A Second Chance
Chapter Four
"Hey Nick, wait for me," Brian called out.
Nick stopped and slowly turned.
"Are you hurting? You're walking stooped over," Brian commented when he caught up to Nick.
"Not anymore than usual," he replied. The bag he was carrying felt like it weighed a ton. There was a book, some CD's, his walkman CD player and a jacket in it. Nick dismissed it as being tired.
After they got settled on the bus, Brian handed a sheet of paper to Nick. "Hey I wrote some lyrics to that sheet music they gave us last week. See what you think about it."
Nick looked down at the paper and noticed immediately that the letters were blurred. He held the paper closer to his face and then away at arm's length before he could finally read it.
Brian chuckled as he watched Nick's antics. "Funny Nick, you're acting like Kevin there. I could actually see him doing that."
"I think this tour is stressing my eyes out or something," Nick replied as he handed the paper back to Brian. "It looks good."
"Hey, where you going?" Brian asked as he watched Nick head back towards the bunks on the bus.
"I'm gonna lay down, I'm tired," he replied.
"Nick, it's only two in the afternoon, god, you've been taking naps for the last couple of weeks every day, morning and afternoon," Brian pointed out.
"Can't help it, I crave sleep," Nick replied.
Brian waited until Nick laid down before he approached his cousin. "Hey Kevin, have you noticed how Nick's been acting lately?"
Kevin glanced up from the book he was reading. "No, not espcially, why, what do you think he's doing that's different?"
"He's been walking really stiff lately and he complains constantly about aches in his knees and his back and hands. He walks all stooped over and the way he holds the papers away when he reads," Brian listed.
"He's probably tired from touring, we all are," Kevin reassured.
"But there's more though," Brian continued. "He had the volume turned up on the TV in our hotel room really loud last night and he's just been like sleeping all the time."
"Brian, just calm down, like I said he's just tired."
+Chapter Five+