Sirens. That's all she could hear. Deafening, loud, painful. She opened one eye, and automatically closed it against the blinding lights around her. It didn't help any, she could still see the flashing red and blue lights inside her head. Red and blue. Red and Blue. Then, she realized why she was there, and what the sounds were. She remembered seeing him fall, and seeing him limp on the ground, a puddle of blood growing beneath him. She remembered everyone else run out screaming, and Simon dialing 911, and she remembered leaning over Alvin's body, and thinking he was dead.
Brittany held back her sudden urge to cry, and attempted to stand up. She felt lightheaded and dizzy, as if the whole thing had been a horrible nightmare. She realized that someone had came up beside her, helping her steady herself.
"Thanks, Jeanette." Brittany said quietly. She looked around at her surroundings, seeing the police talking to Simon, Theodore and Eleanor sobbing into each others' shoulders, and finally her eyes rested upon a stretcher with a blanket over it.
She took a sharp intake of breath, and closed her eyes, turning away from the stretcher as the paramedics pushed it into the back of the ambulance. Jeanette noticed this, and put an arm around her younger sister.
"It's okay, Brittany…"
"No," She interrupted. "It's not okay. He sacrificed himself to push me out of the way, and he wouldn't have even needed to do that if I hadn't jumped out like an idiot…"
"Brittany, quit—"
"No Jeanette! And where do you think he got the idea to stand up to Blazer from? If only I would've just let him handle it, and stayed out of the way like you guys…"
Jeanette put both of her hands on Brittany's shoulders, silencing her. "Brittany, quit blaming yourself. Alvin is strong, he'll pull through, but he wouldn't want you beating yourself up like this."
Brittany's lower lip trembled slightly as a few tears reluctantly strayed down her face. She felt Jeanette embrace her tightly, and all she could manage to whisper was, "It's all my fault…"
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Beeping. That's all she could concentrate on as they entered Alvin's hospital room. The fact that everything was beeping.
She gasped as she saw him, lying motionless in the hospital bed before her. She felt Jeanette place a hand on her shoulder, and Eleanor do so as well. Simon and Theodore merely stared at their brother.
They stood there in comforting silence, until Brittany sat down in the chair beside Alvin's bed, suddenly thinking of a song that was on one of the many CDs Alvin had burned for her. She started singing softly, not caring who was around her.
I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
She realized how much the words to the song fit perfectly with the predicament they were currently in, and stopped, afraid to open her mouth in case she bursted into tears.
She lowered her head, trying to keep her tears in control. Suddenly, a soft voice could be heard in front of her, and she looked up surprised as Alvin began singing faintly, his eyes still closed, but a small smile creeping on his face.
The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
She began singing with him, their voices growing stronger as one.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
She leapt up from the chair, and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she would allow herself.
"I-I thought you were a goner…" She whispered in his ear.
He merely smiled, stroking her hair lightly. She noticed how weak his grip was on her, and let her grip loosen. They eventually broke the embrace, and Brittany settled back in the seat beside his bed, holding one of his hands. The other chipmunks walked up to the two, smiling at Alvin.
"How are you feeling, Alvin?" Simon asked.
"I… It hurts." Alvin said softly.
Theodore scampered up to him, holding up a small basket shyly. "Me and Eleanor made you some cookies, Alvin."
Alvin looked surprised. "How long was I out?"
"A while… It's already Saturday." Simon replied.
Alvin looked shocked. He had been out cold for the whole night? Suddenly, the door flung open, and Dave ran in the room, wrapping his arms around Alvin gently.
"Alvin! Oh my… Why didn't you just tell me what was going on? It shouldn't be like this… It's all my fault… I should have known…"
Dave continued holding Alvin until Alvin squirmed under his grip. "Dave… You're hurting… me…"
"Oh, sorry." Dave said, letting go of him. "Alvin what in the world were you thinking? Taking on a guy like that by yourself…"
Alvin leaned back against the pillow, closing his eyes for a second. "I'm sorry, Dave… Am I in trouble?"
Hearing his son's voice so weak and fragile, his expression softened even more. He gave Alvin a small smile.
"Well… Sort of. But just because you lied to me. We'll talk about it later, okay?"
"Okay, Dave."
Suddenly, a cop entered the room, looking straight at Dave. He noticed Alvin, and smiled.
"Oh, good. You're awake. You gave us quite a scare, kid." He smiled. "Ah, Mr. Seville, we found the creeps that shot your son. We retrieved the $120 that Alvin gave them right before the incident, but the rest was lost. They confessed to everything, including spending the money on alcohol and drugs." The cop handed Dave a pouch containing the money.
Dave thanked him, and the cop left the room, wishing Alvin a quick recovery.
