Don't You Dare

It was hard for Brian to sleep that night. Not only was the couch small and uncomfortable, but nurses were in and out every few hours, and while everyone was friendly and helpful, he was having a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. So around seven o’clock, he finally just gave up, deciding that three total hours was enough sleep.

He cleaned up as well as he could in the small, crappy hospital shower, which honestly wasn’t that bad, considering he had showered in much shittier and much less accommodating places while on tour. He hurried so he didn’t leave Aubrey alone for too long.

Then he spent some time watching early morning TV, talking to Aubrey and catching her up on current news, which was not something he did even for himself. He had no idea what was going on in the world, and if he was being honest, he didn’t really care about what was going on in the world. But he wanted to do whatever would help Aubrey, so he watched the god damn news at 8 o’clock in the morning and told her all about it.

Then he replied to all of his friends’ text messages, reading them to Aubrey as well so she knew everyone was thinking about her - particularly Jimmy, who was still ready to kick her ass since she wasn’t awake yet, despite the fact that Brian had told him that it was best for her to heal this way, and she wouldn’t wake up on her own regardless. But Brian understood the anxiety his best friend was feeling over it.

Around nine, there was a soft knock on the door.

Assuming it was another nurse, Brian called, “Come in.”

The door opened and a guy peeked out from behind the curtain. He definitely didn’t know the guy, but he looked vaguely familiar. Regardless, his guard flew up with lightning speed as he narrowed his eyes toward him. Who the fuck was this guy coming to visit Aubrey in the hospital?

“Can I help you?” Brian asserted, his words laced with intimidation.

A smile spread across the guy’s face. It was a reaction Brian was not expecting, and he furrowed his brow further.

“You must be Brian,” the guy said, still smirking as he walked out from behind the curtain.

“And you are?”

“Relax,” the guy laughed, sticking his hand out to Brian. “I’m Aubrey’s brother, Andrew.”

Brian exhaled audibly, a weight lifted off of his shoulders. “Sorry, man,” he relented sheepishly, realizing he just made a fool out of himself meeting Aubrey’s brother - go figure. He finally reached out and shook his hand. “I’m a little on edge.”

Andrew chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad she’s got someone like you looking out for her. Nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” Brian replied, letting go of his hand.

Her brother looked a lot like her, dark hair and dark eyes, which is probably why he looked somewhat familiar. He was tall and thin and wore a white button-down shirt and black dress pants. He really did not look like someone that Matt and Jason Berry would be friends with.

“How’s she doing?” Andrew asked, going over to the bed and looking down at his sister.

“She’s okay,” Brian answered, then looked Aubrey over, realizing her physical appearance looked a lot better already. “She’s getting some of her color back and it looks like the swelling is going down already.”

"That’s good,” Andrew commented, grabbing Aubrey’s hand and squeezing it.

“I’ll just, uh, give you a minute with her,” Brian said, realizing he might need to back off from watching Aubrey like a hawk so her brother can have a minute alone with her.

“Nah, you don’t have to go,” Andrew shook his head. “I’m not even remotely worried about her pulling through this.”

Understanding her brother’s unwavering faith in her, Brian nodded his head.

“My baby sister’s always been a stubborn fighter,” Andrew added.

“You can say that again.” Brian smiled softly. For some odd reason, it made him feel a little better that her brother acknowledged her stubbornness, like her thirst for her independence and refusal to move to California was just because of her innate personality and not anything personal against Brian.

“She’s giving you a run for your money, huh?” Andrew asked.

Brian let out a small chuckle then nodded his head.

“It’s not one-sided though,” Brian admitted but wasn’t sure how much her brother actually knew about their rollercoaster relationship. “How much do you know about all that?”

“Ah, not much from Aubrey’s perspective,” Andrew explained honestly as he took a seat in the chair next to her bed. “She doesn’t tell me a whole lot about her dating life, probably as a result of my overbearingness as a brother when we were teenagers. But Matt and Jason dig up info for me when I need it.”

Brian laughed, sitting in the couch on the opposite side of her bed. “That’s not making me feel better. I don’t know how much I trust the Berrys with information.”

Andrew laughed as well. “Nah, dude. All I know is that you’re in love with my sister and you want her to move her ass to California - which, by the way, I fully support. There’s nothing left for her in Phoenix and it sounds like she has a wonderful support system waiting for her in California.”

Brian silently pleaded in his head that Aubrey could hear this exchange happening between him and her brother.

“And I know she loves you too but she’s putting up a good fight. I’m gonna be honest, dude, you’ve just gotta let her do her thing,” Andrew advised. “She’s gonna come around eventually, but she’s stubborn as all get out, so it has to be her decision. She’ll do it, but it has to be on her time. Little brat.”

Brian smiled.

“With that said,” Andrew began. “If you do anything to hurt my sister, and if you make her move all the way to California then break her angelic little heart, I will kill you. And it sounds like some of your friends might have my back on that. So watch yourself, rockstar.”

Brian let out a soft snort. Mostly because if anyone was going to end up with their heart broken, it would likely be him. The ball was, and always had been, in Aubrey’s court - well, until the last time he left Phoenix, at least. But even then, Aubrey still had all the power. And he was hurting just as much as she was.

“Duly noted,” Brian replied with a nod.

"Good," Andrew ended with a nod of his own, being sure to get the last word in on the topic.

Brian watched as Andrew adjusted Aubrey’s blankets and patted her on the leg lovingly. He realized there was a whole aspect to Aubrey’s life that he didn’t know much about - her childhood.

“What was she like as a kid?” Brian wondered.

