SEVEN DAYS AND A WEEK
At the trauma center in Toronto, Lindsay was lying in the bed unconscious. The doctor had just walked into the room with her results. Brian looked up, fully aware that is son was looking in from the window watching them,
"and...?"
There was a serious stance in the doctors tone, "In my opinion...it is highly unlikely that she will regain consciousness"
Brian exhaled and closed his eyes. Gus was focusing on him. He dropped his milkshake and bolted into the room, "Dad!"
Brian opened his eyes and stared at him.
Xxxx
Back at the garage in Pittsburgh, Nathan gathered up his keys and wallet and came out of his room, Rhona was busy folding some laundry into the airing closet, "Where are you going?"
Nathan looked back at her as he was about to go down the stairs, "I'm off to pick up a car of that's any of your business"
Rhona closed up the closet, "Oh, thanks for Leo's birthday present...he's STILL waiting"
But that sarcastic comment was lost on Nathan, because he was already down the stairs and bumped straight into his father,
"Hey..."
Nathan pushed past and was out the door, "Sorry dad, but I'm in a hurry"
Brad was washing his hands in the sink nearby, "Where's he off to?"
Patrick shrugged, "I don't know, he didn't say"
Rhona was just passing as she made for the kitchen to get dinner ready, "He said he was off to pick up some car"
Patrick was puzzled, "whos?"
"I don't know...I didn't ask him"
Patrick watched his wife get busy in the kitchen, then turned to his brother who was drying his hands, "Do you think he's in some kind of trouble?"
Brad swallowed down, "What do you mean?"
"You seem to know more than me...is he going to see this Brian?"
Brad's answer had a tense air to it, "How would I know?"
Patrick watched his reaction, "You tell me...why is it every time I mention the name Brian you get all jittery"
"Stop talking bullshit"
"You said you knew him from high school, did he do something to you?", asked Patrick.
Brad made for the door, "I SAID forget it"
Patrick knew there was something there deep down. Every-time he mentioned Brian, Brad would tense up.
He decided he was going to do some digging...
Xxxx
At the Trauma center, Brian and Gus were waiting in the relatives room, Gus stared out to the pouring rain outside the window, and turned to face his Dad who was sitting down watching him, "So what's gonna happen?"
"They say they are going to switch the life support off"
Gus rushed forward in a spike of panic, "But she'll die!"
Brian reached out and cupped the boy's cheeks, "She already is son, it's the machine that's keeping her heart beating thus keeping her life"
Gus shook his head, he wasn't having this, "But...she MIGHT wake up...she might wake up...she..."
Brian held his sons eyes and shook his head gently, trying to understand what the boy was thinking, "Gus...none of this is your fault"
"But it is", Gus announced, his voice cracked.
Brian pulled a confused look at him, "what?"
"It was me...it was MY fault that she crashed the car...Mel was getting at her, she was drunk, I grabbed her because she was trying to take the steer wheel, but I started to grab her and pulled her back"
Brian was taking this all in, but still didn't get why this was his son's fault, "But...HOW is this YOUR fault?"
"Mel was shouting at me...Mom turned to look at me, to calm me down because I was yelling at Mel...but...while Mom was looking at me, she never saw the truck until I called out...she swerved it but lost control and we ended up...", Gus pulled away from his father and went to the couch and cried.
Brian reached out and sat next to him, pulling Gus's head to his chest, "Hey...come on...you were just reacting to the situation...unfortunately for her, so was she...", he soothed.
Gus stopped sobbing. He turned his head and asked, "Dad...when...I mean, WHEN are they gonna switch off her machine?"
Brian looked to the floor and replied, "They told me they will come and get us, when it is time..."
They they both sat in silence as the rain hammered on the windows.
Xxxx
In Pittsburgh, Nathan stepped off the bus and headed across the street towards Brian's building. He immediately saw Justin leaning up against the door waiting for him,
"Hey", said Nathan.
"Hey, it's just around the back", Justin replied, leading the way around the corner and to the rear of the property.
When Nathan clocked the damage on the car, he looked at Justin in surprise, "Fuck...look at it!"
Justin shook his head, "I know! Can you fix it? It means a lot to me because Brian bought it me for my birthday last"
Nathan was over giving the VW beetle a once over, "I think it'll be okay...but somebody meant business when they did your tail lights"
Justin, who watched him fiddle about with the wiring, nodded in total agreement, "I know...I thought it was vandals...but...do you think it was deliberate?"
Nathan looked back at him. He had a theory in mind, there was definitely a certain pair who'd love to frame him for this, "Look...I Don't wanna speak out of term"
"Go on..."
"How well do you know your two friends down the club? You know who I mean, the two camp jerks..."
Justin frowned, "Danny and Stu?"
"Yes, those two"
Justin shrugged, "I've known them a few years, I guess...why? Do you think it's one of them? No way! They would NEVER do this, they are my friends"
Nathan decided it was time for a big reveal, "That night, when I hit you...after, they told me that it was ALL your idea...that you had staged the whole act...because you hate me"
Justin was instantly on the defensive, "No way! I'd so never do that! Look, I'm no saint, there was a time a while back I outed a guy to his family because he dared ask Brian to call him in front of me...that's not me, not anymore, that was when I was a jerk after coming back from New York...", Justin stopped open mouthed in mid-flow, as another thought had just crossed his mind from back then, "...come to think of it..."
