*~*Kamalei's POV*~*

I caught him smiling goofily and watching me as we walked. I finished up the cigarette faster than usual, letting it take some of my built up stress over Zacky. He sipped his beer, draining it of its last drops.

“Nothing has changed Zee.” I told him as he threw the can away in a trash can as we passed.

“But you…you’re talking to me?” he asked confused.

“Not really.”

“You gave me a hug and talked to me. That’s more than you’ve done in weeks…” He said opening the door to the bus.

“I wished you good luck because I couldn’t be mean and single you out. Nothing more, nothing less.” I replied going towards my bunk.

“Lei? Please, can’t we end this? Can’t we at least talk to each other again?” He said facing me in the small hallway between our bunks.

“I don’t want to talk to you. I have nothing to say.” I said turning away from him as I felt myself choke on my words.

He reached out and turned me to look at him again, “That’s a lie. You’re about to cry right now. This is hurting you as much as it’s hurting me… Can’t we just hang out and watch a movie or something?”

I looked at him and he was starting to look worse than outside, “Zacky? Are you feeling alright?”

“Stop changing the subject. Just watch a movie with me.” He slurred plopping on the couch in the front area.

“Zack, I’m serious. Are you ok?” I said standing in front of him on the couch.

“I told you I’m fine. Now come and watch a movie. You pick.” He said patting a spot on the couch next to him.

“Let me look at where you got hit.” I said motioning him to lean forward so I could look.

He leaned forward swaying drunkenly before I grabbed his head by the sides of his face and sat down next to him. I gently brushed his hair out of the way to expose the large gash in the back of his head that had a dried up blood spot.

“Zacky, you have to go to the doctor. It’s bad.” I told him.

“No! I’m fine! I’ll just wash it off and then we can watch a movie.” He said trying to get up from the couch and nearly falling over.

“Zee, not right now. Let me at least help you clean this if you’re going to be stubborn.” I said getting up and walking with him to the tiny bus bathroom.

He stopped at the door to the bathroom and turned to me alertly and waving his finger in my face, “Only if you watch a movie with me. Right now.”

“Fine. I’ll watch a movie with you if you let me help you clean this up.” I said pushing him into the room and turning on the shower.

“I don’t want to shower right now…” he said as I grabbed his head and shoved it inside the water.

“You don’t have to shower right now but this needs to get cleaned off so I can see how bad it really is.” I said helping him stand steady.

“It’s fine Lei… What are we going to watch?” He asked drunkenly.

“I don’t know Zack.” I replied getting annoyed at his drunken childishness.

I finished cleaning the wound, pulling him along back out to the couch, plopping him down. He sat there with the towel on his head smiling big as I found a movie and sat next to him. He grabbed the pillows from the other couch and propped them up on one side, turning and leaning back onto them.

“Zacky don’t lay on it. You’re going to make it bleed again.” I said as I stood up and he put his feet up on the couch, lying down.

“Lei… Lei, come here.” He said pulling me down to sit between his legs on the couch, ignoring my warning.

“Zee, I’ll just go on this side…” I said attempting to get up.

He wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me back down, “Just lay here with me please. Please?”

The feeling of his arms around my waist soothed my troubled mind and I let myself give in just this once, “Ok. Just this once Zee.”

“Ok. Lean back, you can rest on me.” He said pulling my shoulder back and letting me lean my back against his chest.

“Zack?” I asked after a few minutes of the movie and his silence.

“This feels nice doesn’t it?” He whispered as his arms wrapped around my waist tighter, “I missed this. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I clamped my hand over my mouth as I let my feelings be exposed.

“I know you did.” He said smugly as I turned and looked up at him.

“How?”

“Because I have eyes. You’ve been just as miserable as I have… I’m sorry Lei. Can you please forgive me?” He asked, tears in his eyes.

“I forgive you Zee. You’re right… this feels nice.” I said feeling his snakebites kiss my temple, “I did miss you and this… Just things aren’t how they were though. This is only a one-time thing. You have to prove to me that you’re really sorry before I can even think of anything close to best friends.”

“I’ll do whatever I have to if you’ll be my friend again.” He said, wiping a few tears that had escaped.

“Ok. Good to know. Watch the movie…this is the best part.” I said going back to the movie.

We watched the movie, joking and laughing thru most of it like we used to do when we would watch movies together. It really was the most fun I had since we started the tour, and it was something we used to do at home not even related to tour. I picked up his arm from around my waist and looked at his watch. Everyone should be coming back to the bus soon and I’m sure Matt wouldn’t like the current position we were in.

“Everybody should be back soon. Do you want something from the fridge?” I turned and asked Zacky as I got up from the couch.

“Yeah, a water please.” He mumbled.

I went to the bathroom and grabbed 2 bottles of water from the kitchen on my way back to the couch. Zacky still had the towel behind his head, balled up to prop him up more on the pillows, with his back to me in the kitchen.

“Zacky what movie next?” I said as I walked around the couch to face him.

