Written By: Kimberly; Kittkat68@earthlink.net
August 11, 2004
Intro:
I'll start by introducing myself, my name is Kitten, short for my real name I was given, Kitana. I am 5'2, blue eyes, medium length brown hair, and 120 pounds. I decided long ago that I would keep a little diary of my life and finally I am able to sit down and write one of my favorite happenings in 1998. Of course I have written the events in the form of a story but it works better that way. The other person who will be a main factor is my friend Misty, who is 5'4 and 125 pounds, long dark brown hair and blue eyes. She is 21 and I am 29, well at the time, we have since aged. Note to reader(s): This will have some swearing and mild mild sexual references
Part 1: August 11, 1998
Well I had waited quite some time for this day to come. A lot of my friends and coworkers couldn't understand why I was submitting myself to go to a backstreet boys concert. But hey they have some really good music and well I must admit they are kind of cute. My friend Misty is down here visiting me and we both are excited, even in this 90-degree heat wave we are having.
Misty stepped into my dark room and shook me gently and whispered, "Get up sleep head, time to get ready and go drool on Kevin." I rolled over pulling the pillow over my head and groaned, "Is it time to get up already, one more hour that I all I ask." She ripped the covers off and yelled, " Get your sleepy ass out of bed and lets go!!" She went back into the living room and watched some more TV and I got in the shower. I emerged 10 minutes later refreshed and somewhat more awake. It makes it hard to get up sometimes during the day, I work 12 hr night shifts at a hospital and it does weird things to your body and mind. We assembled all we needed for the concert, and right as we were walking out the door, the phone rang. Misty ran over and picked it up, said a few things and then handed me the phone. I picked it up and hesitantly said, "Hello?" It turned out to be one of my good friends who runs a home care company where she disperses various medical supplies and equipment. I knew he had a contract with some of the venues out here in the bay area, but never really thought of it. With the recent heat wave it was proving difficult for her staff to keep up with all the demands. She had told me that her clients at the concord pavilion that night had some oxygen tanks standby and that the person who was dispatched was caught up in another job and couldn't make it and there was no one else, so she sometimes called upon me to fill in, and paid me under the table. I could barely keep my excitement to myself, and eventually put my hand over the receiver of the phone and screamed. Feeling instant relief. She said that I was to get to the pavilion by 4 and check the tanks and make sure they were in order and make myself aware with the possible hazards if any. Misty had to drive I couldn't seem to get my hands to stop shaking. I mean with my luck I would check the tanks and not even get to see the boys in the flesh. We arrived and met up with a security guard that checked our id's and my license and gave us backstage passes and told us where to go. Misty leaned over to me, and whispered, "Holy mother of god we are backstage can you feel the excitement, can you, can you?" I looked at her and just laughed. In the far distance we heard someone yell, "Oh my god what the, It's hissing, someone get someone, where is that person who is supposed to be here, it's going to blow, HELPPPPPPPPP!!!!!" I ran in the direction of the yelling and hissing and found none other than Brian Littrell screaming at the top of his lungs, and his partner in crime Nick holding some tubing and flinging it around making the hissing grow louder. I grabbed the tubing out of his hand and took out my wrench and disconnected the tank and stopped the hissing. Misty just stood there with a stupid look on her face looking at Brian, she had grown mute and seemed to not be able to mutter one word. Brian looked at me and said, "thanks so much, do you have any idea what was wrong with it?" I replied rather annoyingly, "Yeah, I do, it wasn't connected properly and now it is so you should be fine, and in the future I would suggest if it starts hissing, you don't turn it up further and fling around the tubing, you are just asking for trouble. And by the way I am not the actually person who was supposed to be here but I am the replacement and if I was psychic I would have known that it would have hissed, but I am not so cut me some slack." Kevin stepped up and said, " Well lets just start over, and introduce ourselves shall we? I am Kevin, this is, as he pointed to each of them, Aj, Howie, Nick and you seem to already be familiar with my cousin Brian." I stepped forward and shook each of their hands and introduced Misty who was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. I checked out the other tanks and reported to security and Ms. Mclean and then went to our seats and sat down. Meanwhile the boys were sitting down and catering trays to be assembled so they could eat, and Nick playing with his fork, said, " Hey you guys, did you notice that she didn't apologize for yelling at us? I mean Denise said that she was a fan as well, right?" Howie replied, "Well yeah she did say that, maybe she just likes the music and that is it, we do have older fans, it does happen." Aj remarked, " Hey they are sitting out there in their seats and the venue hasn't even opened yet, why don't we invite them to eat with us?" The head of security came out to where we were sitting and asked us if we would like to join them for dinner. We agreed and Misty and I headed back to where the boys were.
