Chapter 30: Crash
And Burn
Chance ran into the kitchen as Darren stayed with Dan in the living room. He laid him out on the couch and went to help Chance. She was busy filling a large bowl with cold water and finding small towels in the various drawers. Darren watched her as she worked, getting carried away with every little detail, and heading back into the living room to help Dan. She sat down beneath him and gently placed her hand on his cheek.
“Danny, wake up,” Chance softly spoke, trying to encourage him. He opened his eyes and stared at her blankly. “That’s it. Just listen to my voice and don’t fall asleep until I tell you to.”
Slowly, Chance began to unbutton his wet, dirty jacket and slipped it off his overly warmed body. ‘Shit,’ she thought. ‘He’s catching something.’ She worked quickly to take the rest of his soaked clothes off and get him wrapped into a thick bed of blankets.
“Come on, Danny, stay with me,” Chance said when she saw that Dan was beginning to fall asleep in her lap. She dipped a washcloth into the water and delicately wiped his face with it. He moaned in pain and comfort to show her he was hanging in there.
Nearly a half hour passed before Chance stood up and went to change into her own warm clothes, a pair of black pants and a sweat shirt. She returned to Dan’s side and slipped beneath his head, gently stroking his hair as he fell asleep in her lap. She bent down and gently kissed his forehead hoping that he wouldn’t get worse overnight.
Darren walked into the room and stood behind Chance, his hands slipping over her shoulders. She looked up at him with tired and worried eyes.
“He’s so sick,” she whispered.
“I can see that,” Darren replied. “Take good care of him, okay? I’m going to bed.”
“Good night,” Chance said as he bent down and kissed the top of her head.
“Good night,” he answered back then left.
Chance tried to make herself more comfortable, but there was no position she could find that helped her out. She sat up knowing that she’d be up all night helping Dan. Reaching over to the bowl of cold water, she dipped a new cloth into it and slowly placed it on Dan’s hot forehead. His fever was well past 100o F and all Chance could do was hope and pray that it didn’t get worse. Her eyes began to droop as sleep came calling for her. She let her head drop and dozed off.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance awoke the next morning dazed and confused. Her legs were numb, but she could still feel the sensation of someone lying on top of them. Looking down, she found Dan still asleep in her lap. Chance made an effort to get up, but shooting pains ran through her legs as she even tried to slightly move. She stayed put knowing she’d have to wait until he was awake to get up and stretch out. Chance leaned back over the armrest, cracking her back in several places, and becoming more aware of her surroundings. She looked around the bare room only to find the coffee table beside her and the lamp in the far right corner near the door.
To the left was the hall that led to the two bedrooms and bathroom. One of the doors were closed signaling that Darren was either still asleep or was on the phone. Chance craned her neck to see if she could hear anything, but it was hard to do with another person in her lap holding her down. Realizing her efforts were pointless, she decided to stare out the window for a while and hopefully come up with lyrics for a new song. But Chance’s gaze kept heading in Dan’s direction. He was so fragile in her lap that she couldn’t ignore this weak side of him she had never seen before.
Chance noted the curves in Dan’s face, how his lips seemed so perfectly drawn into a pout as he slept, and how his nose dipped when she looked at him from an angle. She couldn’t help but place her hand on his soft cheek and bend down to kiss his forehead, which had slightly cooled overnight. The thing Chance missed most of all about him were his eyes. When she stared into those deep green pools, she could see more than friendship, she could see a bond that connected them through their music.
Chance smiled as a few fond memories floated into her mind of the times she spent with Dan. She could remember how he had always been there for her in times where she just could cope with things, like Scott’s death. There were others that popped into her head, like the memories she had when they danced together for the first time at the Palm Court. The more Chance thought, the closer she held herself against Dan hoping that she’d protect him for this evil spell he was under.
“Chance?” a low, almost inaudible groan startled her out of her thinking. Dan was awake and asking for her. She looked down at him with relief.
“Hey, Danny,” Chance whispered as she reached down to stroke his flushed
cheek.
“I hate you,” he replied with a smile.
“I know you do,” she said. “Do you feel sick?”
“A little.”
“You’ve got a fever. Maybe you should stay in bed for the rest of the
day,” Chance said as she started to move her feet out from under him.
