“I’m thinking I look damn good in this photograph. This absolutely has to be submitted with the package of goodies to the media! Every Nick Carter Fan needs to see this beautiful face at this exact profile!” Nick announced with a whistle of approval, waving a photograph toward Kevin as if he were a child showing his parent an excellent paper.
“We’re supposed to be finding photographs proving that we’re actually visiting the girls at the hospital. Not photographs that enhance your conceitedness,” Kevin scowled, throwing the photograph back at Nick with a shake of his head. The boys were currently closed off Jives headquarters, reviewing the various photographs their chief publicists had accumulated of them visiting the Orlando Hospital. They were asked to decide which photographs reflected the best on their statements that they were doing everything in their power to assure the women were well taken care of. Only, the boys were having trouble finding proper photographs of themselves in various portions of the hospital that would prove they were actually visiting. Though, needless to say, annoyance rose amongst the guilty four as a plethora of photographs surfaced with a compassionate Howie switching between each hospital room.
“You know, you’d have an easier time finding ones of yourselves if you actually tried to visit the girls,” Howie murmured, noticing a pile of his individual photographs growing thicker as the others’ piles waned pathetically. However, Howie felt no empathy for the men growing irritated with their lack of false evidence. They deserved the anger and discourse developing in their physically able bodies, because they still felt nothing for the women they had nearly destroyed. If anything, the boys were still more concerned about their careers than helping others which was what their music was about in the beginning. If anything, their drastic change with success had drastically thrown Howie into an upheaval against his best friends and band-mates.
“Sorry that we’re not trying to attain Sainthood by way of these women unlike you, Howie,” Kevin was quick to counter, throwing a sharp glare toward the second oldest man. If anything, Howie’s subordination was beginning to aggravate him more than the unappreciative women. Since the accident, Howie had been quick to withdraw from any activities that had been considered joyous when the boys gathered together as friends. If anything, Howie just made his appearances for the various events that were deemed necessary to their careers and even then his facial features displayed his displeasure prominently. It was only a short amount of time before the media caught hold of the band’s rift by means of some silly accident, which caused Kevin a severe amount of distress. He was doing everything in his power to keep his career afloat and would be damned if Howie ruined all his planning because a sudden growth of his conscience.
“I’m not trying to attain Sainthood! I’m trying to do what is right for these women!” Howie finally exploded, unable to shield his disappointment and frustration and further. He had done his best to keep away from the men for obvious reasons, knowing that his hatred and disappointment continued to grow with every meeting. Instead, Howie focused all his attention on the women resting in the two separate hospital rooms, hoping somehow that they would come to accept his help. He felt obligated to ensure their safety and well being because of his moral background, not because of his bank account. Yet, each time he glanced to his longtime friends, he could only see their manipulation and scheming to keep tight hold on the purse strings of their fans. And that cold calculation in their eyes was causing Howie to honestly rethink his relationship with each and every man.
“But not what’s right for your friends and band-mates?!”
“What do you guys actually need?! What could I possibly do right by you? Last time I checked every single one of us came away from that crash without a scratch. We’re all perfectly healthy and living our lives like nothing even happened. Hell, Nick even managed to avoid jail! What could you possibly need from me?!”
“We need your commitment to this group!”
“I have been nothing but committed to this group from the day we started!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Then why haven’t you accepted one damn invitation we give you to come over to our houses to actually enjoy ourselves before any obligations we might have to the business?”
“Why should I?! We almost killed two people, Kevin!”
“Because you owe us that much!”
“And what do we owe those women that have been lying in a hospital for over two weeks?!”
“Nothing!”