Chapter 2
Lonnie the head of security led us to a big room. He pointed to the table where the boys were sitting and grinned at us and told us to have fun. Misty looked at me, grabbed my arm and whispered, "um I don't think that I will be able to eat, and if I start to say something stupid just smack me under the table, ok?" I laughed, "sure thing my pleasure, shall we?" We headed over to the table and like true gentlemen they all stood up and greeted us. This impressed me greatly. We took our seats only to quickly stand back up and get a plate. We sat back down and started to eat. Brian in a fit of frustration said, "Yo Nick, do you have to bury your face in your food and then fling it all over the place you are making a mess. Nick looked up from his plate and replied, "Well I'm hungry so sue me." Aj joined in, "you have to excuse Nicky boy he was raised by wolves and we haven't exactly gotten him to eat right around people." Everyone seemed to laugh and that seemed to break the tension. We talked in between bites. They asked how I got into my field of work and asked misty what she would be studying in college. I have to admit that Kevin had the most beautiful eyes, and I was having to divert my attention away from him otherwise I caught myself staring. Misty and Brian seemed to hit it off, she being from Kentucky originally and going to his rival high school, they had a lot to talk about. After dinner we said our thanks and went out to our seats again. I had waited to long to get tickets and ended up paying thru the teeth for our 4th row seats. But I figured hell, it was a really early birthday present to me and I was glad to have Misty enjoying it with me. The concert rocked beyond belief but I felt really old for all the screaming from the surrounding girls was proving rather hard to take. They had announced at the beginning of the concert that they boys would be going to a club after the concert. Seeing that the age to get in was 18 we figured there wouldn't be a lot of fans there. We left and drove to the club and one of my brother's friends was dj'ing there that night, and he always left my name on the guest list. We strolled in and noticed about 30 girls looking up into the VIP room where Kevin, Howie and Aj were. I laughed at the sight and went to the bar and got a drink for Misty and I. Misty tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I think they spotted us." I just looked up at the VIP room and waved. Shortly after, Lonnie came down and took us up there. Kevin holding a drink in his hand said, "funny meeting you guys here, come here often?" "Ha ha very funny, actually we heard that some guys were supposed to be here but so far I haven't seen any worth looking at." I replied. Howie started to laugh and came over and put his arms around, "Good one!!" We danced with the guys and made conversation. 2 am came rather quickly and I was getting tired and so were the guys. We said our good-byes and just as we were leaving Kevin came up to me and asked for my phone number. I stood there in amazement with my jaw on the floor. I said , " Um, sure, but I have to ask why you want it?" He replied, "To call you sometime if that is ok?" I wrote my phone and my beeper number down, and waved as we were exiting the building. Misty was waiting for me outside and asked, "Hey what took you so long?" Still stunned I said, "Um, Kevin asked for my Phone number, and I gave it to him, how strange is that." We rode home in silence completely exhausted from the whole day.
Chapter 3: The aftermath
"God damnit who the hell is calling so early, don't they know people sleep!!!" I said rolling over to look at the clock and noticing that it wasn't early, it was 11:30 am. I picked up the phone, " Hello?" The person on the other line answered, "Hello, Kitten?" "Yes, this is her, who is speaking?" "Hey this is Kevin, you aren't awake yet?" I sleepily replied, "Well I am now, the phone woke me up." Kevin didn't seem bothered by my sarcasm and kept going, "Well hey we are going to go to Phantom of the Opera tonight, Aj is dying to see it and we have two extra seats and we were going to get some dinner before hand, you guys want to come?" In the background Brian was nervously pacing back and forth while Kevin was on the phone. Brian asked, "Did they say yes? Are they coming? Kevin why aren't you answering me damnit, tell me?" Kevin replied, "Brian calm down she went to go ask Misty, she'll be back in a second. Geez." I returned to the phone. "Kevin, are you there? Oh hey, um I talked to Misty and she said yes so just give us a time and a place and we'll meet ya there." Kevin replied, " Cool, um let me get the, well you know why don't we just pick you guys up, that would make things a bit easier and we are going to meet up with the bus down somewhere near you, so that way we can drop you guys back at home ok?" I agreed and we said our good-byes. Misty came into my room where I was sitting on the bed with a confused look on my face. "Hey what's wrong with you?" she asked. "Oh um I just was thinking I don't think I can take another night of screaming girls, they seem to follow them you know, and I just don't have the tolerance." Misty while jumping up and down said, "Well I am so excited I get to see my Baby duck again. Oh shit, he is going to be there right?" I laughed, "yeah I think the whole group is going as far as I know." While Misty made some calls to home I went to work out at the gym. I came back to find her curled up on the couch sleeping. I was making my way up the stairs when I saw a figure at the top beckoning me. I mean there wasn't anyone standing there, it was like an outline of someone. I couldn't make out the face, and as I got closer the image faded. I felt something pass through me and a chill go down my spine. I had been having the visions for about 6 months and no one knew about them. Sometimes it seemed as though I could hear what other people couldn't. I dismissed the whole scene and went about my business. I was knee deep in paperwork when Misty knocked on my door. I jumped out of the chair only to land on the floor. "Ouch, that hurt." Misty asked, "Are you ok, I didn't mean to startle you." "Yeah I am fine, I guess I was just in my own little world." The phone rang and Misty picked it up and in her best southern accent, "hello?" " Hey misty, it's Brian, I just wanted to um call, and um well uh I didn't know if you guys um, well we all are kind of getting dressed up tonight, kind of Aj's suggestion we are humoring him, and we just wanted to let you know." Misty replied, "Thanks that is very sweet of you, I was kind of wondering about the dress, I'll let Kitten know." Misty ran into my room in a fit of giggles, telling me that Brian had called and he sounded so cute and he wanted us to get dressed up. I rolled my eyes and went into my closet not knowing what to wear. Misty knew that if she let me stand there I would make us late. She went into the closet and picked a midnight blue crushed velvet dress with spaghetti straps and 4 inch black heels and threw some thigh highs at me and said, " There you are done, now I'll go get dressed, I'll expect to see you ready when I am through." Somehow she knew what I liked and sometimes the way we thought was really scary it was almost as if she was reading my