Chapter Two
Nick awoke to a dark and empty room. He couldn't quite remember where he was. He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up. A pain in his right side caused him to slump back down, clenching his teeth in agony. He opened his eyes again, and recalled he was in the hospital. He reached with his free hand to the red button beside his pillow. Within seconds an older woman entered the room. She pulled the shades up, blinding Nick with the bright Florida sunshine. He shook his head and looked around. Dannon had deserted the room again. This time the bed was unmade and a pile of clothing laid at the foot of her bed. 'She changed in here, while I was sleeping,' he thought with a smile. He again tried to sit up, but the pain kept him from making any progress. The nurse walked over and injected more medicine into the tube connected to his iv. He felt the liquid burn his veins, and within minutes he wasn't hurting anymore, he was drowsy. "Nick, your doctor would like to see you now." Nick nodded and sat up, his shorts giving him a wedgey like he never knew. He grimaced as the doctor walked in. "Nick, didn't the nurse just give you medicine"? Nick smiled up at his doctor and laughed, "No, it isn't that. I have a.....well... I have a wedgy." "OOH, I get it. Anyway, I'll keep this brief. We got your x-rays back, and it seems you need to have your appendix taken out. Now don't be surprised, this happens everyday. Only, we're going to keep you in longer. Just to make sure you recuperate and everything." Nick nodded and thought of exactly what he had to get done. "Exactly, how long will I be in here"? The doctor opened her folder and looked at his release date. "Two weeks." Nick's eyes bulged, and his mouth opened. "Two weeks, two weeks. I can't possibly be here for two weeks! I have too much stuff to do"! The doctor shook her head, and closed the folder. "I don't care about all the 'stuff' you gotta do. All I care about is your health. And to make sure that your health is okay, I'm keeping you here for two weeks. Now, I've called your parents, their flying out today, and will be here tomorrow. The operation is scheduled for Thursday, so rest up." Nick nodded and reached for the remote. "Are there any other questions, do you want the nurse"? Nick nodded and the doctor went to leave the room. "Wait, Dr. Owens"? "Yeah Nick." "What can you tell me about my roommate"? Dr. Owens sighed and walked back to Nick. "Honestly, there isn't much I can tell you. All I know is, she's originally from New York, she's nineteen, and she's a very angry and antisocial person." Nick thanked the doctor and settled back to the television. Flipping through the channels, he stopped on MTV. Serena Altchusl was there, giving the MTV News, he liked her. He thought she was cute. "In further news, Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter in the hospital. Talking to fellow member Brian Littrell, no news on why or his condition. But, we hope he gets better soon. That's it for the news, but stay tuned to MTV for news every hour, on the hour." The t.v. returned to Carson who was setting up the number one video. "And here today, for the tenth straight day, the Backstreet Boys, with Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." Nick settled in and turned the volume up. He smiled at the video, he thought they all did a really good job. Dannon quietly entered the room and looked at the television. There was Nick singing away on it. She looked at him there, and then lying in the bed. He was lip synching along with the video. 'Pathetic,' she thought. 'Pathetic, but cute.' She shook her head and entered the room. She climbed nosily in her bed and Nick turned to her. "Hello! Where were you so early"? Dannon turned to him and shook her head, pointing to her ears. Nick realized the television was turned up really loud. He quickly turned it down and asked her the question over. "Why are you so interested"? She looked at him curiously. Again he shrugged and turned his attention to the t.v. Dannon was about to make a smart ass remark when the nurse came in with two carts. "Good morning people. Here is the food. Oh, and Dannon. Eat everything ..... doctor's orders." She left the trays at their beds. Nick greedily opened his and groaned at the sight of it. He was going to miss all the McDonald's and Papa John's he ate all the time. Dannon watched him eat all the food on his plate with disgust. 'Doesn't he realize all the fat in that! He's like eating two thousand calories in that egg'! She turned from him and put her headphones on. She pushed her tray away from her and walked to the window. Nick watched her, and commented to himself on how good she looked. She was wearing green cargo khakis, hanging loose, with a white tank top, over a green one. She definitely had style. Although one thing he noticed was how her clothes never fit, they always hung off her body. "Can I ask you a question"? Dannon just sat there, looking out the window. Nick began to get annoyed and that's when he remembered she had headphones on. He pushed his tray away, he had finished his food in like ten seconds. He stood, slightly swaying and walked over to her. He gently pulled the headphone cord from the CD player and looked at her. She pulled the headphones from her ears angrily. "What"!? She growled a him. He backed up defensively, taking his little carrier of medicine with him. "I just want to ask you a question." She sighed and faced him, "what do you want to know?" Nick smiled and climbed back into his bed. He felt safe there. "Well, where do you go all the time, and how come your so moody, and why do your clothes fit you like they were made for someone five times you size"? Nick realized that was more than one question, and he also realized she was quite angry with the questions. "That was more than one question, and I don't think I'm going to answer any of them." She turned from him and looked out the window again. Nick frowned and began to get angry. All he wanted was a little closure from this girl. "Come on Dannon. Can't you let me in, just a little"? Dannon's spine straightened at the words let me in. "I don't have to tell you anything." "I know you don't have to, I just thought you might want to." Dannon shrugged and walked over to her bed. She sat down and put on a pair of sneakers. "Are you allowed to leave"? Dannon shook her head. "Then why are you putting shoes on"? She finished tying them and stood up. "Because, Mr. Carter. I'm going on a walk, the floor is cold and my feet hurt." She picked up her CD player, plugged her headphones back in and walked out the room. Nick sighed and rolled onto his side, he wondered what was up with her. Why was she so closed to everything? Dannon came back to a very quiet room. There laid Nick, sleeping peacefully. For some reason she had the urge to spill everything out to him. Every secret she kept, every hidden lie, false truth, everything. She stood in the doorway, just watching him. She was good at that, being able to not be seen or heard. She learned things that way. Like right now she was learing that he cared. About something important, even now in his sleep she could see he was wrestling with a problem. His forehead was creased and his lips were in a frown. She walked over to her bed and threw the CD player on it. She strode over to the chair his friend had left earlier. She pulled it close to his pillow and sat down. She watched him, counting his breaths, making sure they were even. She listened, concluding he was truly asleep because of how deep and even they were. "You want me to open Nick....I'll open. But, only now. Only when I know you can't hear this. I have no idea why I am compelled to tell you this. I have so many people wanting me to tell them this story, and yet you are the first one I have felt compelled to share it with you. You might not find it exciting, hell I don't find it exciting. But, you are sleeping and willing to listen so, I begin". And she did, telling him a story, people have been begging her to say for over three years.
The Mystery Remains....
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