Nick’s point of view

I stared at the paper in my hands in shock. I looked over at Liz and saw pure terror on her face.
“Nick, what are we going to do?” she asked shakily.
“Call the guys, and the police,” I replied while dialing Officer Smith’s number. I quickly told him what had happened and he said that him and Officer Tyner would be at the hospital in five minutes. I then hung up the dialed AJ’s number. I told him everything and he said that the guys would be there in ten minutes.
After I hung up the phone I wrapped my arms around Liz as we waited for everyone to arrive.
Officer Smith and Officer Tyner arrived fairly soon and I handed over the note to them. They put it in a plastic bag and were going to test it for prints, they knew that they were going to find mine on it, but they were hoping that there would be another set of prints on it.
The guys arrived right after the police and looked at Liz and me worriedly.
“Maybe you two should leave the hospital now,” said Kevin thoughtfully.
“But the doctor doesn’t let us remember?” asked Liz.
“I think he’ll be willing to make an exception in this case, you’re not safe here,” said Officer Smith.
“Are we well enough to go home?” I asked uncertainly.
“Let’s see,” said Brian and went to call the doctor. He came back a few minutes later having found the doctor and brought him to the room. He checked Liz and me over and frowned slightly.
“Well, they’re still not fine. Nick’s lung needs more time to heal from the bullet wound and Liz’s skull fracture is still there,” he said and made a few notes on the chart he was holding. “Why do you want them to go home immediately?” he asked turning to the officers.
“They’re not safe here, they got a threat by mail and we want them out of here as soon as possible,” replied Officer Tyner.
“Oh, well, if it’s a question of their safety,” said the doctor thoughtfully rubbing his chin. “They can go home, but if, and only if, they both promise to stay in bed for another week,” he said and turned to Liz and me. We both nodded. “Okay, then I can go discharge you right now,” said the doctor and left.
“Get dressed and then we’re going to get you out of here,” instructed Officer Smith.
Liz and me quickly got up and went to change clothes. We were done ten minutes later and Officer Tyner and Officer Smith, and a few hospital security guards escorted us out of the hospital. Officer Tyner, me, Brian, and AJ got into one car and Officer Smith, Liz, Kevin, and Howie got into the other.

Liz’s point of view

The car stopped in front of Kevin’s house and I got out to look around. His house was beautiful. It was just as big as Nick’s house and Brian’s house and there were trees surrounding it, as well as a fence. Me, Kevin, Howie, and Officer Tyner all went inside and Kevin went with me upstairs to show me my room.
“Okay, you’ll be staying here,” said Kevin and opened the door to a room. I walked inside and found myself in a large airy room. It had a king size bed, a large closet, an armchair, a desk with a chair, a vanity, and a nightstand. The windows had curtains on them and also blinds.
“I love it,” I said looking around.
“I’m glad,” said Kevin smiling. He then pointed at the bed. “Get in, you’re supposed to rest,” he said and pulled back the comforter.
“Yes Dr. Richardson,” I said saluting jokingly and got into the bed.
Kevin laughed. “Dr. Richardson, you know, I like the sound of that, you think it’s too late to go to medical school?” he asked grinning.
“I doubt it pays as much as being a Backstreet Boy,” I replied laughing.
“Hmm, you might have a point,” agreed Kevin and sat down next to me. “Are you comfortable?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yep, very, but I gotta say that I’m beginning to despise beds,” I commented and made a face.
“Yeah, I can see how that would happen, but sorry kiddo, you’re stuck,” responded Kevin. “Now get some rest okay? I’ll be back to check on you later,” he said and got up.
“See ya,” I said and then turned onto my right side and fell asleep.

Nick’s point of view

As I got settled into the guest room at Brian’s house I couldn’t help but wonder what Liz was doing at that very moment. I missed her already, I guess I got used to always having her around without even realizing it.
“Get some sleep Frack, you’re not gonna get better if you don’t rest,” ordered Brian.
“Yes Dad,” I said sarcastically.
“Very funny,” said Brian. “But I’m serious,” he added.
“I know Bri, I’m just so sick of resting!” I exclaimed.
“I know, but you need more time to recuperate,” said Brian. “You heard what the doctor said.”
“Yeah, I heard him loud and clear,” I said sighing.
“Okay, I’ll leave you alone to sleep, I’ll be back later,” said Brian.
“Sure, later,” I said and Brian walked out of the room.
I lay on the bed thinking about Liz and thinking about how everything became so messed up in such a short time. Finally, after about forty minutes of thinking, I fell into a deep sleep.