mind. Misty decided on a Lilac silk dress that was v shaped in the back and cut straight across the front. She walked back into my room to see me putting the final touches on my face and knodded approvingly. "Oh gee, I am so glad you approve." I laughed. She came up behind me and asked, " when were you going to tell me about the visions?" I dropped the perfume bottle on the floor and turned to her, "How did you know?" She held my hand, "come on Kitten, we are almost joined in some ways and I heard you walking up the stairs and just when I was about to say something I saw you just standing there, and although I didn't see it I felt that something was there. You want to talk about it?" I leaned my head on her shoulder and said, "Not now, but yes we will talk about it, and thanks for being so good to me." Embraced in a hug she said, "No problem that is what friend are for." We heard a beep and I peered out the window to see a huge black stretch limo and one pulling up behind it. Aj popped his head out of the sunroof and yelled, "Yo, Yo, let's go, time to go, come on girls times a OOOOWWWWWWW!" All we saw was Aj being yanked back inside, we both were laughing so hard I thought I would burst. We made our way downstairs and I opened the door to find Brian just about to knock. "Well hello there, we are ready, shall we?" I proceeded to walk out the door and I realized halfway down the walkway that I was alone. I looked back to see Brian and Misty just looking at each other. I walked back and grabbed both of their hands and said, "come on you heard Aj, let's go." It seemed to snap them back into reality and they followed me into the limo. We arrived at the restaurant, which wasn't far from where I lived. They had decided on Italian and heard about this place called Kuleto's. We were all seated in a back room that was dimly lit. Kevin pulled out my chair and as I sat down I turned to him and thanked him. Kevin sat beside me and whispered, "You look really great by the way." He was wearing gray pants and a white shirt with a black blazer. God this man was getting under my skin, not only did he smell good but he looked absolutely fantastic. Misty and Brian were immersed in their own little world. Nick was getting rather annoyed cause his best friend wasn't paying any attention to him. "Yo Brian, What are you going to get?" nick asked. Brian didn't answer, so nick decided to fling a piece of bread at him. "Hey what was that for Nicky , I was talking, and yes I heard you and I was about to answer you." Brian said angrily. "Sorry bout that Bri." Nick said. Kevin ordered a bottle of Chianti and him and I seemed to almost polish it off before we were half way through our meal. Aj leaned over to Howie who was to Nick and said, "Hey Howie, I wonder what Kevin is going to do, he is pretty buzzed." Howie nodded and replied, "Well let's hope he doesn't do anything that you would do, we'll be in trouble." Aj playfully punched Howie in the arm. Lonnie informed us that we would have to wrap it up soon, otherwise we'd be late for the show. Aj jumped up and started piling the plates up and motioned the waiter to take them. Kevin grabbed Aj's arm, "Yo, Bone what the hell is your problem, we'll get there on time, just chill out." Aj jokingly said, "You are just mad they cut you and Kitten of on the wine., let's go." We all piled back into the limos. I was snugly seated next to Kevin. The wine had really gone to my head for some reason and my hand had found it's way to his thigh and was rubbing it. Misty quickly kicked me and blamed it on the road and the limo jerking, but everyone knew what she was doing. We arrived at the Curran Theater and were seated up in the first two rows of the lodge section. They were really good seats, and Aj was too excited to be calmed. Aj sat down and leaned over to me, "so you have seen this before?" I replied, "Yeah about 6 times and I never get tired of it, it is so beautiful. You are going to love it Aj." I kissed him on the cheek. The lights went down and the music began, everyone seemed entranced, even Lonnie. After the first act I looked over to Aj and saw that he had tears in his eyes. "Oh my god that was the bomb, damn I can't believe I waited so long to see it." Aj confessed rather loudly. Kevin stood up to go use the little boy's room, and the rest of them followed. Misty and I were left there alone. Misty looked at me and asked, "What the hell were you thinking drinking half the bottle of wine, are you nuts?" I looked at her calmly and said, "Well I was kind of thirsty and it was a damn good bottle I wasn't going to let it go to waste." "Oh yeah, and the move with his thigh, what was that, I mean first you are some ice princess and then you are moving in on him with the speed of a vulture descending on it's prey." Misty said. "Oh good analogy there Misty, and I couldn't resist and maybe my hand found it's way there." Misty whispered into my ear, "Look if you have good intentions towards him then fine, but don't play him like you have played all the others, he doesn't deserve it and I won't let you." I glared at her and said, "Oh please, what makes him so special, just because he is a backstreet boy, he is a man pure and simple and he , I hope , can take care of himself and make his own decisions, and would you keep your voice down." Brian was the first to come back and he sensed some tension between us and asked, "Everything ok here?" I replied, "oh just peachy." I heard the others coming back and heard Howie say, "Yo Kevin you aren't handling your liquor very well, take it easy." He replied, "Yeah I am going to be just fine as he stumbled into the row where we were sitting." The lights dimmed again and the second act begun. Somehow Kevin and I ended up holding hands. It felt nice, but I wasn't making anything out of it. The show ended and Aj was so excited, everyone seemed to enjoy the show as well. We packed ourselves back into the limo's and made our way back to my house. When we arrived, Misty and I said our good-byes to the other guys. Kevin and Brian walked us to the front door. Aj was making a bet with Nick that Kevin would make a move on me and try and kiss me. Brian exchanged phone numbers with Misty and gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her they would talk soon. He went into the limo and Misty went inside. Kevin stood there with his hands in his pockets and didn't know what to say. "Well thanks for everything it has been really nice, you guys should get going, it's a long drive up to Portland." I said. Kevin asked, "So do you think it would be ok if I called you sometime, you know just to talk?" I was getting tired and just wanted him to go, "sure, I don't mind." I shook his hand and then turned his palm upward and laid a kiss upon it. I walked inside and shut the door just wanting to get into bed. Kevin stood there for a moment stunned, but walked into the limo and saw that Nick was collecting money from Aj. "I don't even want to know why you are getting money from him." They met up with the bus and began another long trek to another town to perform. As Kevin lay down in his bunk he couldn't get the kiss out of his mind. It seemed rather strange to him but nice at the same time. Misty went back home three days later and I resumed working my odd hours at the hospital.
