Anna (Part 5)
After leaving the doctor’s office, Justin called JC on his cell phone and let him know that they were ready to go. The three other men were there within ten minutes and by mutual agreement they decided to go to a nearby restaurant to eat lunch. After a tense lunch where they all discussed what the doctor had said, both about Chris’ diagnosis and about the house they were renting, they got back into the van and drove to the big grocery store in town to get some snacks.
As JC wandered the aisles of the market with his intended purchases in a basket, he allowed himself to relax as he hadn’t been able to in a long time. Here he was in a grocery store full of people, jam-packed full of people actually, and hardly anyone was asking him for his autograph. The few people that did ask were very polite and shy about it and there were no screaming young girls to be found anywhere. The same thing had happened while they were killing time in the town’s small shops and later when they had eaten lunch. In fact they were more famous here for being the boys that rented the Taylor house than for being the group NSYNC, and that suited JC just fine.
He walked a few more steps and joined what appeared to be the shortest line in the store. After a few seconds he heard someone else come up behind him. He turned and saw that it was a slightly older gentleman with a cart full of groceries. The man said "hi" and JC found himself saying "hi" back.
"You’re new around here, ain’t you?" the man asked casually.
"Well, we’re only in town for a while, until we record the album," JC answered. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he began to mentally kick himself. Why did he have to mention an album? The last thing he wanted to talk about was the group.
Instead of reacting to the possibility of having a famous person standing in front of him, the man just nodded easily. "You’re one of the boys that rented the Taylor house."
Remembering his earlier conversation with Justin and Chris about the history of the house, JC nodded. "Yeah."
"You like it?" the man asked as everyone in line took a step forward.
"Yeah, it’s really nice. And big. I’ve never been in a house that big before."
The man laughed. "Well, that’s the Taylors for you. Lot of money, lot of excess."
JC laughed too and found himself enjoying a conversation with a stranger that did not involve NSYNC and the music business. "My name’s JC," he said impulsively as he stuck his hand out.
The man nodded and shook his outstretched hand. "Name’s Ted. Good to meet you, JC."
JC looked around and leaned in conspiratorially towards Ted. "Is it always this busy in here, Ted?"
Ted laughed. "Naw, it’s on account of the storm that’s coming."
JC looked confused. "The weatherman on tv didn’t mention a storm. He just said it was going to be cloudy for a few days."
"That’s cause the weather people don’t know shit from shinola. Pardon my French. Yeah, a storm’s coming. That’s why everyone’s here. They’re all stocking up on food supplies."
JC glanced around. "So…bad storm, huh?"
"Real bad. Especially for you boys. It’s a good thing you’re stocking up."
"What do you mean?" JC asked uncertainly.
"You know…the bridge," Ted said. When all he got was a blank stare in return to his statement he continued to explain. "The bridge that connects the Taylor house to the town, it tends to go out when it storms."
"You’re kidding me," JC said in frustration, already knowing that the man was serious.
"No one told you huh?" Ted asked.
JC shook his head. "No. No one even mentioned it."
Ted smiled as they took another step forward. "Don’t worry too much about it. The town usually fixes it back up after a day or so."
JC managed to smile back, although the good mood he had been in just a few seconds ago was already deteriorating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They entered the house some time later with JC grumbling about the overlooked detail of the bridge and bad storms and the rest of the guys being uncharacteristically quiet. Justin looked worriedly at Chris, who out of all of them had been the most silent
"Are you ok?" he asked him as they wandered into the kitchen to drop off their food.
Chris sighed. "Yeah, I’m just…yeah," he said as he shook his head sadly. Truth was, he was scared to death. The thought of having to go to a neurologist that might tell him something like You have a brain tumor and you have 6 months to live was almost more than he could bear.
Justin heard the words and instantly knew that they were a lie. As he put his snacks away in the cupboards he said as brightly as he could, "Listen guys, since the weather’s getting so crappy and we’re stuck inside all day, why don’t we get together and go over some of our new songs?"
"Huh? Why?" Joey asked.
"Just thought it’d be fun. Something to do," Justin replied casually.
"Yeah sure, why not? Practice never hurt anybody," JC said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Joey and Lance nodded their agreement. "Sure."
Justin turned to Chris. "What do you say man?"
Chris shrugged and looked at the floor. "I don’t know."
"Come on. Why not?" Justin asked.
