When JC arrived in the children’s’ wing of the CCU (Critical Care Unit),
he was greeted with three somber faces. Swallowing roughly, Lance
asked, “I.. I guess that you heard.”
“Where’s Justin? Where’d he go?” JC yelled, worried about his friend.
In an unusually sedate tone, Chris replied, “He’s.. he’s in the bathroom.
We can’t get him to come out. He... he heard it on the news, then got a call
from Johnny, verifying it.”
Listlessly, JC questioned, “Is she.. Could she...”
Lance shook his head, “There’s no saying, JC. The.. The emergency
workers are trying their best to find all of the survivors. They think that-” He
was cut off when Justin emerged from the bathroom, and headed for the
door.
“Justin! Justin! Stop! Come back here!” Joey hollered.
Running after him, Chris caught Justin by the shoulders. Justin broke
down, and sobbed. “Man! Man I can’t... I can’t lose her! I can’t! She... she’s
everything to me!”
A solemn expression on his face, Lance said softly, “Just pray Justin.
Just pray.”
Blood oozed from a large gash on Gabby’s head. Her clothes and
arms were stained from the blood. One of the paramedics snapped harshly
at a volunteer, “Go to the American Airlines booth that’s dealing with family.
Let them know that we found Gabrielle Reynolds... and that she’s alive, “
under his breath, he muttered, “For now, anyway.”
"Mr. Wright, has there been any word on Gabrielle’s condition? Is she
expected to be found dead?” Johnny frowned. The thought of losing Gabby
made him sick. Justin’s entire world would be lost. Then what would
happen to the boy wonders, Johnny pondered, forgetting the reporter on the
phone.
That was, until she said sharply, “Mr. Wright! Are you there?”
In a weary voice, Johnny answered, “We will issue a press release
regarding Gabrielle’s condition as soon as information becomes available.”
Hanging up the phone, he buzzed his secretary. She answered over
the intercom, “Yes Mr. Wright? What can I get you?”
“Marsha.. can you please hold all calls regarding Gabby unless it’s her
father or... or news of her condition..” he requested.
Nodding solemnly, the woman’s tiny figure retreated back to her desk.
In ten minutes, Johnny’s phone rang. Justin stopped pacing, and looked to
Johnny. Johnny picked up the phone and answered, “Hello? This is Johnny
Wright...”
An older woman’s voice spoke, “Hello Mr. Wright. My name is Betsy.
I’m working with American Airlines. We have some news regarding
Gabrielle Reynolds' condition..”
“Yes.. yes... I’m listening ma’am!” Johnny replied, anxious to hear the
news about Gabby.
“Miss Reynolds was discovered by one of the staff of emergency
workers. She is alive. She hasn’t yet regained consciousness. Of course,
it’s still a very touchy situation.. There is a chance that she may never regain
consciousness.”
Ignoring what she last said, Johnny asked, “Where are you right now?”
“We’ve seen the order that in the event of any difficulties, Miss. Reynolds
was to be flown via chopper to Orlando Memorial. She’ll be on her way any
minute now.”
Choking back tears, Johnny answered, “Thank you. Thank you very
much.”
Placing the receiver in the cradle gently, Johnny’s eyes met Justin’s.
Ever so softly he uttered the words that Justin and his bandmates had been
praying for, “She’s... She’s alive, Justin.”
His face lighting up, Justin was full of questions that Johnny couldn’t
answer. “When will she come home? Is she going to be on her way home
now? Did Aaron make it? Oh my god...”
Softly, Johnny answered, relaying as much information as he knew.
“She’s alive, but hasn’t regained consciousness. The doctors on hand at
the crash sight don’t know if she ever will.”
A pearly white grin remained stationary on Justin’s face, and Johnny
spoke sympathetically, “Justin... Justin... Are you alright?”
“I can take her in my arms again, Johnny. I can tell her I love her. I can
see her beautiful ringlets of hair... I can feel her next to me. Isn’t that enough
for now? Isn’t it? Because it is for me...” Justin replied fancifully.
Speaking more harshly now, Johnny tried to jerk his young friend back
into reality. “Justin! She may die! She may not live!”
“I’m gonna be there for her Johnny. I don’t care. I don’t care if she
doesn’t know it. I love her. I’ve thought I’ve loved a lot of girls before, but I
used them as much as they used me... She didn’t use me. Ever. She loved
me unconditionally, and I loved her just the same. And I’m not gonna lose
her now. Now or ever.”
With somber faces, Johnny Wright, five bodyguards, and the men of
*NSYNC once again walked through the hospital doors where they had just
entered this morning. An orderly immediately lead them to a private waiting
area so that they could avoid the press. Everyone wanted Justin to voice his
pain publicly. The reporters wanted to capture images of Justin, tears in his
eyes over Gabby’s accident for the cover of their newspapers. The
headlines would read in bold print "Superstar’s Heart Shattered!"
As much as they wanted to, his bandmates, Johnny, and even the
bodyguards knew that they couldn’t protect Justin from getting hurt. No one
could. Everyone’s hearts felt heavy with grief. “Sexual Chocolate” (the
bodyguards) held close ties with Gabby. Joey, Lance, Chris, and JC even
more so. Then there was Johnny. Johnny couldn’t help but think of what the
music industry would lose without Gabby in it.
Each minute seemed to drag on for days, the wait becoming
unbearable. ‘How much longer?’ they all wondered. By then, forty-five
minutes since Justin and his friends arrived, Danielle walked in the room.
Her long blonde hair was thrown up sloppily, a frown on her usually cheerful
face.
“Any word? She asked softly, and she rested a hand on Justin’s softly
heaving shoulder. Nodding, Chris looked into the face of his longtime
girlfriend. He couldn’t imagine being in Justin’s place with Gabby. The
thought of losing Danielle pained him. Running a hand through his spiky
brown hair, he answered, “Just waiting.. Just waiting for the chopper to land.
It should be a little while longer..” The eldest member of *NSYNC’s gaze
then fell to his best friend. At 19, Justin was more of a man than any other
19 year old he knew. Now he was a 19 year old already grieving for his love.
Muttering outloud, he said, “You’ve got to be alright, Gabby. You’ve just got
to..”
Without saying another word, Dani took a seat next to Chris on the
plastic covered couch, and laid her head on his shoulder. They were in for a
long wait.
Two hours later, the chopper landed. The pilot, a young woman,
claimed that there was difficulty taking off due to the numerous news
helicopters overhead. When Justin saw Gabby, he smiled through the tears
pouring down on his face. Taking her cold, limp hand in his own, he said
softly, “It’s going to be alright, angel. You’ve got to wake up. Gotta come
back to me... I need you.”
Justin waited, as if she was going to miraculously spring up in the bed,
and tell him that she loved him, and just wanted to go home. However, no
response was uttered, and Justin was left with the sound of the gurney
rolling deep into the confines of the hospital. All Justin could smell was
death. Death and fear. It hung heavy in the air. He didn’t like the feeling of it
one bit.
