"You do the crime, you got to do the time!" Nick laughed maniacally as he punched the exact button time and again, sending loud thudding and explosions throughout the suite. "Take that, sucker!"
"Oh, you're so gonna pay for that." AJ threatened.
"Talk is cheap dawg, I say bring it."
"Oh I'll bring it!" AJ grumbled.
Howie sauntered into the living room and shook his head at the sight of the two youngest Backstreet Boys. "Why am I not amused at all."
Nobody seemed to notice or here his remarks. He sighed. "Like I said, why am I not amused at all."
"Talking to yourself D?" AJ said all of a sudden, not even a glance thrown his way. "Forgot your medication, again?"
Howie sat on the single couch adjacent to them and reached out for the newspaper splayed carelessly on the table. "No, it's not working, I need to go to rehab this time."
"Oh BURN!" Nick laughed, as he stretched his free hand and managed to slapp AJ's head with it.
"Ah, I'm loved." AJ sobbed. "It's nice to know."
"Seen the cousins?" Howie asked.
"Kevin's gone to bed," Nick replied. "don't judge him, he's just old."
"Brian?"
"In his room, changing." Nick replied. "And sure no problem, always glad to be behind the information counter."
"How can you talk and still kick my ass at this stupid game?" AJ exclaimed.
"Because you're the stupidest robber I've ever played police and thieves with."
The sudden ringing of Nick's cell phone lead to him putting a pause to the game. "Hold a sec."
"Damn Nick, what kind of a ringtone is that?" AJ asked. "Horrible."
"That's my alarm going off you moron."
"At 2 in the morning? What the hell for?" AJ asked.
Howie smiled behind the newspaper he was reading. Here they were, across the country, at 2 in the morning and it felt like it was already 10 and they were having breakfast. Their last concert had ended at ten thirty, followed by interviews and a final photo shoot, by the time they had gotten back to the hotel and settled down, it was already past midnight.
They had a little private celebration earlier on, to commemorate the end of the Black and Blue 2nd Leg Tour. It had been nice. They passed around cuban cigars even though AJ was the only smoker and a glass of champagne each just to get back at him.
Nick got up from his seat and reached out for his backpack that he had stationed next to the sofa, together with the rest of his luggage so that he wouldn't forget anything when they left the next day.
He took out two unlabeled bottles and popped out a few tablets that were green and yellow.
"What are those for?" AJ asked.
"Antibiotics...want one?"
AJ cringed. "Hell no."
"Damn AJ, they won't bite."
"Did Dr. Matthew give those to you?" Howie asked, referring to their tour doctor.
Nick nodded. Here comes the string of lies. "Yeah. You know me, the walking talking disease collector."
"Charming Nick."
Nick smiled as he swallowed the pills. "Where have you been all this time Bone?"
-
Brian checked, for the last time, all the luggage that he had just packed. Everything seemed to be in order, now it would only be the task of dragging them all out to the living room, along with the rest of the stuff the other guys had packed. He couldn't wait to get back home, he missed his wife.
It was the first time that all five of them had decided not to bring their better halves [except for Nick who refused to leave without his latest love, Xbox]. They wanted the 2nd leg of the tour to be about them and of course, to dedicate their undivided attention to AJ. And as much as he had missed Leighanne, it was refreshing to have just the five of them, like the old times.
"Okay, everything set and ready to go. Come on Rok, you have a score to settle with Nick. I can't believe you lost to him over that stupid game! AJ better not be losing." Brian looked around his room one last time and smirked. "You're talking to your damn self, what next?"
He decided to carry the lightest bag first and would come back later for the rest of the luggage when his cell phone rang. The ID showed it was Leighanne. He wondered what time it was back there.
The smile on his face as he answered the phone was quickly erased when he heard her voice.
"Baby what's wrong?"
"I have to tell you something."
"Okay, just relax, I'm listening. Are you crying?"
"I decided to clean up the garage today."
Brian didn't say anything, knowing that she had more to say. He wished he could convince her to take a breather or two, she was beginning to make him nervous.
"And I used the ladder I found there to reach the high places..."
"That's dangerous honey, you know that."
"I know Brian, I know...but I was sure to be careful about it..."
"Were you hurt Leigh? Is that why you're calling?"
She hesitated, her breathing was laboured and Brian's concern grew. He pictured her in the hospital, lying in a hospital bed, about to go into surgery for a broken leg.
"I...I fell, but that's not important."
"You wouldn't call me just because you got a scratch Leighanne." Brian pointed out. "Tell me, what's wrong."
"I got a few scratches, that's it, and a little minor discomfort." Leighanne replied. "But when I was in the shower just now, I was...I..."
Brian was sitting at the edge of his bed by now, and even before his wife had told him what was wrong, he already found himself in the brink of tears. He didn't understand why but he felt overwhelmed with the sense of loss.
"Baby, relax, you know you can tell me anything."
She took a deep breathe, paused and then said, "I was bleeding," another pause. "from you know where."
It felt like forever just to comprehend what she had just said, and when he finally understood her, the panic alarm in him went off.
"Did you go to the hospital? Are you all right?"
"No, I don't feel any pain or stuff like that and I'm afraid to go there on my own."
"Baby, you have to go now, God knows what's going on in your body, you might have internal bleeding!"