Chapter 4
It wasn't until about 2 weeks later, I had been really busy with work and Misty and I hadn't talked in a while. I got a call from her in hysterics, "Oh my god, He called me, and we talked for like 2 hours, it was so amazing and he wants to fly me out in a couple of days so that I can see him, can you believe it?" I was really happy for her but I was having trouble sleeping as of lately and I was having those visions again, and I was sounding a bit cranky. "Well that is just great I am so happy for you, you deserve no wait, he deserves someone like you Misty." She replied, "thanks so much, so what or should I ask, has he called?" "Has who called?" "Oh come on, you know who I am talking about, Kevin?" she asked getting annoyed. "Oh that person, um no he hasn't and to be quite honest I didn't really think he would, and plus I am kind of seeing Mike again." The sound on the other end of the receiver wasn't exactly a burst of joy.. "You've got to be kidding me, Kitten you know what happened the last time you two were together, it ended up you being in hospital cause he hid your medicine." I said, "Well yeah I know but he apologized for it." Misty yelled, "How stupid are you? Do you want to get yourself killed?" She didn't hear an answer and all of a sudden she heard a click from the other side. I looked at the phone and said, "What the hell?" A hand covered my mouth and threw me up against the wall. I looked into Mike's eyes and saw rage. I tried not to fight it was better if I didn't resist, but I wasn't in the freaking mood to put up with his crap. He drug me to the bedroom and threw me on the bed where he proceeded to rip off my clothes. He figured that I wouldn't fight so he let my hands go. I was feeling along the dresser and grabbed the crystal vase and smashed it over his head. He fell on me and I saw blood trickling from his head. I muffled my screams I just wanted to get him off of me. I rolled him over and checked for a pulse and found that he was dead. "Shit, I wasn't suppose to kill him, just knock him out." I said biting my nails. "What the hell am I going to do, should I call the police?" I started crying when I heard the doorbell ring. "OH bloody hell who the hell could that be." I cleaned the blood off my hands and went to the door and saw that it was my brother, Mark. "Hey sis, what's up?" I fell on him crying so hard that my body was heaving with every drop that I shed. I looked up at him and uttered, "I killed him, I Killed him, I didn't mean to." He followed me upstairs and took one look at the body and said, "Well, he probably deserved it didn't he? Was he hurting you in the process?" He grabbed my wrists and saw black and blue marks on me. "Kitten we should call the police, just tell them." I agreed and for the next few days I was being questioned. They decided that it was self-defense and closed the case. I was relieved and Misty through the whole thing was great. She had spent two days with Brian and things were going well. I had a few more days off from work that they had given me for the whole investigation. I was sitting at home, and I had done what I had wanted to do , which was to change bedrooms. I was watching TV when the phone rang.
Chapter 5
"Hello?" "Hello, um may I please speak with Kitana?" the caller asked "This is her, may I ask who is speaking?" I said, "Hey, it's Kevin, what's goin on?" "Well um nothing much, um can I ask why you are calling?" I asked "Well you said I could give you a call and things have been rather hectic and right now was a good time for me, did I catch you at a bad time?" Kevin asked. "Oh I see so you call people when it is convenient for you, how special, well you know what I am not really in the mood to talk so I'll catch ya later." I said as I hung up the phone. Kevin was sitting at a table on his cell phone and had a dumbfounded expression on his face when A.J. came up to him. "Yo Train, you there, hellooooooooo , something wrong, earth to Kev." Kevin snapped out of his trance and all he could utter was, "Dude she hung up on me." Aj asked, "Who?" Kevin responded, "Kitana, I called her to talk and she got all snippy with me, and then she hung up." Kevin seemed to be rather annoyed and got up from the chair and walked out of the room and left A.J. standing there alone. "Why is it everyone always leaves me hanging, do I smell or something?" A.J. asked to himself. Aj circulated the news that Kevin had been dissed. Nick ran into the room with a tabloid magazine and was ranting and raving about an article that he had read. Aj grabbed the magazine from him and towards the back Aj saw an article that caught his eye. "Hey guys I think I know why she did that?" Aj said rather quietly. They all gathered around and saw Kitana picture and the accompanying article that read Girl slays ex lover and then decides to donate organs to hospital. Kevin walked into the room in a rather glum mood and Nick grabbed the magazine and showed it to him. They all waited for a response from him but rather they saw him walk quickly out of the room. He went down the hallway a ways and dialed her number again. Kitana answered, and when she heard his voice she was about to hang up when he adamantly said, "Wait just a damn minute!" Kitana was quite surprised by the outburst and decided to hear him out. He went on telling her about the article and he wanted an explanation. She told him that the organ donation was a lie but the fact that she had killed someone and she stressed in self defense left him speechless. She went on to tell him of that night and that was the first time that she had really talked about it since the whole investigation, and she was surprised that he didn't hang up in disgust or fear. They talked for a bit longer and she eased up and wasn't so snappy. Kevin had told her that Brian and Misty were getting along rather famously and that he was contemplating on inviting her to Sweden when they went to go record. He had told her that they were renting a house from some lady who chose to remain anonymous. It was 7 bedrooms and on a huge amount of land, and rather secluded with fences all around. The internal of the house was very modern and had it's own full gym, a game room, and other amenities. But he was kind of bummed cause the Realtor that they went thru said the person who owned the house would be there the last week of their recording stint. They ended their conversation and Kitana was left a bit curious.
