Chapter
15: Hell Breaks Loose
Two weeks passed since Dan and Shiri’s encounter. Both were still
stunned at what they had done, but neither one decided to spill the beans about
their relationship. The only two people that knew about it were Chance and
Darren, and they knew those two were the only ones they could trust.
Darren had been in Australia for the last two weeks and was coming home
the next day. He had sent Chance a copy of the album for her to check over, and
she had nearly gone spastic. Dan went to bed that night seeing that she was
writing something at the kitchen table. He didn’t know what she was writing,
and decided not to bother her. Maybe she got a really good idea for a song. He
didn’t care. All he wanted was some sleep.
Around two that morning, Dan was up again, his throat bone dry. He
wobbled out of bed and down the hall towards the kitchen. Seeing Chance still at
the table, hunched over writing, he opted not to get the water. If he had, it
would have knocked her out of the train of thought she was in. Apparently, she
hadn’t had any good ideas since he last saw her. There was a pile of paper on
the floor almost touching the tabletop. He headed back to bed and didn’t think
much of what he had seen.
The next morning, Daniel awoke to a bright and warm day. He stretched out
and headed straight for Chance’s room. She had finally gone to bed, but it
didn’t seem as if she was having a good night’s rest. She tossed and turned,
her face covered in sweat. Daniel stood at the doorway wondering if he should
wake her or leave her to finish the nightmare she was having. It was then that
he heard her moan, “NO! He’s not dead.”
Daniel quickly sat down beside her and waited for any more strange
phrases to come out of her mouth. Seconds later, Chance screamed and shot out of
bed and into his arms. Tears streamed down her face as he held onto her for a
few minutes.
“It’s okay, Chance,” Daniel whispered in a comforting tone. “It
was only a dream.”
As Chance’s breathing became more regular, she let go of her hold on
Daniel and said, “That was the worst dream I’ve ever had.”
“Care to talk about it?” he asked. “Because you scared the hell out
of me when I came in to wake you. I stood at the door and watched you toss and
turn. I didn’t know whether or not it was the right time to be disturbing you.
What were you dreaming about?”
“It was so fucked up,” Chance began. “I was in this really scary
place with dark clouds and lightening. I started running to get away from the
brewing storm, but I couldn’t escape it. Instead, I tried to take cover
between these two stones, which turned out to be gravestones. One was not yet
finished and still had a hole in front of it for whoever it was supposed to be
for. The second one looked freshly dug. There were flowers laid on the ground
and on the stone was Darren’s name. That’s when I started freaking out, but
I’m still not done. A few minutes later, Scott’s face appeared and he said I
should get over him. He disappeared and there was a flash of lightening that
exploded right beside me, which was right before I woke up.”
“I have no idea what it could possibly mean. I can’t decipher dreams
for shit. Sorry Chance,” Daniel replied.
“I’ll talk to Darren about it,” she said.
Daniel stood up and ruffled her hair with his fingers. “Get dress, we
have to be at the airport soon.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The heat of the day was beginning to fizzle out as Daniel and Chance sat
back to back on the plastic chairs at LAX that afternoon. Chance had fallen
asleep against Daniel’s back as he read “The Grapes of Wrath.” They still
had an hour before Darren was scheduled to arrive, and both were killing time to
the best of their ability.
Daniel could feel all of Chance’s weight pressing against him and soon
began to feel uncomfortable. He tried straightening up, but found himself in a
worse position than before. If he moved around anymore, he risked waking Chance
from her much needed sleep. Daniel knew she had been up all night writing
something at the kitchen table. He had woken in the middle of the night to get a
drink when he found her hunched over scribbling pages upon pages and throwing
out what she didn’t like. He didn’t care much for what she had written. He
didn’t want to pry into her personal life.
Just as Daniel was about to readjust his position for the forth time, he
heard Chance moan, “Darren.” She sounded a bit depressed and he knew she was
having another nightmare. It was time for her to wake up.
Gently and carefully, Daniel began to lower her body onto the two seats
they had taken up. Chance suddenly awakened when she felt she was being moved.
“You had another nightmare,” he pointed out.
“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” Chance retorted as she heaved herself out
of her chair.
Daniel rolled his eyes. He was expecting her outburst. “Go back to
sleep,” he said, looking down at his watch. “You still have 45 minutes
before Darren gets here. Besides, you look exhausted. I know you were up all
night writing. Did you get a new song idea or something?”
“No, I was writing my thank you to Darren,” she answered. “I must
have wasted over a hundred sheets of paper by the time I got it to perfect. I
didn’t get to bed until five this morning.”
“Then I guess it was a bad idea for me to wake you when I did. At least
I wouldn’t have gotten that smart-ass comment from you. Sorry,” Daniel
apologized.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to be so mean. It’s not your
fault. That dream would have woken me sooner or later. It’s driving me nuts. I
don’t know what it stands for, but I’m afraid it’s something bad. The more
I think about it, the more possible it seems that Darren might die,” Chance
explained. “You saw what happened to Scott. I lost him, but I didn’t have a
dream about it. Oh, what is all this supposed to mean! Should I consult a
psychic about it or what?”
