Fame (40 page)

“Just shut the fuck up,” Kaid screamed to Landon, who was holding Maisy. “She’s not dead.”

“Kaid,” Landon said, surprised. “I wasn’t implying, I just…fuck, I just want to know what’s going on.”

“We all do, but talking about it isn’t helping,” Kaid shot back.
 

Clearly, their bro-mance was on a hold at the moment.
 

The moment Landon heard Grey’s cry out for him, he knew something wasn’t right, but what he didn’t expect was to see Willow lifeless in his arms. How come they didn’t know about her drug problem? That was what Kaid was beating himself up about the most. He felt responsible for not taking action sooner, and then Grey mumbled something about seeing her with a bag full of a white substance, but didn’t press her because she was already shutting him out. Grey was probably in the most pain.
 

Then there was Maisy, who hadn’t said a word, or even shed a tear. She was just as still and cold as Willow was. Her eyes glazed over as she just stared straight ahead. Rook tried to hold her, to comfort her, but she didn’t even change her posture when he placed his hand on her shoulder. It was as if she was transported to another world.
 

Landon was in such a hurry that he wasn’t even able to grab his phone to cancel the plans with Quinn’s mom, so he sent Quinn a text from Maisy’s phone to meet them at the hospital when she got back.
 

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Grey said, while shaking his head. “This is all my fucking fault.”

“It isn’t; you can’t say that,” Landon tried to reassure his brother.
 

“It is,” Grey said, pushing away. “I was the one who pushed her away, who blamed her for what happened between me and Quinn. I made her hate herself. Fuck, I killed her,” Grey cried into his hands. “I should have stopped her when I saw that bag she had. I should have told Rob about it. I should have taken more action, but instead, I was too much of a pussy and let her do what she wanted.”

The room fell silent at Grey’s outburst. No one really knew what to say, because if they tried to reassure him, he wouldn’t believe them, so they just stayed silent.
 

“When is the doctor going to come through the doors?” Kaid asked, growing more and more frustrated with each passing second. “I can’t fucking take this.” He stood and started pacing.
 

“Maisy, do you want me to hold you?” Rook said softly, but Landon still heard him.

Instead of answering him, she just stayed still, not making a noise or movement. Rook looked at Landon with concern filling his eyes. Landon just shook his head, not really knowing what to say.
 

Leaning back in his chair, Landon ran his hand over his face, feeling the rough cuts from his razor he endured while trying to quickly finish shaving and put clothes on while they waited for the ambulance.
 

The plans for tonight were officially put on hold, and he wasn’t even mad about it. All he wanted was for Willow to be okay, especially since Grey would blame himself for whatever happened to her.
 

His thoughts were put to an end when a hysterical woman came flying through the doors, telling the doctors, who were wheeling a covered up body down the hall, “You have to keep trying, please keep trying,” the lady screamed, making Landon’s gut twist.
 

Hospitals were always so awful, and for that one reason…you could go in one day with your loved one, and walk out the next without them. Life could be vicious that way.
 

“Ma’am, please, you have to let them take her away.”

“That’s my baby!” the lady screamed again, while falling to the floor. The only reason Landon knew she fell was because he heard the clash of her purse against the cold tiles. He tried to be polite and give the lady some privacy, but when the nurses helped her up and took her over to a private room, Landon’s stomach dropped to the floor.
 

“Myrna, what are you doing here?” Landon asked as he stood up, looking Quinn’s mom in her tear soaked eyes.
 

“Landon, Landon!” she cried, as she flung herself into his arms. “Wh-what, who told you?”

“Told me what?” Landon asked, wanting to sit down, needing to sit down.
 

“Quinn, we lost her. We lost Quinn!” Myrna cried, stopping Landon’s world completely.

The world around him turned black from those three little words running ramped through his mind. They lost Quinn.
 

Quinn’s voice rang through Landon’s mind from this morning about her complaining about a headache and not feeling her best but she was still in a bright mood because she was going shopping. Landon even thought about cancelling the engagement tonight but Quinn said she would be fine.
 

Throughout the day he sent her text messages, asking how she was doing and she never once complained about not feeling well, so what the hell happened?
 

Instantly, Landon felt the arms of Kaid and Grey wrap around him, as they sat him down on a chair and tried to get the information from the nurses, but nothing processed. All he could hear was the screeching sound of Quinn’s mom saying the love of his life, the one and only girl ever made for him, was dead. She was gone. There had to be a mistake; that couldn’t be correct. There was no way she was dead.
 

“Aneurism?” Grey questioned.

Words like stress from her bulimia and worn down arteries were thrown around, letting Landon know that it was a combination of things, but he still chose not to believe it. How could he believe it?

“This is not happening,” he said, while looking up at a doctor who was now hovering over them. “Please, tell me this isn’t happening.”

A sorrowful look crossed the doctor’s face as he kneeled down and spoke softly to Landon. “I’m sorry, son, but we weren’t able to help her. Unfortunately, she has passed.”

A feral cry escaped his throat, as he crumpled to the ground with Quinn’s mom, both sobbing into each other’s arms, one growing louder than the other.
 

This wasn’t how things were supposed to shake out for him. He wasn’t supposed to lose Quinn. He was supposed to marry her, grow old with her, start a family with her. Life was never this cruel.
 

His world was crumbling around him as he sat on the floor with Quinn’s mom, never letting go, hoping that if he held on tight enough, for just a little bit longer the doctor would come back and let them know it was a mistake, Quinn wasn’t the one who passed.
 