Chapter 6
I was a bit curious about the house but in doing other errands had forgotten to check on it. I had received a large large amount of money from a friend who had passed. It included various properties around the world. I rented out a few cause I couldn't make up my mind whether or not to sell them. He had had a piece of property in Sweden but I never had seen it and had on occasion rented it out to responsible people. The Realtor who I dealt with had left a message on my machine saying the house had been rented out to a group of people and that he had to check with me to see if it would be ok, knowing I was making a trip out there to see the house. The group complied and all was set. Misty and I had managed to miss each other. Her and I were playing phone tag. She was ecstatic that she was going with brian while he was recording the album.. She had never been out of the country and couldn't contain herself. I was going over some documents when she finally managed to get a hold of me. "Hey there stranger." Misty said sarcastically. It was the middle of October now and things were starting to fall into place. Not only was I working at the hospital but also I was managing to put in a few hours at the business that I had acquired when my friend died. I only had 33 percent but it was enough for me. Misty had told me that the boys were trying to find out who this woman was who owned the house but no one was saying anything, all they knew about her, was that she was really rich. Misty asked me, "so didn't you say you had a house in Sweden?" "yeah I do , but haven't seen it, going to see it soon though, I heard it is nice. WE should definitely hook up while you are there." I replied. My second line beeped and I had to cut the conversation short with Misty. She called me two days after she had gotten to Sweden and was raving how beautiful it was and how clean something Nick seemed to obsess on. She said the house was absolutely charming and very homey. I was happy that she was happy, her and Brian seemed to be progressing nicely. "So what's going on with you and Kevin?" Misty laughed. "Um what do you mean, we have talked a few times and he is a nice guy but nothing is going on." I said. She laughed, "OH so he doesn't know that you have a secret crush on him?" I yelled into the phone, "Misty Michelle, if you breathe one word of that I will lock you up and not give you food." She was in a fit of giggles the whole time I said, "Plus I only said that cause you were hounding me that day and I wanted you off my back." "yeah yeah sure, hey I have go to go , I have to fix some dinner for the boys, I'll tell Kevin and the rest you said hello, and give me a call when you get in, here is the number." She said hanging up after she gave me the number. I looked down at the number that I had written and it looked vaguely familiar. All of a sudden a look of sheer horror came across my face that turned into hysterical laughter. The boys were renting my house. It is a small world after all.
Chapter 7
I arrived in Sweden, I was severely jet lagged and before I was to get to the house I had to run a few errands. I hadn't had time to call her before I got in. It was only 4 P.M. but my body was still in another time zone. I pulled up to the house after going to the store and to the bank to have my money converted for the next 8 days I would be there. I had already scheduled a massage for me so that my body would at least forgive me for putting it through the long flight and the hours that I had been working. I had seen pictures of the house but none of them did it any good. It was absolutely gorgeous. The outside showed the age of the house but was not worn, it had been kept up very well. Mostly all stone in front, there was a carport off to the side of the garage. The house seemed to stretch out and back forever. I pulled into the garage and inserted the key, holding my breath in anticipation of what I was to find. I opened the door and walked into the kitchen, which was the size of my living room back in California. I ran my fingers along the countertops and saw a pile of dirty dishes stacked up in the sink. I scowled at them but decided to let it go for the moment. I heard footsteps above me and figured it was probably Misty. She was probably thinking that someone had broken into the house or the boys were home early. "Hello, who's there? Brian is that you?" She asked wearily. I came out into the hallway and met her at the bottom of the stairs, which seemed to half spiral up to the top. "OH MY GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? NO!!! TELL ME THIS ISN'T YOUR HOUSE? IS IT? OH MY GOD COME HERE!!!!!!!!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs as she ran up to me and hugged me tightly. "Well hello there, yes this is my house and you look wonderful and how bout you give me a tour?" I laughed. She couldn't seem to stop gabbing and walked up to my room, which was the only one that remained, locked. It was out of bounds. She was anxious to see it. I opened it up to find most of the furniture in plastic and the smell of dust. "Nice smell don't you think?" I asked. She looked at me and asked, "You ok?" "OH yeah, I am just really really tired, oh my, I forgot about the groceries. Come and help me would you?" We retrieved the groceries and put them away and went back up to my room. She was looking around with a wide-eyed look. "Dang this room is humongous, I mean it is twice the size of the rest of the rooms, and the other rooms are pretty big. I turned around to see on one of the dressers, a sealed envelope addressed to me. I approached it and took the envelope in my hand and began to shake. Misty saw that I was unnerved and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'll leave you alone for a moment but I'll be back so that we can see the rest of your room." She said walking out the door. I sat down on the bed, which I had noticed the person who had set up the house had applied fresh sheets and comforters and pillows. I opened up the letter and began to read.