Daniel thought it over for a few minutes then suggested, “You could,
but you can also talk to Daz about it beforehand and see what he thinks.”
“I guess it can wait until then,” she replied.
Chance was about to make herself more comfortable when she heard a voice
over the PA system say, “Ladies and gentlemen, American Airlines flight 1052
from Sydney to Honolulu to Los Angeles should be arriving momentarily. Please
meet your party at gate B-12. Thank you.”
“Dude!” Chance screamed as she jumped out of her seat. “The
plane’s early!” Daniel was close to making a smart remark, but had no time
to as she dragged him towards the door to wait for Darren.
The fifteen-minute wait seemed endless to Chance as she stood eagerly at
the door waiting for the passengers to walk out of the plane. She twisted and
turned and walked in circles trying to be patient, but Daniel could tell she was
excited. Her wait was finally over when she saw Darren step out the double doors
wearing a think jacket, black pants, a hat, and sunglasses. Chance jumped into
his arms and kissed him.
Daniel decided to stay away from all the commotion they were causing.
Instead, he dropped back behind him. He was still able to see what was going on,
though. Darren had spoken to Chance, and she didn’t seem to be happy with what
he had said.
“Daz, what’s wrong?” she simply asked.
“Nothing,” he replied, moving further away from her as they headed
towards baggage claim.
“Darren, you’re hiding something from me,” Chance said sternly.
Darren and Daniel both turned towards her, surprised.
“I’m not hiding anything from you, Chance. What the hell makes you
think I am?” Darren almost yelled.
“That reaction and the fact that you called me maybe three times during
your whole trip. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I’ve been having
nightmares!” The argument had begun and there was no stopping it now.
“I’m sorry, Chance. I was busy. I had…”
She cut Darren before he could say more. “Too busy? You could have made
time! Darren, I’m your fucking girlfriend! You’re supposed to make time!”
Chance yelled.
By now a crowd had gathered around them. Daniel stood back waiting for
something to happen. Darren still hadn’t replied to Chance. Daniel could see
he was coming up with an excuse. That when his mind automatically clicked,
Colby. This was the same thing that happened between her and Darren right before
the big breakup. By the time Darren had come up with an excuse, Daniel grabbed
his arm and led him away from Chance.
“This isn’t the time or the place to be having this discussion,” he
said as he looked back to see Chance still fuming. She kept her distance up
until they got home. That was when she’d dig into Darren.
Unfortunately for her, Daniel got to him first. He led Darren into his
room and closed the door. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re cheating on
Chance,” Daniel said in a harsh voice. “I saw you do it to Colby, but I will
NOT let you do it to Chance.”
“What!” Darren yelled back in disbelief. “How could you possibly
think that? I would never, EVER do anything to Chance that would hurt her in ANY
way. I haven’t called her because I’ve been in the studio for the entire two
weeks I was out there. I was working on the album and trying my hardest not to
get sick. I thought that today I might get a little rest, but no, I end up
pissing Chance off. Dan, I am telling you the truth. You of all people know how
much I love her. Just believe me this one time.”
Daniel could see the sincerity in Darren’s eyes as he pleaded with him.
He sighed and turned towards the door without saying another word. He headed for
Chance in the living room with Darren following close behind him. She sat on the
couch farthest away from them and turned around to see Darren walking up to her.
She crossed her arms and looked away from him.
“Chance, I’m sorry,” Darren apologized. She didn’t say a word and
just kept her head turned away from him. “Chance, please, listen to me.”
“No, you listen!” Chance screamed as she stood up to face him.
“I’m so fucking sick of all this. Leave me alone! I don’t wanna talk to
you anymore!” With that, she walked into her room and slammed the door.
Darren flopped down on the couch, the stress too much to handle. He
closed his eyes and fell asleep before Daniel could say anything. He left soon
after and decided to stay in his room the rest of the night. Daniel lay on the
bed and soon fell asleep as his unsettled mind tried to figure things out.
~~~~~~~~~~
“DAN! SHIRI!” an ear-piercing scream came from the living room
startling Daniel out of his sleep. Something was very wrong, otherwise Chance
would have never screamed the way she had. His heart raced as he tried to keep
calm while running through the hall and towards the living room.
Shiri had somehow shown up that night and was already in the living room,
the expression on her face horrified by the scene in front of her. She had
Chance in her arms crying. Daniel quickly ran over to them and help Chance sit
down in a chair.
“Chance, what’s wrong?” he asked. She pointed over to Darren.
Daniel looked at him in disbelief. Darren was as pale as a ghost and barely
breathing. Chance wrapped her arms around Daniel’s neck and began to cry.
“He’s going to die!” she wailed.
“No, he’s not. I’m calling an ambulance,” Shiri said. She headed
to the phone as Daniel comforted Chance.
“It’s okay,” he kept telling her over and over even as the
paramedics arrived and took Darren away. Shiri had already left to get the car.
Once he heard her honk, Daniel carried Chance out to the car where Shiri was
waiting to take them to the hospital. Chance held onto him for comfort as Shiri
drove towards Cedars-Sinai.
