Platinum

by J. M. Nevins

  Sully approached slowly. Alexa looked at Maxine. “How is she? What happened?”

  He hugged Alexa for a moment. “We’re not sure yet. We’re waiting for answers. I’m glad you could make it out. I know that means a lot to Kit.”

  Alexa nodded and did her best to stay calm and rational, but by the looks on Sully’s and Maxine’s faces, she suspected that Kit wasn’t fairing well.

  The doctor approached the group of friends and looked somber. “Are you the family of Kathryn McKenna?” Sully swallowed hard, silently bracing himself for the news as he nodded his head. The doctor looked at them. “Kathryn…”

  Alexa interrupted. “Please, doctor. She goes by Kit.”

  He nodded. “Kit has an ectopic pregnancy which means the pregnancy took in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. She’s hemorrhaging severely so we need to operate immediately. It’s a pretty long and invasive surgery. Until we see how much damage there is, she’s at risk.”

  Alexa frowned. “At risk? What do you mean? What kind of risk?”

  The doctor sighed. “Life threatening.”

  Sully closed his eyes and felt like someone had stabbed him in heart. Maxine started sobbing. Alexa took a deep breath and remained composed as she reached for Sully’s hand. She looked at the doctor. “Ok. So, what happens now?”

  “We’re prepping her for surgery.”

  Maxine looked up. “Can I see her?”

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, but quickly.” He led Maxine back.

  Sully looked at Alexa, searching her violet eyes for answers. He then looked away angrily. “I’m going to kill that new boyfriend of hers. I swear, Lex, if she doesn’t make it… I don’t know… I…”

  Alexa pulled back from him and glared. Her eyes narrowed and her tone was curt. “Excuse me? What the hell does that mean? What new boyfriend? Who, Simon?”

  Sully nodded his head defiantly. “Yeah, that asshole. Got her pregnant and now this?”

  Alexa was breathing hard now, her anger firing up. “Do you even know how far along she is?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I heard Max say seven weeks when we were on our way over here, but that doesn’t change things…”

  Alexa was overcome with the emotions of the situation and felt her rage take over. “Oh yeah? Fuck you, Sully!” She reached forward and slapped him across the face. She seized his collar and stared into his eyes. “Do the fucking math, asshole!” She stormed off.

  He was momentarily stunned. He rubbed his cheek, confused by Alexa’s outburst. Danny walked up to him. “You ok? What was that about?”

  Sully shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, but I wanna find out.”

  Maxine approached them, wiping the tears from her face. “Guys, I’m not a particularly religious person, but I think we really need to pray or something here. It isn’t looking good. I overheard one of the emergency room nurses talking about it. This could be fatal.” She sniffled. “I’m gonna go find the chapel. If you need me, I’ll be in there.”

  Sully took a deep breath. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare or at the very least run away, but his feet felt like they were encased in cement shoes. He looked at Danny. “I’m going to find Alexa. Stay here in case there’s any news.”

  He walked outside the sliding doors of the emergency room and found Alexa pacing, talking on her mobile phone. Her eyes met Sully’s and she concluded her call. She put the phone in her purse and folded her arms across her chest.

  He approached her, willing to get slapped again if it would give him answers. She noticed the humility in his eyes and backed down. He smirked. “Lex, I’m sorry if I’m a little dim here, but I don’t get why you slapped me. And what did you mean by do the math?”

  Alexa’s eyes welled up with tears and an immediate realization hit her. “Oh God, you don’t know, do you? You really don’t know.”

  He stared at her, his eyes flooded with confusion. “No.”

  Alexa closed her eyes for a moment while a tear escaped and ran down her cheek. She finally opened her tear filled violet eyes and met his. “Sully, Kit was pregnant with your baby… from that night you two were together when you visited her in New York.

  “All the times she tried to tell you, either work got in the way, or you flaunting your relationship with Rachel, which was like a dagger in the heart to her, or your foray into the wild world of groupies. She had full intention of telling you, she just hadn’t gotten to it yet and you didn’t exactly make it easy. She wanted this baby.” Alexa sighed. “She said this baby was conceived out of love.”

