Part 3
Sarah had known this was going to be a media nightmare but she hadn’t realized it was going to start so soon. As she and Tommy made their way down the hall, the throng of press spotted Sarah and they surged toward her. It looked like Billy’s entire security crew was there holding back the ‘tidal wave’ and she was grateful.
In the waiting room, Sarah found Kevin and AJ waiting for her as they’d promised but Becca and Nick were with them now too. Tired, she sank into the couch and leaned back covering her eyes.
"Are you okay?" asked Becca.
"No, not really."
"Did he come around?" asked AJ.
Sarah shook her head ‘no’ and tears began to trickle down. "He looked so fragile," she said in a small, scared voice. "So helpless."
Becca put her arm around Sarah pulling her to her, "He’ll be okay."
As Sarah leaned on her best friend, members of management joined them. Kevin sat on the other side of Sarah and took her hand.
"Baby, I know you’re scared and tired, but management is here to discuss how to handle this. Now is probably the best time while we’re all still clear."
"I already know how I want to handle this, Kevin, and if management doesn’t like it, they can kiss my ass," challenged Sarah as she leveled a look at Steve.
"We’re not here to tell you what to say, Sarah," responded Steve. "We’re here to help you. We’ll make any statement you want us to make."
"I’m sorry for snapping, Steve."
"It’s okay. You’re under a lot of stress. What do you want to
do?"
"First, I don’t want ANYTHING said until I can talk to Howie’s parents and the rest of his family…including our children."
"That’s understandable. It’ll be the standard ‘No Comment’ until you give the word."
"I’ll go out in a few minutes and make a statement to get them out of here for the time being. If ANYTHING is printed before the official press conference, I want the lawyers to sue. Tomorrow…this afternoon…I’ll go to MTV and make the announcement."
"We’ll set it up. Anything else?"
"Yeah. After I get back, I want a press conference here with the doctor present to explain Howie’s condition and the treatment and answer any questions."
"That’s fine. Is that all?"
"I guess so. What about the tour?"
"It’s going to be postponed until Howie is ready to go back out. We’ll
let the guys go with you to MTV to handle that."
"Thank you," answered Sarah as she relaxed. She’d been ready to go head to head with Steve but he’d surprised her.
Becca asked gently, "What do you need?"
"For Howie to walk through that door and tell me it was all a sick
joke."
"We all want that," said Kevin. "Let’s go make a statement
so these guys will leave."
"You going with me?"
"Like I’m gonna let you out of my sight with Howie laid up," grinned Kevin.
Sarah had to laugh. "I told him that earlier. Thank you, ‘Boo’…thank all of you."
Together, Kevin and Sarah headed out to face the press. As soon as the door opened, cameras began to flash and questions were shouted.
Kevin held up his hand to quiet them. "If you’ll be patient, Sarah will make a statement."
Sarah stood up straight and in a strong, confident voice, she said, "Howie did collapse on stage tonight near the end of the show. He was brought here and is being treated by the doctors here."
"What’s wrong with him?"
"I don’t want to go into that tonight. I haven’t had a chance to call our family or talk to our children. I’d appreciate it if you’d hold off on printing or reporting anything."
An understanding was heard through the crowd of reporters and another asked,
"When will we get some answers?"
"Later today. The management for the Backstreet Boys will be arranging a press conference with Howie’s doctor who will explain everything and answer your questions."
"What about the rest of the tour?"
Kevin spoke up, "That will be announced as well. It’s going to depend on Howie and what his doctor says."
"We all appreciate your concern and wanting to know, but it’s going to be a long night. If you’ll give your name to Billy, you’ll be contacted about the press conference."
"Have you seen Howie?"
Sarah choked back her tears, "I came here with him."
"What kind of spirits was he in?"
"Howie hasn’t regained consciousness. The only reason I’m out here now
is because I wanted to talk to you. I know there are a lot of fans who want to
know how he is."
Kevin knew Sarah wasn’t going to make it much longer so he said, "That’s all for now. Thank you for your understanding."
Kevin didn’t give the reporters a chance to ask Sarah any more questions as he led her towards the waiting room. Billy and the others quickly moved into place to prevent them from getting any more pictures or following them into the room.