"Brian, don't start panicking on me now," Leighanne said. "I can't do this alone!"
Brian got up from the bed and started pacing the room. His free hand scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Leigh, listen to me, you can't wait for me to come back home okay? You have to go now. I'll call mom for you, wait for her, I don't want you driving on your own okay?"
"Okay, I'll wait. I'm sorry I called you up this late, I'm not even hurt, it's silly."
"It's not silly Leighanne, you bled." Brian cried. "Look, I'll just call mom from the hotel phone so we don't have to hang up."
"No, no...I need to get dressed anyway, I promise I'll call if something happens okay baby?"
"You sure?"
"I'm sure. I'm just a little scared."
"You have the right to." Brian replied. "I love you."
"Love you too, bye honey."
-
Nick remembered that incident like it was yesterday. How could he not remember? That was their last performance ever. Other than the fact that the pills he had to take were by then a constant reminder of what was going on in him, he thought everything else was perfect. AJ was beginning to act like a responsible big brother, something that used to be Brian's role. It wasn't that Brian had been irresponsible, now it seemed that Brian was like the big brother who had gone off to build a family of his own and whom he rarely saw often but still loved all the same.
As they moved along and grew up, roles changed and everyone seemed like they had been promoted. Well, maybe except for him. Unless they decided to get a sixth member who is younger than him, Nick would always be the baby of the Backstreet Boys.
I know you want to have fun and experiment with stuff at your age, but don't go to the extreme okay bud? Look at me, it's not worth it, AJ had told him right after they touched down in Florida and drove away in their separate cars.
He remembered seeing Brian looking restless and constantly on the phone throughout the flight but he never did question the man. The night before, he had anxiously waited for Brian to come over and play a game on the Xbox with him. They had planned for it while getting ready in the dressing room before the concert. It was a promise they both made. But right after he appeared from his room with all his luggage that night, Brian had apologized and told him he had to take a rain check for the game. Nick never asked for a reason and Brian never offered any. It shouldn't have hurt him, it was only over a silly game. But he did however, feel disappointed.
Now that he saw and listened to the conversation between Brian and Leighanne that night, it seemed to fall into place and the broken promise didn't seem important at all.
"Brian, what happened?"
"It was serious right? It must've been, to have you keep it from us." AJ asked.
Brian shrugged, it reminded Nick of a school boy who missed his mommy on his first day of school. Not even a word uttered and the tears were already threatening to pave its way down his cheek. His eyes were staring off into space and Nick knew that he was trying to re-enter the battle ground of his memories.
"I came back home and her family was there but nobody told me anything." Brian started. "So I went to look for her." In front of him, the memories that he had been pushing to the back of his mind now resurfaced. He saw himself climbing up those baby steps into their room, where his wife was lying on the bed in a fetal position, her back facing him. She was crying, her body trembled with the constant sobs that escaped her lips.
He saw himself climbing into the bed and slipped his arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her cheek. He heard her soft 'hey you' but even that couldn't stop him from frowning. What's wrong baby, tell me please?
"She had a miscarriage." Brian blurted out, along with it, fresh tears that seemed endless. "She didn't even know she was pregnant, she told me she didn't even feel different. The doctor said she was into her 2nd month."
"Brian, I'm so sorry." Nick said, almost in a whisper. He managed a smile to show Nick that he appreciated it.
"Is that why you were crying so hard when I told you about Lenny running away?" Kevin asked. "You lost your baby too."
Brian nodded. "Nothing like the first time, huh Kev?"
"Yeah."
"I can't believe you can kept it to yourself all the time we were in Japan." Howie said. "That must have been hard."
"You wished you hadn't let her be by herself right?" AJ asked. "I got that feeling when Vin let us feel all of our emotions."
"I blamed myself, yes. Before that, she went to every tour we had been to, but we decided that we wouldn't bring anybody on the 2nd leg. But that's not the important part guys...when we first got married, her personal doctor advised us to have a family early being that she's already in her 30s. If we decided to have a child later, it might bring complications. When the miscarriage happened, she just risked herself. We might not have gotten a second chance." "But you did." Nick smiled. "You have Baylee."
The thought of his son alone brought back waves of emotions that were tumbling inside him. How far had they gone to take this weird trip? How far was he from his family? Will he ever get to see them again?
"Nick, you okay bud?"
Brian's head shot right up immediately when he heard AJ's concerned voice. "What's wrong?"
"The boy was swaying man." AJ said. "You wanna sit down Nick?"
Nick shook his head. "I'm fine, just a little head rush I guess. We must be far from home huh Vin?"
"Is this likely to happen?" Kevin asked.
Vinhorian gave a slight nod. "We're getting further and you're feeling the effect of the accident Nick. You will all feel a little bit under the weather as we move along, but that's expected, yes."
"Does it make any difference if we feel it sooner than the others? Cause I'm still feeling fine right now but Nick obviously isn't." Howie asked.
"I'm afraid there is." Vinhorian replied in his usual calming manner. "Depending on how the accident affected you right now, any physical pain you might experience here will be an indication of how you're fairing back on earth."
Nick frowned, he licked his lower lip that was getting too dry for his liking. "You trying to say I'm not in a good shape back on earth right now Vin?"
"No offence Nick, but you were already in bad shape before the accident happened." Vinhorian reminded him. "And it's about time you let them know."
