“I’ve decided to go back home.”
“Why?”
“I need a break from touring,” he lied.
“Did you tell mom?”
“Yeah, I talked to her earlier. She got me a flight for Wednesday at 9PM.”
“Aaron that’s....2 days!”
“I know. The sooner, the better.”
“You sure you wanna leave?”
“Uhuh.”
“Ok. But, why did you get a flight that’s in the middle of one of our shows?”
“It was the only one,” he lied again. The real reason was, he knew everyone would be busy during the show, including Nikki, so he wouldn’t have to say goodbye.
“Oh. Well, ok.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aaron walked into me and Nikki’s hotel room. I was watching TV and Nikki was reading a book.
“Lindsey,” he said.
“Hey, Aaron!”
“I gotta tell ya somethin’,” he looked over at Nikki. “Can I talk to her alone, please?”
“Yeah,” Nikki got up and walked into Nick’s room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m going home Wednesday night.”
“You mean...to TAMPA?”
“Yeah.”
“But- why?”
“I just need a break from all this touring and stuff.”
I looked into his eyes and could tell there was more to it, “Aaron, that’s not true. That excuse may work on Nick and your mom, but not me. What’s the real reason you’re leaving?”
He looked down and after a while replied, “It’s Nikki. I just...can’t stay here around her all the time.”
“Aaron! Just tell her! You can’t let this ruin your tour. This is what you do, and you can’t let some crush stop you from doing it.”
“No! I’m leaving and that’s how it is, Lindsey!” he said forcefully before getting up and leaving. When he was gone, Nikki came back in.
“What did he want?”
“He’s going back to Tampa on Wednesday.”
“What? WHY?” she tried to stay calm.
“He just, needs a break.”
“Oh,” she replied sadly. She tried to hide her disappointment and sadness. She was really upset because she knew she’d never see him again after he left.
~*~*~WEDNESDAY NIGHT~*~*~
“Bye lil bro, I’m gonna miss ya,” Nick said hugging Aaron.
“I really wish you’d stay.”
“Lindsey, don’t. Please.”
“Sorry. I’m gonna miss ya too. But I’ll see ya when we’re done with the tour, kay?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna miss all of you,” he said looking around the hotel room at Nick, AJ, Howie, Kevin, Brian, Mary, and me. “Where’s Nikki?” he asked.
“She told me she had to do something,” Mary said.
“Oh,” he sighed. “I better go. Good luck tonight.” Aaron walked out to the front of the hotel and hopped in the limo that would take him to the airport. When he pulled his CD player out of his bookbag, an envelope fell out. It was labeled, “Aaron.”
He didn’t recognize the handwriting, but he slowly opened it. It read:
Dear Aaron,
I have so much to tell you and I have no idea where to start. Let me just say, I’m really sorry....for everything. The insults, brattiness, and for all the times I ignored you when you were being really sweet to me. I guess I’m the immature one, since I can’t say this to you face-to-face.
I have a confession to make. Remember that day at Kings Island when I was asleep on the bed in the first aid clinic and you were talking to Lindsey? Well, I wasn’t sleeping. I was faking it. I heard every word you said to Lindsey about liking me. The truth is, I like you too. I know you’re probably thinking, ‘Then why was she so mean to me after she knew and why didn’t she say anything?’ I was still mean to you, because I was afraid of what might happen if I opened up to you-even just a little bit. I knew you’d want me to be your girlfriend. I DO want to be your girlfriend though, but I was just worried about what other people would say. I realize now that I was just being really selfish. Unfortunately, I realized it too late and you’re either on that plane or in Tampa.
I really wish you hadn’t left. I’m gonna miss you so much. Again, I just want to say I’m sorry for being mean and selfish. I hope you can forgive me.
Well, since I’ll probably never see you again, I guess this is goodbye. Good luck with your music career. I’m sure you’ll do great.
Love Always,
Nicole Ferrie
Aaron was so shocked he could hardly speak. “Stop!” he managed to yell to the driver. “Turn around and go back to the hotel.”
“Yes, sir.”
