A NEW DAY by Michelle T © 2000 CHAPTER TWENTY SIX Six Months Later Michelle woke up Saturday morning with a huge smile. One more day and he'll be back! The guys had been on a short promotional tour for their new album for the last week and a half. Michelle and Kimberly had settled down happily into a fabulous townhouse Howie had found for them. Kimberly was back in a real school, not having suffered from her two month absence. Howie had charmed Michelle into working for his real estate development company on a part time basis. Her past experience as a paralegal in the real estate field proved that she was totally suited for the job and she became a great asset to Howie and his partner. She chose to work only part-time to keep the stress level down and to spend more time with Kimberly, as well as the guys. Kevin and Michelle kept their promises to each other and grew closer in their relationship, keeping each other in control and spending hours and hours discussing their fears, thoughts and lives. Kevin introduced her to his therapist and she took to him immediately, seeing him every couple of weeks at Kevin's insistence. Kevin and Michelle even went to sessions together several times and found it beneficial and comforting. They had only gone beyond a platonic relationship once more after Key West, well actually six times over a twenty-four hour period. Kevin had broken down over Christmas and Michelle had finally found him, with Howie's help, all alone on December 26th in a small inn near Fort Walton Beach. She comforted him. Howie had stayed with Kimberly and then graciously welcomed them home with open arms. Telly was inhibited by their closeness at first, sensing their strong affection with each other, but over time she and Michelle warmed to each other and became great friends. Brian was still totally in love with Lauren, and had proposed to her on April first. Lauren took to Kimberly immediately and took her under her wing as a little sister. The three of them were often found planning some outrageous high jinks on everyone. Nick was totally amazing and spent most of his free time at their house, entertaining both Kimberly and Michelle. He reminded Michelle of her younger brother and she couldn't have loved him more. He was still Kim's favorite and he took her everywhere he could think of, especially the ocean. AJ and Michelle still flirted outrageously with each other, but had developed a deep friendship. They spent a lot of time together and AJ helped Michelle renew her relationship with her sister Patti. Things were still a little strained between the women at times, but as every week past they felt their sisterhood returning to the way it used to be, mainly due to AJ. AJ was totally infatuated with Patti. She was young, intelligent and totally independent after having been on her own for five years. She played hard to get for a couple of months and then finally gave in to his charm and they've been inseparable ever since. Howie………Howie was perfect. He and Michelle had mutually agreed to slow things down after their dinner in Key West and taken each day as it came. They spent every free minute together falling more deeply in love and finally fell back into bed with each other in mid-January. Neither had ever been more happy in their entire lives. This last separation due to his schedule had been the hardest and he had asked her last night to move in with him, which she readily agreed to with tears of happiness pouring down her face. Michelle climbed out of bed and began her day by putting every BackStreet Boy cd they had in the player and blaring it outrageously. Kimberly awoke with the same giddy feeling and soon joined her mother in dancing all over the house as they dressed and cleaned. The day proved to be a long one with much anticipation. They met Telly, Patti and Lauren for lunch at the House of Blues and between the five of them, the noise level in the restaurant was unbelievable. Numerous fans came over to them and begged for autographs and promises to let their favorite boy know they loved them. The rest of the day was spent shopping, with everyone buying new clothes and silly gifts for their men. Kimberly was hilarious in her imitations of her mother and "aunts" being so extremely excited and goofy. They finally split up at six that evening with promises to meet in the morning at Kevin's house to plan a great welcome home party. The telephone rang at 8:30 that night. Michelle grabbed it excitedly, expecting Howie's call. Her happy expression immediately slipped away as she listened to AJ. She ended the call quickly and drove as fast as she could to Telly's house to drop off Kimberly, giving her only the briefest excuse that she had to take care of something. ******************* Michelle used Howie's key to unlock the back door. The whole house was in darkness, but she could hear music playing softly from somewhere within. She closed the door behind her and placed her coat and bag on the kitchen counter. "AJ? Where are you?" she felt fear crawling up her back. She walked through the darkened kitchen to the hall. She stood and listened carefully, trying to determine where the music was coming from. She ventured a few feet to the left and felt along the wall for a light switch. Finding none, she continued down the hall, the music becoming slightly louder. "AJ? I'm here. What's wrong, Sexy?" she called out into the dark. She continued down the hall and noticed a slice of light coming from beneath the door leading to the studio. She quickened her step. Her heart was beating wildly, knowing something was wrong. She quietly opened the door and stepped in. AJ was at the piano, his head resting against the top as his hands hovered above the keys. A half empty bottle of booze by his side. She stood momentarily frozen, watching his shoulders heaving up and down, assuming he was crying. He had the cd they had all made during the small private engagement party they had for Brian and Lauren playing in the background. She could hear her own voice singing "I Need You Tonight" with Howie She rushed over to him and wound her arms around his neck. "Oh Baby, what's wrong? What's happened?" she clung tightly to him absorbing his movements. His head shot up and he grabbed her right hand pulling her to his side. She stumbled and landed on the bench next to him. The grip on her hand scared her. Her eyes flew to his face. His eyes were full of anger, rage, hate.