"Well, I suppose we better get some lunch while we're here. We'll be back in a little while, Alvin." Dave said, opening the door. Miss Miller suddenly zoomed into the room, hugging Alvin tightly. Alvin gasped in pain, but didn't say anything.
"Oh, dear! Oh deary dear dear! Why on earth would anyone want to shoot you? Let me at that punk, I'll give him a good whack with my purse…"
"Miss Miller, everything's fine. The cops have arrested them." Dave said reassuringly.
Miss Miller reluctantly let go of Alvin, and smiled. "All right then, David.
Dave rolled his eyes, and held the door open. "We were about to go get a quick bite to eat in the cafeteria. Care to join us?"
"Sure, David. Let me just make sure I have enough money for everyone." She began counting money in her purse.
"Want us to bring you anything, Alvin?"
"No thanks, Dave." Alvin replied quietly, shifting positions in bed.
"Okay… Be back in a minute." Dave said, escorting everyone into the hallway.
Brittany continued to sit beside Alvin, catching Miss Miller's attention as she was walking out the door.
"Brittany, are you not coming honey?"
Brittany shook her head. "I'm not hungry, Miss Miller. I think I'll just stay here with Alvin."
Miss Miller smiled knowingly, and went out into the busy hallway.
Brittany turned back to Alvin as Miss Miller shut the door, and remained silent for a few seconds. He was staring out the window, a depressed look on his face.
"I'm… going to be paralyzed, aren't I?" He asked suddenly.
Brittany looked surprised. She had not been prepared for that question, nor had she even thought about it.
"I-I don't know… Why?"
He faced her, sadness reflecting in his eyes. "I can't move my leg."
"Are—are you sure it's not just asleep?"
Alvin shook his head. "I don't think so…"
Brittany took his hand, squeezing it. "Alvin, I'm so, so sorry…"
He looked up at her quizzically. "For what?"
She bit her lip, taking a small breath and looking him in the eyes. He saw tears shining in them, but didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry… For everything. For telling you to stand up to Blazer. For jumping out behind the building. For getting in the way…" She said, turning her head away from him.
How she managed to keep her tears intact was a mystery to him. He took his hand and gently turned her head to meet his eyes.
"I'm not blaming you, Britt. Don't be sorry."
Somehow, his voice was a comfort to her. She smiled, her eyes still brimming with tears. Suddenly, the door flew open, and a middle aged nurse came bounding into the room.
"Time to get ready Mr. Seville—Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?"
Brittany shook her head, standing up and letting go of Alvin's hand. "No, no… You weren't interrupting anything."
The nurse smiled. "Oh, okay. I just came in here to prep Mr. Seville for surgery."
Brittany saw the color drain literally from Alvin's face.
"S-s-s-urgery?" He stammered.
"Yes, so if we could just move you to a private room…"
Brittany stopped her. "Could we just have a second alone, first?"
The nurse raised an eyebrow. "Sure… Just call me whenever you're ready."
As soon as the door shut behind the nurse, Alvin flung his arms up in the air, screaming, "I'm too young to die!"
Brittany couldn't help but smile at the way he was over-reacting. It reminded her of the old days…
"Alvin, you're not going to die." She said, laughing a little.
"How do you know?! We haven't even heard from the doctor yet!"
Brittany shrugged. "I'm sure he'll give us a better report as soon as they get that bullet out of you."
"Brittany! You're not helping!"
"Well, do you want to be scarred for life?"
"Why haven't they already gotten it out?!"
"I guess they didn't want to start internal bleeding, or something…"
"I'm not going to be sliced up like a piece of meat!"
"Alvin… You're over-reacting again."
"No I'm not! How are you so sure something won't go wrong in there? What if they accidentally drop a pair of scissors inside of me?!"
"They won't."
"But what if they do?!"
"They won't, Alvin."
"How are you so sure?"
"You're just going to have to trust me." Brittany said softly, getting up closer to his face.
His face softened into a worried look. "B-but, I'm not sure if—"
Brittany silenced him by pressing her lips against his, catching him off-guard. The sensation of her soft lips against his overwhelmed him, and soon he found he eyes drifting shut, the beeping of the heart monitor growing faster by the second.
The finally broke apart, and Brittany smiled. "Do you trust me now?"
Alvin merely nodded, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. He glanced at the machine beside them that was beeping frantically, and blushed, knowing exactly why it had sped up.
"It must be broken."
Brittany just laughed, holding her companion's hand.
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MUSHAY! xD Well, hey… One of my reviewers SAID that they like mushy stuff, so that's what I gave ya! And I'm not exactly sure how a heart monitor works, so sorry if it's not described right… xD