~ Chapter 17 ~
By the time Loreto walked back to the hotel, hot tears of sadness and fustration were coursing down her cheeks. She didn't want anyone to see her. Especially one of the guys. She ducked into the side door and slipped past their bodyguards. Leery that she would be seen by one of the Boys if she waited for the elevator, she sprinted up the five flights of stairs to her room.
Just as she was inserting her card into the slot, she heard Brian's voice. Followed by AJ's. And Howie's. Hurriedly she tried to open the door, but it was too late.
"Yo Loreto!" AJ's voice echoed down the hall.
"Yes?" she said loudly, keeping her back to them. She didn't want them to see what a blubbering mess she was.
"Have you seen Kevin?" Brian asked. They were coming closer.
"N..no. I haven't seen him."
A hand came down around her shoulders. "Where have you been? My mother's been looking for you," AJ said.
"And we've been looking for Kev," Howie interjected.
"Any chance you two were together?" Brian asked, a smile in his voice.
Still keeping her back to them, Loreto snapped, "No! I told you that I haven't seen him."
Brian raised a questioning eyebrow to the others and walked around to face her. He saw her tears and immediately embraced her. "Oh sweetie! What's wrong?" he asked. "Did something happen?" His voice was warm and sympathetic. Loreto wanted to bury her head in his chest and bawl.
Instead she struggled out of his embrace, wiping at her tears. "I'm fine - really," she added, noticing the skepticism on their faces. "Just a little homesick is all. It hits me at the oddest times."
"Ok," Brian said. "If you're sure..." He still looked skeptical.
"I need to go find Denise."
"She's in her room," AJ said.
"Ok thanks. I hope you find Kevin."
"I'm right here."
Loreto froze at the sound of his voice. "I have to call Denise," she mumbled and ran into her room, closing the door quickly. Brian watched her. It was obvious that she wanted to leave. Right after Kevin showed up. He didn't like the mental image his brain was painting.
"Where have you been?" AJ demanded.
Kevin rolled his eyes. "Here we go again. The Inquisition. I went for a walk, ok? Would you like to know where?" Not giving them a chance to answer, he said, "down the street. To get air. Is that alright with you guys? Or should I have called home first? I didn't realize that I was still 14 and needing my parent's permission to leave the grounds."
"Relax Kevin. AJ didn't mean it like that," Howie said calmly.
"We had to postpone the Bravo interview because we couldn't find you - again ," AJ said pointedly.
Kevin unlocked his door and walked in. "Some silly magazine that has interviewed us thousands of times for the past four years. They can wait."
"We were just worried about you," Howie said quietly.
"I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." He looked at them. "I can see Nick was real worried," he said sarcastically.
"He's up in his room with a headache. We didn't see the need for all four of us to search."
"He is a headache," Kevin muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Brian asked.
"I said, stop sticking up for that twit!"
Howie gasped outloud. "Kev, that's not nice..."
Brian turned to AJ and Howie. "Can you guys leave? I want to talk to my cousin alone."
Howie nodded, still upset at Kevin's remark. "Are you sure?" AJ asked.
Brian nodded. "Yea, J. I need some time alone with him."
"Try and talk some sense into him," AJ whispered. "Before he brings this brotherhood to its knees."
Howie and AJ left the room. Brian closed the door behind them. Kevin eyed his cousin warily, then threw himself on the bed. "Is it your turn to lecture me now?" he asked snidely.
Brian sat down at the edge of the bed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Nick tossed his Gameboy to the foot of the bed. He was bored and his head still ached. He picked up and the phone and stared at the dial pad for a few seconds before dialling an all-too-familiar number. "Hey, it's me!" he said when BJ picked up the phone in California.
"Hi me!" she chirped. "How are you? How's Germany?"
"Hot. Lots of screaming fans everywhere."
BJ giggled. "To be expected, dear brother. When are you getting a day off?"
"Next week. We'll be in Italy and we have two whole days to ourselves. The entire 4th of July weekend actually. Lou rented us some private villa that's got a pool, jacuzzi, the works!."
"Oooh! Livin' it up in style, you Backstreet Boy you! I'm jealous."
"There's nothing to be jealous about. You're home with the family. I'm the one who's jealous. I think this is my first 4th away from the US. It's gonna feel weird. Remember the big BBQs we use to have in Ruskin?"
"Yea...those were the best!"
"I miss those. I miss all of us living together in Ruskin. The fishing trips with dad, the boat rides with Airboy, arguing with you. Why do things have to change?" He sounded like a little boy.
His sister sighed. "I know it's hard to accept, Nicky, but change is good. It's part of life. If things remained the same for too long, we would get bored and restless."
"I wouldn't," Nick whispered, his eyes tearing.
"Nick, are you ok? Do you want me to get mom or dad?"
"No! I'm fine. I...I just miss everyone. Beej, have you heard anything about..."
He didn't need to finish. BJ knew exactly who he was talking about. "Yes. Karlie called me last week. She ran into her at..."she stopped unsure how to break the news about his ex-girlfriend.
"Where?" Nick asked.
"At a bridal shop."
Nick felt his skin go cold. "What? A bridal shop? Doing what?" He feared he knew the answer.
"She was looking for a wedding dress. She's engaged Nick. I'm sorry."
"To who? The creep she left me for?"
"I don't know. I never met that creep and I don't now this guy. I think his name's Larry."
Nick forced his voice to sound normal. "She's only 21. Too young to get married."
"Nick, she's not your concern anymore. According to Karlie, she's happy. You need to get on with your life."
"Maybe I could do that if you found Angel!" Nick snapped. He was angry at her for telling him about his ex. He wanted to know, yet he didn't.
"I'm trying my best!" she snapped back. " Do you know how hard it is to search for someone when you're 3000 miles away?"
"I thought you told me that you have connections in Orlando?"\
"I do. They're working on it. Think about it, Nick. All we have to go on is a name. A first name at that. That's it. Very little. My connections laughed at me."
"Yea well, I'm paying them enough. They need to concentrate on finding my girl and stop laughing at my expense."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's ok. Look, I gotta go. Sorry I snapped at you. You know I love you, Beej. Give everyone my love."
"I will. I love you, too."
Nick slowly put the phone back in its cradle. He took his wallet off the nightable and pulled a photograph out. It was a picture of him and his ex. Taken New Years Eve 1996. They were laughing and holding on to one another. Nick thought back to the conversation right after that was taken...
"To us," Nick said softly, looking deep into her eyes.
"To us," she said back, a smile playing on her lips. "I think a kiss is in order, Carter."
"Oh, do ya?" He smirked then bent his head to kiss her. It was full of passion. "I wanna marry you one day." He said it with such seriousness. Too much for a 16 year old boy.
She looked into his eyes and her own watered. "I want to marry you, too. We will. One day. I love you, Carter. Always will."
"I love you, too. You're my everything..."
Nick didn't realize that he was crying until his teardrops fell onto the picture. He laughted bitterly. Promises made, promises broken. He took one last look at the picture before tearing it to shreds. 'That part of my life is finished. Gone. She's gone.' He let the pieces flutter down into the toilet then flushed it. ' Time to move on. Come on Angel. Come to me.' He looked up towards the Heavens, hoping God was listening.
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