June 12, 1998
My dearest Kitten,
I figured you would make it to this house before you made it to the one in Orlando so I had my assistant deliver this to you. I don't know how much time has elapsed since my passing but that is really irrelevant. You always meant a great deal to me and I think you know that, but I can't stress it enough. After Ashley so cold-heartedly dumped me after finding out about my condition you were there to help me pick up the pieces and focus on a lot of things. For this I am eternally grateful to you. I hope that the people at the company are treating you well. You will do well I believe in whatever you choose to do. I hope you explore your gift that you were given a few years back. I know people may frown on what you may be able to do but only trust those who you care about. I am not in pain anymore and will be looking down on you always. Maybe now I can be your guardian angel for you were mine for so long. I loved you and will always love you. I have a bit of a confession to make. I was going to ask you to marry me a few months before I passed. Although we probably couldn't have consummated our marriage, just knowing that you would have been my wife would have made me happier than you already made me. We were two people who were so close that all there was left to do was to bridge the gap physically. I know you will find someone who will be as good to you as you are to them. Just please open your heart and don't be so cynical. You may lose that person if you do that. I know you have had a hard time trusting men but you have to take chances otherwise life will just pass you by. I hope you enjoy this house for a while, it is your choice to do whatever you want with it. I trust you implicitly and know that you will do what is right. I am tired now and have to go to sleep. Goodnight my love.
Love always and forever
Darren
I sat on the bed frozen, with tears streaming down my face. The letter itself was soaked from my tears. I felt so alone at that very moment, and I wanted him to hold me. He was right about me needing to let people into my heart, but that was going to be hard to do. I noticed that under the letter was velvet box. I went back to the dresser and opened it up to find a platinum diamond band, and I looked on the inside of it and it had an inscription of: Love you always, D. At this point I was crying so hard and shaking that I could barely place the ring on my right hand. I had been in my own little world, and could only hear myself crying, I looked up and saw Kevin standing in the doorway of my bedroom. His arms outstretched and I collapsed into them and continued crying. He stroked my hair and kept uttering, it would be ok.
Chapter 8
I remained in his arms for what seemed a long time. I pulled away and wiped the tears and noticed a big wet stain on his T-shirt. "I am so sorry about your shirt!" I said, my voice still weak. He just kept staring at me and said, "It's ok, don't worry about it. Are you ok?" "Yeah I will be fine, you just caught me at a bad moment. So how are you?" I managed to laugh. Kevin replied, "I am fine, Misty was in a fit and was talking so fast we could barely understand her and then she told us that you are the one who owns the house, etc. etc. Just so that you know I am glad you are here." We went downstairs where we found Misty and Brian wrestling on the floor and Nick cheering Misty on and Aj cheering Brian. Howie was sitting there just laughing. They turned to see me in the room and Nick ran up to me and gave me a big hug, followed by Howie and Aj and finally a breathless Brian. We talked for a bit, but they all noticed that my face was red and blotched and my eyes were bloodshot. Aj finally asked, "Have you been crying, are you ok?" I looked at him and said, "Yeah, I am fine, but thanks for asking. So what are we having for dinner?" Misty and I took the chicken and the lasagna noodles and the stuff to go in it and prepared dinner for everyone. We sat down at the table and we talked about how the album was coming and other things. As time went on I relaxed and became my old self again. Kevin was sitting next to me and occasionally rubbed my back. Misty glanced and saw him doing that and smiled at me. We made the boys clean up the kitchen as Misty and I sat on the couch and chatted up a storm. You could hear them talking in the kitchen but we couldn't make out what they were saying.
~Flash to the kitchen~
Nick is sitting on one of the counters going through the cabinets, and Kevin is drying dishes while Brian puts them away, Aj is on the phone and it being swatted by Kevin to get off and help, and Howie is wiping the table. "Kev, so what's going on with you and Kitten?" Nick muttered stuffing his face with a handful of corn pops. Kevin looked up to see a group of anxious faces awaiting a response. "Well, um I was comforting her, that is all, now let it go, ok?" He said.
Nick hopped off the counter and skipped into the living room and turned on the TV and started to play Nintendo. Misty and I had realized that our little chat time was over. I opened up the screen door and walked out back to walk around a bit. There was track lighting all over the place, so one could walk around safely. Everyone seemed to go about there own thing. Brian and Misty were curled up together, Nick was taunting Aj who didn't really seem to be that interested in playing with him, and Howie was writing some letters. Kevin saw me walk out the door grabbed a sweater that I had left on the couch, and went after me. I didn't realize how extensive the grounds were. The bushes were neatly trimmed and the grass was cut close to the ground. I came upon a white gazebo with glass windows all around. I entered the door and sat down taking in the night and its smells. I heard footsteps and saw a tall shadow come up the steps of the gazebo. I turned around to see Kevin standing in front of me with my sweater. "I thought you might need this, it is getting a little cold." He said placing the sweater over my shoulders. "Thanks, I didn't really think to bring it." I replied looking up into the sky. Kevin turned to walk back when I said, "You know you can stay if you want, I don't mind the company." He sat down next to me, and took my hand. "You know if you need someone to talk I am here. I know that may sound strange, but it's true." I looked up at his face to see a smile creeping out and said, "Thanks that means a lot." I don't know what happened at that moment but I felt a warm feeling going through my body, and I saw a flash of light and I saw another vision only this time it was more vivid. It was I in the gazebo I don't know the time frame but a tall dark man standing behind me with lots of people around us. Then I saw his face and it was Kevin's. I quickly shook myself out of it but Kevin had noticed I had gone pale and was looking at him with a blank stare. "You ok?" he asked. "Um yeah I guessed I just spaced out." I said wearily. He cupped my face and placed a kiss on my lips. Although it was brief, it brought a smile to my face. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Kevin said shaking his head. "Please don't apologize Kevin, I liked it and if you were so inclined to do it again, I wouldn't mind." A giggle escaped from me. He lowered his mouth to mine only to brush his lips to mine. He pulled me close and pressed harder parting my lips so that his tongue could explore. Suddenly I felt dizzy and euphoric all at once, and gripped him tighter to hold on. We kissed for a while and breathlessly I pulled away. "Well you better be careful Mr. Richardson, you never know when your land lady will be watching." I said playfully, caressing his face. He smiled and rubbed my shoulders and could feel the cold settling in. "Maybe we should go back inside the temperature is dropping pretty fast." He got up taking my hand and leading me back to the house.