But the doctor never came back.
 

Instead, in the faint distance, Landon could hear a doctor talking to his bandmates and Twisted Perfection about Willow being in an induced coma, but while the doctor spoke, Grey never left his side. Grey was wrapped around Landon tightly, holding on to him, making sure he knew that no matter what, he was there for him. But what reality really was saying was Landon didn’t think there was any hope left for him. Without Quinn, there was nothing left in life to live for.
 

**Rook**

Journal Entry #210

The house is quiet, somber, sad. We lost one of our own, and no one knows how to react. We don’t talk to each other, we don’t look at each other most of the time; we just walk around, going through the motions, occasionally going to check in on Landon, who has been in his room, in the dark, ever since.
 

Grey and Landon’s parents have come to stay in the house with us. They would have taken Landon home, but he refused to move from the bed that he shared with Quinn, so we acquired some new roommates, not that I really care. I just want the boy to be watched over.
 

I feel helpless when it comes to things like this, especially trying to feel empathetic for other people. I try to put myself in their shoes. If it was Maisy who was the one being rolled by with the drape over her body, I don’t think I would have made it out of the hospital. I can’t imagine the pain Landon is going through. I thought not being able to have Maisy in my life on in imitate level was life or death; I can’t imagine what it would be like not having her at all. My gut twists with dread to just think about it.
 

Maisy.
 

She’s been cold and distant, but then again, so has everyone, but I’m worried about her. She took Willow’s hospitalization badly, and now with Quinn gone, she’s just glazed over; nothing affects her, and I feel like I’m losing a piece of her every damn day, and I have no clue how to stop it.
 

Fuck, I’m a selfish prick. I shouldn’t be concerned about my life right now. I should be in Landon’s room, helping him tie his tie and putting his shoes on him, but he wants nothing to do with anyone besides his parents. He even pushes Grey away, but Grey doesn’t care. He presses on and makes sure Landon doesn’t push him away too much.
 

Grey is hurting too. I can see it in his body posture, in the way he looks at me when he talks. He’s lost his spirit that once drove him, and I’m not sure if it’s from almost losing Willow or from the loss of Quinn. I think it’s from…

“Hey…”

Rook looked up from his journal and saw Maisy standing in his doorway, wearing a black dress, with her hair up in a tight bun, and no makeup on her face.
 

“Hey, Boo,” Rook said, while he stood and shut his journal. He tossed it on his bed and walked over to Maisy, who, for the first time in a couple of days, actually looked him in the eyes.
 

“Um, are you ready to go?” she asked.
 

“Yeah, just need to grab my tie,” Rook said nervously, while he turned to grab the black tie to go with his black on black suit.
 

He went to turn around when Maisy’s small arms wrapped around his waist. Surprised, but instantly feeling warm, he turned in her arms and tilted her chin up so she had to look him in the eyes.
 

“Are you okay, Boo?”

She shook her head no. “I’m not. I need you today, Rook. I need a friend.”

“You know I will always be there for you, Boo. Anything for you, Maisy. How can I help you?”

Her pleading big brown eyes tore into his soul as she pulled away and held out her hand.
 

“Just hold my hand and don’t let go.”

Welcoming the chance to be there for her, he nodded his head and gripped her hand in his. The fit was perfect, and he relished the feel of her soft skin. He knew, with her at his side, he could get through anything. Even if it was just a simple gesture like holding her hand, he would take it.
 

“Don’t let go, Rook,” she said, as they headed downstairs to the waiting limo that would take them to Quinn’s funeral.
 

“I’ll never let go, Boo, ever.”

Epilogue

**Grey**

Grey paced in front of the sterile door as he ran his hand through his hair. Quinn’s funeral was too much for him emotionally. Not only did he have his own pain at losing someone who was so close to him once, someone he loved, but he harbored the pain of his brother was well.
 

Landon had completely shut off to the world, and Grey had no clue how to fix it.
 

“Mr. Cross, you can go in now.”

Grey nodded to the kind nurse, who helped him find his way through the center, and thanked her.
 

Taking a deep breath, he pushed through the door and was faced with a very white room and white sheets. The furniture was all white, even the dresser in the corner, holding minimal items, was white. The only pop of color in the room was that of Willow’s pink striped hair that played against the white of her pillow.
 

Her eyes were closed, but there were no tubes hooked up to her; she was just sleeping. The past few days, she came out of her coma that was due to lack of oxygen to the brain, and was able to actually speak a little. The doctors spent a great deal of time washing the drugs out of her body and replenishing her body with some much-needed nutrients, while Pete, their manager, worked with the label on getting Willow immediately submitted into a rehab center.
 

Because of Quinn’s death and her funeral, Grey hadn’t been able to see Willow since he picked her up in her bathroom, so seeing her, looking almost angelic in her white room, and watching her chest rise and fall with her breathing, was an enormous relief.
 

Being cautious, Grey undid his tie and sat down in the chair that was next to Willow’s bed. There were some white flowers in the corner of her room from the label, wishing her to get well soon, but that was it. The room was stark and so not Willow.
 

Taking a leap, Grey placed his hand on top of Willow’s and slowly stroked it with the pad of his thumb. He didn’t feel like he had done a good enough job letting her know he was there for her, but from now on, no matter how much she pushed him away, he was going to be there for her.
 

She stirred lightly in her bed at his touch, and he watched intently as her long eyelashes fluttered open, exposing those beautiful blue eyes of hers.