When Izzy arrived back to Kevin's house with Nick in hand, there were still quite a few hours left before my party and Izzy already had a massive headache. Not that she was upset about having to comfort Nick before, (Hey that's what friends are for right?) but it had taken a lot out of her. Now she didn't just have our own problems to worry about, but Nick's as well.

She was pleased that once she arrived Nick actually sat down and began to talk to Kevin. She doubted that he was mentioning anything at all about Katie, but she'd thought that he would be so scared of blurting out his news to Kevin that he'd try to avoid him. She was glad that Nick wasn't expecting her to entertain him. She needed some time to think.

"I'm going out back to lay by the pool," she announced to the two of them before she ran upstairs to change into her bikini. Grabbing her shades, her cell phone and an ice cold bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade she headed out back and made herself comfortable on a lounge chair.

She was just about to drift off into sleep when her cell phone rang loudly jarring her thoughts. Who can that be? she wondered as she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hello?" an unrecognizable voice answered. "Is this Isabelle Richardson?"

"Yes, this is her. Who's this?" she asked with a frown.

"It's Lou Pearlman," the man identified himself.

"What do you want? How did you get this number?" Izzy asked, her voice starting to get angry.

"That's not important. I need to talk to you about Ashley."

"Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Lou reassured her. "At least there's nothing really wrong with him."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Izzy asked him, sounding a bit confused.

Lou sighed. "Look I don't want you taking this the wrong way, but Ashley's performance within the group lately hasn't been a hundred percent lately and I think that you have something to do with it."

"Excuse me? How would I have something to do with it?" she wondered out loud.

"You take up a lot of his time. When he's not with you, he's thinking about you, and if his mind is not one hundred percent on his work, he's of no use to me," he explained.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do about it?" Iz asked her stomach doing flip flops.

"He needs to decide between music and you. I've told him this but he doesn't want to make a decision, so I'm hoping that you'll make it for him."

"So you want me to break up with him because YOU think that I'm interfering with his career?" she laughed, not believing the audacity of this man.

"Something like that. If you love him that much you'd break up with him."

Izzy bit her lip and counted to ten, trying to control her anger before speaking. "You know Lou, you have to make me laugh. What makes you think that just because you call me up and tell me to break up with Ashley that I'm going to get all scared and go ahead and do it? I love Ashley and if you think that some lame threats from you is going to change that you are gravely mistaken!"

"Lame threats?" Lou laughed. "You think my threats are lame?"

"Yes, I do," she answered honestly.

"We'll see how lame they are when you don't do what I say. Remember I know who your cousin is. If you're smart, you're do what I say. Break up with him Isabelle, if you know what's good for you."

Click. The line went dead sending chills down Izzy's spine. She sat there for a moment, shocked at what Lou had just said to her. What should I do? she wondered. She loved Ashley, but she knew that his career meant everything to him. She understood damn well the kind of sacrifices pop stars needed to face, especially growing up alongside Kevin.

Lou's threats also kind of scared her. She was unsure whether or not he was just bluffing or he really could hurt her. She knew he definitely had the power to destroy Ashley's career, but could he honestly do anything to her? Did she really want to take her chances and find out?

After thinking over the situation multiple times she sighed, knowing what she must do. She needed to let Ashley go. It was the unselfish thing to do. If she didn't she would be holding him back from his dream and she knew how much singing meant to him. Now if only she knew how to go about it...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After I was done getting my tattoo (hurt like a bitch might I add, but in the end I really liked it) AJ asked me if I wanted to hang out a little bit more or if I wanted him to just drop me off at my apartment.

"I"m kinda tired," I admitted. "I think I'll just go back and rest up a little bit for tonight."

"All right," AJ agreed as he drove back to my place. "Get some rest and I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye," I told him as I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking back inside. I still had time left before the party and it was much to early to get ready just yet. Besides I had to wait for Iz to bring over her dress anyway.

I decided to lay on the couch and try to watch a movie or something to kill some time. I was just getting into some dumb movie on Lifetime (Hey! Sometimes those movies are actually pretty interesting.) when I heard the doorbell ring. It was way too early for Izzy to get here yet so I wondered who it could be.

When I opened the door I got the shock of a lifetime. Standing behind the other side was my sister Erika, the one who ran off with her boyfriend to California. I hadn't seen her in over two years and had maybe gotten a card from her every now and then, so I was VERY surprised to see her.