His eyes were closed and he looked like he was barely breathing as I sat down in my spot from before. I set the water down on the floor by the couch, and set my hand on his chest, shaking him gently to awaken him.

“Zacky?” I asked becoming more frantic when he wasn’t waking up, “Zacky?! This isn’t funny… Zacky?! ZACK!?! ZACK!!!”

I climbed over him and lifted his head up, watching it flop back onto the towel and pillows as I felt something wet. I pulled my hands back to find them covered in fresh blood. I jumped off him and pulled his head into my lap, softly smacking his cheeks to try to wake him.

“ZACKY!! ZACK!!! ZACK!!!!” I screamed as tears started streaming down my face and I could hear the bus door open.

“What’s going on in here?” Matt asked looking at me wildly as I cried rocking Zacky’s head in my blood covered lap.

“MATT!! HELP HIM! MATT HE’S NOT WAKING UP!!” I panicked as Matt rushed over to me.

“Move!” He said pushing me out of the way as I stood there crying and watching him slap Zacky’s face, “WAKE UP ZEE! ZACKY!!”

Val rushed in behind him, dropping her bag on the opposing couch, running over to me and wrapping her arms around my shaking, crying body, “What’s going on?!”

“He…won’t…. wake up… we were watching movies…I went to the bathroom and I came out and he was like this! Val what do we do!?!” I choked out between my sobs.

“Val, call 911! Dammit Lei get it together! Get the guys outside!” He shouted and I could hear the rest of the band scramble up the stairs at his yelling.

“Whoa! What the fuck is going on?!” Brian said looking at the mess he stumbled upon.

“WILL SOMEONE CALL THE FUCKING AMBULANCE!?!” Matt screamed picking Zacky up from the couch and walking off the bus, past the others as I followed him.

Jimmy ran off as soon as he saw Zacky bleeding everywhere, heading towards the First Aid tent of the venue. I was hysterically crying and brushing Zacky’s hair from his face.

“ZACKY WAKE UP!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!!” I cried out grabbing his shirt and shaking him in my brother’s arms.

“Lei! The ambulance is here… let them take him… it’s going to be okay…” Kelly said wrapping her arms around me and pulling me away from him as Matt set him down on the stretcher.

“NO! NO! NO! I WANT TO GO TOO!” I screamed, fighting out of Kelly’s grasp and rushing over to the gurney and grabbing his hand. “Zacky! Please wake up Zacky!! Please Zacky boy!!”

“Ma’am we have to take him now. You can come to the hospital in your own vehicle.” the EMT said pushing me away.

Matt grabbed me around the waist, lifting me in the air and pulling me away from him as I cried and fought him, “LEI! COME ON! We can go down there! They have to take him now to help him!”

I watched as they closed the doors to the ambulance and pulled out of the venue off towards the hospital. As it went down the street, sirens blaring, I went limp in my brother’s arms as I began bawling my eyes out even harder.

Matt scooped me up, hugging me to his chest, “Shhh…He’s going to be okay baby… It’s going to be alright. Come on, let’s get a taxi and go…”

“Matt…he wouldn’t wake up… it was fine… he was fine… everything was good… we were watching movies… we were laughing… then he wouldn’t wake up…” I blubbered between deep gasps of air and crying while Matt called a taxi just outside of the venue.

“I know baby girl… come on…” He said setting me in the taxi next to Valary before getting in.

The guys had already piled in another taxi behind us as my brother told the cab driver to take us to the hospital. I couldn’t get a hold of myself as I wept hysterically in between my brother and Val. Val pulled me to her, rocking me as I cried, stroking my hair and telling me that everything would be alright.

We got to the hospital and I practically shoved Matt out of the door as I sprinted into the ER of the hospital and up to the front desk.

“Baker! We’re here for Zachary Baker!” I shouted as the tears poured down my face.

“Was he brought in thru ambulance?” she asked me calmly.

“Yes! Where is he!?!” I screamed louder than I expected.

“Miss you are going to need to calm down.” She replied as I felt Johnny wrap his arms around my shoulders, “You folks can have a seat. They are working on him right now.”

“Thank you.” Johnny said before I could open my mouth, ushering me over to the waiting area, “Come on Lei, the doctors are going to help him. Let them work…”

I shook my head and cried harder as we sat down in the uncomfortable chairs of the waiting room. Johnny sat with me, gently rubbing my arms as he held me in his embrace and Leana sat on the other side of me, stroking my hair and desperately trying to calm me down.

“So, what happened? You two weren’t even talking for weeks and then I come on the bus to find you in a pool of his blood with him in your lap unconscious. What were you two really doing?” Matt asked after an hour of sitting and waiting for the doctor.

I looked up at my brother with glassy eyes, tears spilling as I spoke, “I didn’t think he was really okay after you hit him on stage and I ran into him after my shift at the booth. He gave me a cigarette and we were going back to the bus to get more. I only went with him because he looked like he wasn’t feeling so good. When we got to the bus I realized how drunk he was and somehow got him to let me help him clean his cut if I watched a movie with him. I told him it looked bad and he should see the doctor but he told me he was fine… we talked a little and I forgave him and we watched the movie…” I started to cry harder as I continued, “Then I asked him if he wanted anything while I was up and went to the bathroom and grabbed something to drink… when I came back to the couch I thought he was sleeping off his drunkenness…but… I shook him and he didn’t wake up… then you came… Matt?”

