I'm Not the Only One

The Aftermath

"Mr. Chmer...kovskiy?" Asked the doctor, hesitant on saying the last name.

"Uhh, which one?" Asked Maks.

"Maksim?" The doctor asked again.

"Oh, that's me" replied Maks.

"Well, my name is Dr. David Fast. She just got out of surgery. You can see her now if you like, but she is still unconscious. She lost a lot of blood and required a few transfusions" said Dr. Fast.

"Oh, ok. But I still want to see her... just to be with her when she wakes up" said Maks, relieved that she had made it through surgery.

"Of course! Certainly!" Dr. Fast said.

"Hey Val, you should go back to the waiting room or something, ok?" Maks said turning to Val.

"Yeah bro, of course..." Val said. His eyes were puffy and his nose was stuffy from crying.

"Right this way Mr. Chmer-" Maks cut the doctor off by saying "Oh please, just call me Maksim. Or Maks".

"Alright, will you please follow me Maks?" Dr. Fast said.

"Brother... I love you man" Val said, embracing his brother before Maks and Dr. Fast walked down the hall.

-The Waiting Room-

Alex was a wreck.

"I should've never brought that gun!" He wailed. He had held it together for so long, but he couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Why... why did I have to bring it? Especially since I knew that there was going to be alcohol?!" He wailed once again.

His brilliant blue eyes were glossy from tears and had a sad look to them.

"Alex, it's not your fault. There was no way that you could've known that Val was going to grab the gun out of your hand. There was just no way of knowing any of this was going to happen" consoled Teddy. He had known Alex for years, but not as long as Alex had known the Chmerkovskiy's.

"But... there was so many ways to prevent this from happening! I could've kept the gun in my pocket, I could've grabbed it from Val before... before he..." Alex trailed off, once again sobbing uncontrollably.

-Val-

Even though Val knew his brother wasn't mad at him, he knew things would never be the exact same between them. They had always had a great relationship. Maks had always been the trouble maker, and Val had always gotten him out of it.

Val remembered a time when he was 10 and Maks was 16. Despite the age difference they were very close growing up.

Maks had wanted to sneak out and go to a party. He had sworn Val to secrecy.

"Val," Maks had said to him, "if Mama and Pop ask where I am, you say that I stayed late at the studio. Do you understand me?" Maks had asked him, while placing a firm hand on his shoulders.

"Yes... but if you get caught, I have no part in this Maks" the young Val said.

"Ok fine. Just remember our deal" Maks had said, before slipping out the front door.

Maks ended up getting caught trying to sneak back in.

"And where have you been, Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy?" Asked Sasha Chmerkovskiy, Maks and Val's dad.

"Papa, I was at the studio!" Maks exclaimed, a little nervous edge in his voice.

"Oh really? Valentin, will you come down here for a moment please?" Sasha called up the stairs to Val.

"Yes Papa?" Val asked, coming down the stairs drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

"Do you know where Maksim was tonight? Do you know why he's home so late?" Asked the angry Sasha.

"Yeah, he was... hey Maks, weren't you at the studio practicing choreography for your competition?" Val said.

"Yes... I had to perfect it... see Papa, I was at the studio... I didn't want to wake you from your nap, and Mama wasn't home..." Maks trailed off.

"Well, if that's where you were... you are dismissed. Now please go to bed" Sasha said, relieved that his son was doing something useful with his time.

"Goodnight Papa" Maks and Val both said.

"Bro, you saved my ass. I don't even know what Papa would've done if he found out the truth" Maks said, relief flowing through him.

"Hey, you'd do the same for me" Val had said, grinning from ear to ear.

That's when their trust in each other became stronger.

"Valentin!" Alex yelled, snapping Val out of his flashback.

"Where have you been? You have doctors and nurses looking all over the damn hospital for you!" Alex said, relieved that he had found his best friend.

"Come on, let's go back to the waiting room with the others. Meryl is out of surgery and Maks is with her" Alex said calmly.

"Yeah I know... I saw him in the hallway" Val said sadly.

"Wait hold up, I just got a text... it's from Maks... oh no, oh NO! Meryl... she... she stopped breathing!" Alex said quietly.

-To Be Continued-