother into a bear hug. And the hug was so tight that Frank could swear he heard his ribs cracking. Joe quietly said in his brothers' ear "You know elder brother; I love you so much that I think I can not live without you, without you I am not Joe Hardy, and without you I am a dead man, you make me whole bro you make me complete". Although Joe said it all in pure love but still this rare way of expressing love made Frank Hardys' heart ache
"I love you so much that I think I can not live without you, without you I am not Joe Hardy, and without you I am a dead man, you make me whole bro you make me complete", "Argh make the voices stop". Frank muttered under his breath, actually he wanted to scream but could not do so as not to disturb his younger brother sleeping next door at this time of night. Joes' words were haunting him. He knew that the time of his eternal doom is coming nearer and nearer as clock ticks, but never for once have he thought about how his brother will feel when he won't be there to help him??? How will Joe take his absence??? "What sort of a foolish idiot had I been??? I was selfish…. For all these days I have thought about just myself, that I am going to die and to express as much love as possible to Joe as I will not be able to hug him to love him again. I never thought that if I am out of my brothers' life, my brother may not be able to live normally." These were the poor guys' thoughts.
Whenever you can see the death is standing right in front of you and has its arms wide open for you. When you can clearly see that death wants nothing more but to kiss you, life starts looking several folds more beautiful. One can recall so many of the good times, each and every love becomes more extensive and aggressive. At that time all one wants is to live the life and never to die and never to leave his loved ones. But life is cruel…..
This was exactly what was young Hardy was experiencing. He thought about his mothers' love for him. That strong lady although bears a lot but she may not be able to handle the death of her first born. His father, the most famous detective although has tackled many wicked criminals, but will the death of one of his sons will be easy enough to handle? No! Off course no. he will be shattered. Franks aunt??? She has always kept scolding her nephew for doing dangerous work, what will she do after his death???
His girlfriend, who looks more like his wife then his girlfriend, they have really been close, like an old married couple. How will she take it? Biff, Chet, Phil, Tony……… what about his friends? And most of all his beloved brother??? No he does not want to die; he wants to live by the side of his loved ones a little bit more.
"I love you so much that I think I can not live without you, without you I am not Joe Hardy, and without you I am a dead man, you make me whole bro you make me complete". Frank silently slid out of his bed and glanced at the clock on his desk, it stated 2:10 am. He slid into his brothers' room. Frank saw Joe fast asleep, lying on his side, his legs dangling out of the blanket. Under his gaze, Joe turned to his back muttering incoherently. Frank could not stop him and planted a light kiss on his dear baby brothers' forehead. And tucked him in properly and left silently as his eyes threatened to let the tears flow freely.
As soon as Frank entered his room, he fell to his knees and started crying. If anyone would have tried, he would have clearly heard the sobs, which were muffled by the angry young man as he was placing both of his hands over mouth. His closed eyes were concealing the new heights of pains.
"Hey Joe, listen bro you have to make habit of waking up on your own, you know I am not always going to be with you to wake you up in time for the school." Frank said to his younger brother, in a more irritated voice then he intended to. Joe looked up in surprise, and stopped shoveling his cereal in his mouth. "You don't mean it…." His arctic blue eyes showed nothing but intense surprise. "I mean it Joe" Frank retorted as he placed his untouched breakfast in to the fridge and went out of the kitchen door mumbling something about waiting for his brother in the van. Joe could not see the hurt, then pain, the despair in his brothers' eyes. All he felt was as somebody has punched him in his gut.
Frank placed his report from the CT scan into his school locker. This was the only that was safe enough to keep a secret like this. The younger siblings are always very nosy, they would ransack your room and go through every thing that you own without even bothering to ask permission, so he had to keep such a thing off his brothers' eyes. He just could not tell his family about the main reason of his headaches; he knew them well enough to know that they will die beforehand.