"Hi," she said a little shyly. "Uhh... happy birthday."

"Erika! Oh my God!" I cried reaching out to hug her. "Come in! What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," she replied as she stepped inside. "So how are you doing?"

"Uhh..." I paused for a minute a little unsure of how to answer that. I couldn't just turn around and tell her that basically within the past week my life had been turned completely upside down. I wouldn't even know where to start. "That's a long story too," I finally replied.

"Oh, really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Well, are you still dating that guy Nick? Am I finally going to meet him?"

I sighed, knowing that there was no getting around this. Erika knew all about Nick because every now and then I'd attempt to write her a little letter or something. I was shocked that she even read any of them because she'd made no effort to write back. "We aren't together anymore. We actually just broke up yesterday."

"Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"Might as well," I I told her, reminding myself that before Erika had run off, we had been close. Even though she was three years older than me, she'd been like one of my best friends growing up. I'd always confided in her, so why stop now? Next thing I knew I was spilling out the whole story about Nick and Katie.

"Oh my God. What an asshole," she sympathized after I updated her on the prior events. " You can do better than him Melissa."

"Yea," I said sadly with a sigh. "You'll still get to meet him though. He's coming to my party tonight."

"What nerve of him to show up to your birthday party after what he did to you. Anyway where is this party going to be?"

"My friend AJ's house," I answered. "All my friends kind of came together and planned it for me. You can come by the way. No one will mind."

"We'll see," she brushed the offer off. "So, did Mom and Dad call today to wish you a happy birthday?"

"Not yet. They are probably waiting until tonight to call when I'm out. Then they'll ask a billion questions about where I went and who I was with and what we did."

"I hear you," Erika sympathized. "Mom and Dad can be a little overbearing at times."

"A little? Ha!" I laughed. "More than a little! I feel bad for Steph. Now she's all alone with the both of them." Steph is our 13 year old sister and also the baby of the family. Yea, we're a family of three girls. Guess that explains why my parents are so protective.

"I"m sure Steph doesn't mind much Mel. She is their little princess," Erika reminded me. "She's always been spoiled rotten."

"True," I agreed. "Anyway let's change the subject and bring it back to the party tonight." Guess you probably figured out by now that talking about the parentals is not my favorite subject.

"Okay. Well, I bet you'll have a wonderful time tonight. I guess I'll just go and rent a movie or something," Erika said in a small voice.

"What do you mean rent a movie? Aren't you coming to my party? You're definitely invited. I'm the birthday girl so I can invite anybody I want to," I insisted.

"No, it's all right. I don't want to impose."

"Erika, you're my sister. Trust me, you are not imposing. Now what's the REAL reason you don't want to go?"

"I don't have anything to wear," she admitted, looking down at the floor.

"Is that it?" I said with a laugh. "I have plenty of outfits. You can borrow something of mine." Without a chance for her to protest I was dragging her into my bedroom.

"How long are you going to be here for anyway? Obviously not too long if you don't have any party clothes. You can stay in my guest bedroom, but if it's over a week I may have to charge you rent," I joked as I rifled through the clothes in my closet.

"Don't you have anything like a long skirt and something long sleeved?" she asked interrupting my teasing.

"Uhh, no..." I answered, giving her a weird look. "I mean I do, but packed away with my winter things. It's June and this is Orlando. You'll die in long sleeves. I figured being a Cali girl you'd know that."

It was then that I finally noticed that despite the fact that it had to be at least 90 degrees out, Erika was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. She must be dying, I thought. It just struck me as rather odd and for some reason bothered the hell out of me. "Aren't you hot?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she snapped at me.

"No, you're not Erika," I argued. "I know you and let's face it. we haven;t talked in almost two years and suddenly today out of the blue you show up on my doorstep because you were in the neighborhood? I don't think so. Besides, where's Josh? You haven't mentioned a word about him since you walked inside. Something happened with him, am I right?"

I knew that something that I had said struck a nerve because Erika's eyes slowly filled up with tears. "It's okay Erika. You can tell me what happened," I assured her as I gave her a consoling hug.

Erika just shook her head as she pulled away. "No I can't," she sobbed. "I don't think I can talk about it."

"If you don't tell me I can't help you," I told her.

Just then Erika did the strangest thing. She raised her arms and threw off her sweatshirt that she was wearing, leaving her only in her bra. I gasped as I saw the multiple bruises down her arms and back. "Did he...?" I tried to choke out, but I was too stunned and angered to continue my thoughts.