  Sully closed his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to deny this was happening. He had secretly dreamed of having a family with Kit and when she had the pregnancy scare the year before, he had been excited by the possibility.

  And now, his world was blowing up right before his eyes. Not only was the pregnancy over and done with, but she was fighting for her life. At the thought of losing her forever, he felt a wave of overwhelming emotional pain. He couldn’t face Alexa anymore. He choked out his words. “I need a minute.” He took off running and found an unoccupied lounge. He slumped into one of the chairs, buried his head in his hands and started sobbing.

  Danny glanced at his wristwatch. Alexa and Maxine sat next to him, exhausted from waiting. Hours had passed and Sully had not resurfaced. He looked at them. “I’m gonna go searching for him again. We have to leave for the show in ten minutes. If I can’t find him, we’ll have to pull the plug.”

  Maxine spoke up. “Do you want me to help you look?”

  Alexa shook her head and held Maxine’s hand. “No, no. Danny, you hang here. I’ll find him. You two sit tight in case there’s any news.”

  Alexa made her way through the first floor of the hospital, feeling an eerie familiarity. This was the hospital Kit had been brought to after the terrible beating from her ex-boyfriend, Darren, that had almost taken her life. Joe had rescued her and brought her in. That seemed so long ago, but Alexa remembered getting the call from Joe and flying in immediately, much like she did today.

  Recalling even more detail of that vivid memory, she remembered a tucked away lounge where she and Joe had escaped to and waited. She headed there in hopes of finding Sully.

  She pushed open the door and saw him. Her eyes welled up with tears seeing the state he was in. He looked like a shell of the man he was. He had his head hung low and was rocking back and forth. She quietly approached him and knelt before him. She took him into her arms, where he started sobbing. She stroked his back. “She’s a fighter, Sull. She’ll pull through. Just believe.”

  His voice trembled as he spoke through his tears. “I’m nothing without her, Lex. I can’t handle this. I can’t lose her. She’s my life. She’s the love of my life. You were right. I am an asshole. I haven’t been treating her that well lately. God, how I wish I could take all that back. I just want her back.”

  Alexa pulled away and gently took his face into her hands. She gave him a gentle peck on the lips. “She loves you, Sully and she is not done with this life. She is going to pull through and knowing Kit, she’ll be right back out on the road, right by your side if you want that.”

  He sniffled. “But she’s got a boyfriend.”

  She grinned. “That’s negotiable. He was filling time while you were away playing with your girls, but her heart has always belonged to you and I think it always will. Just don’t break it anymore, ok?”

  He nodded. “No. She means too much to me. She’s way too valuable.”

  Alexa smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, babe. Now, you have a show to do. And the Kit I know would tell you to get yourself together and get your sorry ass to the arena. You can’t let down that packed house, Sull. Sell out show in Philly. This is one of her towns. Make her proud.”

  He forced a grin. “But, she’s not out of surgery yet. What if something happens? I want to be here.”

  Alexa nodded. “Everything will be ok, Sull. You need to go now. Danny was looking for you. You can head ba
ck over here after the show’s over.” She stood up and held out her hand. “C’mon, baby. Get your ass up!”

  He chuckled and took her hand. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “You’re an amazing friend, Lex. Thank you.” He pulled back and smiled at her.

  She grinned and winked at him. “You are too.” She grabbed his arm and started leading him out. As they walked along side by side, she fussed with his hair. She reached into her purse and grabbed some eyedrops. When they reached Danny in the waiting area, she looked at him. “He’ll just be a minute.” She looked at Sully. “Babe, your eyes are completely bloodshot. Sit down and look up at me.”

  He did as she said and she put the eyedrops in. He closed his eyes afterward and felt her dusting powder onto the tip of his nose. She tugged at his elbow to get him to stand up and swatted him on the butt. “You’re good. Now, go give the fans of Philly the best show ever.”

  He chuckled. “Ok.” He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.” He blew her a kiss as Danny led him away to the limousine.

