Forbidden Love - Segment 32

[itztigress3]

Segment 32 – When the music stops….
POV: Zac / Emily
Word Count: 2595
Warnings: None

-Zac-

I walked quietly inside with her, I was losing her and I couldn’t stop it. When she’d gotten on the bus I was so sure she was coming back to me, but here she stood telling my brothers when to give me more of the medicine and she was leaving. I started to reach for her but ultimately she would just walk out anyway. I stood there and heard the door close, it sounded like a hammer slamming down, done and over.

“Zac?” Ike asked.

I could barely smell the lavender scent when I could breathe, I didn’t respond to Ike I just lay down and curled up. I honestly, didn’t care if got better. Why should I? She was all I wanted and all I needed and I had lost her.

“We are going to cancel the next show and reschedule.” Tay said.

“No. I will be fine by then. I’ll just rest and take the medicine.”

“Are you sure?” Isaac asked.

“Yes. I don’t feel as bad as I did.”

So, it was partially the truth. They didn’t leave me alone, made me eat soup and drink Gatorade. I only did to keep them from nagging me.  I considered texting her but it would do me no good, I tried to sleep but without her there it was hard. In addition, Kate’s messages had turned evil. She was sending me pictures of them having sex, but there no faces were in the picture and just because it was her number, didn’t prove it was her. They lay down and slept the rest of the night and I finally did, they woke me up to give me the medicine but otherwise they pretty much left me alone. I felt worse after waking up, but I just stayed in bed thinking about how much I missed her.


 Nov. 15, 2007

-Emily-

We left the hotel at eleven and I rode the bus with the boys because my things were still there. Zac was sitting up, but he honestly looked no better. I watched him walk inside and he didn’t do anything until sound check. I stood just outside the door to the main room and listened to them practice and do sound check. He was off by a few seconds and he could not finish sound check.  He did not attend the walk and when Taylor and Isaac came back inside from the walk I was waiting for them.

“Call it off guys, he is not well enough for this.”

“He insists that he is. He will not let us cancel it. He is off a few seconds but nothing major.” Taylor said.

“I am telling you, he is lying to you. He is not well enough to perform.”

They looked at me. “He may listen to you.” Isaac said.

“I sent him messages already telling him he needs to call it off, he won’t reply.”

“I guess you know how he feels then when he sends you a message and you don’t reply.” Tay said.

“Taylor, I am not asking him to come lay with me. I am telling him that for his safety he needs to call this off.”

“We will talk to him, but he is pretty set on performing tonight.” Isaac said.

They walked by me and went to the back to relax and then get ready, I finished up front. Ariel was even being overly nice to me, it was odd. They did not cancel, the doors opened at seven and I stayed at the table for a little while but the nagging feeling just wouldn’t go away. I finally walked to the back, it didn’t matter what his reason was this was stupid of him. I didn’t even knock on their dressing room door, just walked in. Taylor squeaked before quickly covering himself up and Isaac gasped and covered. Zac just stood there in his boxers. The other two I couldn’t tell but I assumed they at least had underwear on.

“This is stupid Zac.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are not fine! I can see it on your face, you are not well enough for this.”

“Um…can I like get some pants on?” Taylor asked.

I put my hand over my eyes and waited.

“Go ahead, she won’t peak.” Zac said.

I heard rustling and moving and then the door shut and I looked at Zac.

“What are you doing?”

He put his shirt on and tucked it in. “My job, performing. I’m a little off but Taylor is going to say I am not feeling a hundred percent.”

“You should not be out there at all.”

I couldn’t stop him from getting ready though, he was stubborn and hard headed.

“You should be out front Emily, which is your job. Taylor and Isaac need to get ready as well.”

“You are seriously going to perform knowing you are too sick too?”

He looked at me. “Yes.”

I turned and left the room but I was not going far. I made Darius put another bottle of water by his drums, had the venue manager put the ambulance near the rear in case something happened they would be close. I stayed at the table out front until they were on stage, I heard Taylor say he wasn’t feeling well and I made my way to the backstage area. I took a seat beside the stage, out of sight but where I could see him. I noticed within thirty minutes there was a lot of extra sweat on his cloths; his hair was nearly soaked completely. He stood up once and the entire back of his pants and legs were wet also. I also noticed that a few seconds off was getting worse.

 Forty-five minutes into the show and he completely skipped the beat, lost his place and started behind them. I looked up and saw that Isaac and Taylor were also looking at him. His hair in the back was dripping water, his face was completely red and while he continued to play, he was way off. I silently pleaded for him to just stop.

Fifty-five minutes into the show he stopped playing in the middle of a song. I saw him reach out for the kit, but he swayed and then he completely fell off the stool, landing on his back on the floor just behind Darius. Rationally, I should have stayed put but seeing him fall was much more than I could take, that wall crumbled into dust as I ran to him. He was barely holding his drum sticks when I reached his side and I felt the pain in my knees when I dropped beside him.

“Zac!”

I took the headset out of his ears, so he could hear us.

“Zachary!”

He looked at me but he was fading quickly, by the time the Taylor and Isaac made it to him he had passed out.

“Zac!” Taylor screeched.

It really felt like the music died. The whole venue was quite. The fans were quite, confused, and concerned. Zac wasn’t responding to any of us, I glared at Taylor and Isaac.

 “Get the paramedics.” I said.

I wanted to move him, but I couldn’t be sure if the fall actually hurt him. “Darius, get someone to hold up a sheet or something, fans don’t need to see paramedics.”

A few moments later the black curtains slide closed. Darius stepped outside them with a microphone and was trying to calm the crowd.

When the paramedics arrived we each explained what had been going on, both his blood pressure and temperature were up.

