~ Chapter 34 ~
Kevin shrunk back farther on the couch, willing for this to be some horrible nightmare. His body was rigid with fear, sweat pouring off him.
"YOUR MOTHER ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" Lou bellowed.
Kevin flinched. This wasn't a nightmare. This was real.
Ann Richardson put a clammy, nervous hand on Lou's arm, trying to remain calm. "Lou, it's ok. I know you're angry and you want answers. But right now I want to be alone with my son. Please."
Lou nodded. Casting a final glare in Kevin's direction, he stormed out of the room.
Shaking on her legs, Ann stared at her son lying prone on the couch. She grabbed his legs and moved them over so she could sit before she fell over. Kevin didn't say a word, didn't budge. He could feel his mother's eyes as they bore into him. He was trembling violently.
"Kevin, sit up!" Ann ordered. "Stop trembling. I don't bite."
Kevin sat up slowly. His head spun, the dizziness making him feel nauceous. Unable to look his mother in the eyes, he hung his head in shame and said quietly, "What are you doing here? I thought you were on holidays in Norway."
"I was. I planned it so that I could fly here for your last concert. I wanted to surprise my boy whom I haven't seen in five months." She sighed. "I never thought I would be the one getting a surprise. Can you imagine what I felt like, Kevin, when I saw you act like a lunatic onstage?"
"Mom..I can explain..."
"...You're sending signals first of hope then insecurity
signals of doubt are everywhere and subconsciously
You know you wanna break the ties
But you use silence, you use lies..."
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Ann let out a strangled laugh. "Explain? Yes, I think I deserve at least that."
Swallowing the pain that had settled somewhere near his heart, Kevin let a hundred lies race through his mind. He finally decided on a half-truth. There was no way he could tell her the truth.
Ann was staring at him intently. "Kevin, I'm waiting."
Still not looking at her, Kevin took a deep breath and began speaking, "There's something you need to know, mom. The person you saw on that stage tonight wasn't me. I mean, it was me, but not my brain. It was..." He paused, his mother staring at him in confusion. "It was the joints I smoked before the show."
Ann was wringing her hands nervously. She digested the information, not saying a word. Kevin dared to dart a look at his mother out of the corner of his eye. He waited for the explosion.
But none came. Ann was quiet for several minutes. When she finally spoke, her words were clipped and measured. "Joints? You mean to tell me that you did a complete 360 personality change because you smoked a few joints?"
Kevin nodded.
"Kevin, look at me."
Kevin lifted his head, taking in the creases of anger lining his mother's face. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're not lying to me."
"Mom..." It came out as a plea. He ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"Kevin, before you say anything, you better remember that when you lie you're not only lying to me. You're lying to your father."
Kevin gasped as whatever energy he had remaining drained out of him. He started crying, his head buried in his hands. He felt sick. His heart hurt. His head was spinning out of control.
Ann's heart went out to him, but she refrained from touching him. She wanted an answer. "Kevin, stop crying like a five year old and answer me."
Still sobbing, Kevin stood up shakily, clutching his stomach. "Mom, please. I don't feel good."
Ann stood up, taking his hand. "What's wrong?" She was alarmed. His face was sheet white, his hand ice cold.
Kevin doubled over, crying out in agony. "M..mom.." he gasped. "Call..." He never finished his sentence. He passed out, falling to the floor with a loud thud.
Brian, Nick, Howie and AJ came offstage and headed for the lounge. They had managed to finished the concert, but their hearts weren't in it. The audience hadn't recovered from Kevin's outburst. Although they were still screaming and clapping, it wasn't the same hysteria as earlier on in the evening.
"I guess now would be a good time to do something," Aj commented sarcastically, giving Brian an angry look.
"How was I to know that something like this would happen?" Brian said defensively.
"No, Brian! You only had, what, MONTHS to figure it out? You knew sooner or later Kevin would flip his lid!"
"Too bad it had to happen during the show," Howie said quietly.
"Too bad it had to happen at all," Brian retorted. He noticed the angry looks Howie and AJ were giving him. Nick was sitting on a chair, quiet and subdued. Brian went over and put an arm around the blond. "You ok, Nick?"
His eyes glassy with unshed tears, Nick nodded, but his body language told another tale. His shoulders dropped in despair. "I want Kevin back. The old Kevin. The one that calls me immature, yells at me, and cuts me off all the time. Not this mean, hateful person who's replaced him." He looked into Brian's eyes, his own that of a little boy sad and lost. "When will this nightmare end, Frick?"
Brian hugged Nick, tears of his own threatening to spill over. "I don't know. I wish I knew. I...." he stopped talking as they heard commotion outside the door.
AJ yanked the door open. He could see about 12 people. Denise was yelling orders at someone. "Mom?"
Denise turned to her son, her eyes red from crying. "Mom what's wrong?" AJ hollered, grabbing his mother's shoulders.
Denise composed herself, looking into the anxious faces of the four boys who would be devastated by the news. "It's Kevin... he's overdosed."
As AJ fell into her arms, she could see see Brian and Howie burst into tears. Nick stood still, his face white.
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening..." Loreto chanted. She couldn't stop shaking, tears streaming down her face. "He told me he stopped....I believed him. This is my fault.."
"Ssh....Lo, it's not your fault," Shae said.
"Where is he? Did they take him to the hospital?" Brian asked.
Denise shook her head and took him into her arms. "No honey. They're trying to revive him. His heart stopped."
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!" The anguished wail came out of Nick's mouth. "No no no! Kevin can't die!" He sagged against the wall, no longer able to hold back the tears.
Brian grabbed his friend. "Nick....Kevin's NOT gonna die! He's a fighter. Always has been."
Nick tore away from Brian and pushed his way into Kevin's dressing room. The EMT's were working on him. They were shocking him. Ann stood a few feet away crying into Lou's arms.
"We got a pulse!" one of the EMT's shouted. Ann let out a loud breath followed by a "thank you Jerry."
"He's not out of the woods, ma'am," the EMT said. "His pulse's very weak. He could very well go into arrest. We need to get him to the hospital now or he will die."
Nick got closer and threw himself on the floor next to Kevin. His tears fell onto Kevin's chest. "Kevin, please don't die. Please..." He lay his head on Kevin's chest, crying in earnest. "Kevin, don't leave me. I love you."
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