  As she watched him leave, she hoped everything she told him was true. She knew Kit was strong, but she wasn’t entirely sure she would pull through. The demons of Kit’s past with this hospital seemed to be getting to Alexa and she wondered if Kit was so fed up with life, she may just check out and go join Kirby and Joe on the other side. She prayed that wasn’t the case.

  Before she could sit with Maxine to start a discussion, the doctor approached. Maxine stood up and sidled up to Alexa, waiting. He nodded to both of them. “She made it through surgery. Her right fallopian tube ruptured. We tried our best to repair the damage, but it’s unlikely it will ever function properly again. This may make a future pregnancy much more difficult for her. More importantly, though, she is alive.”

  Maxine nodded and thanked the doctor, while Alexa let out a long breath. She felt her heart sink. She knew how much Kit wanted this baby with Sully. It was bad enough she had lost the baby and almost her life, but the fact that she may have trouble conceiving in the future seemed like cruel and unusual punishment to her.

  Alexa looked at the doctor. “When can we see her?”

  “She’s in recovery right now. You may want to wait a bit longer. I’ll have the surgical team come out and brief you. By the time you’re done, I’m sure she’ll be moved into a private room.”

  The crowd was chanting “GT,” so loudly it echoed through the underground bowels of the arena. Sully jogged alongside his brother Danny, making his way up to the backstage area and into the dressing room, where he hastily changed into his clothes for the show.

  The band was pacing at the base of the stairs waiting for Sully. He ran up and looked at them. He forced a grin. “Sorry for the delay, guys.”

  Jimmy nodded and gave him a concerned look. “Is she ok?”

  Sully took a deep breath. He didn’t want to give details. He knew the trick was to remain focused and lead the band to a victory in Kit’s honor. “Not sure. She’s in surgery. Can’t think about it now. Guys, we have a show to do. We need to dedicate this to her. This is what she’d want. Let’s give it everything we got.” They all put their hands on top of each other and yelled in unison, “GT!”

  Sean gave Sully a nod of approval and a grin as he ascended the stairs to the stage. Moments later, Sully’s voice was larger than life echoing through the arena. “Hello, Philly! We’re gonna give you the show of your life tonight. Are you ready to rock?” The cheers from the crowd were so deafening, Sean and Danny exchanged a look, laughed and plugged their ears with their fingers.

  CHAPTER 12

  The room looked fuzzy and as Kit attempted to focus, she wondered where she was. The last thing she remembered was standing on the stage with Sully. She became more coherent and looked around, immediately panicking. She noticed Alexa snoozing in the chair next to her bed. She glanced down and realized she was hooked up to monitors and an IV. She stared at her hospital gown and dread filled her thoughts. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Alexa heard Kit stirring and opened her eyes. They widened when she noticed her. “Kit.”

  She glanced over at Alexa with tear filled eyes. “There’s no baby anymore, is there?”

  Alexa sighed and got up from the chair. She sat on the edge of the bed and gently took Kit into her arms. “No, sweetie. I’m sorry.” She smoothed her hair while Kit sobbed. Alexa tried to hold back her own tears, but was unsuccessful.

  She finally pulled back and looked up at Alexa. She smirked. “What happened? I don’t remember anything. Where am I?”

  The last thing Alexa wanted to do was give her the details. She took a deep breath. “Baby, I’m gonna go get your doctor to explain everything, ok? He’s more well versed than I’ll ever be.” She patted her hand. “I’ll be back in a sec.” She giggled. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  Kit grinned. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  Alexa stepped out of Kit’s room and let her tears flow freely. She knew Kit would have a hard time with the news that the doctor would present to her and receiving it here in this hospital would only make the situation more painful. Regardless, she kept her word and went in search of the doctor.

  Sully rushed off the stage after the final encore. The band was pumped up after doing three encores—a new record for them. Philadelphia had welcomed them with open arms proving it truly was the city of brotherly love and enjoyed their show so much, they didn’t want to let go.

  Sean hastily handed Sully a towel. He walked briskly next to him. “The limousine is idling underground and the bodyguards are waiting. Danny will escort you.”

  Sully nodded. “Have you heard anything?”

