Chapter Ten

Loved Ones

Eddy Cool gently walked through the white corridor with blue highlights, glancing at the plaques on the wall as he passed. The St. Thomas Hospital was surprisingly quiet and the corridor Eddy was in had no-one walking about. He had gotten instructions from the reception, after explaining that yes, he knew Bridge, and yes, he would sort of kind of consider the superstar a friend. The receptionist had apparently been told not to let anyone suspicious visit Bridge in case they were a journalist or a blogger ready to leak images. Eddy was forced to explain himself and present his business card until the receptionist was satisfied.

The white corridors reminded Eddy far too much of his childhood, fuelling his dislike for hospitals. Years of coming home after school to visit his mother. She had been so strong, staying on the right side of the line eight years after she was given a four-month notice of her death. When she finally did go, it had been one of the saddest moments of Eddy's life. Thank God he had Felicity, else he wasn't sure how he would have gone about his life. Both Felicity and his mother had told him to always smile, no matter the circumstances, so Eddy had made a career out of smiling for the cameras.

He had spent the first years after college as an extra on various TV shows, but found the scripted aspect of it put him off. He eventually merged into news stories, a stint as a gameshow host, until finally he found his calling in hosting all sorts of music events, from small performances in a bar to huge concerts like the For The People Festival.

Finally, he found the room he was looking for and gently knocked on the door to announce his entrance. He had been told that Bridge had not woken up since his injury but Eddy still felt like he needed to visit. Apparently a girl had been by Bridge's side the whole way through, refusing to leave Bridge for even a second. Eddy found it an amusing thought that Bridge was hiding a girlfriend somewhere. The man had the social skills of a brick.

Getting no response from his knock, Eddy gently opened the door and for a moment couldn't register what he was looking at.

Bridge was still on the hospital bed, the covers wrapped over his slim frame. He was so tall that his feet hung over the edge of the bed. It would have been funny if it was anyone other than Bridge. His eyes were closed – well, his left eye was. Eddy couldn't see the right under the swath of bandages wrapped around Bridge's right-side of his face.

And lying curled up in a chair like a cat next to Bridge was a girl that Eddy recognised. She was clutching Bridge's hand tightly, but her back was rising softly. It was the girl who had somehow sneaked into the back of the theatre, and the girl who had jumped on stage and arguably saved Bridge's life – if pissing Bridge off to the point of abandoning his own performance could be called such.

Seeing the two of them in the strangely serene position, Eddy felt like he was intruding on a special moment. The girl clearly cared for Bridge, even if the musician didn't reciprocate those feelings.

However, just as soon as Eddy turned his back he heard a soft groan followed by a yawn. He glanced back to see the girl stretching, making herself seem even more like a feline. Her eyes instantly connected to Eddy's and narrowed in suspicion. "What do you want?" Her voice was full of venom but quiet so as not to disturb Bridge.

Eddy decided to head further into the room and sat on the other seat placed against the wall. "I just… wanted to see how Bridge is getting on."

"He's doing fine. Bridge is strong."

"Yeah, he really is…" Eddy nodded and decided to venture into risky territory. "You're… the girl who came backstage at the concert hall, aren't you?"

"What are you going to do about it?" The girl's form tightened up. "You've got no proof, the whole place burned down."

"No, no, no," Eddy put his hands up to alleviate the girl's suspicions. "That's long and done with. Harmless, really. You saved Bridge and I guess by extension you saved me. So thank you." Eddy offered his hand to the bemused girl. "My name is Eddy Cool, by the way."

The girl stared at the hand suspiciously but after a moment quickly grasped it and gave it an awkward shake. "Lily."

"A nice name, that one."

"I suppose."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two, clearly full of differences. Eddy ventured to breach the void, "How do you know Bridge?"

"Gerald and I've known each other since his debut."

Eddy's eyes widened. "Excuse me? Did you say… No one knows Bridge's real name."

"No one but me," something flashed in Lily's eyes. "What about you. You're one of the few people Bridge actually holds conversation with."

"We're just… business partners, of sorts. I hosted a number of Razor's Edge's concerts and helped him out when he left them, even if he doesn't like to admit it." Eddy smiled at Lily. "Well, it looks like he's in good hands. Seems like he owes you again for saving his life."

"Bridge doesn't owe me a thing," Lily replied stiffly.

"Heh… You're one of a kind, you know? I guess you share that with Bridge." Eddy stood up. "Can you get him to call me when he wakes up? I am concerned for him. He'll laugh at me, I know, but still…"

"I'll ask him, at least."

"Thank you. I'll leave you two to it."

Lily watched Eddy leave the room and the door swing shut. She looked down at Bridge's bandaged face in concern before curling back up on the chair, tucking her legs underneath her.

"…And then he came up to me and hit on me, can you believe that? Just swaggers on up with that cocky smile of his and goes, 'Hey there Maylene, you wanna… You know?"

Jason smiled softly from his position on the sofa. Maylene was draped across him, her curly black hair tousled around her neck and her blue eyes sparkling. He knew Maylene would never betray him like that. "And what did you do?"

"I may have accidentally thrown my drink into his face." Maylene shrugged with a smile. "He left soaked, completely embarrassed. That'll teach him. Besides, he didn't know, but you're the one for me," Maylene gently tapped her fingers up Jason's chest. They hovered at his collar and tickled at his neck.

Jason looked into her eyes and trailed his own fingers down the small of her back. Maylene tensed up as his hands searched further down. She smiled widely and looked with luscious eyes at Jason. The two stared at each other before Maylene giggled and Jason chuckled. They locked lips, searching each other's mouths lovingly. They finally pulled away, panting.

