He hadnīt spoken to his mother since she left his house, being starking mad, and he had dissed all his family thinking that they didnīt cared about him at all. Then Aaron had called the other night begging Nick to come down to his show and reluctantly he had said yes. Meeting his parents, especially his mom was not something that he looked forward to after the last encounter. But he didnīt want to let his little brother down, besides Nick had swore that he would always be there for Aaron. No matter what would happened, Aaron would always have his shoulder to lean on.
When he heard that his mother was still in Los Angeles and that his father, Bob would be the one to accompany Aaron it felt so much better. Bob was a good listener and they had some pretty good talks during the past years. When Brian went to surgery Nick had felt very down and then his father had been there to comfort him. He wasnīt as judgemental as Jane and when Nick drove on the reef with his boat his father had been there for him again. Jane was pretty upset, yet Bob said that everything would work out fine. The only bad thing with his father was that he never took anything serious. Kevin said that it was like father, like son. At least Bob wouldnīt nag about his weight and that would be good since he was getting more swollen than before with his stomach.
Nick had started to get use with feeling like shit. He was constantly running a slight temp as well as feeling nauseated. He still threw up at least once a day and if he didnīt know his anatomy better he would think that he was pregnant.
After putting on a sweater, he grabbed his keys on the bedstand, took the sports bag and walked out of the bed room. His two pups were barking at him and he bent down, and hugged them.
" Come here guys" Nick said as he cuddled them getting a wet lick back on his face. " Hey you.." Nick laughed and ruffled them on their head. They barked and wagged on the tail to their master.
"Love you too" he patted the dogs head, " Jillian will be here to look after you guys." Jillian was the cleaning lady that looked after the dogs and the house while he was away touring. He stood up just to get down on his knees again. Shit. Everything was spinning and he shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. Just as fast as it had come it went away.
'I am getting a migraine again', Nick thought miserably as he made another attempt to stand up. This time sucess and he grabbed his sports bag and walked out the door.
Sitting in his sports car he leaned his head on the headrest, closing his eyes. His stomach hurt again and it felt like he would soon have to throw up. Yet the fresh sea air made him feel a bit better. Nick had always loved the ocean. It gave him peace and quiet and it wasnīt for nothing that he had bought the house near the ocean.
After sucking in some deep breaths, he set in his ignition key and started the car. Then he opened the gates and slowly made his way out on the Florida turnpike.
Aaron was pacing back and forth. Where was Nick? He was starting to get a bit worried that Nick had bailed out again. Heīd overheard his mother and father talking the other night that Nick was on his way to a dangerous path and he knew that they was afraid that Nick was using drugs.
That seemed so far fetched to Aaron. Ok Nick drank, but from that to doing drugs was an far step. Heck, Nick didnīt even smoke.
" Try to relax. Nick will be here soon" His father's calming voice was heard from the couches in the trailer and Aaron responded with a " Are you sure? Nick is never this late."
" Yes Aaron. There were probably something that came up and yes he will be here to your show." This calmed the teenager down a bit and he sat down on a chair. His nerves felt all jittery and he was seriously suffering from stage fright. This was an inheritance from Nick, as well as his fright from flying. Motionsickness was another "nasty gift" that Aaron had received from his idol. On the plus sides he had inherit the voice as well as his love for the ocean.
Aaron's thoughts were interrupted by a famous voice calling out for him from the front door, " Wass up squirrel?!" Aaron turned on his heels so fast that he almost lost balance.
" Nick!" He flung towards his brother, wrapping his arms around him in the biggest hug. Nick smiled widely as he responded the hug and ruffled his brothers hair.
" Donīt" Aaron warned as he pulled back from his brothers strong arms. Looking up at his brother he felt a tad of concern. There were something wrong with Nick. His stomach was really big, but the strange thing was that Nick seemed to get thinner in his face. He was also very pale, much too pale for someone that spent his days in the Florida sun. There were also beads of sweat on his forehead and he had his sunglasses on like he use to do these days. What if his parents had been right. Was Nick using drugs?
