“Hey Justin! You got a phone call, man!” JC answered the phone that was ringing incessantly in the guys suite.
“Thanks!” Justin ran into the room and grabbed the phone from his friend’s hand. “Hello?”
“Hey babe...it’s Lisa...” His stepmom’s voice was a welcome sound on the other end of the line.
“Hey! What’s up?” A long silence followed and Justin began to get worried. “Lisa?”
“Justin..something bad has happened...” Her voice started to choke up and Justin felt his stomach tense up.
“What??? Are pops and grandma okay?? What’s wrong??!!” He almost yelled into the phone. His family was the most important thing to him and if anything happened to them, a little piece of him would go, too.
“No, Justin they are fine. It’s...it’s Rachel.”
Justin felt his heart drop when Lisa said her name. “Oh my God..what’s wrong with her??”
“Justin...you know how she got married last year?” “Yeah...to Paul....”
“Well...they didn’t have a very healthy relationship and it was very abusive...”
“Oh my god I am going to kill him! Did he hurt her??!!” Justin screamed into the phone.
“Yeah he did...Justin, you need to get here as soon as you can. She’s in the hospital and it doesn’t look very good--”
“What do you mean it doesn’t look very good?”
“The doctors aren’t sure if she is going to pull through this one. He got her pretty badly this time. Justin, just please hurry, she is wanting you...”
“Ok...I’ll take the first flight up to Memphis..I’ll call you so you will know when to pick me up.”
“Ok babe...I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Justin hung up the phone and ran into his room, grabbing a bag and throwing a few clothes and things inside. JC saw Justin run into the room with a distressed look on his face and followed him.
“Justin, man, what happened??”
“It’s Rachel, JC....her husband beat her up and she’s in really bad shape. She needs me and I have to go her...”
“Justin we have a show tonight...”
“Oh crap...what do I do??” Justin sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands, letting a few tears fall.
“Hang on...let me call Johnny...” JC walked out of the room to call their manager to see if anything could be done. Justin sat there, feeling his heart ache for his best friend. They had grown up together in his small hometown in the suburbs of Memphis. They had always joked that they were almost twins, considering they had been born only two days apart. Rachel was two days older than Justin was, and it only made their bond that much stronger. JC rushed back in the room to tell him what Johnny said.
“Justin, go to Memphis.”
“But, but but..what about the show?”
“I know your parts...we’ll tell everyone that you are sick or something...we have you covered. Go be with Rachel. And call us when you get there!”
JC called after Justin, who had already run out of the room and headed downstairs to catch a cab to the airport. Justin hailed a yellow taxi and sped to the airport. He said a silent prayer to God, praying that Rachel would be okay. She had to be okay.

“Dad!” Justin ran the rest of the length of the terminal to where his Dad was standing. He ran over to him and hugged him tightly.
“How is she?”
“She’s not good, Justin. We need to get over there.”
Justin nodded and they walked over to the baggage claim, quickly gathering his single bag and hurrying over to the hospital. On the way, Randy told him that the damage she had suffered had been to great for the local hospitals in Tipton County to treat and she had been transported to one of the major hospitals in Memphis. They pulled up to the front of the hospital and Justin jumped out.
“You go park, Dad, and I am going to go on up. What room is it?”
“She’s in intensive care....fourth floor, directly on your right once you get off the elevator.” Justin nodded his head and ran into the hospital. The elevator seemed like it took forever to rise four floors, and finally the doors opened. Justin immediately saw Lisa and his grandparents sitting in the intensive care waiting room.
“Where is she??” He quickly hugged everyone and Lisa pointed to the doors labeled “ICU.” Justin ran through them and was stopped by a nurse.
“You can’t be in here...visiting hours are not for another hour...”
“But I have to see her...she needs me...” Justin pleaded with her but she guided him out to the waiting room. His grandfather saw what was happening and walked up the nurse.
“This is the young man Dr. Taylor has been waiting on...for the patient in ICU Room 104.” The nurse nodded her head, realizing who he was.
“I’ll go get the doctor.”
“Thank you.”
Justin walked over to a chair and sat down beside his grandmother, Bobbye. She grabbed his hand and kissed it, bringing him in for a hug. He felt the sobs rising from his chest and did nothing to stop them. Bobbye hugged her grandson tightly and gently rocked him in the chair, stroking his hair with her hand.
“It’s okay, baby...Let it out...” She soothed him like only a grandmother could do and Justin cried for a few moments, before slowly lifting his head and wiping his eyes.
“Grandma...she has to be okay...” He looked at her with pleading eyes and she smiled sadly.
“Justin, she’s in God’s hands now. It’s up to Him.”