"Yes," she nodded as she put her sweatshirt back on.

"That bastard," I angrily swore. God, this guy made Nick seem like a prince! Yea, Nick had cheated on me but he NEVER raised his hand to me ever.

"Okay," I said in a calmer voice. "Go into the bathroom and get yourself calmed down. I think I have a pair of dressy khaki pants with a long sleeved button down shirt that's light and should fit you. Then we'll talk."

Erika just nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. After a few minutes of searching I found the outfit and knocked on the bathroom door to give it to Erika. Once she was finished we sat on the bed and I started to lure the whole story out of her.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked.

"For over two years," she answered honestly.

"Two years?!" I exclaimed. It was amazing to me how someone could put up with that kind of abuse for so long.

Erika just nodded, swallowing before she spoke again. "At first it wasn't bad. Just kinda playful stuff, but then it got worse. Our first really bad fight was when he wanted me to move to California with him. I knew that Mom and Dad wouldn't like it, plus I didn't want to be so far away from home. When I told him this, he basically said that if I didn't want to go with him he'd hurt all of you guys somehow. He got so angry and he started to hit me and it was really scary, like something out of a movie. I was all ready to break up with him, but the next day he came over with roses and apologized and promised that if we went to California together it would be heaven. He said that we'd get a beautiful house right on the beach and that maybe we'd even get married. I don't know why, but I trusted him. Running off with him seemed like the best thing I could in life, at that point."

"But it didn't stop once you guys moved to California?" I guessed.

"Nope. If anything it got worse." She paused for a moment trying to fight back tears. "He beat me up so bad once I had to be put in the hospital."

"In the hospital? whoa," I said in a stunned voice. This situation was a lot more serious than I'd actually realized. "If you were in a hospital though, wouldn't they know that Josh beat you up?"

Erika just shook her head. "Josh told them that I'd been attacked by some guy who tried to mug me. He forced me to corroborate his story. If I didn't he would've killed me." The look in her eyes was of pure terror and it amazed me how someone could have this sort of control over another person.

"So, how did you get away?" I asked.

"We had a really big fight last night and he really did a number on me. Afterwards when I came to-"

"You mean he knocked you unconscious?" I interrupted her, my voice screaming in disbelief.

"Yes," she replied like this was totally normal behavior. "Anyway he was out probably getting blasted at some bar like he usually does after a fight with me and I don't know... Something just hit me. It was like I finally saw the light. I realized oh my God, I can't live like this anymore. I got up and started to throw as much stuff as I could into a bag. I was too scared to take most of my things, in fear that he'd come home and find me. Then I hopped into my car and just drove towards the airport. I wasn't sure where I'd even go. I knew I couldn't go back to Mom and Dad. Then I remembered that you were living in Florida now, so without even thinking I booked a ticket on the very next flight to Orlando."

"Oh, Erika," I sighed, squeezing her into a tight hug. "You can stay here as long as you need to and there's no way you are staying home alone tonight."

"Do you really think that he might find me?" she asked fearfully. "I don't want him to hurt you as well. I don't want to put you in danger."

Wow... I hadn't even thought about that one. What if he found Erika here and broke into my apartment or something? Swallowing hard, I tried to sound brave. "I doubt he'll bother you Erika. Besides, I got plenty of guy friends who would protect us if anything were to happen. Like tonight at the party you'll be ten times after than at home. Some of them are actually pretty good looking too," I told her, trying to cheer her up.

"I think I'm ready to swear off guys for a while," she answered honestly.

"That's fine Erika. I didn't say you had to marry one of them. Oh my God! Look at the time! Izzy is going to be over to pick me up in half an hour and I still gotta do my hair and makeup!"

"Why is Izzy picking you up?" Erika asked.

"Well, she's bringing over my dress because I'm borrowing it from her and she doesn't want me driving because it's my 21st birthday. I'm getting drunk tonight!" I explained with a laugh.

"Oh, I see," Erika said, trying to fake a weak smile. Poor girl, I thought to myself. Having to go through something like that. For once, I needed to be the older sister and be there to comfort her.

For the next half hour I let the conversation flow onto relatively tame, lighthearted subjects as I started to get ready for the party. I scrunched my hair so that it looked curly and kept the makeup pretty subtle, but still enough to look sexy. Just as I finished I heard the doorbell ring. "That must be Izzy," I announced as I ran to the door and opened it.

