Brian moved to the seat beside her and dropped his arm around her shoulders, “It’ll be okay Meg.”
“You don’t know that. She’s blind Brian and there is little hope that she will ever see again!”
“It’s not your fault Meg, things happen.”
“But why now, why this?!?” She continued to cry.
Brian didn’t know what else to say so he just sat there. Then they heard glass breaking and a scream. The both ran upstairs to see what had happened.
**
“A.J., you need to get out of this funk man,” Kevin said grimly as he walked through his front door and followed A.J. into the living room. Laura had told him she didn’t think A.J. was all right and he had decided to stop by and make sure everything was ok.
“I don’t have to get out of anything,” A.J. answered with a slur in his voice.
Kevin crossed his arms, “You’re drunk.”
A.J. threw his arms up, “Maybe you should leave the group and become a detective because you are good.”
“We are all having to deal with this A.J., stuff like this just happens.”
“It’s my fault,” A.J. muttered falling onto his couch.
“A.J., it’s not anyone’s fault.”
“I WAS DRIVING! IT IS MY FAULT!” He yelled his voice still slurred. He got up and walked to the refrigerator.
Kevin followed him and took the beer away that he had pulled out, “You have had enough A.J.”
A.J. reached for the beer but came close to falling over, “Give it.”
“No, it’s time you slept some of this off, you are going to have a bad headache in just a couple of hours.”
A.J. stumbled back into the other room and slumped down on the couch. Kevin took the three beers left in the refrigerator and poured them down the drain before leaving.
**
Nick threw the controller in the air and ran down the hall to Stephanie’s room where the scream had come from. He opened the door and looked around the room. The bathroom light was on and he pushed the door open to see Stephanie standing there, blood running down her arms. Her head moved at the noise, “Nick?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he looked at the mess on the floor and the frightened look Stephanie had on her face.
“I dropped a glass and then tripped and…I think I’m bleeding.”
“Yeah, you are,” Nick said crunching on the glass to get a towel. He looked at her hands to make sure no pieces were embedded in her hand and then wrapped them in the towel. “Keep this on.”
“Ok,” as she said it her legs gave way and she began to slump down. Nick caught her around the waste. He pulled her up and sat her down on a clean part of the counter.
“Just sit still for a moment and take a deep breath.” Stephanie nodded and then began to cry. Brian and Megan came into the room and Nick turned to look at them, “We got everything under control here.”
Megan started to say something and Nick repeated himself, “We have everything under control, it’s alright. I’ll be down in a minute.” Once they had left Nick turned back to Stephanie, “Are you alright?”
Her blank stare at his shirt almost made him mad. She nodded her head slowly, “I hurt my toe.”
“How did you do that?”
“I got mad and kicked the counter real hard.” Nick couldn’t help it, he irrupted with laughter. It was obvious by her expression that Stephanie did not find it amusing, “What are you laughing at Nick Carter?!?”
He tried to catch his breath, “Just think of the circumstances babe. Here you are, you have lost your sight you trip and drop a glass, your hands are bleeding and you kick the counter out of frustration. I’m sorry, but I think it’s funny.”
Stephanie smiled but it soon faded, “Nick, do you think I’ll get my sight back?”
He looked at her for a moment, “I don’t know, I really don’t.” He looked down at her hands that were still wrapped in the towel, “Let’s take a look at your hands and see if t he bleeding has stopped.” She held her hands up and he unwrapped the towel to reveal tiny cuts on her palms. “Sheesh, for such little cuts you were bleeding a lot.”
Stephanie traced a cut with her finger, “Was I?”
“Yeah.”
“Then thank you.”
“For what? All I did was give you a towel.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know I was bleeding that much.”
“No problem, babe, anytime.”
“Could you do me a favor?”
“And that would be?” Nick asked a little skeptical
“Clean up the glass so I can get down.”
Nick laughed, “Sure, no problem.”