“Don’t you want to know what happened?” Dan asked when her felt her warm
body slip out from underneath his back.
“Why don’t you tell me now? I’ve got plenty of time to listen,” she answered,
stretching out her feet and resting them on the coffee table in hopes of getting
them to wake up after such a long period of blood loss.
“You were right about everything. She was a phony. All she ever did was
feed me lies, and I’ve only got myself to blame. That’s why I left everything
behind and took a long trip to God knows where. I can’t even remember half of
the things I’ve done,” he explained. “I just remember finding out you were in
LA auditioning for that TV show and that Darren bought a condo out here for
you guys to live in. Otherwise, everything else is a blur. I don’t even know
how you found me.”
“That was easy, you were sitting at our doorstep drinking a bottle of
beer when we found you near death and soaking wet,” Chance told him. She wiggled
her toes, the blood beginning to bring the color back into her legs. “Is there
anything else you wanna tell me? Anything about Alexia?”
“Don’t you ever say that name again. She’s the last thing I need to think
about.”
“Okay, don’t worry. I promise you’ll never hear it from me,” Chance swore. She stood up and walked around the living room for a while before she headed down the hall and to the room she shared with Darren. As she opened the door a crack, she could hear the phone conversation between Darren and someone else.
“Yeah, Rebecca, he’s here. Chance is taking care of him in the living room, but I doubt she’s up yet so don’t worry. Dan’s been found and that’s all that matters. Chance hasn’t had anything to worry about, and the record is almost done. I’ll have a rough copy sent to you so you can go over it and tell me what you like,” Darren said, still not noticing Chance standing in the hall outside his door. She stepped back and headed for the living room again.
“You never told anyone you left?” she confronted Dan.
“No, I was too drunk to actually even remember buying my plane ticket,” he answered.
“Oh, my God! This pisses me off so much,” Chance said.
“What?” Dan replied.
“Not you, it’s the fact that Darren knew you were missing, but wouldn’t tell me. I can’t believe him.” Chance began to pace the room in an angry fit. She chewed on her nails trying to figure out what to do next. Moments later, Darren walked out of the bedroom and headed towards her.
“Good morning,” he happily said as he passed Chance.
“You little piece of shit!” she yelled at him.
“What did I do?” Darren asked, confused.
“You withheld information from me, and you lied to me in my face,” Chance hissed. She stood in front of him, her eyes burning holes through his soul. He had never seen her so angry before, nor did he want the situation to get worse. “Are you gonna lie to me again and tell me you have no idea what I’m talking about?”
“Chance, let me explain,” Darren begged.
“You know what I want you to explain? Why do you always lie to me? Do you think I can’t take bad news without trying to kill myself?” she yelled. “Well, you know what, I can. I’m not that stupid anymore. I don’t do impulsive things.”
“I was just doing what Rebecca told me to do. She didn’t want you to get worried,” he answered back.
“But this is Dan we’re talking about. How could I not get worried? He’s my best friend! What if something happened to him? Then what would you have done? What would you have told me?”
“Nothing happened, so let’s not get into that part of the discussion.”
“Well, too bad, we’re already there.”
“I’ve had enough of this, I’m leaving,” Dan said as he stood up without Chance or Darren seeing him. He quietly put on his clothes as they argued and slipped out the door. It was then that he realized he still wasn’t well enough to walk around on his own. Everything around him was blurry and fading. His head spun for his hangover, but he pushed himself to keep going. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t see the steps that led down to the first floor. He missed the first one and began to fall.
Dan didn’t feel the steps as they flew by. His body was already in enough pain as it was. All that he could remember was hitting the ground with a hard thud and being knocked out.
Back upstairs, Chance and Darren were done with their yelling, and Chance was ready to leave, dressed and still angry. She flew out the door and ran down the stairs, two steps at a time. It wasn’t until she was halfway from the bottom that she saw someone’s foot lying upside down on the floor. Slowly, she descended to the ground floor and found Dan unconscious in a strange position. Chance screamed prompting Darren to open the door and look outside. He didn’t see anything, but did run to the steps to find out what was going on.
Chance flew back up the stairs and bumped into Darren on her way. “Dan…fell… down… the stairs. He’s…unconscious… Call… an ambulance,” she panted, her eyes already watering with hot tears. Darren ran back into the condo and called 911.