Standing there staring at her, he felt as if he was having an out-of-body experience. This wasn’t anything like how he imagined it would be. There weren’t any friends or family present. There weren’t any flowers, harps or violins…not even a single ounce of emotion. There wasn’t anything.
The room was void of any color, almost sterile like with white walls and white carpeting. It almost felt like some type of dream, only he couldn’t wake up. Perhaps a nightmare described it better.
Yes, a nightmare caused by none other than Lou Pearlman himself. Lou haunted his dreams often, turning them into horrid nightmares. Yet, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t put all the blame on Lou this time. This time, he had to take partial responsibility for this nightmare. After all, he agreed to the deal.
A deal he desperately wanted to get out of, but a deal nonetheless. A deal he made early in their careers, not thinking about the impact it would have on him personally. He did it to protect them, one of them in particular, and now he would have to pay.
He glanced at Lou standing there and had the sudden urge just to take off and run. Run away from this deal and the man he hated with all his heart. But, he couldn’t and he knew it. He agreed to the deal and now it was time to close it.
His emotion was coming to the surface and he had to close his eyes so that he could get hold of them. He had to remain calm or Lou would know what kind of impact this was having on him. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen. No matter what, he couldn’t allow himself to succumb to Lou. He had to be strong; strong for the guys and for himself.
Walking towards the judge, Kevin Richardson was all too aware of what he had done on that fateful night eight years ago.
He sealed his fate...