  Sean grinned. “Yeah. Lex paged me shortly after you started the show. Kit came out of surgery fine.” He slapped Sully on the back. “Go.”

  Sully sped up his pace and Danny caught up. They spoke in hushed tones. Phoebe ran to catch up and attached herself to Sully’s arm. “Hey, baby! What a show! You were so amazing. I’ve never seen you perform like that. You were on fire!”

  He stopped walking and shot Danny a look. “Gimme a minute.” He took Phoebe’s hand and pulled her off into a corner where she giggled.

  “Oh Sull, are we gonna do it here? That’s kinda fun. People might be able to see us. How kinky. I love it!”

  His face remained serious. “Pheebs, you’re a great girl and we’ve had a lot of fun, but it’s over, ok? I can’t do this anymore.”

  She frowned. “Huh? What do you mean?”

  Sully noticed Jay, the production manager, headed his way. He waved him over. Sully looked at Phoebe. “Sweetheart, party your heart out tonight, ok? Jay will take care of whatever you need. He’ll take you back to the dressing room.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “Take care.”

  He removed himself from Phoebe’s grasp while Jay took a gentle hold of her arm. Sully started walking alongside Danny again, headed for the staircase that would take him down to the underground area where the limousine waited. He glanced over his shoulder at the same time Jay did. Their eyes met and Sully ran his finger across his throat. Jay understood the visual prompt. Phoebe would be stripped of her all access pass and backstage privileges. After tonight, she was history.

  The limousine had trouble navigating its way out to the street. The fan traffic was dense and more outrageous than normal. Danny chuckled. “You got Philly fired up tonight, man. Those fans went crazy.”

  The fans pounded on the windows of the limousine as it slowly maneuvered away from them. Sully glanced at Danny as he hastily shed his sweat-drenched clothes in favor of the pile of dry clothes that awaited him. “Normally this kinda stuff doesn’t bother me. I love my fans, but tonight I just need to get to Kit as quickly as possible.”

  Danny smirked. “I get it, bro.” He lowered the partition and called out to the driver. “When we get out to the highway, punch it all the way to the hospital. Don’t stop for any reason until we get Mr. Foxx to his destination.”

>   The driver nodded in confirmation. “Certainly, Mr. O’Sullivan.”

  Sully grinned. “Thanks, Danny.” He gave him a fist bump. “Great to have you out on the road. I know Kit thinks so too. We should make this a habit.”

  Danny laughed. “I love job security like that!”

  Alexa was zoning out, her head resting on Wes’s shoulder. He had flown in and arrived shortly after Kit got out of surgery. He nudged her. “Honey, isn’t that Sull?”

  Sully looked around frantically, trying to spot a familiar face. Wes called out to him. “Sull, over here.”

  He glanced over and felt relief wash over him. He grinned and approached Wes, who stood up to greet him with a handshake and a hug.

  Alexa stood up and hugged him. She stared into his eyes. “Well, how was the show? Did you do what I told you to?”

  He chuckled. “I did. And Kit would have been proud. Unprecedented. Three encores.”

  Alexa giggled. “Good. You can share that with her. Maxine is in there with her now, but I’m sure she’ll let you take over her post.” She then sighed. “Sull, baby, let me brief you before you go in there. Kit’s dealing with some heavy info. She’s under sedation right now, so I’m sure she’ll either be sleeping or really groggy when you see her.”

  Sully frowned. “Sedation? Is that from her coming out of surgery?”

  She sighed. “No, not exactly. She freaked out a bit learning about everything that happened. They did it for her own good. She’ll be ok. I will tell you this, though. She asked for you earlier and when I told her you were giving the show of your life, it did put a smile on her face. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

  Sully nodded. “Good. Now give me the latest, so I’m completely informed. If she’s hurting emotionally, I want to know why. I don’t want to say anything that will make her feel worse.”

  Alexa took his hand. “Let’s go talk for a bit.”

  As Sully headed toward Kit’s private room, he reviewed the details in his mind that Alexa had shared with him. He couldn’t shake the sadness, but put on a good front for Kit. He stood in the doorway and grinned at Maxine.