41

  Brad

  I was enjoying that first week of summer when Cody called me. My dad and I had a fishing trip planned for next weekend, and I had grabbed that girl Heather’s number on the last day of class and had already called her to see a movie and get some coffee with her. I was excited about that.

  Throughout the week, Christian would text us, Cody and I at least, I don’t think he thought he should keep rubbing his plans in Susie’s face, as she had made it clear how uncomfortable she was with things. Turns out he really was going all out for the wedding. All of us near the top floor of Cesar’s Palace, he had secured the penthouse for himself and his blushing bride of course.

  All seemed to be going well for Christian, back then, all seemed to be going perfectly, damndedly well. Cody told me he promised Christian, well not promised, more of a reassurance really, he said that, “Every thing’s going to work out,” and at the moment, it seemed to have worked out for Christian. He had everything he wanted. He had money, he had a beautiful bride, god she was so beautiful. As much as Susie would deride a man having the wanton lust a man would have for a woman so beautiful, god Briar was so beautiful. I couldn’t blame Christian for his wish to spend his life with such a beautiful woman, Cody couldn’t blame him, and on some level I don’t think Susie could blame him either, no matter how much of a problem she had with his actions. Susie, as an attractive woman herself, knew that men could be weak when such beauty was put in front of them, she must have known. I’m not saying that she understood why Christian made his daring rescue of Briar, she hates him for doing that, she’ll always hate him for doing that. But I think, like me, on some level, Susie must understand that as weak a man Christian was there was no way he could resist such a beauty placed in front of him.

  I don’t know if Susie was right, I don’t know if Christian was right. I don’t even know if Cody, my best friend, was right. Everyone was right in a way, and yet no one was. I still remember that call from Cody.

  “Briar’s sick,” he said.

  “What? Wait, she’s sick? Like does she have the flu or something? The Wedding isn’t for a few weeks, she’ll be better,” I said, thinking Cody’s call was concerning nothing more then our epic week in Vegas being put off for a few days.

  “No, she’s really sick, she’s in the hospital,” Cody said, “Christian told me, I think we should see her, I already called Susie, we’re heading down there, Christian sounded really down, we should cheer him up,” Cody said.

  We didn’t know how sick she was.

  We arrived at the hospital around fifteen hours after Briar had been admitted. I know fifteen hours because that’s the first thing that Christian said when he came to us white faced, a dead and empty man.

  “How’s Briar?” Cody asked.

  “I don’t, I don’t know,”

  “We’re looking for someone named Prince?” A doctor said confused at the terminology that Briar had used as she begged for the one man who would care about her above all else.

  “It’s a pet name,” Christian said, “I’m her Fiancee,” he said.

  “This girl, Ms. Rose, she is in critical condition,” he said, turning to Christian, “She doesn’t,” he looked down. How many times had this doctor have to give bad news, who knows, this is the only time I had seen this Doctor and he no doubt had a wealth of stories he could tell us about bad news he had to give patients and patient’s families.

  “Tell me,” he said, “Does Ms. Rose have any history of immuno-comprisation, has she had a transplant recently, does she have any conditions?” he asked.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “No, no none of that, she’s perfect,” Christian, “She’s perfect, and she’s just sick, and you can make her better right?” Christian was panting, almost hyperventilating, “It’s just the flu, that’s what your people said when I brought her here, it’s just a flu right? She’s going to be better,” he begged.

  “Sir, I can’t explain what’s going on with Ms. Rose, she,” he pursed his lips, tried to figure out how to describe this fantastic situation, “She was admitted with a case of influenza, yes, but unfortunately for some reason the virus is spreading, and on top of that she’s come down with a staph infection, and a nasty one. One like I’ve never seen,” he said.

  “But you can make her better, you have to make her better, do anything you can, I’m well off, anything you need to do you do it, I don’t give a damn about cost, I will build a new wing in this hospital if I have to, now you make that woman well!”

  “Sir, for some reason, and we’ve already tested for any immune disorders, no strep, no HIV,”

  “Of course she doesn’t have HIV!” Christian yelled at the doctor, yelling into the infinite fury of meaninglessness.

  “She doesn’t have anything that would lead to a simple flu and infection becoming so aggressive,” the doctor said, “But it appears she has no natural immunity to pathogens. It’s baffling, I’m sorry, but theres nothing we can do for her. Her body can’t survive in this world, I’ve no idea why she lacks the immunities necessary, as I said we’ve run every test possible to find a treatment, but in a case like this, even if she does survive, a simple common cold is deadly enough to have grave ramifications on her,”

  “Anti-biotics, steroids, you do everything in your power to save her, do you hear me!” Christian lunged to the doctor and grabbed his white coat shaking him.

  “Theres nothing we can do, Anti-biotics could slow the staph, but the flu virus has no treatment we could give her, it will most likely lead to phenomia, and from my professional opinion,” he pushed Christian off him, “That Ms. Rose has, a very short amount of time left,” The doctor, put a hand on Christian’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, she’s too far gone, we have done everything in our power for you as you have so demanded, but, you should see her,” he looked down. This doctor most likely have given bad news before, but to tell a fiancee that his bride to be was all but dead, that had to have been one of the heavier messages he had to deliver. Briar was such a young girl, so beautiful, her whole life ahead of her. Her life with Christian, with a man who could give her literally anything that this world could give her.

  We didn’t go in the room with him. Cody and Susie took seats as they waited for the inevitable. I stayed standing, I didn’t know if I should sit or stand, so I just stood. And we waited. Two, three hours passed, Christian came out.

  “She’s gone,” he said, “Less then a month, and she’s just gone,” he wasn’t crying, he didn’t collapse into his sadness. He just stood there, pale and white in his face.

  Cody was the first one of us to console him, “Christian, I’m sorry,” he said. Certainly none of us could think of something better to say to him. I’m sorry, that’s all I said to him too. Susie was silent during this. It’s kind of a dark thought, but out of all of us Susie was the one who got what she wanted. She wanted Christian punished, she wanted Christian proved wrong about his idea to take Briar from that world, from Somewhere Else.

  Once again it was Cody holding tight to Christian as he just wept and dumped out his emotions. These were not the emotions of a man who murdered someone to save a world, they weren’t the emotions of a man who had been bullied and wrecked his entire life. These were the tears of a man who lost, what he thought at least, was his one true love. A weeping even more devastating than all that other nonsense.

  So now we’ve reached the end of the story.

  Christian made himself out to be the hero in a world separate from a world who would never think of letting him have that title. He found wealth, he found power, he found love. Was the love pure, that’s not for me to say. But, back then at least, that love was pure to him. At least I think it was. Christian had lost everything, and I mean everything. Sure he still had his sea of gold, he had his grand condo, he had the lease on his Mercedes, but none of that meant anything to him. To him Briar was all he had, and now she was gone.

  Do I pity him? Of course I do. Do I understand him? Maybe. So many opinions one could have about the life of Christian, all of them too complex for me to even begin to try and unravel. Cody’s probably going to have the final chapter of this. I’ll let him have the last word. But the stories over now. You know everything that happened because of that damned, or wonderful, night we found the gateway to Somewhere Else. It’s all dust in the wind now, It happened, it was happening, and now it’s over. No more visits to fairy tale land, no more quests or adventures, just a broken man who had lost the only thing he ever cared about, and three people, three kids, with no idea how to help him.