When the three of them got to the hospital, Daniel and Shiri had a hard
time getting Chance to come out of the car. They knew she hated hospitals after
so many bad incidents with them, but were somehow able to persuade her to
retreat and come in with them. Huddled between Daniel and Shiri, Chance finally
stepped through the sliding doors and walked into the hospital. The first person
she wanted to see was the doctor treating Darren.
“Ms. Malone,” he said when he found Chance and her friends in the
waiting room.
She stood up and said, “I didn’t tell you my name, and Darren
couldn’t have because he’s unconscious.”
“I’ve seen you on TV, and I’m a big fan of your show,” the doctor
replied.
Chance seemed to calm for a moment, but soon became tense again when she
asked, “What’s wrong with my boyfriend? Is he going to die?”
“My team is running tests as we speak, so within the next few hours
we’ll see what it is he has. I don’t know if he’s going to die, but I can
tell you that we’re doing everything in our power to keep him from
croaking.”
Chance smiled at his response. He was trying so hard to keep her from
feeling worse, and his efforts were paying off. “Thank you, Dr…” Chance
began.
“Hughes. Edward Hughes,” he replied, holding out his hand for her to
shake. “And you’re welcome.” He left the room soon after to return to his
work.
“I’m calling Majandra and telling her to call whoever is directing
tomorrow’s episode. I don’t think either one of us are going to be going
into work tomorrow,” Shiri said as she pulled out her cell and dialed her
friends number.
“Thanks,” Chance replied as she sat down on one of the gray couches
in the room. Daniel sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Chance lay her head on his and immediately fell asleep.
Shiri stood by the door watching out for nurses that could possibly spot
her on her phone as she waited for Majandra to pick up. ‘Girl, where are
you?’ she thought as it rang for the fifth time.
Finally, “Hello?”
“Majandra? It’s Shiri,” she urgently said.
“Shiri, it’s three in the morning. Why are you calling me this
early?” Majandra asked, ready to argue.
“Look, I’m not about to get into a fight with you. Call the director
and tell him neither Chance nor I are going to be on the set tomorrow,” Shiri
replied.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Darren looks like he’s about to…” her voice trailed off as she
turned around to find Chance asleep on Daniel’s shoulder, “die.”
“Oh, my God! Did he have an accident?” Majandra nearly yelled.
“No, he’s got some kind of bug. I think it’s killing him. We’re
at the hospital right now waiting for his test results to come back so we can
see what he’s got,” Shiri explained.
“Poor Chance. How’s she taking it?”
“Not very well. She almost didn’t make it to the hospital.”
“I feel so sorry for her. She’s been through so much in such a short
amount of time. When’s the madness going to end for her?”
“I hope it’s soon. I gotta go, I think a nurse spotted me with my
phone. Later.”
“I’ll call the director and tell him, then I’m coming out to the
hospital.”
“Alright. We’re at Cedars. Bye.”
“Bye.”
When Shiri heard the phone on the other end click off, she put her cell
away in her pocket and sat beside Daniel on the couch. She looked at Chance and
wondered how she could possibly manage three fiascos in less than half a year.
Shiri also envied her for being so strong even though there was that one time
that she did crack.
“So, what did Majandra say?” Daniel whispered.
“She’s coming over here after she calls the director,” Shiri
answered, her head dropping to his shoulder.
“Don’t you go falling asleep on me. You know I can’t stand to be
alone with her for more than ten minutes,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think I’m gonna be sleeping for a long
time. I think I’m just gonna let Chance get her rest because I know she’s
been through a lot these last few days. The last thing we all need is for her to
be cranky when she wakes up.”
“Yeah, she can be a real bitch when she wakes up unrested,” Daniel
replied. “Why were you at the condo last night?”
“Well, my apartment building is being fumigated and I needed a place to
stay. Chance was my first choice because, of course, you were there,” Shiri
answered as she looked up at him.
“I couldn’t be more relieved to see you. If I had been alone tonight,
I don’t think Darren would have made it to the hospital.”
Shiri smiled and slowly leaned in to kiss Daniel. He returned the favor
by wrapping his free arm around her shoulders. She snuggled closer to him and
closed her eyes. Seconds later, she was out cold like Chance.
‘Damn,’ Daniel thought as he looked down at the two women sleeping on
his shoulders. As uncomfortable as he felt, nothing could be done about the
situation. He left them alone and tried to fall asleep too, but his mind raced
with the many possible things that could happen that day.
In the midst of his wondering, Majandra and Brendan had walked into the
room. “Hey, Dan,” Majandra quietly whispered, knocking him out of
concentration.
“Hey, guys,” Daniel replied. “They’re both asleep so please keep
quiet. I don’t want either one blaming me for waking them.”
Majandra put her hand to her mouth and whispered through it, “Not a
word from me.” She and Brendan sat down on one of the empty gray couches
beside them. Katherine and Jason soon arrived. They both seemed concerned about
the situation and sat down beside Brendan and Majandra. Colin, Nick, and Emilie
were the last to arrive. They quietly took seats on the floor and open chairs.
Within minutes, all were settled and asleep. Daniel also managed to doze off as
the rest had.