Justin nodded, knowing she was right. The doctor walked in and looked directly at him.
“Justin?” Justin walked over to him and shook his hand.
“Yeah...can I go see her now?”
“Yes, you can. But she’s very weak....you only have ten minutes with her...”
“How bad is she? Can you tell me so I know what to expect?” He swallowed hard, bracing himself for what the doctor was going to tell him.
“She was beaten up very badly, son. A couple of skull fractures, internal bleeding...too many bruises and cuts to count. She won’t look like how you remember her.”
Justin closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Randy, his father, patted his shoulder to give him courage and Justin sighed.
“Alright. Let’s go.”

Justin closed his eyes and stepped into the room, almost afraid to look at Rachel. Her heard her small voice, weak and almost too soft to hear, call out to him.
“Justin?” He opened his eyes and managed a smile.
“Hey beautiful.” He walked over to her, pulling up the bedside chair so he could sit and talk to her. She weakly smiled at him.
“If this is what you call beautiful, you need glasses.” She tried to joke with him, but Justin saw the pain in her eyes.
“Rach, what am I supposed to say? I am usually good with words, but I just can’t tell you anything..” Justin looked at her helplessly.
“You don’t need to say anything. I just want to see you...I don’t get to do that often anymore, you know.” She smiled at him and took a small breath.
“I know, beautiful. But I am here now....and I love you. You know that, don’t you?” He smiled as she slowly nodded her head.
“I love you, too, Justin. Now that you are here I know I am going to be okay.” She started to yawn and he stood up, gently kissing her forehead.
“You need to sleep, babe. Ok?” A look of panic flashed through her face. “Don’t worry...I’ll be here for a few days, okay?”
She sighed a breath of relief and smiled. She turned her head and closed her eyes. He kissed her head one more time before quietly leaving the room and walked out into the waiting room.
“Come over here, Justin...we are going to say a prayer for Rachel.”
His grandfather motioned him over to the group and Justin joined the prayer circle, holding his grandfather and his father’s hands.
“Justin do you want to say the prayer?” He took a deep breath and nodded his head.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we ask you today to watch over Rachel during this hard time in her life. Please give her the strength to pull through and let her know your love. May your spirit let her know that she has friends and family who love her dearly and that we are here for her when she needs us. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.”
Everyone said quiet Amens and lifted their heads. Justin looked at the time on his wristwatch and was almost shocked to see that it was already going on seven. He yawned, realizing how long of a day it had been. Lisa saw him yawning and offered to take him home.
“Come on Justin...you’re tired...why don’t I take you home so you can get some rest?”
Justin smiled at her and agreed, knowing that he needed to sleep. He hugged his grandparents and his father good-bye and walked out to Lisa’s car. They had about a half-hour drive to Justin’s old hometown from the hospital and he rested his head on the seat, watching the trees go by.
“Man, you don’t realize how much you miss home until you are away from it for so long.” The green fields and endless spreads of trees and farms were a welcome sight to Justin.
“I know...home misses you, too, you know.”
“I know...”
Justin closed his eyes and rested them for the remainder of the ride home. He woke up as they were pulling up the driveway to his dad and stepmom’s house. He got up and breathed in the fresh, country air, scented with hints of fresh-smoked tobacco from a neighboring tobacco barn. He walked inside and took his bag into the room they had set aside for him, whenever he wanted to come home. He smiled at the things in the room, realizing how at home he felt. His game basketball from one of his old team’s games, his navy blue bedspread and comfortable bed, his old pictures from school, and of course, his old basketball trophies were scattered around the room. He laid down on the bed, resting his arms under his head and looking up at the ceiling. Lisa walked in and sat down on the end of the bed.
“I am glad you are home, Justin.”
“I am glad I am home, too.” He smiled at her.
“I’ll wake you up in the morning and we’ll go back over to the hospital, ok?”
He nodded his head and she kissed his cheek, closing the door behind her as she left. He took off his shoes and shirt and climbed into bed, hugging one of the pillows and drifting off to sleep, trying to rest to prepare for the next few days.

Justin and Lisa arrived at the hospital around eight the next morning. As they walked off the elevators and into the waiting room, they immediately noticed the sad looks in the eyes of his grandparents and father.
“Oh my God..what happened??” Justin ran over to his father begging him for answers. His father brought him in for a hug and held onto him closely.
“Justin, sit down...” Justin felt the fear rise inside and he slowly sat down in one of the chairs. His father knelt on the floor in front of him and held his son’s hands.