Aaron held the letter to his chest and sighed. He had never even thought he had a chance with Nikki...until now.
~*~*~AT THE SHOW~*~*~
“Nick,” I took his hand in mine. “Now that Aaron’s gone, there’s really no need for me to be here. I’m taking a flight back to Orlando to wait for my call from Mr. Hurd.”
He put his head down, “I knew this would come up.”
“I’m sorry....I’ll call you every day. And I’ll come out and visit you sometimes too.”
“It’s not your fault. I understand.”
“Nick, we’re on!” Brian called to him.
They all rushed onstage. “Hello Boston! We’re sorry to report, Aaron has left the tour...”
I sighed and went to the guys’ dressing room where Mary was.
~*~*~AT THE HOTEL~*~*~
Nikki collapsed onto the bed and cried into her pillow. “I just let him leave. I was so stupid, all I did was write him a note,” she said out loud.
Aaron took a deep breath and opened the connecting door to Nikki’s room. He walked in and saw her sobbing into her pillow. Quietly, he walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. She heard him but didn’t move. Aaron rested his hand on her back.
“Go away, Lindsey,” she muttered. He cracked a small smile and ran his fingers through her hair.
“I mean it! GO AWAY!” she yelled forcefully as she sat up. When she saw Aaron, her eyes got big and her mouth dropped open. “Aaron?” she said in shock.
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I forgive you,” he whispered into her ear. When he pulled away, he saw the confused look on her face. “I was in the car and I found your letter. This isn’t totally your fault. I should have said something to you too. We both messed up.”
She smiled weakly, “So, are you...gonna stay?”
“You bet!” she threw her arms around him.
“Does Nick know?” she asked.
“No, I should call him,” he looked down at his watch. “Actually, he’s probably onstage, I’ll call Lindsey.”
He dialed my cell phone and I answered. “Hello?”
“Hey Lindsey!”
“Aaron? Hey!”
“I’m at the hotel.”
“What? Did something happen?”
“Yeah,” he smiled at Nikki.
“Did the plane get delayed or something?”
“No. I’m not leaving.”
“Really? That’s great! What made ya change your mind?”
“Uh, I’ll tell ya about it on the bus tonight.”
“Ok.”
“Tell Nick I’m here at the hotel with Nikki. I gotta call my mom and let her know.”
“Ok. See ya tonight.”
“Mmmhmm, bye.”
I hung up the phone and looked at Mary. “He decided to stay.”
“Good! Now you can stay!”
After a few minutes of talking to Mary about wanting to get accepted to the school in Cincinnati, a sweaty Howie flew through the door. Behind him was Brian, Nick, AJ, then Kevin. All of them except for AJ and Nick went to take showers.
“Hey! Aaron called,” I said to Nick as I watched him chug 2 bottles of water.
“And? Is he ok?”
“Yep, just fine. He’s at the hotel. He decided to stay on tour!” I smiled.
“That’s great! So are you staying?”
“Of course!”
“Good!
“Good? I was glad to get away from that little brat!” AJ joined the conversation.
“AJ, shut up! He’s so adorable!”
“He’s so adorable,” he imitated my voice. “Whatever!”
About 10 minutes later, the other 3 came out and joined us. When they sat down, my cell phone rang again. “Maybe it’s Aaron again,” I said picking it up and turning it on. “Hello?”
“Lindsey?”
“Yes?”
“This is Robert Hurd.”
“Oh, hi!” I said excitedly.
“Congratulations, you’ve been accepted. Call me and let me know when you’ll be coming...if you’ll be coming.”
“I will! Thank you very much!” I looked around the room and saw all the confused faces.
“Your welcome, goodbye.”
“Bye!” I hung up and threw the phone across the room and Kevin caught it.
“What?” AJ asked anxiously.
“I actually got accepted!”
There were lots of “good job”s and “congratulations” from everyone. I looked at Nick. My smile faded away when I saw the look on his face.
“You...you aren’t actually gonna go, right?” he said.
“What? How could you even ask me that? OF COURSE I’m going!”
“No...you CAN’T go!”