Author: Olivia Cunning

“Yeah. Dare’s with him. All my pacing was making Trey nervous, so he told me to get lost.”

Brian grabbed Myrna’s hand and pulled her into the room. Jessica stayed behind in the hallway with Eric, while Sed followed the newlyweds. They found Dare sitting on the edge of Trey’s bed, talking to him in hushed tones.

Trey glanced up when Brian came into his line of sight. He smiled brightly and then his gaze shifted to Myrna. He bit his lip and scowled. “I’m sorry I interrupted your honeymoon. I’m such a pussy.” Trey spoke with a slurred voice. He concentrated on swallowing and then blinked slowly.

“This is more important,” Brian said.

Myrna nodded in agreement.

“Didn’t I see you with Jessica earlier this evening?” Dare asked Myrna. “Is this your wife?” he asked Brian.

“Yeah. Myrna, this is Trey’s older brother, Darren,” Brian said.

“Dare,” Dare corrected and extended his hand to Myrna, who shook it.

“Can I borrow you for a moment?” Myrna said, tugging Dare from the edge of the bed by his hand.

“Uh, sure. Okay.”

Sed watched Myrna lead Dare out into the hall, thinking her request strange. Brian took the spot on the edge of the bed recently vacated by Trey’s older brother.

Trey glanced up at Sed. “They bothered you, too. Sheesh, I’m a regular pain in the ass, aren’t I?”

Sed shook his head. “What did they tell you?” Please say you’re going to be all right, Trey. Please.

“Tore a vein or something in my head.” He pointed to a spot several inches behind his left ear. “They have to drill a hole and suck the blood out. It’s not as bad as it sounds. The MRI didn’t show much blood in there. Just a little hole in a vein. Shouldn’t be too hard to f-fix…” His eyes drifted out of focus.

Brian reached for the call button, but Trey grabbed his arm and shook his head slightly.

“I’m all right,” he insisted. “I just can’t think so good.”

“Well, nothing unusual about that,” Brian said.

Trey smiled his typical, infectious grin.

“Isn’t it dangerous to drill a hole in someone’s head?” Sed asked.

“If they don’t, I’ll die.” Trey covered his eyes with one hand. His throat convulsed as he swallowed hard.

“You’re not going to die, Trey,” Brian said. “If you do, I’ll kill you.”

Trey chuckled. Sed realized he was probably making Trey feel worse, but he didn’t want to leave. He needed to see Trey moving, breathing, joking around. That way he could convince himself that Trey would be okay and that helpless feeling in Sed’s gut would ease.

“Did you tell the doctor the last thing you need is another hole in your head?” Brian touched the holes in Trey’s left ear, which usually had rings and studs in them, but apparently all of his jewelry had been removed. “Tongue pierced, eyebrow twice, nose, two in your lip, five in your ears.”

Trey moved his hand from his eyes. He looked more alert than he had a moment ago. “Might as well make it an even dozen.” He laughed and then winced, his right eyebrow twitching slightly. He glanced at Sed. “You look like you’re at my funeral.”

“What can I do for you, Trey?” Sed asked. “Anything. I’ll do anything.”

“Smile.”

Sed tried, but it made his chest constrict in agony.

Brian’s gaze focused on Sed’s bare torso. “Did you lose your shirt at the casino, or what?”

Sed glanced down at his chest. “Uh, I gave it to a fan.”

“You lose more shirts that way,” Brian said.

Trey laughed.

Sed smiled. Trey was going to be okay. He had to be.

Myrna came back into the room. She approached the bed and leaned over Trey. Her fingers gently brushed the long strands of black hair from his forehead and she kissed his brow.

“There will be a fresh cherry pie waiting for you when you come home,” Myrna said.

“Awesome!”

“When do you get to come home?” Sed asked.

“Tomorrow, I hope. I fuckin’ hate hospitals.”

“Do you really think they’re going to let you out of here that quickly? After brain surgery? Get a clue, man.”

“Brain surgery? It’s nothing that serious. I don’t have a tumor. They’re just sucking out some blood. No big deal. A hotel maid could do it.” He made a sucking sound and pantomimed vacuuming the side of his head.

Sed shook his head at him. “No big deal, huh?” Five minutes ago the guy was freaking out. What was different? He noticed Trey was clinging to the front pocket of Brian’s jeans with two fingers. Ah, Brian. Trey’s rock. Sed was doubly glad he’d retrieved him.

“If it was a big deal,” Brian said, “don’t you think they’d have already started operating?”

“They’re waiting for a brain surgeon,” Myrna said. “A good one. Dare said their father called her personally.”

Why hadn’t Sed thought of that? Trey’s father, Dr. George Mills, was a renowned plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. Of course, Dr. Mills would have connections and get Trey the best possible care.

“He’ll need a good one. Doc Mills knows his son doesn’t have any spare brain cells to sacrifice,” Brian said, punching Trey in the shoulder.

Trey scowled at Brian. “Why did I want you here again?”

“To ruin my good time, apparently. You can’t imagine the incredible things Myrna was doing to me when Sed interrupted.”

“Fine, then. Leave.”

“Before seeing your new haircut? Wouldn’t miss that for anything, buddy.”

“Haircut?” Trey glanced around nervously. “What haircut?”