“Last night in the middle of the night, Rachel’s vitals became unsteady and couldn’t get stabilized before she slipped into a coma--”
“A coma?????!!!!!” Justin felt the tears coming to his eyes and Randy squeezed his hands, trying to give him some strength and comfort.
“Yes, a coma. Justin, you need to prepare yourself for the worst. She is very weak from everything her body went through and the doctors say there is a slim chance she will be able to pull through.”
Justin sat in shock at the words leaving his father’s mouth. A coma? It couldn’t be. Rachel had told him she would be okay and that she would find the strength because he was here. He knew she had to have enough strength to pull through. He shook his head in denial.
“No, Dad...the doctors are wrong! WRONG! Rachel is going to pull through because she is strong. I know she can...”
He began to cry realizing how bad his best friend’s condition really was. He felt the anger rise inside of him thinking about what Paul had done to her. Justin had never been a mean person, but he felt his first taste of pure hatred for a fellow human being when he thought of Paul. Randy hugged his son and let him cry into his shoulder. Justin cried for several minutes, trying to let the news sink in. He brought his head up when an idea came into his head.
“Wait a minute....I have heard that people can pull through comas if they hear stories about their past and about how people love them....I wonder if it can work for Rachel?”
“Justin...Rachel is in a very deep coma...she could have possibly already suffered more brain damage just from becoming comatose..”
“But it’s worth a shot isn’t it?”
“Anything is worth trying.” Randy got up and walked over to the nurse’s station, getting one of them to page Dr. Taylor. He was on the same floor and came to the waiting room a few minutes after the PA system called for him.
“Doc!” Justin jumped up from his chair and rushed over to the doctor. He told him about his idea and hoped that Dr. Taylor would agree.
“Justin, Rachel’s condition is critical and she loses strength every second.”
“Can I please try? I would feel better knowing that I at least tried to help her instead of giving up. Please?” Dr. Taylor thought for a few moments before agreeing.
“The next visitation hour starts in thirty minutes. You can go in there during that time period, but Justin, please remember that the chances of this working are slim to none.”
Justin nodded his head and sat back down. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and took a bundle of pictures out of one of the compartments. There were pictures of other family members and friends, but most of them were of Rachel and different things that had happened to them during the years. He smiled as he looked through them. The time passed quickly and when visitation started, Justin said a prayer before walking into Rachel’s room. Tubes looked like they were coming out of every possible place in her body, and the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor gave the room an eerie feel. He sat down and watched her for a few moments, his heart breaking at how pale and fragile she looked. Some of the swelling in her face had went down during the night and she looked like she was sleeping peacefully. Justin had to keep reminding himself that her situation was precarious and that it was important for him to keep his head in reality. He didn’t want to believe that she could possibly be leaving him, but he knew he had to.
“Hey Rach. It’s me, Justin.” He took her cold hand in his and gave it a light squeeze before carefully placing it back down on the bed.
“I brought you some pictures. This room is too ugly without them.”
He smiled, knowing that Rachel probably hated the dreary white walls of the hospital room.
“Come on, silly...open your eyes. You can’t look at pictures without opening your eyes.”
Justin had to choke back the tears threatening to escape and quickly wiped his watery eyes.
“Ok..since you are being stubborn, I guess I will tell you about each picture.”
He looked at the picture on the top and smiled.
“Hey Rach, remember our first trip to Graceland? We didn’t want to go. I mean, how interesting is Elvis to a couple of wild seven year olds? I remember laughing at you when your Mom spanked you for trying to touch the couch that Elvis sat on. You got so mad at me. But you forgave me. You always did.”
He put the picture of them standing outside of Graceland’s gates at the back of the stack of the pictures and moved onto the next one. He laughed aloud as he looked at it.
“Oh man...Rach..remember when I finally got you to ride the Jaws ride in Orlando? You were so scared of Jaws...even though he is only made of metal and nuts and bolts. You cried until you couldn’t cry anymore. But you were able to watch Jaws with me after that, weren’t you? See? I told you he wasn’t real.”
A sentimental feeling tugged at his heart as he studied the next picture.
“Gosh. Your junior prom. You were so beautiful. You hated wearing dresses but you looked so gorgeous. I was so happy when you asked me to go with you. You even wore a baby blue dress for me because you knew it was my favorite color. We danced together all night...it was so perfect. Don’t you remember that?”
He felt the tears coming to his eyes because he knew that the pictures he had of her might be the only thing he would have if she didn’t find the strength.
“Come on Rach. You know you want to pull through. You always ridiculed me for sleeping late...and now it’s my turn. It’s time to get up. I gotta go beat you at a game of basketball. Please wake up? Please?”
A nurse came in the room and told him that the visitation was over and that he had to leave. He got up and kissed her cheek softly.