“How can you honestly say that? Have you all finally grown into heartless bastards with the last increases in our paychecks? What happened to actually caring about the world and people who were in need of our help? When did we get so much better than two women who had everything going for them before Nick decided to be an idiot—”
“Look, guys, this isn’t about who has the bigger angel wings!” Brian exclaimed in surprise, not really expecting the peacemaker of their group to explode violently at the fatherly figure of their group. He became dangerously aware of Kevin’s hands contorting into sharp, powerful fists as Howie’s body tensed with disgust and possibly an urge to bolt from the entire situation. Trying to make peace as Nick and AJ remained dangerously quiet; Brian flung a few photographs toward Howie and Kevin. “See? These ones are perfect to submit. We have Nick walking into the hospital. We have AJ and Howie actually talking to a nurse. We have me sitting in the waiting room. We have Kevin sitting in the Clark room while she’s sleeping. And, the final photograph that will win everybody’s hearts is Howie giving that basket of goodies to the Lorden Mother—”
“Fuck it,” Howie actually cursed, reaching to yank the photograph of him and Savannah’s mother from the table. Without any regard for the group, he hurriedly ripped the photograph to shreds, throwing the remaining pieces around the room. He then boosted himself from the mahogany table at such a speed that his expensive chair crashed heavily into the wall. That had been the final nail in the coffin of Howie’s friendship with the men. The very idea that they would subject his heartfelt gesture to the mockery of the media tore large chunks of muscle away from his golden heart. He couldn’t stand to let Savannah think that his intentions were nothing but genuine.
“Sit your ass down, Howie,” Kevin demanded.
“No!” Howie growled, moving toward the door in a stalk of disgust. “I’m not going to be a part of this. You submit the photographs to the magazines, but don’t you dare submit a single photograph of me! I don’t want to be part of this lie. It’s not fair to Savannah or Rhiannon. They’re human beings for God’s sake!”
“That’s suicide, Howie,” AJ breathed in dismay. “The media murder you alive if they get photographs of us at the hospital and not any of you. They’ll blame you for everything—”
“I don’t care! I honest to God don’t care what they say about me. The only thing that matters is what Rhiannon and Savannah think about me. I’m not doing it for the publicity. I’m actually doing it for the right reasons,” Howie growled, throwing a video tape marked Savvy 2004-2005 onto the table. “I suggest you watch that and then try to call me and say we don’t owe that girl a damn thing.”
“I promise I’ll be okay. Just at least give me a half hour to visit with her,” Rhiannon begged softly as her nurse helped her from the wheelchair, allowing her to stand just in front of Savannah’s hospital room. She took several deep breaths, somewhat relieved that the expansion of her lungs didn’t hurt significantly. Two weeks had passed since the accident and Rhiannon’s increased cranial pressure had stabilized to normalcy with the aggressive IV medications. Since the decrease in pressure against her brain tissue, Rhiannon had experienced a momentous increase in her alertness, finding that she wasn’t dozing off as quickly during the day. Though, Rhiannon was quick to remind herself that she wasn’t cleared from the woods just yet. She still experienced severe nausea, terrible headaches, personality changes, and long periods of confusion after being roused from sleep. And her left arm was still extremely tender with the burns and became more painful as she was thrown into a lengthy program of physical therapy to assure that there would be no permanent disabilities as the skin began to regenerate.
“If either of you need anything, make sure to hit her call bell,” the nurse warned.
“Of course,” Rhiannon promised, clearing her head of depressing thoughts. She had been making such a significant recovery that her doctor had finally permitted that she could visit Savannah for a short while. And that small allowance was like a field trip to Heaven for Rhiannon, because she was missing Savannah terrible. She had also been so fearful of Savannah’s condition since Kevin’s nasty comments, realizing that something indeed wasn’t right with her friend. And, unfortunately her fears were confirmed as she stepped into the dim room, bracing herself against the nearby wall for support. “Savvy…”
Savannah jerked from her troubled sleep at the sound of Rhiannon’s voice, which only intensified the pain expanding from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. The doctor had just popped her shoulder back into place a few hours ago, giving her a mild sedative to make the transition easier. Only, when she roused from her slumber, the reminders of the procedure were quick to announce their presence. Her lovely face contorted into a look of sheer agony, doing her best to hold her right arm which had been settled into a sling for proper healing. Only, that didn’t even seem to alleviate the pain as her leg was quick to remind her of the second surgery attempted on her battered leg the previous evening. Again, Savannah wished to God that she could just stay the darkness of slumber permanently without ever having to feel this type of misery.
