Bleed For My Brother Chapter 5
Nikolas walked back into the hospital, and immediately headed for Lucky's room. Upon entering, he saw Liz sitting by Lucky's bedside, her hand tightly woven in his. Standing up, Liz gratefully folded herself into Nikolas' embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.
"He's not getting better," she sobbed out, shaking. Nikolas wrapped his arms around her tighter.
"He will Liz, I promise," Nikolas said, kissing her forehead. "Jesse, Luke, and I are all working to figure this out." He looked at her pale face in concern. "Have you eaten anything?" Liz tearfully shook her head no. "I'll stay with Lucky. You go get something to eat, ok?"
Once Liz had left the room, Nikolas settled next to his brother's bed, taking Lucky's hand in his own. "Hey Lucky," he said softly, staring at Lucky's still face. "You want to know something crazy? Your dad and I are actually working together…well, ok, we're working separately in our collaboration but still…that counts, right?"
The silence that followed was filled only with the sound of Nikolas' tears, coming quickly and freely now. "You always bring people together, Lucky," Nikolas said, his voice coming out as a sob-choked whisper. "First you and me, then me with Liz and Emily, then you brought me together with Lulu and Bobbie and Lesley. And now you've even brought your dad and me together. Hey, and Jesse's a nice guy too, and he'll be a big help cause he really cares about you too."
Nikolas lowered his head until it was pressed into the mattress, his sobs shaking his shoulders. "I don't know what I'd do without you Lucky." He raised his head again, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Which is ironic, right, cause we wasted so much time fighting hard not to be in each other's lives."
Reaching over with his free hand, Nikolas tenderly brushed his brother's hair back from his face. "So you owe me, ok? You owe me a lot of years, and a lot of Kelly's dinners, and a lot of talks in the park. And I'm not going to let you get out of that. Please…" Nikolas couldn't even talk for a second, the sobs coming faster and faster, his voice becoming more and more desperate. "Please don't leave me, Lucky. I love you too much to lose you."
Nikolas felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced up to see Jesse standing over him, his eyes on Lucky. "I'm really sorry to interrupt Nikolas, but Emily is in the lobby looking for you," Jesse said. "I can sit with Lucky if you want."
"Thanks," Nikolas said, rising from his seat. He looked down at his brother again, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon, ok, Lucky? Jesse's here to visit you." Nikolas patted Jesse on the arm as he left, Jesse taking Nikolas' seat beside Lucky's bed.
Nikolas walked into the lobby shakily, rubbing his hands over his tired, tear-stained eyes. Suddenly he saw Emily, perched on a couch in the lobby, her silken hair falling over her eyes as she poured over a medical chart. He stood there for a minute, silently, then walked over to join her, sitting next to her.
"Hey Emily," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. "Jesse said you were looking for me."
"Hi," she answered, equally softly. "I wanted to check in with you, see how you were doing. I know…this can't be easy."
Staring into her caring eyes, Nikolas felt himself come apart. He leaned his head on her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. Sobbing on her shoulder, he clutched at her, holding her tightly to him.
"It's not fair, Em, it should be me in there, not him. Helena…she does all this because of me, and everyone I love always gets hurt," Nikolas choked out, his breathing ragged and gasping. Raising his head slightly, Nikolas still couldn't bring himself to meet Emily's eyes. "I hurt you, and I can't blame that on Helena."
Emily gently touched Nikolas' chin, raising his face until his eyes met hers. "Lucky wouldn't want you to take his place in there, and you know it," she said tenderly. "And…yes, you hurt me, but…" Tears filled her eyes.
"Emily, I am so sorry for what I did. I…I was a horrible person and I have no defense. Only…that I broke up with Courtney and I am more sorry than I can ever say."
Emily looked up quickly. "You broke up with Courtney?"
"I never loved her, Em. I only…I was just looking for someone to take care of me because I couldn't be man enough to take care of you. Em, it…" Reaching over slowly, hesitantly, Nikolas ran his hand gently down the side of Emily's face. "It's always been you. Even when I hadn't met you yet, it was you. I've never stopped loving you."
Eyes shining with tears, Emily mirrored Nikolas' gesture, her hand sliding down his cheek. Both leaning in at once, their lips met. As they pulled away, Emily laughed tearfully, then moved in for a deeper kiss. Neither noticed anything around them until a shrill frantic beeping filled the hospital, and nurses and doctors started all rushing towards one room.
"That's Lucky's room!" Nikolas shouted, horrified. He sprang to his feet, clutching Emily's hand as they rushed towards Lucky's room together.