Andrew glanced over at him, immediately catching the tender look in Brian’s eyes. Ah, shit - that little sap was in love with his sister. “A force to be reckoned with. Just like she is now.”

“I don’t know much about her childhood,” Brian admitted, a little sheepishly.

Andrew shrugged. “It was a mostly normal childhood, I guess. Our parents were - and still are - kind of flighty. Growing up, even when they were around, they weren’t really there, so we were on our own a lot as kids. I struggled with it at times, but Aubrey never really did. She just did what she needed to do to get by. Tough as nails.”

“That explains a lot,” Brian admitted truthfully.

“Yeah, she had no choice but to be on her own,” Andrew explained. “So don’t hold it against her.”

Brian nodded, understanding and appreciating her brother’s words. They gave him a perspective on Aubrey that he didn’t even know he needed.

Andrew stayed for the day, telling stories about Aubrey as a kid, but he felt useless sitting there while she was still unconscious and he truly needed to get back to work, so he promised to fly back once she was awake.

After he left, Brian tried to keep himself busy, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines to pass the time, but he started to get a bit antsy. People had been coming in and out throughout the day - nurses to check on Aubrey, deliverymen with gifts and flowers for Aubrey, but no doctor had come in all day and Brian was getting desperate for an update.

Late that afternoon, as Brian laid on the small couch watching The Price is Right, his phone rang beside him, and he was pleased to see it was Matt.

“Yooo,” Brian answered monotonously.

“You sound bored as fuck,” Matt replied with a laugh.

“I’m just getting antsy,” Brian said as he sat up. “What’s up?”

“Just calling to get an update on Aubrey and give you an update on the studio situation,” his friend and bandmate explained. “How’s she doing today?”

Brian looked up at Aubrey’s peaceful, sleeping face. “The same, I guess,” he answered with a shrug. “The doctor hasn’t come by yet today, so I don’t really know for sure.”

“DID AUBREY GET MY FLOWERS?” Jimmy yelled in the background on Matt’s end of the phone call.

“Did you hear that or do I need to relay his message?” Matt wondered, stifling a laugh.

Brian chuckled. “I heard him. Tell him she got the flowers. And the balloons. And the bear. And the Burger King gift card.”

Matt laughed then delivered the message to Jimmy, who cheered in the background.

“So look, we’re gonna hold off as long as we can,” Matt spoke into the phone. “But there’s only so much we can do in the studio without you. I don’t think we’ll be able to put it off for longer than a week.”

Brian exhaled deeply. Would a week be long enough? “I’ll try to make it back within a week if everything is good here by then, but I have to stay until she wakes up. I can’t leave until I see for myself that she’s okay.”

“Yeah, dude, we get it,” Matt replied. “I just wanted to give you the heads up.”

“Thanks,” Brian sighed. “I’m sorry. I appreciate what you guys are doing for me.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Matt replied. “We got your back. Aubrey’s too.”

Ø

Lauren walked through the hospital that evening, carefully carrying a large bouquet of fresh flowers through the lobby, up the elevator, down the halls, and into Aubrey’s room, only to see that there were a few big arrangements and other gifts already scattered around her best friend’s bed.

“Aw, man!” Lauren pouted as she kicked the door shut behind her. “I thought I was killing it with this big ass bouquet!”

Brian laughed as he jumped up to take the bouquet from her arms.

“Who outdid me?” She asked, gesturing to the gifts that decorated the room. “Wait, let me guess. Jimmy?”

“Who else?” Brian confirmed with a laugh as he set the flowers down among the others.

“He’s always gonna outdo me, isn’t he?”

“You know it,” Brian laughed again. “It’s not all from him though. Everyone in the band sent something, and some friends from Warped Tour sent some stuff too.”

Lauren smiled as she looked at the different arrangements throughout the room. There were different flowers of varying colors - some arrangements had balloons, some had cutesy stuffed animals. There was a huge balloon bouquet behind her bed and a giant teddy bear sitting in the corner with what looked like a gift card hanging around its neck. She was so happy to see that so many people cared so much about Aubrey, that so many people would be in her corner if she ever did decide to move to California with Brian. Who, speaking of, looked like shit.

It was obvious that Brian had hardly slept the night before and looked like he had been wretched with stress and anxiety all damn day.

"How are you doing?" Lauren asked.

For a millisecond, Brian thought about lying and saying he was fine, but he just didn’t have the energy to make it sound convincing, so he was honest. “I’m hanging in there.”

She eyed him for a second but ultimately accepted his answer. “How’s the patient today?” She walked over to Aubrey’s bed and fixed her hair for her like a good friend should.

“About the same, as far as I know. The doctor hasn’t been around yet. Not really sure why,” he answered as he sat back on the couch.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Brian called.

Relief washed over him when he saw a doctor walk through the door carrying Aubrey’s chart.

“I’ve got good news,” the doctor greeted, still flipping through the pages and the notes in Aubrey’s chart. “If the next 24 hours goes as well as the past 24 hours have gone, we’ll start to wean her off of the pentobarbital tomorrow night.”

“Meaning she’ll wake up?” Lauren asked as she moved to sit on the couch next to Brian so she wouldn’t be in the doctor’s way.

“Correct,” the doctor confirmed as he checked Aubrey’s gashes and incisions.

Lauren smiled wide as she looked at Brian, whose face lit up in an instant. He was elated, but holy shit, the next 24 hours were going to be the longest 24 hours of his life.

Notes

Thanks to everyone who has continued to read and comment and send messages! You guys rule! This chapter is dedicated to makeshiftmomma whose comments and messages gave me the motivation needed to crank this chapter out!