"Hey! Happy birthday!" she squealed when she saw me as she threw her arms around me to hug me.

"Thanks Iz," I said with a grin. "Uhh... before you come inside there's kind of something I should warn you about."

"What? You already got a new man and he's waiting inside?" she joked.

"Ha! I wish!" I said rolling my eyes but then getting serious. "Actually it's really serious. My older sister, Erika just dropped by to visit and she's going to be staying with me for a while. It's a long story, but her boyfriend is just a really huge dick and she's been through a lot of shit because of him. So, I just thought I'd tell you so you don't think there's like a stranger in my house or anything."

"Oh, I get you," Izzy nodded her head in understanding. "She's coming to the party tonight right?"

"Yea, it took a little bit of persuasion, but she's going. Come inside and you can meet her," I invited, opening up the door for her. "She's in my room."

"All right," Izzy agreed as she headed towards the room. "Here's the dress by the way,' she said as she handed me the dress I was supposed to wear that night, which had been slung over her shoulder in a garment bag.

"Thanks a lot," I told her as I opened the door and took a deep breath before making my introduction. "Erika, this is my best friend Isabelle Richardson. Izzy this is my older sister Erika."

"Pleased to meet you," Izzy greeted Erika with a smile.

"Ditto," Erika replied.

"I'm just going to run into the bathroom and put this dress on," I announced as I headed towards the bathroom, praying that they'd get along all right by themselves. I didn't think I'd have to worry much though. Izzy is so bubbly and friendly she can get anyone to feel relaxed around her.

Damn... I thought as I slipped Izzy's dress on over my head. One thing was for sure, Izzy certainly had a flair of choosing outfits that would look great on anyone. The light blue color surprisingly looked pretty good on me and the dress was clingy and tight in all the right places. I quickly took a look in the mirror and for once I actually had one of those 'damn I look good' moments. Ha! I thought. One glance from Nick and he'll be regretting that he ever met Katie!

I strode out of the bathroom confidently, interrupting whatever conversation Izzy and Erika were having at that moment. "Wow!" Iz exclaimed as she looked me over. "That dress actually looks better on you than it does on me."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really! I think you're going to give Nick a heart attack when he sees you later," she assured me.

"Good," I snootily replied. "He deserves it."

"You look good sis," Erika admitted quietly.

"Thanks. Anyway are we ready to leave yet? I'm ready to party!"

"Just a second Mel," Iz interrupted grabbing my arm. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Okay..." I unsurely replied.

Iz sighed before she began. Oh oh, bad sign right there. "Look, I know I was REALLY pissed at Nick before for cheating on you, but I think that maybe tonight you two should sit down someplace quiet and try to talk things out."

"Talk things out? What's there to talk out? He broke up with me! I'm through with begging him to reconsider. If he-"

"All I'm saying is that maybe things aren't as cut and dry as you think," she tentatively interrupted. "At least THINK about it. All right?"

Hmm... Izzy was the second person now to tell me that there might be more to the story than what originally appeared. Didn't AJ just tell me something similar this morning? Did they all know something I didn't? "I'll think about it," I promised her. "But if I'm having too much fun just partying I'm not stressing over it."

"Fine," Izzy agreed. "Now let's go party!"

"Sounds great to me! You ready Erika?" I asked.

"Uh huh," she nodded as she followed us down the hallway. Izzy led us outside followed by Erika and I came out last because I wanted to make sure I locked the door. You know just in case Erika's psycho ex-boyfriend decided to pay us a visit.

All of a sudden I heard, Go Shorty... It's your birthday... We gonna party like it's your birthday...We gonna sip Barcardi like it's your birthday... And no we don't give a fuck if that's your birthday. I looked up to see the music blasting from this huge limousine parked outside my house with literally all my friends packed into it. "Surprise!" they all yelled out in unison.

"Oh my God, what is this?" I asked laughing to myself because I could not believe they'd did this. Everybody was there. Ashley and all his friends from his group, Melanie and Kevin, Chantal, AJ, Howie, Brian, and Nick.

"Well, somebody ruined the surprise party idea," AJ answered, glaring over at Nick. "So, we had to come up with some other way to surprise you."

"Wow... I can't believe you guys rented a limo just to drive me to AJ's," I said in disbelief.

"Well, don't just stand there gawking!" Izzy ordered. "Get in and help yourself to a drink!"

I had no choice but to listen to her as I slid inside the limo prepared for a very interesting night.