He shrugged as Nick laughed loudly and caught his head in a wrestling grip. " Niiiicckk" Aaron whined as he tried to get loose. To no avail. Aaron yelled louder " Nick, let me go!"
" Not until you say please" Nick laughed and continued with his iron grip on the neck.
" Never!" Aaron was struggling, trying to get his arms and legs around his brothers body, but Nick was strong.
" Say please" he repeated and punched his brother lightly in his head.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!"
" I wonīt let ya go, you know!"
" Pleeaaaaseeee!!!" Aaron yelled, finally giving up the struggle as he was starting to get light headed.
" Say pretty please" Nick joked laughing.
" Nope!" Aaron was not going to give in to that. Nick tightened his grip as well as started to tickle him and he started laughing so much.
" Nooo, stop it..Nick!"
" You give up?" he tickled the poor boy even more and Aaron was squirming like a worm on a hook.
" Yeeeessss" he yelled, " Yes, now let me go!"
" No, first say pretty please!" Aaron was laughing all the time as Nick continue to tickle him on his most sensitve spots and he had to surrender. Once more to his brother's power.
" Please pretty please" he murmured, just to get Nick saying, " What??? I didnīt hear ya, speak up" Aaron squirmed again and as Nick made an attempt to tickle him even more he yelled " Pleeeeeeeeaseee, pretty pleeeeaseeee!" With that his older brother let go of the grip.
Aaron panted, still laughing. Nick was so much fun even if he was constantly torturing him. Oh how he loved his brother.
" Are you two finished now?" Bob asked and Nick gave his father a warm smile.
" Hey." The smile was returned and they gave each other an playful knock on the shoulder. Male bonding.
" Itīs been a while," Bob said as he took in Nick's appearance, frowning.
Nick nodded " Yeah you know. Been really busy and you know with the tour and stuff and.." He was talking so fast that his father had to stop him.
" Thatīs ok. Iīm glad that you could come."
" Me too" Aaron said as he was punching his brother lightly in the stomach. Several times.
Ouch that hurt. Nick winced, trying to hold his posture. He stiffened his muscles the best as he could as Aaron was using him like a punch bag. This was a gesture of love and the two brothers used to punch and joke with each other. However this time he just wanted torture to stop. He was starting to get nauseous and didnīt know how long he could keep up this charade. The couch in the trailer looked mighty tempting, yet Nick didnīt dare to sit down since he wasnīt sure that he would ever get up again. His father most have read his thoughts as he said, " Aaron leave Nick alone. He is tired after the drive"
Aaron uttered a small "Oh"
Not wanting to alarm his little brother he said in a light tone, " " Nah really sī'ok" Aaron smiled widely as he looked up with admiration in his eyes on his big brother. Nick was high on his pedestal and what ever he did Aaron thought was cool. Never doing anything wrong. The exhaustion was starting to take itīs toll and Nick slumped down on the sofa and they started to talk about Aaron's upcoming show.
" Time for soundcheck!" Mark, Aarons manager announced as he stuck his head in through the door. There was a sigh of disappointment in the room as Aaron didnīt want to let his brother go.
" Ok, I'm coming." Turning his head to Nick he asked with a pleading voice, " Can you come and watch me? Pleeeeeaaaseee!!!"
The kid is really a whiner, Nick thought tiredly, but then he nodded, " Iīll be there soon. Ok?" The look Aaron gave him of disbelief had him saying, " Promise!" With a satisfied grin Aaron walked towards the door, Bob stood up too, " I'll better see that he makes it down to reaharsal," he laughed lightly.
Nick grinned. Yeah his brother could be so distracted sometimes. Wonder who he was getting that from?
As soon as the two family members had left the trailer Nick let out a loud groan, unbuttoning his pants. Aaron's punches in his stomach hurt and he was feeling the effect of an upcoming headache. Laying down on the couch he closed his eyes. 'Just a little nap," was his last thought before falling asleep.
