EpilogueI sat back in my chair, watching Brian in the pool in our back yard.
Yeah, our. We live together, Brian and me.
He was having a water fight with AJ.
We haven't changed. I don't think we ever did, it was kind of temporary madness. Brian, AJ and myself recovered quickly, moved on.
Howie, unfortunately, couldn't. He was the one who found Nick's body after we'd finished with him, beaten, raped and bloody. I don't think he could handle it. He disappeared soon after. He couldn't bear to look at us. Loving someone like Nick is never easy.
Or being loved, for that matter. I get the dreams. The fucking nightmares. I can see him underneath Brian's body, those eyes staring at me. I can hear the words in my ears, until I wake up screaming in Brian's arms, and he kisses me till I fall asleep again.
But even they are disappearing. We're moving on, `getting a real life' as Brian put it. His scars are disappearing, but emotionally, he's just as fucked up as the rest of us.
I kinda figured out that what we had with Nick would never have lasted. It was too intense, one of us would have snapped sooner or later. It just turned out to be me. Nick had too much power. He couldn't control it, so it controlled him. He hurt the ones he loved. It wouldn't have lasted.
Backstreet is dead. It died with Nick. I killed them both.
Maybe that's what would haunt me forever.
But, I have enough. My lover, my friends, my life. I wasn't a bitch anymore.
But I had one.
"Hey cuz, you coming in?" I glanced up as Brian dunked AJ. I grinned, standing up and walking towards the water.
"Sure." I walked in a few feet, glancing behind me at the young blonde standing at the patio doors, holding a towel timidly.
My childe.
"Aaron, you can come too." I called out, and he grinned, rushing towards the water excitedly. An image of his brother. I smiled, as he dive-bombed into the water, splashing us all.
But I'd take care of him.
We had a future.