“Savvy, please,” Rhiannon was quick to beg, moving to the chair that had been placed at Savannah’s bedside. Her hands trembled as she reached to smooth away the light blonde curls that had fallen away from Savannah’s braided pigtails. Heavy tears started to fall down Rhiannon’s cheeks as a hard throb invaded the back of her skull from the intense emotions. Savannah’s appearance was startling for Rhiannon, especially since she hadn’t been fully informed of Savannah’s injuries. The younger woman looked like a map of a vicious war. Various shades of bruising covered her body to compliment the various lacerations and brush burns from the deadly collision. Her right arm was wrapped tightly within a sling to prevent another dislocation of her shoulder. And the bulky remains of her graceful leg were hidden beneath a heavy immobilizer that stretched from her ankle to where her leg connected with her thigh. It was hard for Rhiannon to connect this wrecked woman with her memory of a vibrant and energetic Savannah. Yet, despite her disbelief, this indeed was her Savannah.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t see me like this,” Savannah confessed after several moments of silence, trying to grapple with the intensity of her discomfort before attempting to speak. Slowly, she allowed her heavy eyes to part to glance toward Rhiannon. For a moment, relief washed over her aching body as she was actually able to look into Rhiannon’s dark eyes, remembering the small flecks of green that always shimmered within the lighting. Savannah actually managed a smile, thankful to see her friend sitting at her bedside despite her injuries. Though, it was obvious that Rhiannon was using all of her energy just to remain in Savannah’s room. Her eyes seemed darker with the heavy bruising beneath them that indicated her head injury while her cheeks still flushed with the fever remaining from the pneumonia. Her left arm was wrapped lightly in gauze to prevent any infection that might occur with the burn exposed. But most significant was the fact that the older woman had hid her long, beautiful, chocolate locks back with a bandana to conceal the shaved portions of her scalp that the doctors had needed to insert her intracranial monitor.
“Did you really think that you could hide this from me?” Rhiannon choked, reaching to grasp Savannah’s left hand.
“Like I said, I was hoping, but you’re too damn nosy,” Savannah teased lightly.
“Does it hurt?”
Savannah grimaced with a soft laugh. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
“No…” Rhiannon blushed. “Sorry, Savvy. I was just so worried…”
“I’m fine. I was honestly more worried about you.”
“But your leg…”
“I’m going to dance again, Ann.”
“But…” Rhiannon let the rest of her sentence drop from her mouth, unable to crush any remaining strength that was left in Savannah’s vivacious personality. Instead, Rhiannon shifted her gaze downward as Savannah released her hand to clear away the tears from her bruised cheeks without fear of humiliation. Savannah had always done her best to remain strong in front of Rhiannon, even when her entire world was falling apart. Rhiannon knew that Savannah was trying to save as much of her dignity as possible, so she continued to attempt to glance around the room while Savannah composed herself. And, while glancing at the piles of flowers and cards from their friends, family, and various loved ones, Rhiannon noticed a large gift basket. Carefully, she rose from her seat to inspect the beautiful basket.
“I don’t even know why Momma kept that here,” Savannah announced, noticing Rhiannon’s curiousness over the assortment of gifts.
“Savvy, it’s gorgeous,” Rhiannon breathed, reaching to withdraw a soft, stuffed, chenille dolphin that she immediately placed to her cheek for the lovely feeling of the fabric. “Who—”
“No one important.”
“Savvy,” Rhiannon chided, locating an unopened card within the beautiful gifts. She traveled back to her seat with the card and stuffed dolphin. Settling the dolphin into her lap, she opened the card to read it aloud. “Savannah, I know I’m not exactly your most favorite person in the world at the moment, but I refuse to let your sour disposition keep me from what I think is right. I’m extremely sorry for what happened to Rhiannon and you. Words cannot even begin to describe the guilt I feel about what happened… But, I doubt that’s exactly what you want to be hearing at this moment… So, I hope that you’re not thinking I’m trying to buy your silence with this basket. I simply wanted to get you something that you’d enjoy and I hope that your surgery was successful. And please let me know if you need anything, I’ll surely deliver. Sincerely, Howie.”
“What a load of sh—”
“Savvy,” Rhiannon interrupted, holding out the beautiful dolphin for Savannah to cuddle. “I think he might actually be really trying here.”
