Four and a half weeks later I was shoving the last of my nicest clothes into a suitcase I had found at the old house before it had been sold. It was January 6th, and everything seemed perfect. It was cold, raining, and dark outside, but that’s what made it so surreal. I was going to miss the Carter house. I wasn’t going to get to sleep in my bed for four months, maybe longer. No dock, no pool, no Aaron, no Angel, Leslie, BJ, Jane, or Bob. Just as I was getting used to my "new family" I was leaving.
I looked around what used to be the guestroom, but what was now my room. All of my Lit, Limp Bizkit, Orgy, Vertical Horizon, Orlando Magic, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays posters were up, my 5 CD disc holder that the Carter’s had given me as a "welcoming" present. My old TV, and all my pictures of me and Nick, Lanie, Liz, Lanie and Brandon, my parents, my "new parents", and the Carter family outlined the room. My glow in the dark stars that keep me entertained at night when I couldn’t sleep, my cross and rosaries that hung on my wall. My entire body ached at the thought of being gone for so long. But something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. The picture of me, Jane, and Nick taken less than a week ago – already framed and sitting on my nightstand beside my bed. I have to take this, I thought. I picked it up, but I couldn’t seem to be able to let go. I didn’t come out of my daze until Nick poked his head through the bedroom door.
"Jeez, Nick! You scared the crap outta me!" I sighed. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know you’re gonna be homesick," he laughed.
"Man, shut up," I retorted, holding back tears.
"Sorry," he sighed, grabbing me and pulling me close to his body. "We can call home any time we get homesick, and when we do the concert in St. Petersburg, we can stop by the house and instead of staying in a hotel that night we can stay at the house."
I nodded, shoving the picture, frame and all, into my suitcase.
"You ready?"
"As ready as I’ll ever be," I answered, zipping it up and looking around the room one last time. "Let’s get outta here!"
Jane and Bob drove us to the airport where we met the rest of the guys. We said our last good-byes until we got to New York where we could get to a phone and call to tell them we made it there all right. After hugging everyone one last time, the six of us jumped on the plane.
"For such a wonderful day, only five of us are excited. Is there something wrong with that?" Brian asked, kicking the back of my chair.
"Who said I’m not excited, you freggin’ monkey?" I asked
"The look on your face. You have everything you need. Why the gloomy look?"
I knew why, but I shrugged it off as if I didn’t know.
"Leave the girl alone!" AJ laughed, rubbing my head. "She’ll be fine."
I still remember that plane ride like it as yesterday. I had never been on a plane in my life, and I was scared to death. Nick wasn’t doing so well either, but we kept each other company. That included falling asleep together and playing "I Spy."
We arrived in New York at 5:00 that afternoon. The first show wasn’t until 7:30 the next day, so we had plenty of time to do nothing.
At 5:35 we were checking into the New York City Embassy Suites. As a rule, I couldn’t "bunk" with Nick until I was eighteen, so I had an entire room to myself.
"All right, Nick and Brian have room 410, Kevin, AJ, and I have 411, and Stephanie you have 409," Howie announced, handing out the keys.
I stared at the key he had just handed me. There was nothing strange about it, but I sat there, staring at it. I felt lost, and didn’t exactly know why I was standing in the lobby of the Embassy Suites. I lost myself in the hold that had been punched into the key, and when as I snapped out of the daze I looked around wildly.
"Whoa, you alright?" Nick asked, putting his index finger through one of the belt loops on the side of my jeans.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I’m cool."
"I’ve got a surprise for you, but you’re gonna have to wait until later on tonight," he said, leaning down and whispering in my ear.
I looked at him strangely.
"No," he laughed. "Not like that!"
"Okay…"
"Are you coming?" AJ yelled, holding the elevator doors open. Nick looked at me and nodded towards the door.
When we got to the rooms, we all whipped out the keys, unlocked the doors, and collapsed on the beds. The rooms were huge. Enough to hold about six people, yet I was the only one in mine. I sat down and looked around. It was quiet. The walls were plain and the sheets and comforters on the bed were white. The bathroom was big, the couch was black leather, and the RV was a thirty six-inch. It was nothing like anything I had seen before. Everything looked so expensive, so eloquent. Nice, but strange. I already missed home. I didn’t like being alone, and it had been months since I had slept in my bed alone. I had always slept in the same bed as Nick. Jane never minded it, so why did Donna and Johnny Wright? The more I thought about it, the more upset I got. It was going to be an incredibly long night.