Chapter 7

Emily had no idea what she was doing. She stood outside of Maria’s loft and sighed. ‘I’m nineteen, so I didn’t run away. I just left,’ she thought. She waited and just like Sarah said would happen, a pretty, blonde young woman came out of the elevator and walked towards her.

Kathleen looked up when she saw Emily standing next to the door of Maria’s loft. "Hi. Can I help you?" she asked the younger girl.

"I’m Emily Bull, Maria’s cousin. I have a bit of a problem. I know that Maria’s away, but Sarah told me that I could come here and someone would help me," she said, sounding stupid and also hoping that this woman was Kathleen Burns, whom Sarah had told her about. "Are you Kathleen Burns, I hope?" Emily then asked, as Kathleen unlocked the door to the loft. Kathleen smiled.

"Yes, I am. Come in, Emily," she said. Emily followed Kathleen into the loft, dragging her suitcase, carrying her bag over one shoulder and her guitar case over the other shoulder. She put the bag down with a ‘thump’ when she got inside. A high-pitched meow was heard and Emily watched as Kathleen knelt down and picked up a small, gray, furry kitten.

"Hello, Heathcliff. You miss mommy, don’t you?" Kathleen asked. The kitten squirmed to get away. "I know. I’m not mommy, am I?" Kathleen laughed as she put the kitten down and he fled to safety. Kathleen looked around the loft. Geoff was gone. She hadn’t talked to Maria since she had told her that Geoff had cheated on her, but the next time that Kathleen had gone to the loft, Geoff’s things had been gone and he had left a note saying that he was going to live with Kevin. ‘Good riddance,’ Kathleen thought. She turned to Emily.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" she asked. Emily laughed.

"Mostly family problems or, more specifically, mother problems. I had to leave. I called Sarah, but she’s busy with finals and getting ready for graduation. She suggested that I come here. I know about Maria’s boyfriend and if he doesn’t want me here, then I’ll go." Kathleen gave a wave of her hand.

"Don’t worry about him. He moved out," she said. Emily nodded, but didn’t question it. It was none of her business.

"Well, I can call Maria and see what she thinks about you staying here. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. It might be good to have someone here watching the place and Heathcliff. I can’t get over here as much because I have play rehearsals and the show I’m in is going to start soon, so I’ll have no time to check on the loft. So, make yourself comfortable and I’ll give Maria a call," Kathleen said. Emily went to sit on the couch. She took out her guitar and hoped to God that Maria would come through for her.

Seattle

O-Town’s bus was parked behind the hotel that the band was currently staying in. They were doing two shows, one tonight and one the following night, so the Mikes had decided to check them into a hotel for a night. They would return to the bus after the second concert and then they’d be on their way to Portland.

Maria had yet to finish Jacob’s interview. After she had gotten interrupted by her mother’s phone call the other night, she had never gone back to finish with him. Her mother had given her one hell of a headache and Maria hadn’t felt like facing Jacob again anyway. Now, she put on a pair of jeans and a short, cropped, yellow shirt, turning when Alex came out of the bathroom.

"Susan’s lucky that she gets her own room," Alex said. Maria frowned.

"Am I that horrible a roommate?" she asked.

"No. It’s just that, it seems like we haven’t had any privacy in months," Alex replied, flopping down on her bed. There was a knock at the door. Maria went to answer it as she pulled her hair up and twisted it at the nape of her neck. She smiled when she saw Mike C.

"Today’s your lucky day, ladies," he said as he walked into the room.

"Why?" Alex asked suspiciously.

"You get five hours to go shopping. There’s a mall not far from here and a limo waiting downstairs," Mike said with a smile. Alex jumped up off the bed and hugged Mike tightly.

"I love you!" she screamed as she ran back to the bathroom to get ready.

"She was born to shop," Maria explained and smiled at the look on Mike’s face. There was another knock on the door and Maria opened it to see Susan, who looked upset about something. Maria frowned as she led Susan into the room. Mike excused himself after telling them to be down in the lobby in ten minutes.

"What’s wrong?" Maria asked. Susan sat down on the edge of Alex’s bed.