“I love you little girl.”

Justin and his family sat in the waiting room sipping on cups of stale coffee trying to make it through the third day. Rachel’s condition still had not changed and everyone was beginning to lose hope. Every chance he could get, Justin went into the room, telling her about more pictures from their childhood and describing the colors of the flowers she had received. He read the cards and the personal messages to her and said prayers for her every day. He had dedicated all of his time to trying to help her come out of her coma, but every day was looking grimmer than the day before. The fans had found out what was happening and were sending Justin and Rachel hundreds of cards a day. They decorated the walls of the hospital room and the extras that they couldn’t fit on the walls, they put in baskets around the room. Justin’s exhaustion was obvious in his eyes. His once cheerful blue eyes were now cloudy and surrounded by bags. He tried to sleep but couldn’t, because he worried about Rachel too much. He had just taken a sip of his coffee when an announcement ran over the PA system.
“Code Blue. ICU Code Blue..”
He saw Dr. Taylor frantically run through the doors of the ICU Unit and looked through the windows of the closed doors. He hit the door as he saw him run into Rachel’s room. He tried to get through the doors, but his father held him back.
“LET ME GO!!!!” He tried to force himself out of his father’s strong grip, but his father held tight.
“Justin calm down! Calm down!” Randy held onto him tightly trying to control him.
“What’s going on?? What are they doing to her??!”
He felt the tears come into his eyes once again. Deep in his gut he knew something wasn’t right. He could feel it and it scared him. Ten minutes passed and Dr. Taylor walked out of the ICU unit to talk to the waiting family. All of them stood up and as he looked at the distressed looks on their faces, he sighed. Justin shook his head furiously, fearing the absolute worst.
“I am sorry...”
“SORRY?? For what??? What’s wrong???!!!”
Justin’s world spun into slow motion and he felt his heart being ripped out of his chest as he heard the words. He could barely make out what was being said. Something about ‘brain dead’ and ‘ possible organ donation’....it was all too confusing. He couldn’t be hearing the doctor right. Rachel couldn’t possibly be dead. He watched helplessly as the doctor turned around and walked away. He sank to the floor on his knees and sobbed. His grandmother and Lisa hugged him and rocked him gently, trying to comfort him, but his grief was too great. He wept until only dry sobs could escape his mouth. They helped him up from the floor and walked him down to the car. They had decided that they would pull the plug the following day and would all go home and rest before saying their good-byes. Justin cried himself to sleep, cuddling a pillow and only thinking about Rachel. He hated Paul for taking his best friend from him and he was almost angry at God. He chided himself for being that way, but he couldn’t help it. He felt like he was mad at the whole world. It wasn’t supposed to happen to Rachel. She was a great person, and she had proven that bad things definitely happen to good people.

The next morning came too quickly and they all gathered in Rachel’s room quietly and mournfully. Justin stood closest to the bed, unable to stop the tears from flowing as he looked at her. He watched her sleeping peacefully, almost like a baby. She had no idea what was going on and she continued to lay still in her bed. The doctor drew the curtain to the room and stood in the corner, giving the family time to say their farewells before taking off the life support. Randy and Lisa went first, followed by Justin’s grandparents and then Rachel’s parents. Justin was the last one and he took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears, but he couldn’t.
“Rachel...oh my God....why?” His whole body shook from the emotions he was feeling and his father stood behind him, holding him up.
“How am I supposed to say good-bye to you? You are my best friend. We’ve been together for 19 years and now we are having to say good-bye to each other. I don’t understand why this happened to you...I am trying so hard, but I can’t imagine coming home and not seeing you here. Or not getting a hug from you, or being teased by you. I love you so much....you are my sister...we are like twins...half of me is gone now. You were definitely an angel on this earth and now you are going to be my angel in heaven. I love you, beautiful. I always will.”
He closed his eyes and let the tears run down his face and off his chin and took deep breaths preparing for what was next. The room became eerily quiet as the doctor walked over to the machine’s main switch.
“Are you ready?” He looked around the room and watched as every head nodded. Justin didn’t want to nod his head, and took his time, but eventually nodded it, only slightly. He watched her eyes and felt his breath catch as the doctor flipped the switch. He heard the machine beep once, twice, three times...and then stop. He swore that he saw her eyes flutter once and then become completely still again. The doctor carefully took the respirator off and the tubes out of her body. The rest of the family walked out into the waiting room and left Justin alone with her. He stroked her hair and held her hand tightly, still feeling some of the warmth of her body. He knelt down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek and whispered into her ear, ‘I love you’, before pulling himself away and walking out to join the rest of his family.