Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

“What’s going on?” Brian asked.

“It’s really bad.”

“How bad?  Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know yet but…she’s in rough shape,” he wiped at his eyes.”

“Mike, I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“Sammy…, was driving,” Michael’s voice cracked.  “He didn’t make it.”

“Shit.”

“Can you call his parents for me and have them come up here?  They’ll have to identify…” Michael choked on his emotions.  “I’m at the UMass trauma center in Worcester.”

“Of course.  Anything else you need?”

“Yeah, have Bull get my car for me.  It’s on the Mass Pike, just before the Millbury exit.  He has a set of keys.”

“I’ll give him a call.”

There was a long pause.  “I can’t believe this happened,” Michael sighed.

“I’m on my way, Mike.  Hold tight.”

Michael nodded and hung up his phone.  Nervously, he began to pace the waiting room.  He had already lost a close friend of nearly twenty years and now, Annie’s life was hanging in the balance.  His heart ached at the possibility of having to say good-bye to Annie.  He was helplessly in love with her.  There was no way this could be the end for them.

For the first time in years, he thought about the drugs he used in another lifetime to dull the pain.  If he could have one drink, he thought, just to take off the edge.  Maybe that would cloud the reality of the situation.  He raked his fingers through his long hair and felt a burning knot begin to boil in his stomach.  Glancing at the clock, he realized it was almost dinner time and he hadn’t eaten all day.

“Where’s your closest bathroom?” he asked a nurse behind the admittance desk.

“Around the corner and to your left,” she answered.  “Are you all right, sir?”

Michael didn’t wait around to give her a reply and bolted to the bathroom.  With seconds to spare, he threw up the one cup of coffee he’d consumed earlier that was now gnawing through the lining of his stomach.  When he was finished, he found a chair alone in a corner of the waiting area and hung his head between his knees.

“Can I help you, sir?” the admitting nurse asked Brian.  Hearing her voice, Michael lifted his head.

“Yes, I’m looking for Michael Wade.”

“I’m over here,” Michael said, staggering to his feet.

The expression on Brian’s face reflected shock and concern.  “You’re covered in blood.”

Michael glanced down at his shirt and hands and realized what Brian was referring to.  “It’s from Annie.”

“Hey, I’m really sorry.  Is she…okay?”

“She’s still in surgery.  I’m waiting for a God damned doctor to come out and talk to me,” Michael said, raising his voice.  Then his knees began to buckle beneath him.

“Whoa, sit down,” Brian insisted.  “Do you know what happened?”

“I don’t know.  By the looks of it, Sammy must have been driving Annie home.  She was still wearing the clothes she had on at our gig last night.  Jesus, Brian, you had to see it!  I can’t get the images out of my head,” his voice cracked and he bent his head to hide his emotion.  “She died right in front of me, Brian.  I saw the life drain from her body and she flat-lined.  Three times they used the paddles on her.  Three fucking times before the EMT’s got back a heartbeat,” he said, looking up at Brian again.  “You know, out of all the music we’ve created in the last twenty-five years, hearing the beep of her heart on that monitor was the best God damned sound I’ve heard in my life.”

Michael stood and began to pace again, his steps teetering.  “This is my fault, you know.”

“How the hell do you figure that?  You weren’t driving the car and, until we see an accident report, we don’t even know if Sammy was at fault.  Maybe someone cut him off or something.”

Michael sat back down beside Brian.  “You don’t understand.  After the photographers left the dressing room last night, Annie and I got into a fight.  Actually, it was more of a screaming match.  I wasn’t mad at her.  I was pissed off at myself.  But she got into my face and gave it right back to me.  And you know what she said before she walked out?”

“What?”

“She told me to go to hell.”  He dropped his head again between his knees and exhaled loudly.  “Do you realize, if she dies, that fight will be the last memory I’ll have of her.”

“Don’t talk like that, Mike.  She’s not going to die.”

Michael ran his fingers through his hair and tipped his head back to rest against the wall.  “If we hadn’t gotten into that fight, she wouldn’t have left with Sammy.  Maybe then the accident wouldn’t have happened and Sammy would still be alive.”

“Mike, you can’t think like that.  This isn’t your fault.”

Michael drew a deep breath and glared right into Brian's eyes.  “I love her Brian.  I'm in love with her,” he said slowly, exaggerating each word.  “How many times have you heard me say that about any of the women you've ever seen with me?”