Gwen arrived at her hotel in New York City after her very successful meeting. She had one more meeting the next day but she was sure she got the job. She walked up to the front desk and checked in under her alias name. She was waiting for her forms to come back for her to sign when her attention drifted to the TV behind the desk. A reporter came on with the news.
"In recent news, Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean canceled his first Johnny No-Name charity tour show in Orlando Florida tonight due to Mr. McLean not feeling well."
Gwen gasped aloud in the lobby. "Oh my God!" she screamed. Thankfully, it was too late for fans to be in the lobby and the clerk didn't recognize her. Gwen scribbled her name on the forms and snatched her key. She ran to the elevator and waited impatiently as she rode up to her floor. Once she got there, she ran down the hall to her room and stopped before the door. She swiped her key and flew into the room. Something inside of her told her something worse was wrong with him other than 'not feeling well' because she knew him too well to know he'd cancel a tour for a sore throat. She ran to the phone and franticly dialed his cell number. He didn't answer. She called their home number and the machine picked up. She left a message and hung up. Her heart pounded through her chest as she prayed he was okay. She practically dialed everyone's cell phone and they all had them turned off. Finally, she got a hold of Leighanne on her cell phone.
"Gwen!" Leighanne shouted, relieved.
"Leigh, I've been trying to get a hold of EVERYONE for the past 20 minutes. What's going on?!" Gwen demanded.
"Sweetie, don't worry, nothing is wrong," Leighanne told her. Gwen could hear a muffled voice in the background and someone grabbed the phone.
"Gwen?" Brian asked.
"Brian! What's going on?" Gwen asked again.
"Nothing sweetie. AJ's fine," he said.
"Why did he cancel the show? Where is he? Why didn't he call me?"
"Whoa, calm down. AJ's sleeping right now. Nick just dropped him off at your house. He just got sick, that's all," Brian winced without Gwen knowing. He hated lying but he promised AJ and AJ was a brother to him. And it wasn't all a lie...AJ was sick.
"Sick like the flu? AJ never let something get in the way of a show. Especially a JNN show," Gwen said.
"He got the stomach flu and started throwing up. But he'll be fine tomorrow," Brian said. AJ did throw up so he wasn't completely lying.
"I'm still kinda puzzled why he didn't call me," Gwen said.
"He was pretty out of it Gwennie, Nick had to practically carry him out of the arena," Brian told her.
"Okay. Thanks for everything Brian. I'll see ya soon," Gwen said as they hung up. Gwen laid back on her huge bed and starred at the ceiling. Something wasn't right. AJ never got sick and he was fine yesterday morning. She tried their house again but he didn't pick up. Gwen knew he was sleeping and decided to leave him alone. She changed into a pair of AJ's boxers and a tank top and spread out some of her drawings on her bed to go over for the meeting tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick got home late that night after taking drunk AJ home. Ashleigh got a ride home with Illianna earlier from the concert. Nick lugged his tired body up the stairs and into their room. Their new puppy, Jack, was sound asleep in the bed of pillows Ashleigh made for him next to their bed. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in bed next to her. Since he was on his break, he promised Ashleigh they'd go out on his boat the next day. He was looking forward to spending the entire day with her. He truly loved her and as he held her close to his body, he could feel tears swell up in his eyes. He pinched his eyes shut and a little tear escaped as he thought about the past. He quickly brushed it off and cleared the thought out of his mind.
~~the next day~~
AJ rolled over in his bed, expecting to bump into Gwen. He opened his eyes, realizing she wasn't there. He groaned and rolled back over. He remembered where she was and last night was slowly coming back to him. He had a terrible headache and it made his whole body ache. Then he remembered his show. He jolted out of bed and grabbed the phone.
''Hello?" Brian asked.
"B-Rok, it's me," AJ said.
"Oh good, you're not dead," Brian said, half joking, half serious.
''What happened to the show last night?" AJ asked.
"You were so drunk we canceled it. You'll perform tonight and leave tomorrow. Everything will be right on schedule," Brian said.
"Okay. Brian?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry about last night. I bet I was a mess," AJ said.
"You sure were. Are you okay now, J?" Brian asked.
