~*~Erin’s point of view~*~
“Wait, you left them on the boat?” I asked, incredulously when AJ, Amy, Nick, and Heather showed up at the dock without Tracy. And Kevin.
“Yup.”
“The temperature is dropping as we speak, are they going to be alright?”
“Don’t worry. There’s blankets. Not to mention food and stuff. But they’ll be a lot warmer inside, so hopefully this won’t take long,” Nick assured me.
“I feel kinda bad for my cousin,” Brian said. “It’s Tracy who’s not talking to him, and there isn’t much he can do until she’s willing to.”
“Where’s Howie at?” I wondered, suddenly remembering the fifth Backstreet Boy and the only one not accounted for.
“With Jennifer,” Amy said.
“Don’t tell me they’re on a boat somewhere, too.”
“No, we weren’t as elaborate with them. We locked them in the room upstairs,” AJ explained.
“Yeah. And Howie had two cups hot chocolate right before we came over here, so unless he wants to wet himself in front of Jennifer, he’ll have to cave before his bladder gets the best of him,” AJ said.
We all laughed.
“Some hot chocolate sounds good, do you have any?” Nick asked.
“Yeah,” Heather led the four of them inside. Brian and I stayed outside.
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” I told him, smiling. “How long are you staying?”
“I’m leaving Monday morning at the crack of dawn.”
“Only today and tomorrow?” I asked, disappointed.
He nodded, looking out onto the water. He didn’t even seem to care that this was the first time he’d seen me in months, and all we had was a weekend until who knows when.
“Well, at least we have all that time to spend together.”
“Well, mostly,” Brian said.
“What do you mean, ‘mostly,’” I asked.
“There’s some things I need to go and buy, so I’ll be gone half of tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
“But let’s have dinner tomorrow night, alright? We can pretend tomorrow’s Christmas Eve instead of Monday.”
“Okay.” Wow, one dinner. Lucky me.
~*~Howie’s point of view~*~
“I can’t believe this!” I banged on the door. AJ and Nick locked me in a room. We had all thought our prayers had come true and that Nick was out of his prank phase.
I guess we were wrong.
Jennifer was sitting on her bed. She spoke for the first time. “I’m really sorry about all this. I feel like it’s my fault.”
“This was your idea?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I had no idea about any of this.”
I sat down in a vacant chair. ‘They have to let me out by tomorrow. I have to catch a flight home.’ Of course, it wouldn’t go on that long.
Would it?
“So, how have you been?” she asked.
“Why do you care?” I asked, coldly.
“Look… I said I was sorry a million times. I’ve called you and written you… what else do you want me to do?” her eyes were filling with water.
I hated to see her upset. But I didn’t say anything.
“I know I made a mistake. And I regret it everyday. But I can’t take back what I’ve done. So…” Jennifer trailed off. “I’ve been trying to forgive myself. And maybe one day you’ll forgive me too. Because I miss you a lot. You’re the one for me, I’ve known that since I met you. Kevin was just a mistake that I’d never repeat. Not with him or anyone else,” she said. Tears streamed down her face.
I looked at her, my heart breaking. She had meant what she’d said. I believed her. Could I forgive her? Could I put the past behind me?
Chapter 65
Chapter 67
As Time Goes
Frick's Fairytales