Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 15:14:17 -0800 (PST)
From: Sky Pro <skypro21@yahoo.com>
Subject: B-Boys, Chapter 12

NOTE: Special thanks to all those who've written in support of this little
tale... It gets kinda shaky for me after this chapter, I've been suffering
from serious writer's block for weeks now... Probably time to set this
story down and work on another for awihle... Anyway, I greatly appreciate
all your support and kind words... Really has helped bring things along.
Enjoy!


B-Boys
by Skyler
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Chapter Twelve:

He's been very restless lately, especially at night. Seems like he barely
sleeps anymore. I'm one of those people who require so much sleep every
night to function properly. So most every night I hit the sack by
eleven. And I'm a very light sleeper to boot. Just the other night I woke
suddenely around 2:30 in the morning, only to find Brock still going. He
was hunched over the desk, writing madly in the dim lamplight, totally
absorbed in his work. I said something to him about coming to bed, like I
always do, but he didn't even seem to notice. Never does. I wonder why I
bother to even open my mouth.  It's really not worth the effort.

The thing that gets me is he won't tell me what he's doing. I've asked
repeatedly, but he just tells me to go back to sleep and not worry about
it. I'm sure he's writing songs, new stuff for the band. After Bill's
accident, the rest of us decided not to even talk about the music for a
while. We cancelled some shows and recording sessions and that was that. It
just didn't seem the same now. Brady's fire had definitely burned out. He
was so depressed, at the hospital every day, spending any spare moment at
Bill's side. Always talking to him, reading to him, singing to him. Often
crying for him. My cousin seemed so lost, so scared and lonely. Bill was
still unconscious, his body slowly repairing itself. The doctors offered
little encouragement. They still couldn't ascertain brain damage or if any
part of him would be permanently affected. We were all scared for him, as
things were not looking very promising.

During this time, I made an important decision. I decided not to go back to
work, just to take some time to be with my friends and think about life. I
have the money to last quite awhile and no good job prospects anyway, so it
seemed like perfect timing. Besides, with the arrival of spring and warmer
weather, I was looking forward to improving my golf game and spending
weekends fishing on my boat.

All this was fine and well, but I began to realize how pointless my life
was becoming. Nothing I was doing really accomplished anything and I felt
as though my life was just standing still, while the world moved on without
me.

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It is another warm, beautiful spring day outside. The sun is shining; birds
sing in the trees, the temperature is quickly approaching ninety degrees.

I couldn't care less. As I sit here in the hospital room, watching him, I
am depressed, filled with fear. He's been this way for almost two months
now, with no apparent sign of change anytime soon. They've taken out a few
of the tubes and monitors since Bill is breathing on his own now. A slight
improvement, I guess. All I want is to be here with him. I wonder if he
knows I'm here. I think so. I talk to him a lot and read to him. My mind
wanders frequently to happier times. I think about his laughter, the pure
sound of its joy. His loving smile, bestowed on me effortlessly and
often. His eyes. The way they dance and sparkle with life when he is happy.

God, he is so beautiful. Even being here with Bill is no longer enough. I
am so lonely. I need him to come back to me. I need to feel his warm
embrace, hear his soothing voice, see that incredible smile and taste his
sweet kisses on my lips just one more time. I wish I could have been there
for him, to protect my sweet boy from that dangerous day. I could've
stopped it, I know. I finally caught up with Nick, one of his attackers, a
few weeks ago. Turns out I had broken his nose that afternoon at the high
school. Good... I took a bat with me this time. Messed him up good. I was
so angry, yet after the fact, it occurred to me how I didn't feel any
better after having exacted revenge. Quite a disheartening conclusion,
really.

"Ow..." A soft whisper says beside me, waking me from my nap. His eyes
flutter, attempting to focus. His hand twitches in mine. Oh my God!

"Brady? Where are we? I can't move. What's going on? Brady? Are you still
here with me?" That sweet voice! I'm so happy to hear it again! Thank you,
God!

"Yeah, babe," I squeeze his hand tightly, "I'm right here. We're in the
hospital. You got busted up pretty bad. I'm so happy to see you again,
baby. I was so scared..." I'm beginning to cry again, what a goof I must
look like.

"Thank you for staying with me, Brady. I could feel you in my sleep. You
make me feel safe. How long have I been out? A couple days?"

"Almost eight weeks, buddy. Its May 2nd today."

"Oh, man. You're kidding, right? Geez!"

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Things are getting better again. Finally Bill was released from the
hospital last week and seems to be feeling pretty well.  He is excited
about getting back to the music, though his parents want him to stay home
and rest just a little bit longer.  Thanks to Bill's recovery, Brady is
back to his old self again. For a while, we weren't sure what to do with
him. He was so incredibly depressed. If anything had happened to Bill, I
don't think Brady would've survived it, either. But nothing did, and it is
good to see my friend smiling and laughing again.

Blake remains my best friend and the love of my life. He has been bumming
around a lot lately. Since he doesn't work or go to school, he is playing a
lot of golf. Must be nice to not worry about anything more than keeping
your daily tee time.  Outside of my classes at college, my boyfriend really
is my entire life. I thank God every day that Blake is with me.

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Okay, there you have it. Yet another short chapter. Oh, well, when I write,
I take what I can get and work til I have nothing more to say. I guess I've
hit the proverbial brick wall for the time being. Please feel free to write
me with any questions or comments you may have (skypro21@yahoo.com)... In
the meantime, be on the lookout for some of my other stories, as I'm
pushing for further development of those while I wait on new inspiration
for this one. Peace and love! -Skyler