"My mother is very ill. She was admitted to the hospital last night. Maria, I have to go home. She needs me. It sounds serious," Susan said, tears sliding down her face.

"Then you go," Maria said as she put her arm around Susan. "I can manage. Really. Alex will help me and the Mikes are here, so I’m fine. You go be with your mom." Susan hugged Maria, grateful for her understanding and friendship.

"I hate leaving you like this," Susan said, tearfully.

"The tour is almost over. You have to go be with your mom. Really, I’ll call you if I need anything," Maria said. Susan stood up.

"I know you’ll be okay. I’m going to talk to one or both of the Mikes," she said.

"Don’t let them give you a hard time. I’ve been given permission to go shopping with Alex, so if I don’t see you, then…" Maria told her. Susan nodded. Alex came out of the bathroom.

"Let’s go," she said, smiling widely. She then saw Susan’s tear-streaked face.

"What’s wrong?" she asked. Maria grabbed her arm.

"I’ll tell you in the limo," she said as the three of them left the room.

"How’s your back?" Trevor asked Jacob, who was lying on his bed with his eyes closed.

"Stop asking me that," Jacob answered, not opening his eyes.

"Isn’t your therapist coming tomorrow?" Ashley asked from his bed by the window. Erik and Trevor were also in the room hanging out, but they shared their own room, which was across the hall.

"’Physical’ therapist, Ashley. You make it sound like Jake’s going crazy and needs a ‘psycho’-therapist or something," Erik said with a smile.

"Actually, I have been having these dreams that involve a bloody butcher knife and you, Erik," Jacob said, opening his eyes and smirking at Erik.

"Dude, I was just kidding. We all know that you’re the sanest one out of all of us," he told him.

"Yeah, right," Jacob said. Not with Maria around. She hadn’t said much to him since part one of his interview session, but she hadn’t been deliberately ignoring him, either. He guessed that she was doing her job and was preoccupied with setting up his individual photo shoot, as well as the group’s photo shoot.

There was a knock on the door and Trevor went to let in Mike M. "The girls have gone shopping. Susan is going to be returning to Orlando due to an illness in her family. And, Jacob, your physical therapist will be flying in from Boston to travel with us as long as she’s needed. She’ll get here tomorrow. You have a radio interview this afternoon at three and the workout room here at the hotel has been reserved for you to use anytime from noon until two. So, until then, you’re free to relax. If you go anywhere, let me or Mike know please," he told them, looking at them. "Any questions?" The guys shook their heads and Mike left.

"What? No lunch?" Erik asked.

"You know, guys, we never asked the Mikes if we can, like, bring dates to the awards show next week," Ashley said.

"Dates? Where are we gonna find dates out here?" Dan asked.

"I can call Shelli. I mean, we’re just friends now, but I’m sure that she’d come," Ashley said.

"Well, that’s great for you, Ash, but what about us?" Trevor asked. "I don’t have a girlfriend or even a friend who’s a girl close by, Dan or Erik don’t either, and Jacob won’t call Janie after just breaking up with her, so, well, so much for that idea," he said.

"What about Maria and Alex? And the physical therapist that’s coming?" Ashley asked. Erik smiled.

"Ash, we don’t even know how old this therapist is. She’s probably a grandmother or something," he said. Jacob looked up.

"God, I hope not," he said.

"Well, what about Maria and Alex?" Ashley asked again.

"Um, they’re only two girls and we need four," Trevor told him.

"Unless they each go with two of us," Dan suggested.

"That’s pathetic," Erik moaned, as he lay down on the bed at Jacob’s feet. He propped himself up on his elbows. "I wonder what kind of outfits they’ll buy. Alex is so into clothes, I’m sure she’ll look great."

"See! I knew it! Erik likes Alex, but won’t admit it!" Trevor yelled.

"I do not! I was just, you know, wondering what she’ll buy," he said, lying back down.

"Yeah, you like her. So, shut up," Trevor said. Erik stuck his tongue out at him.