"Yes. I'm fine," AJ said, convincing himself. They talked for a little bit more and then they hung up. AJ dialed Gwen's cell phone but she didn't answer. He figured she was in the middle of her meeting. He stood up and went downstairs in search of aspirin.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mommy, can I get on the puter?" Savannah asked her mom. Regan laughed at her pronunciation of 'computer' and smiled.
"Sure baby," she said. Savannah squealed with excitement and went on her mom's computer. She clicked on the AOL icon and signed on Regan's screen name with her stored password. Savannah loved playing "office" by typing emails to herself with phrases like "ghdsku dsotyge5 jkfver0" since she was only three.
"Mommy! Howwie is on the puter screen!" Savannah called out. Regan came out of the kitchen and almost dropped her glass of orange juice when she saw the welcome screen. "Backstreet Boy Finally Finds Love" read the title. Regan frantically clicked the thumbnail picture of Howie to reveal the full picture with her in it. It was taken when Howie took her out two nights ago. Regan gasped.
"That's you, Mommy!" the little girl said with excitement.
"Yes it is, dear," Regan said as she read the article. It didn't say anything about her daughter and she felt relieved. Still, she already told Howie she did not want to be out in the media.
''Honey, you can play on the computer later. Mommy needs to make a phone call."
~~~~~~~~~
Gwen put on her sunglasses as she walked out of the building. She just signed her contract and was officially hired as a fashion designer for Bebe. She was walking on clouds. She walked the familiar streets of New York City to her hotel. She was wearing real black leather pants, a white button-up shirt, a matching leather jacket and high heal boots. She looked at her watch and realized if she hurried, she could catch the first plane to Orlando and catch AJ's show. She hailed a cab and it took her to her hotel. She ran up to her room and packed all her stuff. She checked out and got back into the same cab. She paid the driver extra to get her to the airport faster. Once she arrived, she scheduled her flight and had an hour wait. She bought herself a few magazines and sat down in a plastic chair. She pulled out a black snow cap and pulled it on her head, hoping no one would recognize her. She dished out her cell phone and dialed the familiar numbers.
"Hello?" she heard AJ's raspy voice.
"Hey baby," Gwen said, smiling.
"Gwen," AJ breathed into the phone.
"How are you feeling?" Gwen asked.
"I miss you," AJ said.
"I miss you too."
"I'm feeling a lot better," AJ said. His headache was gone and he was excited about his first show. "How'd your meeting go?"
"It went great. I got the job," Gwen said.
"I knew you could do it," AJ said. "Gwen, I woke up this morning and it was the worst thing in the world. It was the first time I woke up with out you by my side." Gwen could feel her heart start to beat faster.
"I know, I had that too," she said.
"I want you home," he said.
''I'll be home soon, Baby," she breathed into the phone.
''Okay. I have to go," he said. "But I don't want to."
"Babe, you have too. I love you," Gwen said.
"I love you too," AJ said. They said goodbye and hung up. Gwen wanted to surprise him by making it to his show. Soon, her flight was called and she boarded her plane.
~~~~~~~~~~
AJ hung up the phone and started getting ready for his show. "I'm going to be fine," he convinced himself. "Once Gwen gets here, everything is going to be okay." He grabbed a duffle bag from under his bed and started filling it with everything he was going to need that night. While he was running around his room, he came across a bottle of hard liquor. He started at it and shook out of his trance. He took it and hid it in his closet under all his shoes. Gwen would never find it there.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm sorry Howie, I just don't want to go out tonight," Regan said, balancing the phone on her shoulder as she tried to cook lunch for her and Savannah.
"Is everything okay?" Howie asked, on the other line.
"Yes, I just don't want too. That's all," Regan said.
"Are you sure?" Howie asked, not convinced.
"Yes!" Regan answered, annoyed.
"Bad day, Ray?" he asked.
"Something like that," she said.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," she answered.
"How about I come over after Savannah is sleeping. You sound like you need some downtime," Howie said.
"No, that's okay," she said. She was still uneasy about seeing her picture on AOL. She was nervous about being out in the public eye for a lot of reasons but the main reason was Savannah's dad. He left them when Regan got pregnant and she knew if he knew about Howie, he'd be back in the picture knowing about the salary Regan was making on tour. She also didn't want Savannah out in the public for her own safety.
"Ray?" Howie asked. Regan snapped out of her trance.
"I'm sorry Howie...I'll call you later," she said, quietly as she hung up the phone.
~~~~~~~~~