"Frank" he heard somebody call him. Joe!!! His mind registered. "you…. What you said in the morning, why???? Is it about you graduating this year and going to the university without me", Joe asked with pain in his eyes. "Better for Joe to think this way then letting him know that I am going to be separated to him by the hands of death", Frank thought bitterly but just said "yeah". "Why??? Cant you wait for just a year more, so that we both could go together", the younger Hardy knew pretty well that he is being selfish, but he could just not bear to see the coming year without his brother beside him. "No Joe! I can't keep my career at stake for you. Now you have to learn to take care of your self alone." He said bitterly. Joe felt as some rod has went through his heart.
I can't keep my career at stake for you. Now you have to learn to take care of your self alone
I can't keep my career at stake for you. Now you have to learn to take care of your self alone
I can't keep my career at stake for you. Now you have to learn to take care of your self alone
I can't keep my career at stake for you. Now you have to learn to take care of your self alone
"Okay. You know elder brother now I am going to show you that I really can take care of you. I don't need you to baby-sit me. Just go away. " Joe turned away from his brother as fast as he could but not before Frank Hardys' keen eyes got a view of the tears gleaming in his brothers eyes.
He has always done every thing to protect his younger brother from getting hurt. But look at him now he himself is now hurting Joe.
Ever since that day, Joe had been avoiding Frank. But he really was trying hard to prove to Frank that he can really take good care of himself. Frank felt a little good about this.
their parents had left for Florida to get a well deserved vacations. So they were left alone in the house. Now Joe did not had to act friendly towards his elder brother anymore in front of them. He was free to his anger to him. Hell!!! He really was mad at his elder brother.
That day was the fourth day after their parents had left, and Joe was in his gym class, when Paul, one of the Franks class mates came running towards him.
"Joe, come quick to the nurse office." He said to Joe and then said to the gym teacher, "Sir I need to borrow Joe as his brother is not feeling good." Hearing this Joes' heart did a back flip. "What???"
He rushed to the nurse office as fast as he could, he had a very dreadful feeling in his gut. And then he saw his elder brother. Lying there on a couch, ashen faced was unconscious. The nurse was calling the hospital for the ambulance and Franks' best friend Phil was kneeling on his knees beside the couch, slapping Franks' face lightly to revive him. But so far he had no success.
"Frank!?!", "We can not revive him and his breathing is getting more and more shallower as time passes so I have called the ambulance. Which will be here in few minutes." The nurse informed him. "But what happened to him?" he asked. "well nothing actually, we were in the English literature class, when he suddenly put his head on the desk. The teacher thought he has gone to sleep so he came and screamed at him, Frank did not responded. But when the teacher tried to nudge him a little, he slipped from his chair on to the floor. That when we came to know that he has actually fainted." This time it was Phil who replied.
Joe was in the waiting room and was waiting for any news on his brother. But so far all he knew was that the doctors could not really pin point the reason of his brothers unconsciousness and they did not have any success in waking him up. This was scaring Joe.
The strange and uncomfortable sensation in Joes' heart was getting heavier and heavier as the clock ticks. But he soon found out why?
Phil, Chet, Biff, Vanessa, Tony entered the waiting room with sobbing, rather a wailing, Callie. "Joe, Callie found this in Franks locker, when she was putting his stuff in it after the class." Phil gave him a white envelop. Joe hesitantly took it and took a look at his friends. They all seemed very grim. And then with shaky hands he tore open the envelop.
"Frank Hardy has the last stage Brain Tumor……."
Frank had slipped into the coma and after looking at his CT scan report, the doctors doubted that Frank is ever going to wake up from it.
Joe clasped his hands around his brothers cold hands and started crying, now he knew that why his brother was pushing him away for past few months. He just wanted to make sure that Joe will be able to carry on his life on his own.
Joe felt as somebody has stabbed his heart, when he took in his brothers pale face. Frank was his hope, and doctors say that he is soon going to lose him. Damn! He never wanted this. This hurts a lot. At that time Joe wished that he dies too. The pain was intolerable.
He had another responsibility. Who is going to call their parents in Florida about this???
A/N:
My tenses suck….. m, was very poor in grammar.
Hope you liked it. R & r