Chapter 9
We came back into the house to find only Nick still pecking away at the Nintendo. I bent down to kiss him on the cheek and say goodnight. It shook him out of his daze and he realized that everyone had gone up to bed. "Damn, I guess I lost track of time eh?" Nick said laughing. Kevin shook his head and went to the kitchen. I patted Nick on the head and said, " Well it happens you know, just make sure you shut off the lights ok? Goodnight!" Kevin followed me up the stairs and when I got to my door I could feel his body close to mine. I turned around to look up at him and saw him smiling down at me. We were interrupted by a scream coming down the hallway courtesy of Misty and Brian who were soaking wet. They flew past us laughing and screaming. Kevin looking confused said, "I don't even want to know why they are that way? Do you?" I laughed, "Um no at least not right now. Well um I am tired and I am going to get to bed, thanks well um, god you think I would have more command of the English language." Kevin stroked my cheek and leaned into me and kissed me goodnight. He turned to go into his bedroom and looked back and smiled. "Goodnight." He said. I stood there for a second and heard a rumbling of footsteps. I saw Misty and Brian fly past me again, only this time she was chasing him. I laughed and went into my bedroom. I closed the door and decided to take a bath. I drew the water and slid into the sunken tub. I had lit a few candles, and the lingering vanilla aroma filled the room. I could feel my whole body relax underneath the water. My thoughts were wondering what Kevin was doing. I don't know how long I was in there but I was brought out of my deep state by a loud Bang. I quickly got out and saw that the window had flown open, but I looked out to the trees and saw only a small breeze. I closed the window and looked around the room. I slid into bed and let the covers envelop me. I drifted off to sleep only to have a very strange dream. I couldn't make out the faces, but I could hear again laughter, music and children in the background. I woke up the next morning with my body sore. Jet lag had sunk in. I found Misty in the kitchen eating some cereal and Brian sitting across from her. She was flinging cheerios into his mouth but managed to get most of them on the floor. "Good morning sunshine!" Misty sarcastically said. I groaned at her perkiness it annoyed me. Brian grinned from ear to ear, "Not a morning person eh?" I turned to look at him and hissed, laughing after I did it. The rest of the brood came down to find that breakfast was their own responsibility that morning. I went down to the wine cellar to take a look and Misty followed me. "You following me or do you want to talk?" I said, looking at the bottles. Misty replied, "I have to talk to you, is that ok?" I nodded and she began. "Well um you know that Brian and I well um I guess oh hell, we are dating and well last night I wanted him so bad but I didn't want to push him seeing that he wants to wait until he gets married. The thing is well shouldn't it be ok for two people who love each other to be together like that?" I was amazed for some reason but I could only tell her that she needed to figure out how important sex is to her. If she really loves him she'll stick it through, although she ultimately will make her own decision. I could see how happy she was with him, and it made me happy. I was the last in a dying breed, every one of my friends was either involved or married with kids. I was the only single one it seemed, or maybe I was being paranoid. Anyhow that day Kevin rented a Harley and managed to get me on it and take me for a ride. We had packed a little blanket and brought some food in a backpack and made our way to a park. We had a little lunch and laid on the blanket. I cuddled up to him and let my body relax against his. I could hear his heartbeat and it lulled me to sleep. He nudged me in the side and I sleepily awoke. "What time is it? How long have I been sleeping?" I asked. He replied laughing, "Well only a half hour but I didn't bring you hear to sleep." I rubbed my eyes and turned to face him. He looked so unbelievably handsome. He was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and he was squinting as he looked up into the sun, making little creases around his eyes. This time I took initiative and kissed him. Next thing we knew we were entangled in the blanket making love. We lay there afterwards silent, not knowing what to say. I broke the silence. "So maybe we should get back?" He had his head on my chest and looked up at me, "Yeah, maybe we should." We packed up the stuff and headed back picking up some dinner on the way. We arrived at the house to find it empty with a few notes on the counter. Aj's: Hey Amanda came into town and we went out to a club, see ya later, don't wait up. Nick's: Howie and I went out to dinner and a movie, see ya later alligators. I didn't see one from Brian or Misty so I assumed that they were home. I walked up to my room and saw Kevin staring at Brian's door. "Kevin? You ok? Something wrong?" I asked. Just then I heard giggling and moaning coming from inside the room. I tried to keep a smile off my face but I just couldn't. "What the hell do you think is so funny?" He asked. "Excuse me, why are you yelling at me?" I angrily responded. All he could do was point to the door and wave his hands furiously. I walked up to him and grabbed his hand and gently guided him into my room. He sat down on the bed and he had his head in his hands. "Kevin, Brian is a big boy, he can make decisions on his own. I think you know that, but I gather it has got to be hard for you. He is happy with her and you should be happy for him." I softly said. He looked up at me with tears streaming down his face. "Oh I know that, I don't know why I am so upset, I am sorry you must think I am an idiot." I went to the bed and hugged him tightly. He curled up like a baby against me and quickly fell asleep. I looked down at him and he was so peaceful looking it almost made me cry. In holding him and losing myself in him, I whispered the words, "I love you!" And fell asleep with him.
