A NEW DAY by Michelle T © 2000 CHAPTER SIX "Hi Mom, how are you?" Kim asked with a concerned expression while climbing onto the bed and snuggling up to her mother. "I'm okay, Sweetie. Hi Nick, I'm Michelle, and thanks for befriending my kid here!" she said before bending her head to kiss Kimberly's head. "Hey Michelle. Sorry to hear about your accident. It must have been pretty scary, huh?" he asked while sitting down at the foot of the bed. Michelle nodded and held up her right hand. "Yeah, I'll admit I was very scared for a while, especially when no one seemed to be traveling on the roads. I'm really lucky your friends were driving by and were kind enough to stop," she answered while looking at her hand, "Basically this is the worst of it, I think its broken and it hurts like hell, but not as much as earlier." As she said that Kim leaned over and lightly kissed her mother's hand. "Mom, Nick said we could go find the arcade? Okay?" Michelle looked at Nick to gauge whether or not he really wanted to go. He nodded his head at her and said he'd love to hang around with Kim. Michelle smiled her thanks at him and they left. Michelle gingerly turned onto her left side and curled into a ball and closed her eyes. She lay that way for about ten minutes just thinking how lucky she was to have met such nice people. Brian and Howie came to the door and thought she was sleeping. "She's sleeping," said Brian softly. Michelle heard them and opened her eyes, "No, I'm not. Come in please." Michelle looked back at them and smiled. Brian went and sat on the left side of the bed and Howie sat behind her on the right. Michelle tried to sit up a little straighter and groaned. "Sorry about that, I'm kind of achy," she said. Howie leaned towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders and helped her sit up. "Thanks, Howie. I'm sorry to intrude in your lives this way." Brian patted her knee and said, "Hey, you're not intruding. We're happy to have you here. And Kim too. She seems like a great kid." Michelle nodded and smiled back at them. "Why are you guys down here on this particular weekend. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving after all? Howie smiled and responded, "Well we just finished a four month tour last weekend and we felt the need to unwind for a few days." "But, aren't you guys sick of being together after all that time? And what about your families and friends," she asked looking at him. Brian shifted on the bed and made himself more comfortable while responding, "You'd think we would hate each other by now, huh? But, no, we're so busy while on tour, that we hardly get to just chill out and enjoy each other's company, without a hundred other people all over us." "Yeah," said Howie, "And our families are pretty used to us being gone at inopportune times, so one more holiday didn't really phase them." "Well, what about your girlfriends? They must be missing you?" Michelle looked at Brian. His eyes suddenly darkened and he hung his head down a bit. Michelle knew she said something wrong and grabbed Brian's hand that was on her knee. "Brian, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad." He looked up at her and stared into her eyes, "It's okay, it's nothing. Things are a little strained right now, that's all." Michelle continued to watch his sad face for several moments, "Brian, call her!! Don't sit here and dwell on whatever it was you fought about. Just call her and talk!" Brian looked at Michelle with surprise. "Hey, how'd you know?" he asked. Michelle chuckled lightly, "Brian, it's written all over your face. You smile a lot but it's not a real smile, because you're eyes aren't smiling too!" Brian squeezed her hand and said, "Well, maybe I will, once the phones are back on." He thought for a moment and said, "No, you're right. I'm definitely calling her as soon as I can. I love her and I'm going to make sure I tell her!" He smiled, really smiled, this time and bent over and gave Michelle a hug. "Thanks, Michelle, I think we're going to end up being the lucky ones having you around. Now, I'm going to find Nicky and Kimmie and drive them crazy!" He jumped off the bed and ran from the room with a wave. ***************** Kevin was downstairs in the lobby talking to the night manager about Michelle. As he was explaining his need for someone with medical training, a tall blond man at the end of the counter looked over and walked towards Kevin. "Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I overheard you talking and, well, I'm Dr. Carey Ferguson. Anything I can do to help?" Kevin smiled broadly and shook the man's hand, "Man, am I glad to meet you. I'm Kevin Richardson and I'd really appreciate your help." Carey smiled and indicated to the woman standing behind him, "Kevin, this is my bride, Karolyn, we're on our honeymoon, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I deserted her for a short while." He looked at Karolyn lovingly and she nodded her head. "Hi, nice to meet you. I don't mind you stealing my man for a while, but not all night, ok?" she replied smiling at Carey and Kevin. "That's excellent, thank you both so much." Kevin said happily. "Ok, let's go get my bag and go see your friend." Carey said and led them over to the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, Brian and Nick came bounding out. Nick was giving Kim a piggyback ride and all three were laughing hysterically. They stopped short when they saw Kevin and all grinned sheepishly. "Hey guys, having fun yet?" Kevin asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "Kev, hey man, how's it going? We're looking for some food!" Nick said while rubbing his tummy. Kimberly giggled and started messing up Nick's hair with her hands. Nick screeched and started tickling the back of her knees, which made her scream. Kevin threw up his hands and laughed. "Guys, this is Dr. Carey Ferguson and his wife, Karolyn. We're going to get his medical bag and then he's going to check Michelle out. So, try to keep it down and stay out of sight for a while, ok?" Brian looked amazed at his cousin. "Leave it up to you Kev to actually find a doctor. Man, you are good!" he said. They said their good byes and headed in different directions. ******************* Michelle and Howie were laughing quietly at the thought of Brian. Then Michelle looked at Howie and asked, "What about you, Howie? Anyone special missing you right now?" Howie smiled and said, "Nah, no one serious. I'm having too much fun living the life I've got and I haven't found that special someone." Michelle smiled at him and concentrated on his face for a few minutes. Finally, Howie started to blush and asked, "What is it? My hair messy or something?" Michelle laughed and said, "No, of course not, I was just picturing you in that video, A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys, and remembering how incredible you are when you perform. Always smiling and winking and looking so incredibly adorable!" Michelle blushed a little too. "Thanks Michelle, it's nice to hear you say that," and with that he gave her an exaggerated wink. She laughed and pulled him in for a hug. "I think you are great, Howie!!" "I think you are great, Michelle!" he said, "What about you and Kim? Why are you here with no family too?" Michelle looked at him, but not sadly. "Well, we've basically been on the road for a month now and this is kind of our last stop before heading up to Orlando to settle down. I have a sister there and I want to see her and get back in her good graces, and I really miss her. She's my only real family left." Howie concentrated on her face as she spoke. He could see a lot of emotions passing through her eyes. "Where did you start out from?" he asked. "Boston area. Actually, Kim and I saw you guys in concert in September at the Fleet Center. It was really great! After that, I thought long and hard about what direction to take in life and I decided a move was the best thing. So within a couple weeks, we packed up, stored most of our stuff and headed out," she smiled for a second and then said, "The hardest part was overcoming my fear of driving highways. But, I told myself to stop being a chicken shit and just go. And we did!" she looked at Howie and noticed him smiling. "What?" she asked. "Nothing, well, actually, I'm thinking how incredibly gutsy you are. It must have been difficult to overcome a fear like that. Good for you!" She smiled at his praise and they both settled into a comfortable silence. "Howie, in my bags somewhere is my cell phone, the battery is dead, but I have a charger there too. Will you find them and charge up the phone, so Brian can call his love?" she asked him quietly. He smiled broadly at her and kissed her cheek. "Absolutely, doll!"