"I think… the bedroom'll be much more comfortable that this old sofa…" Jason breathed, although to be perfectly honest he could have taken Maylene right there and then and mourned his back in the morning. However Maylene pulled away from him and pulled her small crop top over her shoulders, twirling it around her finger before throwing it in the corner. She moved sexily to the stairs and Jason just had to follow, pulling off his own shirt on the way.

By the time they had made it to the bedroom, Jason was impatient to go. He pulled off his trousers and threw them by the cupboard, turning around to watch Maylene undress.

"WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO MY PROBLEMS!" Maylene screeched, her voice echoing around the room. Jason blinked, shocked. She held a wine bottle in her hand and staggered slightly as she approached Jason. "It's not all about you, Jason! I have my problems, I have my situations!"

"Maylene? I-"

"DON'T! Just don't say a word!" Maylene was furious and Jason just didn't why. She swung the wine bottle in the air and crashed it off the wall, sending the red liquid everywhere. Shards of glass dropped to the carpet but Jason wasn't worried about that. Maylene was holding the broken neck of the bottle and swinging her arm.

He watched the glass soar through the air but couldn't do a thing as it slashed into his cheek, tearing through the flesh. Jason yelled out in pain, falling back onto the bed, blood seeping down his bare chest and onto the bed. It seemed far too much blood for a simple wound like this but Jason paid it no mind. He pushed up off the bed into a seated position and all his breath caught in his throat.

Swinging back and forth slowly like a twisted pendulum, Maylene hung from the roof, a rope tight around her neck. Her hair cascaded over her face, though Jason could see a sheen of blood over the left side of her face.

"M-Maylene!" Jason ran from the bed towards her, putting his arms around her waist to alleviate the weight. But it was no use… Her body was stiff, rigor mortis already setting in. "Maylene! Why?!" Jason pulled away, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Her head suddenly snapped upwards and Maylene stared sharply into Jason's eyes, petrifying him. She spoke two words, which echoed around Jason's thoughts, ping-ponging back and forth.

"YOUR FAULT!"

Jason woke with a start, sweat beaded around his face. His back moved up and down as he fought to control his breathing. He forced himself to slow the breathing down, counting two seconds to draw in a breath and two seconds to push out. After finally regaining his senses, he looked around the hotel room hopelessly.

The events at the Epsilon Concert Hall had forced nightmares every night since. They had gotten worse and worse and it was starting to affect Jason mentally. He cancelled his plane ticket – there was no way he could be on a small space like that with the way his mind was. What if he fell asleep and caused a scene? There was no way, no way. So he had extended his stay at the hotel.

Jason's fingers traced the scar on his cheek, which was throbbing. Whenever his scar hurt, he knew he was going to be in for a rough day. Jason pulled himself up from the bed and padded over to the curtains, wincing as he pulled them open and sunlight streamed through the room. It must've have been the middle of the day. Great, now his sleeping patterns were screwed as well.

He headed for the bathroom and pulled the light cord, moving over to the sink and splashing his face with cold water. That helped, at least temporarily. Jason looked up into the mirror and frowned at what he saw. He didn't just look ragged now, he looked ill. There were bags under his eyes and his skin was pale.

"Look what you've done to yourself." Jason stiffened at the feminine words and watched an all too familiar face walk up to his shoulder. Maylene smiled softly. "You're killing yourself, Jason."

"…This is… because of you…" Jason replied, knowing in his heart that he was speaking to an illusion – a ghost – but it was better than ignoring it. "Because of what you did."

"You know why I did what I did. And I know why you did what you did. We've come to terms with that, haven't we?"

"Maybe you have but I can't. I can't come to terms with it. I'll die before I do."

"That's just you being stubborn, Jason. You always were when it came to matters like this."

"Hmph… " Jason shook his head. "I was… so close to being in the Concert Hall when the accident happened. I hate being that close to death."

"Look on the bright side. At least you didn't die. Not yet, at least. Get your act together."

"What do you want me to do?" Jason could feel anger sparking in his chest. "I'm talking to a fucking ghost, after all. I can't just waltz back to Canada, whistling away my worries. I can't let mom and dad seem me like this. I just can't."

"Why? Ah, don't answer that, we know why don't we? Because they'd be so disappointed that you'd reverted back to how you were when I did what I did. Have you even been outside in the last week?"

"You know I haven't."

"I just wanted to hear it from your own lips. You need to get out into the sun, Jason. You need to go eat out somewhere. You need to meet someone."

"Meet someone?"

"Find someone new."

"No-one can replace you."

"I'm not saying replace me. You wouldn't want another me anyway. It would just happen like it happened. You need someone else. Someone who'd keep control of you."

"There's no-one like that."

"You won't know if you don't look."

"I do know… I don't need to look."

"Then it's your loss. You can't complain when you're moping around like a zombie. This isn't the man I fell in love with."

"Tell me, who was the man you fell in love with?"

"I fell in love with Jason Ryan, the confident boy who wasn't afraid to say what he was thinking. I fell in love with Jason Ryan, who was top in his class for most of his lessons. I fell in love with Jason Ryan, who whispered sweet nothings to me by the fire on cold, cold nights. I fell in love with that man, wherever that man is."

"He's dead and gone. He followed you to the void. He's broken now."

"He's not broken, Jason. Your broken."

"Same difference."

"Not really."

"I don't think I want to talk to you anymore."

And just like that, Maylene was gone and Jason was alone in the bathroom, alone with his tears and his grief. His body crumpled and Jason could only curl up on the bathroom floor, weeping at his weakness.