Chapter 10
Kevin and I continued to see each other despite our hectic schedules. Misty and Brian were as close as two people can get. I was actually offered a job with the boys for a few months in 1999, during their European tour. I could speak German fluently as well as Italian and some French. I toured with them, which I found quite daunting. I constantly shook my head in amazement in some of the things they did. I became rather close with Nick despite our age difference. My visions had stopped the day I found out I was pregnant. It was August 11, 1999 when I found out which I found ironic. I didn't tell Kevin for a week after I had gotten the results. We were moving in together or at least we had discussed it, and were having his family along with Brian's and my family over to my house in Orlando that thanksgiving. That is when we dropped the bomb about my pregnancy. I was about 4 months at that time and was doing quite well. I was working part time at Jive helping out with the press and managing to spend equal time at the business I owned. I picked up a few shifts at a hospital every now and again just to keep my skills up. The day after Thanksgiving Kevin asked me to marry him. I said yes of course. Brian had beaten Kevin to the punch and asked Misty to be his wife on Halloween of all days. He was dressed as Gomez and she Morticia. Nick was happy in his own right, I had introduced him to a friend of mine Amy, who lived in California but had transferred to Florida to continue her college education. If things continued, they too would be headed down the aisle. Kevin was very attentive during my pregnancy. He loved singing to the baby, and we had found out that I was carrying twins. A boy and a girl. We were both ecstatic. Aj had managed to beat us all to the punch, in December of 1999 he and Amanda got married in his backyard and two days after that she gave birth to his daughter, Annabelle Denise Mclean. It was funny to see Aj as a father but it suited him. They were extremely happy. Amanda stayed at home with the baby until the last month they toured, and brought her daughter out with her. I wasn't due to pop so to speak until May of 2000 but carrying twins you never really carry to term. It was April 14th, 2000 that I went into labor. Kevin was at the main offices of Jive and His mother and his brother Tim were at the house when they heard a shriek come from upstairs. Tim ran upstairs and helped me into the car. They paged Kevin and from what I have been told he freaked out. Mr. Calm, cool and collect lost it. The twins were born at 35 weeks approximately and were very healthy. Jessica Lynn Richardson weighed in at 6lbs. 2 oz. Brandon Kevin Richardson weighed in at 6-lbs. 4 oz. His mother stayed for about a week helping with the twins. Brian came over to practice seeing that Misty would be delivering his son in late June. The boys after the millennium tour took a break. The fans were noticeably upset but they needed to do it for their mental health. Kevin wrote songs and produced some and was a doting father. I managed to still work, but mainly at home. Brian was happy being married and a father and wrote as well. Aj did a solo album that did rather well as did Nick's solo album. Howie did some recordings in Spanish and continued his real estate investments. Everyone stayed in touch. It was January 2001 the boys got into the studio and quickly realized that things weren't the same and they really didn't want to be there. They disbanded but kept in touch. It was nice for me, cause eventually people stopped coming around the fence of the house. I could see the sadness in Kevin's eyes but there was nothing I could do but to let him work it out. Amy and Nick did eventually get married and had a set of boy twins. We all occasionally got together for a barbecue. It was absolute mayhem with all the kids running around. Howie was the last one to get married, in the year 2001 to a girl named Vanessa. She found out that she couldn't carry a child to term and they opted to adopt.
Chapter 11
August 7, 2004
Jessica and Brandon are 4 years old and running amuck in the house. Brandon looks like his father and sings constantly. I found Jessica the other day dissecting a worm outside the house. I got a call from Misty. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She managed to get out that Brian and his son were in a car accident and that their son didn't look like he was going to make it. Brian's heart was severely enlarged again and the only way he would survive was to get a heart transplant. His son was an exact match. Everyone gathered at the hospital and waited patiently. I found misty talking to the doctor. She saw me and ran up to me hugging me tightly. She told me that she was going to disconnect their son from the life support machines and Brian would get his heart. The arrangements were made and the doctors were prepping for surgery. Brian was unconscious and wasn't responding due to the pressure of his heart. She felt bad she couldn't say goodbye to him but she would explain. Brian's surgery was a success but the aftermath was absolutely devastating. He is still in there as of now healing but can't get over the fact that his son is gone. The only thought keeping him going is that his son is now a part of him and will live forever in his mind and in his heart. There are times that Kevin will walk into the room and no words are said between us, just a simple look, and a smile. Brandon was watching MTV and saw one of daddy's video's and looked up and said, "Daddy?" Kevin looked down at his son on his lap and replied, "yes that is me, but that was a long time ago, someday I'll tell ya the story."
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