"What?"
It suddenly dawned on him, "That was THEIR idea too..."
Nathan shook his head, "There you have it...be warned, they are dangerous...look...", he moved and opened up the drivers seat and removed the brick from the seat, "...I'm just gonna go remove the glass and reverse it out for you"
Justin watched him get to work, and thought about Danny and Stu, he knew they were devious but...would they? Be that devious to him?
Xxxxx
At the trauma center, Brian stopped his son at the fresh-hold of Lindsay's room.
"You don't need to do this...if you don't want to, nobody will think less of you"
Gus looked up at him, "I WANT to be there! When they do it..."
Brian wasn't entirely convinced, but he let his son pass into the room, "Okay..."
The medical staff around Lindsay were all set, the lead doctor looked up at Brian, "Ready?"
"yes"
The doctor gave the nod and his staff switched of the life support apparatus. At first there was nothing, but an alarm went off and it was noisy. Gus gasped out and buried his head into his fathers chest, as Brian looked on at Lindsay's life sign monitors flat lining.
"Time of death, 17.50...", one of them said.
Brian looked down to his son and stroked his hair.
Xxxx
Brad blinked in the bright sun, as he saw the battered VW beetle come rocking up onto the garage forecourt. He forward and pointed to it as Nathan jumped out the drivers seat, "Whose is this heap of junk?"
"Just a friends"
Brad shook his head, knowing exactly what and who this was, "Oh yeah? You mean the fag from this morning..."
Nathan stared at him sharply, "What if it is?"
Brad dismissed him and waved his hand at the car, "It's custom like theirs I don't like"
"like me? HA, like you!"
Like a coiled spring, Brad was in Nathan's face, eyes boring into him with a threatening darkness, "Don't you ever fucking say that or I'll give you more than a black eye!"
Patrick was on his way over watching them, "Hey...what's going on here?"
Brad stepped back from Nathan and pointed to him, "Just telling your son how it is...that we don't do 'mates rates'"
Nathan could see his father was confused so he pointed to the car, "The VW classic...it belongs to a...friend of mine"
Well, if it belonged to a friend of Nathan's, "Sure...I'm sure we can fit it in"
"But...", protested Brad.
Patrick threw a glare at his brother, "I RUN this joint Brad...father left it all to me...so, just do as you are told"
Nathan looked at Brad all smug and then turned to his father, "Thanks dad"
Xxxx
At the trauma center, Brian and Gus were in the corridor. A nurse came forward and pointed the way, "There is a chapel down the hall if you..."
Brian was instantly shaking his head, "No thanks...I'm not religious...", then he looked at his son, was he religious?, "...unless..."
Gus pulled a face at him, "No way! If there was a God, then he wouldn't have let Mom die!"
The nurse understood, "Well, if you want to sit with her...then she is ready"
Gus looked up at his father, "Dad, can I..."
He nodded, "Go for it..."
The nurse looked on and her heart strings were pulled for him, "Poor boy..."
Brian looked at her, "Yeah, a poor boy with news that really hasn't hit him yet, not properly"
The nurse thought she knew best, "The tears will come...when he's ready...grief is a funny thing, it effects us in many ways and of course everybody is different"
Brian looked at her like she was not any help whatsoever, "Is that so? Well, thanks for the lecture nurse, but I better go sit with my son"
The nurse walked off, Brian sat next to Gus who looked at his Mother's calm form, "It's not fair"
"Life isn't fair"
Gus bit his lip and looked at his dad. "So what now? What's gonna happen to me?"
Of course, Brian had not yet thought that far ahead, "Good question..."
Xxxx
Later in Pittsburgh, Justin was lying back on the bed. CNN was on low on the TV, and he was talking to Brian on his cell phone.
"My god, and you say the news hasn't really hit him properly?"
In Toronto, Brian watched as Gus played on his games console at Lindsay and Melanie's house, "Not yet...look...you are gonna have to make up the couch"
"For Gus?"
"yes, for Gus"
"When will you be back?", Justin asked.
Brian didn't know exactly. Everything was now hanging in the air, "In a few days...Lindsay's folks showed up an hour ago, they were angry that they weren't consulted about her care, never mind the fact they hadn't bothered to see her since she lived up here...it's all a bit thwart here, to tell the truth"
"I can't believe Melanie was such a cow to Gus!"
Brian looked at his son as he spoke, "I don't know what to believe...but...I'm sure it will all come out at some point...look, you okay?"
Justin decided not to bother him about the car, "Nothing to report...nothing that can't wait...look, let me know what flight you are on when you book, I'll make sure everything is ready on your return"
"Thanks"
There was a pause, "Brian...are YOU okay? I know how much she meant to you, she was the only GIRL you sorta loved, and I'll never forget the help she gave me"
"Yeah well, it was a million years ago...look...see you soon, gotta go..."
"I love you", whispered Justin.
"I love you too, bye"
Justin stared at the TV screen. What was going to happen now? All he knew was, for him and Brian, life was gonna be a whole lot different.
Xxxxx