Jacob had his eyes closed again. He wondered if Maria would consider going to the awards with him. Probably not. She still technically had a boyfriend. True, she had told Geoff to get out of her place, so they had obviously been living together, but she had never really officially broken up with him. ‘Why do I care?’ Jacob asked himself. Good question.

Maria stared out the window as the limo made its way to the mall. She had said ‘goodbye’ to Susan earlier and now she could concentrate on finding something to wear to these stupid awards that she would be attending. Alex was excited about it, though, and Maria didn’t want to bring her down, so she did her best to appear excited too.

The sound of her cell phone made her jump. "Hello?"

"How’s my number one reporter slash photographer doing?"

"Hi, Kyle. I’m doing okay. There have been some minor differences of opinion, but it’s going well," she told him. "How was your trip?"

"Stressful. But, I got the pictures that I needed and Time is happy, so that’s all that counts," he said.

"I’m glad that you called. Susan is returning to Orlando tonight. Her mother is sick and she has to leave, which I think is the best thing for her to do."

"That’s too bad about her mother. I’ll be sure to see her when she gets back."

"She should be arriving sometime tonight. The time zone thing screws me up, but you can call her and she’ll give you the details," Maria told him.

"Okay. That’s fine. Now, I have some business information that I need to tell you about. I’ve extended your deadline. There’s no way that you’ll have the article and pictures done in time for the August issue. I’m planning on pushing the O-Town feature to either October or November."

"Are you sure? What about September?" Maria asked.

"I don’t want you to rush, Maria. I want you to have enough time so that you’re not stressed and you hand in your best work," Kyle told her.

"Maybe you’re right. More time sounds like a good thing at this point. I have the individual shots almost done. I just have to take Jacob’s. Then, I have to do the group pictures. I drew a picture for the Table Of Contents page that’s almost done. I just need to buy some paints to finish it," she said. Kyle laughed.

"Wow. It sounds like you’re farther along than I thought."

"I don’t have any of the article written yet. I still have the group interview and I have to finish Jacob’s profile. The other guys are done. I also want to take more shots of Erik, too," Maria said.

"You know what you have to do. I’m not worried about your work ethic. If there’s anything that you need, call and let me know. I’m back at the studio."

"Sure. Thanks, Kyle. I’ll talk to you soon," Maria said and hung up.

"It sounds like you’ll be spending a lot of time with Jacob over the next few weeks," Alex said with a smile. Maria frowned.

"I’ll be working with him, Alex," she said. Alex just nodded. Jacob was so much like Maria, but Maria was too blind to see it. They acted like they didn’t get along, but Alex could see the attraction that was there between the two of them. "What about Erik? I can tell that you have more than a passing interest in him," Maria said. Alex shrugged.

"He’s cute, funny, good-looking, talented, and nice. There’s not much to like about him," she said with a smile. Maria laughed. She turned to gaze out the window again. They were getting too close to these guys. They had to be careful, but there was still over a month left on the tour.

The band was working out in the hotel’s gym. Jacob did as much as he could, which was mostly upper body stuff. He hoped that this therapist that was coming tomorrow was a miracle worker because he wanted to be able to move without pain again…and soon.

"Jake?" Erik asked as he sat down on a bench beside him.

"What?" Jacob asked, pulling his black bandanna off of his head and wiping the sweat from his brow with it.

"Do you think that I should ask Alex to the awards show?" he asked. Jacob looked at him.

"Why not? If you like her, just tell her," he said. Jacob missed Janie, but as time passed, it was getting easier. It helped that he hadn’t seen her much when they had been together, but knowing that they weren’t ‘together’ at all now still took some getting used to.

"I’m sorry," Erik said, seeing the expression on Jacob’s face. "I didn’t mean to upset you, you know."

"It’s okay," Jacob said. Erik patted him on the back and went to lift weights with Trevor and Dan. Ashley sat on the seat that Erik had just vacated.

"Do you wanna go write?" he asked Jacob. He had heard what Erik and Jacob had been talking about and wanted to do something to help his band mate. Jacob nodded.

"Yeah. You don’t have to move to write…which for me is a good thing right now," he said with a smile. Ashley laughed and they headed for the showers.

part2