“Yes, Lei.”

“He’s going to be okay right?” I asked him sniveling and wiping my nose on my sleeve.

“They are going to do everything they can… I’m sure…” He said staring at me but not really looking at me.

I shook my head and continued crying in my hands on Johnny’s shoulder. Matt stood up from the chair, asked Brian for a cigarette and made his way out the automatic doors to the smoking area outside, Val trailing behind him.

*~*Matt’s POV*~*

Watching my sister completely melt down over Zacky made me feel terrible. This was my fault. Sure it was an accident on stage, but it was still my fault. I hit him because I wasn’t paying attention to where my brothers were. I just stared off, letting my mind stray as I told her the doctors would do everything for him. Seeing her fall deeper into a crying fit was making me crazy so I asked Brian for a cigarette and headed outside.

“Babe, you alright?” Val asked as I sat on the bench in the smoking area.

“No… I don’t know…” I said rubbing my face with my hands, “This is my fault…”

“It’s not your fault. It was an accident. I wish Zacky would have listened to Lei when she told him to get it checked out earlier…” She replied, sitting next to me and rubbing circles on my back.

“What if he’s not okay Val? What if I fucking killed my brother?!” I said raising my voice, getting passerby’s attention.

“Shh… Shh… He’s going to be okay. He’s not going to die.” She said as I took another drag of the cigarette.

“Fuck… and then to watch Lei cry makes me feel worse. I made her cry. I hurt Zack and now it’s hurting her…” I said standing and gesturing to Kamalei inside.

“She’s just upset right now. She’s calming down. They aren’t going to let her go in there hysterical. I think she’s more upset because they just made up after 3 weeks of barely speaking to one another… probably feeling that she wasted time being mad with him over whatever…” Val said.

I nodded, tossing my lit cigarette to the ground and stamping it out before pacing back and forth in front of the bench Val was at. I ran my hands thru my hair before pulling out my cell phone. I texted Larry that we were at the hospital with Zacky and we would let him know what was happening as soon as we knew. I looked down at Val who glanced back at me with sympathetic eyes, knowing that I was blaming myself for this whole ordeal.

“Matt, it’s not your fault. Stop beating yo-“ Val started before being interrupted by Jimmy.

“Matt! They’re going to let us go in!” Jimmy exclaimed out of breath from running outside.

Val jumped up from her seat and grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly as we followed Jimmy back inside the waiting room. The doctor was there talking to Kamalei, she was crying and shaking as Kelly held on to her.

“Are you Mr. Sanders? Your sister said we should wait for you.” The doctor said ushering us into a room off to the side.

This all seemed to familiar, being ushered into a room to tell us the fate of one of our family members as we stood there like a regular band of misfits of the world trying to keep it all together. Kamalei was inconsolable, Kelly hugging her tightly as the doctor spoke.

“So he seems to have a large laceration on the back of his head which your sister said was an accident, but that’s only part of the problem. The bleeding from the cut was hard to control, but we finally were able to stabilize it and we went ahead and gave him stitches to close the wound. We are giving him a blood transfusion to make up for all the blood he’s lost. The real problem right now is the concussion he sustained. It was a pretty severe concussion and we are waiting to see if it caused any brain damage. It was strong enough to cause him to lose consciousness so we want to do some scans and make sure that he didn’t have any serious problems. First we will wait for him to wake up though, as that can give us the first signs of any damage.”

“Can I see him?” Lei croaked out from Kelly’s shoulder.

“Yes but he is still asleep at this time. I have to ask that only 2 of you at a time. If he has no damage then he can leave in the morning but will need to be under constant observation to make sure he’s okay for at least 48 hours.” The doctor told her.

“Thank you Doc.” I said shaking his hand as he left.

“I want to see him.” Kamalei broke away from Kelly and said clearly with the tears falling down her face.

“Alright sweetheart, are you sure?” Val asked, taking one of Kamalei’s hands in hers.

“Yes. I want to see him.” She stated wiping away her tears.

“Ok. Who do you want to go wi-“ Val said before Lei cut her off.

“I want to go in alone.” She interjected.

“Lei, I don’t think you should go by yourself?” I said.

“I don’t care. I want to see him by myself.” She snapped at me.

I put my hands up in surrender, “Fine.”

Notes

Uh-Oh Spaghetti-O's! Zacky is hurt and Lei is freaking out! I've been progressively getting sick over the weekend and I expect to be full blown sick here soon, so if I don't update again this week that might be part of why. Also Saturday is my birthday, so I probably won't be making an update on Saturday. Hope you all enjoy this chapter although it's rather dramatic. Please leave me some comments so I know what you all think! Mahalo for reading and comments! Much love and Aloha <3 <3 <3 XoXo