“The lights could have something to do with the 105 temperature.” He explained.

I guess the three of us looked very shocked and pale at that.

They started securing him to a board and I looked at Taylor and Isaac.

“I am going with him. At least one of you needs to stay here and let the audience know what is going on. I am sure
they are very worried about him as well. Just say he fainted and that you need to cancel the rest of the show. When you settle business here, bring his bag and mine to the hospital. I have my phone and I will stay with him the entire time. Don’t even argue with me either.”

Both raised their hands. “No argument here. You were right; we should have canceled the show.” Ike said.

I knew they wanted to go I could see it on their face, torn expression between handling the crowd and going with their brother.

“You aren’t leaving him alone right?” Taylor asked.

“Not even for a moment.”

Paramedics had him strapped down and were walking out; they came with me for that. “We will try to be there within the hour. If he wakes up, tell him we love him.” Isaac said.

I nodded and climbed into the ambulance. I sat out of the way, watched them start an IV and try to cool him off some. I walked with my hand on the bed into the E.R. I flatly told the doctor I would not be leaving. After being away from the lights his temperature did come down some, but they weren’t happy. I was glad he didn’t wear anything he truly loved because I watched as they cut his clothes off and put a gown on him, and then laid a cooling blanket over him. They wanted him to cool down. I answered the questions that I could answer, which was surprisingly most of them. The IV drop was on high and they had drawn blood and checked him over for other injuries from the fall. After a flurry of activity they left me alone with him and left me to wait.

I sat beside the bed watching the IV that was snaking across the bed and into his arm, wondering why he just didn’t listen to me, thinking back to what Isaac has said on the bus he’d not been sleeping well or eating right, he was depressed. But, why? As many times as I had told him I loved him, not once had he ever told me, not even so much as a I care or I want too but can’t, nothing. I sat and watched him breathe, he was still out and I wasn’t sure why. But I assumed that getting that hot can do it. A nurse came in about 11:45, she checked the IV and changed the bag to a new one, and right after she left a doctor came in.

“What are we waiting on?” I asked.
He looked at me. “We’re waiting for the temperature to come down; it has come down so that is good. He is dehydrated and that’s why the IV is set pretty high. We are suspecting that he has the flu, but we’re waiting on the blood work to come back before we give him an antibiotic. He will stay here until the tests results come back, but a room is being prepared already.”

“A room?”

“Yes, because he fainted and he’s not awake I want to keep him. Make sure the fever comes down and make sure
he’s ok.”

I nodded. I waited until he left the room to call Isaac, he answered on the first ring.

“We’re about to leave, has he woken up?”

“No. Not even a flicker, he’s dehydrated and it’s probably the flu, there waiting on blood work to confirm before giving him anything. IV was started; his fever is down to 102, and getting lower. I filled out as much paperwork as I could, but I don’t have his wallet or insurance cards. There keeping him.”

“Why?”

“Fever, dehydration, and because he’s not awake. Maybe it’s better because his fever is still high and they can do something if it gets too high.”

“Ok. We will be there very shortly.”

“Room seven, and someone needs to call his wife.”

“Taylor already has.”

“Ok.”

I hung-up and waited, sitting in the chair beside the bed, just watching the drip from the IV, and wondering what is going on inside his head. Taylor and Isaac came in just after midnight.

“The bags are in the car, we’ll get them once he’s in a room. Anything new?”

I shook my head no and finally moved from the bed side to let them get beside him.

“They stripped him?” Taylor asked.

“He has a hospital gown, but they actually cut his clothes off, so I’m hoping those weren’t his favorite jeans.”

I handed Isaac the paperwork and he looked up. “You didn’t leave much blank.”

“Shocked me that I knew so much.”

“Including his social security number?”

“He gave it to me because he knew mine. He said I could be trusted with it.”

He filled out the few blank spots and then took the lady his ID and insurance cards. He came back with them after
they were done and put them up.

“You can head back if you want.” Isaac said.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Both of them looked at me and I sat down in the corner of the room in the floor and waited with them. The doctor returned at 1:30 with a booster antibiotic shot and also a smaller bag, which got hooked up with the IV. Considering his brothers were there he gave them the full run down which was pretty basic, he had the flu, he was weak and dehydrated, and they were concerned with the fever which had steadied itself at 101. He needed a week, minimum to rest and recover before performing again, and he was being kept until he was awake and walking around for a few hours. I remained in the corner of the room in the floor until they moved him from the ER to a private room on the fourth floor. We went out and got the two bags while they set him up and then I found a seat in the room and sat down.

“We are assuming that you are not going to be leaving?” Taylor asked.

I looked up at him. “Not unless he wakes up and screams at me to leave, which the likeliness of that happening is
fairly slim.”

They sat down and both of them looked tired and worn out.

“What did Kate say?”

Taylor shrugged. “I told her he passed out during the show and was taken to the hospital, all she said was ok.”

“So, it didn’t seem to bother her that her husband was rushed to the emergency room?”

He shook his head no, looked miserable really.

“You wanted her to care?”

“I wanted to be wrong; I guess I wanted what he said about her to be wrong. She always seemed nice and polite. Natalie called me because someone tweeted about him collapsing on stage, Nikki called Isaac but I had to call Kate? I know she watches Twitter.  I guess I wanted to know she at least cared.”

I didn’t reply, instead I looked at the way he breathed, made sure he was breathing. About 2:30 they discussed staying at the hospital, but with me refusing to leave they seen no reason to truly stay. They knew I would call them if anything happened. But, before they left they signed a release for the doctor to tell me anything as well, this way I would know if they needed to change anything. I waved as they left the room, but then turned my attention back to Zac.