Back home!
Nick had never liked flying and there was a special feeling when he landed in Tampa. His home city. The good thing about Tampa and Florida was that people were not attacking him wherever he went. They were more used to him and now he had his own parking space in the parking lot down in the basement. The personnel at the airport recognized him and he had a VIP room where he could stay when he waited to go on a long flight.
He liked the sunshine state and would never trade it for some other place. His family lived in LA and he had to confess that he missed them, but they had recently bought a summer house in Key Largo and this meant that they could be closer to each other. If they wanted to.
This time it felt particulary good to be home since Brian had accompanied him. Even if Nick had a hard time admitting it, he needed his friend. More than he would ever know. His intuition, which he came to trust more and more, told him that tomorrows doctors appointment was not going to be a pleasant trip and he was seriously afraid what the doctor would have to say.
What if there were more bad news? More tests? More pain?
“You want me to drive?” Brian interrupted his thoughts as they were standing in the elevator, going to the parking garage. With no words Nick reached in his pocket and took out his black car key, handing it to his friend. He was so tired that holding his sportsbag felt like lifting concrete. His stomach churned violently and for a moment he thought that he was going to get sick. The nausea passed and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Nick shivered in the warm Florida weather and instantly Brian was by his side, “You´re ok?” Brian's steel blue eyes gleamed with concern.
Shrugging Nick mumbled that he was just tired.
Accepting this answer Brian continued, “You wanna go and get something to eat? I mean it´s way past dinner time and I don´t know about you but I´m starving.”
A stomach cramp decided to sneak up at him and he folded over slightly, grimacing. The elevator was full of people and several of them looked strangely at him, whispering to each other. He could hear the words, “Nick, Backstreet, Brian and drunk” being mentioned, yet he didn´t care. If they wanted to think that he was drunk or drugged up, fine with him. He was so sick and tired of these rumors and he´d stopped denying them. There was no use. People thrive out of other people's misfortunes and since he was in the spotlight he was a victim for this. It came with being famous.
‘I most really look like hell since no one is jumping all over me,’ Nick thought with a hint of amusement in the midst of his misery. He was always followed, like a bee searching for honey, by fans. There were 20 girls that regularly followed him wherever he went and he was relieved that none of them had actually caught him at the hospital. At least not up in the ward.
But that would just be a matter of time. And then the news would be out!
“ Let me take this,” Brian said, referring to the sportsbag that hung over Nick's shoulder, looking like it was filled with tons of brick.
“Nah, I can manage.” Nick mumbled as he struggled with it, as well as searching through his pockets after the house key. “ Fuck, where is it?” He turned the pocket inside and out, but no key. Feeling desperate and tired, Nick sank down on his stairs, rumaging through his bag. Clothes spread all over the lawn.
“You can´t find the key?” Brian asked patiently and Nick scowled, “Yes, I just love searching for it.”
“There's no need to bite my head off.”
Nick looked like he regretted his words and he mumbled, head down, “Sorry man,I´m just so tired and I don´t need this shit too.” He felt totally defeated.
“ Ok, let´s calm down.” Brian was always trying to be reasonable when it came down to the point.
“ Calm..I´m calm, fuckin’ tranquile,” he muttered as more clothes flew out of the bag and onto the ground. Groaning, Nick concluded, “ I must have left it at your place.”
“Don´t think so. Have you checked your pockets?”
“Duh, what did you think I have done. I´m sick, not a moron.” There was annoyance in Nick's voice, Brian felt sorry for him. Hunching down beside his friend he continued, “I meant the jacket.”
“Jacket?” He was in no mood to deal with any riddles, infact, the nausea was back. With a venegance.
“Yeah, you came with a jacket. Remember?”
“Huh?,” Nick thought for a while. Jacket? What was Brian talking about? Slowly the coins fell down and he remembered his jeansjacket. Pulling it up from the bag, he stuck his hand in the jacket pocket and there, in a safe pocket was the key. With a sigh of relief he opened the door. Not a moment too soon. His stomach was making violent threats and no sooner than they had stepped aside Nick bolted towards his bathroom, ignoring his dogs that came running towards him.
“Hey boys,” Brian cuddled the pugs, while shooting worried glances at the closed bathroom door. The dogs were happy to see someone and they licked Brian in his face. “ You´re pretty rowdy,” he laughed, “just like your master.” The laughter didn´t really reach his heart as he was way too concerned over the noise that were coming from the bathroom. Nick was being violently sick.
He hesistated for a moment before walking over to the door, knocking, like he had done so many times. “ Nick,you need help?”
“ No,” the words were muffled,” I think I can man..” the last syllables were drowned in the sound of him being sick. Brian sighed heavily. He hated seeing his friend so miserable. He walked into the kitchen, dogs in tail, leaving Nick to his privacy. Opening the refrigerator he pulled out a cold beer and then sat down in the living room, waiting for his friend to return. Taking a mouthful, he looked around in the room.
Nick's house was sparcely decorated and he could tell that a bachelor lived here since there was not much taste. All Nick did was slept here, he rarely ate any homecooked meals. Nick had housekeepers that took care of both his dogs and the house in Tampa as well as Marathon. He´d met both and they were nice middle aged woman, that really liked Nick. They were mother characters and Brian figured that they symbolized the mother that Nick never had.
“Man, I think I´ll pass on the dinner,” Nick smiled paley as he came into the living room, a glass of water in his hand.
“Mhm,” Nick wasn´t very convincing as he sank down on his sofa. “Hey Bri, do you ever think of life?” he asked deeply, ignoring the topic about his health.
“ Sure,” he said lightly, “Anything special?”
“ Nah, I was just thinking about you know facts of life. When you get sick you kind of realize that you can´t take your life for granted, you know.”
“ Yes, I know.” Brian paused, “ When I had that heart surgery I realized that there are so much more to life than meets the eye.”
“ Yeah you never know what waits around the corner, “ Nick smiled, “ Hey lets drink to that.”
“ To what?” Nick was acting so strangely suddenly and Brian didn´t follow his tracks.
“To fate.” With that Nick raised his glass, “ And to life!”