Chris looked up quickly, his eyes dark and intense. "What’s the point of rehearsing? What’s the point of recording? What’s the point of doing any of those things if I’m not going to be alive to see the damn album come out?"
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as all four men stared at Chris in pained sympathy.
Lance spoke first. "You don’t know that Chris," he said quietly.
Chris turned to him. "How else do you think this is going to play out Lance?
"Lance is right. The doctor said better safe than sorry. He didn’t hand you a death sentence," Justin said.
"He might as well have," Chris said in a defeated voice.
"No! You know that’s not true. He said better safe than sorry. He didn’t say there was no hope. I mean…half of the test results aren’t even in yet. You may not even have to go to the neurologist." He finished speaking and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know I’m right."
Chris shook his head ruefully. "I know you’re right. I know."
"All we’re saying is, don’t get yourself sick worrying about this. It could be nothing."
"Or it could be everything," Chris said, his voice slightly challenging.
"If it’s everything, then we’ll deal with it when the time comes. We’ll deal with it together."
Chris nodded, suddenly feeling better despite the still present worry. "But it could be nothing. Keep a positive attitude, laughter is the best medicine?"
Everyone laughed and Justin said, "See, he’s got it! So, what do you say? You wanna go practice with us?"
Chris sighed. "Sure."
"All right. Let’s go," Joey said enthusiastically.
"Actually I could really use a nap. And I have to call the hospital. Do you think we could meet in, like, an hour?" Chris asked as he glanced at his watch.
"An hour sounds good to me. What do you guys think?" Lance asked.
"Sure," Joey said. "We can go hang out in the game room until then."
"All right. We’ll see you in an hour buddy," JC said.
Chris nodded his agreement and watched them slowly walk away. He stood in the kitchen for a few minutes, his mind not really focusing on anything, until at last he sighed and forced himself to move. He found the staircase to his room easily and thought to himself that this house wasn’t as much of a maze as he had thought at first. He was almost starting to feel at home here.
He had just placed his foot on the bottom step when he heard a small sound come from behind him. He stilled; cocking his head to the side and listening. After a moment of silence the noise came again, only this time it was much more defined. This time it did not stop but instead continued and after a few seconds, Chris was able to make out what it was. It sounded like a voice; speaking in quick, hushed undertones. It sounded like someone whispering.
Curious, he turned and followed the sound. As he moved down the main corridor the whispering became louder and more urgent. He wondered if some of the guys had decided to come this way instead of going to the game room. That would explain the whispering; they had probably come over here to talk about him or something. Then again, he was certain he had seen them all head to the other side of the house.
Chris continued to follow the whispers until he reached the door to the sunroom. It was open just the slightest bit and he could definitely hear the whispers coming from inside the room.
"Hello?" he called out softly as he reached out to touch the doorknob. No one answered him, which he thought was odd. "Hello? Someone here?" he called out more loudly.
No answer, although the whispering continued, in fact did not even pause. He shrugged his shoulders as he gently pushed the door open and stepped inside. He was more curious than afraid. He was curious to see who was speaking so intently that they did not hear him. Once inside the room however, the curiosity vanished instantly and he began to feel the pricklings of fear.
There was no one in the room.
He looked around in confusion. He was certain that he had heard the whispering come from in here. His eyes searched the now silent room and found nothing that would account for the noises. Suddenly feeling uneasy, he took a step backwards towards the door. Then he took another and another until he was back in the corridor and slamming the door shut.
What the hell? He thought to himself. I know I heard something…didn’t I?
He was beginning to doubt his own sanity when his mind stumbled upon an explanation that made sense. After all, weren’t these old houses known for their strange acoustics? He probably heard the guys talking somewhere else in the house but with the distorted acoustics it had sounded like they were in here. He decided that that was a fine explanation and that it made more sense than anything else his mind could possibly conjure up. Nevertheless, he still ran down the corridor and up the stairs to his room, not once stopping until he was safely behind the heavy wooden door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After his small nap and the quick phone call to the hospital, Chris started back down the stairs. He glanced at his watch and saw that he had about five minutes to get to the guys in the recording studio.
Perfect timing, he thought as his mind focused on the brief conversation with the hospital. The woman he had talked to had been very kind. She had scheduled an appointment for Monday at 1 in the afternoon, which was the soonest they could see him. So now he had two days to brood and worry over what could possibly be wrong with him.
Fun, he thought sarcastically. Gonna be a great weekend.