Liz’s point of view

I woke up the following morning and stretched. I debated whether or not I should get out of bed and finally decided that I would. There was no point in lying there trying to figure out if Kevin was already awake or not. I slowly made my way downstairs since my head was hurting. I got to the kitchen and saw that it was empty. Oh well, I wasn’t hungry anyway. I heard some noise coming from a room on my left so I went there and looked inside. Kevin was there and he was doing push ups. The room was a home gym. He looked up when he heard me approach.
“Hey,” he said getting up. “Sleep well?” he asked.
“Yeah, I was surprised I slept this long. I think I’ve gotten more sleep in the past few days than I have in all my life,” I said laughing.
“You never know,” said Kevin grinning and wiped his face with a towel. “Ready for breakfast?” he asked walking out of the room and towards the kitchen.
“Actually, I’m not very hungry,” I replied and sat down on a chair while Kevin went to get breakfast for himself.
He turned around at my answer. “Why not?” he asked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just a little headache,” I replied. ‘And a little nausea, and a little dizziness,’ I added in my mind.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Cause for all I know, you feel horrible but since you’ve been hanging around with Nick for too long, you’re hiding it just like he did,” said Kevin seriously. Wow, he was good. But I wasn’t really hiding it; I just didn’t feel like telling Kevin that’s all.
“Kev, I’m fine, really,” I assured him and watched his face to see if he believed me. “If it gets worse, I’ll tell you,” I added.
“Okay, fine,” said Kevin and poured coffee for himself.
“So what are you gonna be up to today?” I asked.
“Not much, except keeping an eye on you,” replied Kevin.
“Kev, I don’t need a babysitter,” I protested.
“True, but you do need protection,” he responded while sipping his coffee.
“Nothing is gonna happen, the guy won’t find Nick or me and this whole thing is now officially over,” I said frustrated.
“Liz, it’ll be over when the police say that it’s over,” said Kevin softly.
“But I want it to be over now,” I groaned.
“I know you do, and the rest of us do too, but we just gotta hang in there for a while longer,” said Kevin and smiled reassuringly.
I smiled slightly and got up. “I’m gonna go lie down,” I said and saw a look of alarm pass over Kevin’s face.
“Do you want me to help you get upstairs?” he offered and was about to get up but I stopped him.
“No, it’s okay, the headache just got a little worse that’s all, I’m perfectly capable of getting to my room,” I said calmly.
“Okay, I’ll check on you in a half an hour,” said Kevin settling back into his chair.
I nodded and went upstairs. I got to my room and lay down on the bed. Wow, my head was really spinning. Maybe staying in bed for the rest of the day wasn’t such a bad idea.

Nick’s point of view

“You’re not being fair,” I said to Brian who was standing near my bed.
“It only seems like that to you,” he replied.
“No, I KNOW it’s unfair,” I retorted and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Nick, the doctor said that you have to stay in bed so that you can fully recover,” said Brian in his best I-know-what’s-good-for-you voice.
“I’m sick of this ‘fully recover’ shit, I want to go and do something instead of lie in this bed like a useless sack of potatoes!” I exclaimed.
“Too bad, you’re gonna stay in bed even if I have to tie you down myself,” said Brian sternly.
“You wouldn’t,” I said.
“Yeah I would,” said Brian perfectly serious.
“How am I supposed to go to the bathroom if I can’t get up?” I asked sarcastically.
“That’s the only reason for why you’re allowed to get up,” replied Brian.
“Big whoop,” I grumbled.
“I’m going to go get breakfast, don’t you dare move your butt out of that bed, or else,” warned Brian. I opened my mouth to say something but Brian cut me off. “And before you say anything, I’m going to bring you up some breakfast too,” he said. Okay, so he basically read my mind on that one, but it wasn’t that hard. With that Brian left and closed the door behind him.
I sunk down lower in the bed and began to sulk. I then remembered that I had my cell phone with me so I quickly took it out and dialed Liz’s number.
“Hello?” she said picking up the phone. She didn’t sound right.
“Liz? Are you okay?” I asked instantly concerned.
“I’m fine, just a headache,” she replied, but I could hear that it was more.
“Liz, this is me you’re talking to, tell me exactly what’s wrong,” I said gently.
I heard her sigh. “Okay, well, I’m kinda dizzy and nauseous too,” she admitted.
“Are you in bed?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m lying down,” she replied.
“Good, I’m in bed too, Bri told me not to move my butt or else,” I said lightheartedly.
Liz laughed softly. “He’s so much like Kev, it’s scary,” she commented.
“I know, no wonder Kev always points out that Bri is his cousin,” I said laughing.
“True,” agreed Liz. “Listen Nick, I’m gonna try to sleep for a while okay?”
“Of course, go ahead,” I said without hesitation.
“Okay, so I’ll talk to you later,” said Liz.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too,” said Liz and then hung up the phone.
I lay back in my bed now worried about Liz. She didn’t sound fine, she sounded exhausted and in pain. I debated calling Kevin and telling him everything. Then again, if I did that, Kevin would go fuss over Liz and she would know that I told him. Before I could make a final decision Brian walked into my room. He was carrying a tray with my breakfast on it.
“Here you go,” he said and placed the tray onto my lap. I looked at my breakfast, which consisted of pancakes, toast, and juice.
“Aww, honey you cooked!” I exclaimed, my voice dripping with sweetness and Brian shot me a dirty look.
“Very funny, you keep at it, and you’ll be on a bread and water diet,” he told me.
I stuck my tongue out at him and proceeded to dig into my food.

Liz’s point of view

I woke up and after glancing at my watch, saw that I had slept for a few hours. I carefully sat up and waited for everything to stop spinning. When it did, I swung my legs over the bed and got up wobbling with each step. I went out of my room and towards the staircase. I could hear the TV in the living room and figured that Kevin was in there. I walked down the stairs slowly as to not accidentally fall and break my neck cause that would be bad. I almost reached the living room when everything started to spin before my eyes unbelievably hard and I reached out for something to hold on to, but all I got was air. As I fell, I felt my head connect with a hard surface and then nothing.

Kevin’s point of view

I heard a noise behind me and I turned around just in time to see Liz’s head strike the table near her and then she crumpled onto the floor.
“Oh my God!” I yelled and quickly rushed up to her side. I saw that she was breathing and that she had a pulse. I sighed in relief at those things. I was about to call 911 when she moaned softly and then opened her eyes.
Liz looked around in confusion and then her gaze settled on my face.
“Liz?” I said softly.
Liz frowned. “Who are you?” she asked.

chapter 12 chapter 14