Brian grinned down at him. “You know they’re going to have to shave off all your hair before they start drilling holes through your thick skull.”

Trey’s eyes widened. He glanced at Myrna for verification. She nodded slightly. “It will grow back, sweetie.”

“Fuck that.” Trey tried to get out of the hospital bed.

Sed grabbed him by both shoulders and shoved him back, pinning him to the mattress with sheer force. “You aren’t going anywhere, Mills. Don’t make me sit on you.”

Dare entered the room. “They said the doctor should be here soon. She’s on her way upstairs now.”

Sed caught sight of Jessica peeking in the doorway, gnawing on the end of her index finger. He considered calling her in to join them, but knew Brian would probably just upset her again. Sed winked at her. Her eyes widened as if she’d been caught doing something wrong and she disappeared back in the corridor.

“Dare,” Trey whined in his protect-me-big-brother voice, “Brian says they’re going to shave my head.”

“Well, duh, Trey. I think that’s pretty standard.” Dare lifted an eyebrow at Sed. “Why are you abusing my brother?”

It took Sed a second to realize he was still pressing Trey down against the hospital bed with both hands. He released Trey’s shoulders and stood straight. “Because he was trying to get out of bed.”

Dare’s green eyes shifted to his little brother. “Why were you trying to get out of bed, dipshit?”

“They’re going to shave my head!”

Dare chuckled and tousled Trey’s hair affectionately. “Is that really your biggest concern?”

“Do you think I want to look like a total douche?” He lifted a hand in Sed’s direction. “Like him?”

“Hey,” Sed protested. Yes, he kept his hair very short. But he didn’t look like a total douche. Did he?

“No offense, Sed,” Trey added.

Sed ran a hand over the soft fuzz on his scalp and eyed the long bangs covering one of Trey’s eyes. He’d never pull off an emo hairstyle like Trey’s anyway. Too much maintenance.

“You’ll wish you had that much hair when they’re finished with you,” Brian said. “Cue balls will be jealous of your shiny dome.”

Trey covered his head with both hands. “Shut up.”

A nurse nudged her way through the congregated friends. “You all have to leave. I need to prep him for surgery now.”

Trey eyed the razor in the nurse’s collection of frightening implements and started to climb out of bed again. Sed widened his stance, prepared to force him back down if necessary.

“If you move from that bed, Terrance, I’ll tell Mom why the last pool boy quit,” Dare threatened. “She and Dad are on their way, you know.”

Trey’s eyes widened and his entire body sank into the bed. “Don’t call me Terrance,” he muttered.

Brian chuckled. “Deflowering virgins again, Trey?”

“He liked it.” Trey’s ornery grin made an appearance. “And I really liked it, but I don’t want my mother to know that.” He glared at his brother. “I have a bunch of shit on you too, you know.”

Dare chuckled and an ornerier version of Trey’s grin spread across his face. “She’ll never believe you. Mom thinks I’m her angelic son.”

Brian burst out laughing. Sed didn’t know Dare well enough to understand what had Brian in hysterics. He could only imagine what acts of debauchery the lead guitarist of Exodus End might pursue.

The nurse squeezed around Sed to stand next to the bed. “I need to get this done.”

Trey turned on the charm. “Yeah, you guys get out of here. We have some shaving to do.” He lifted an eyebrow at her suggestively. The nurse dropped her gaze and blushed.

Sed wondered if Trey would actually be able to talk her out of shaving his head. Surely not. The woman was a professional.

Sed grabbed Trey’s hand in a firm handshake and patted him vigorously on the shoulder. “We’ll see you on the other side.”

Trey paled, his nose freckles appearing in stark contrast to his light skin.

Sed supposed he shouldn’t have reminded Trey what was about to happen. He should just keep his mouth shut and defer to Brian, who was an expert at placating Trey.

Myrna kissed Trey affectionately right on the mouth. “Cherry pie and cherry cobbler when you get home.”

“Now you’re talkin’,” Trey said.

Sed grinned. Midwestern women and their way of trying to feed their love to people. Perfectly fine by him. The woman could cook her ass off. A skill Jessica had not quite mastered.

Jessica.

Shit. He’d just left her out in the hallway all by herself. She was going to be pissed. And he wasn’t sure why that thought excited him.

Sed found Jessica leaning against the wall outside Trey’s door. Eric stood beside her. She had her head resting against his muscular upper arm and he was stroking her long, wavy hair with one hand. Sed buried a spike of inappropriate jealousy. He knew Eric wouldn’t make a move on his woman. Eric valued his life too much.

“Sorry I left you out here by yourself for so long,” Sed said to Jessica.

Eric cleared his throat loudly.

“It’s okay. Eric was keeping me company.”

“You could’ve come inside.”

She shook her head slightly. “I didn’t want to upset anyone.”

Sed drew his brows together. “Like who?”

“Brian.”

Sed shrugged. “Eh, he’ll get over it.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Eric said.

“Why does he hate me so much, anyway?”

Sed loathed the look of hurt in her eyes, but was glad he wasn’t its direct source.

“No idea.” Like he was going to tell her he’d seduced Brian’s girlfriends to make himself feel better about his own lonely, miserable existence. Uh, yeah. That was sure to win her back.