His mind was so focused on the upcoming appointment that he almost missed the small whispering noises again coming from the hallway. By the time he reached the bottom stair, though, the sounds had penetrated his consciousness and he could not ignore them. He stood still for a moment, one hand tentatively placed on the handrail while he pondered whether he should follow the sounds again.
Finally, deciding that he really didn’t want to, but feeling the need to do it, he began to move towards the sound. As before, the soft whispering voice led him to the sunroom. He looked at the door and saw that it was open just the slightest bit.
Didn’t I close it? he wondered silently.
He could have sworn he had. He could have sworn that he had slammed it shut, but now, doubts began to creep into his mind. The whispering continued and he found himself reaching slowly out to open the door fully. Just as his fingertips lightly touched the doorknob, the door gently swung open.
Tension filled his body as he stared at the door for a few seconds in surprise. Just as before, a slight shiver of fear wound its way through his body but was quickly overcome by some unexplainable need to follow the whispers. He stepped just inside the room and let his eyes take in his surroundings. Again, there was no one in the room but himself. This time, however, the noises had not ceased. He could still hear the sounds of hushed voices echoing through the room. He wanted to turn and run as he had the first time, for he most definitely felt afraid now, but found his eyes locking onto the huge walls of glass on the other side of the room.
Involuntarily, he took a step forward, hands already outstretched, some part of him yearning to be near the glass walls, to touch them.
He took yet another step forward and that was the last thing he remembered before his world went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JC sighed impatiently and looked down at his watch…for the fourth time in two minutes. "Where is he?" he asked.
"Maybe he’s still sleeping, " Lance suggested amiably.
"Well, he should have been here ten minutes ago. This isn’t like him," JC sounding agitated.
"He’s probably fine. He probably just wanted a little more time by himself. This whole doctor thing has really upset him," Joey said.
"Yeah, but shouldn’t we be worried about him? What if he’s not fine? What if he’s up there and…"
"JC, you’re getting yourself all riled up," Lance said, then a little more quietly, added, "as usual."
JC fixed him with a glare that could cut through stone and was about to respond when Justin spoke up.
"I’ll go check on him, see if he’s ok."
JC visibly relaxed and nodded. "Good. Thanks Justin. Do you want someone to go with you?"
Justin shook his head and stood. "No, I got it. I’ll be right back," he said as he waved to his friends and walked out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin rubbed his hand over his forehead and tried not to worry. He had just come down from Chris’ room, all their rooms actually, and had seen no sign of his friend. The bed had definitely been slept in, so he was pretty certain that Chris had come up here. But as to where he could be now, he had not a clue. He stood on the landing of the staircase and wondered if perhaps he hadn’t somehow missed Chris in his search. Maybe he was already in the recording studio waiting for Justin to show.
He had made his mind up to return to the recording studio when he felt a sudden urge to turn and look down the long hallway. All the doors appeared closed except one. The sunroom? he wondered. He still wasn’t familiar enough with the house to be able to determine what room it was, but for some reason that felt right.
Acting on nothing but instinct and a certain sense of rightness, Justin stepped through the silent hallway until he reached the entrance of room with the open door. Unsurprised, he noticed that it was the sunroom. He peered inside of it and almost melted in relief. Chris was there; sitting in one of the room’s many chairs, with his back turned towards him. He appeared to staring out the windows at the ever-darkening skies.
He stepped forward and called out, "Chris?"
Chris didn’t answer him, didn’t even appear to hear him. He just continued to sit still, with his face towards the windows.
Feeling decidedly uneasy, Justin called his friend’s name out once more and waited for a response.
Again he got none.
Justin shook his head in concern. He walked up behind Chris and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. What are you doing in here?" he asked.
Chris turned his head and looked at Justin. A serene smile graced his face. "The gardens are beautiful, are they not?" he asked.
"Ummm…yeah. They’re ok, considering that it’s winter and everything’s dead," Justin said uncertainly.
Chris continued to speak as if he hadn’t heard Justin’s comment. "Sometimes I wish I worked out in the gardens, to be outside among all that beauty instead of trapped inside here. Then again, I would never be able to handle the labor required would I?" Chris said and laughed lightly as he turned back towards the window.
"Chris…are you feeling ok, man?" Justin asked in concern as he stepped beside Chris.
Chris turned his head and met Justin’s eyes. "Why do you call me Chris?"