"Coming!" Jesykah shouted.
Jesykah smiled at the sight of Juliana and Rebekah. She let them in the house giving them each a quick hug. She showed them their individual rooms. They all agreed to get fully unpacked and then go for a swim down by the lake.
Jesykah tried not to show her sadness while swimming with her two best friends but it just wasn’t working. She didn’t know what to do. After seeing that picture of her and Alex, the vision just wouldn’t go away. Rebekah was telling jokes and Jesykah knew they were funny, she just wasn’t up for laughing right now.
"Hey Jes, what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet since we got here. You’re not your usual chipper self!"
Jesykah knew she couldn’t tell them. For two reasons. 1, they would laugh, and 2, they would hound her with questions about Alex when he was younger. They were diehard Backstreet Boys fans.
"Oh, ummm, nothing. I was just thinking that there is no food in the house. I’m gonna run to the store."
Jesykah quickly hopped out of the lake and ran up to the house. Rebekah and Juliana looked at each other knowing something was definitely wrong with their friend.
Jesykah arrived back from the store an hour later. She unpacked the groceries only saying 2 words to her friends. She quickly went into her room, closed the door and laid on her bed. She took the picture of her and Alex and clutched it tightly to her chest.
"Why can’t I just see him again?" she sobbed.
Juliana and Rebekah listened intently on the other side of the door. Concern flashed over the two girls faces. The sobbing had subsided. They decided this was a good time to go in and see what was wrong. They went in and saw that Jesykah had fallen sound asleep on her bed holding onto a picture of herself and some boy.
"Who is that?" Juliana asked.
"I dunno. I suppose someone she knows here." Rebekah replied.
"Well, obviously he’s not here now or she wouldn’t be crying because she can’t see him."
"I guess not. C’mon let’s go. We can talk to her when she wakes up."
45 minutes later Jesykah emerged from the bedroom.
"Hey sleepyhead! It’s about time" Juliana replied.
"It’s only been-" she stopped to look at her watch. "45 minutes."
"So, Jes, we need to talk. We wanna know why you were crying over that picture."
Jesykah decided she needed to tell them or the rest of her stay here would be an absolute living hell.
"Well, because the boy in that picture was my best friend from the time I was 2 until I was 9, when my dad passed away. I haven’t talked to Alex since. And now, I can’t even get in touch with him because of him being so famous."
"What do you mean famous?" Rebekah asked.
"I mean that Alex a.k.a. AJ is from the Backstreet Boys and probably has no recollection of me whatsoever."
"AJ!!! Ahhh, why didn’t you tell us you knew AJ?" Juliana asked.
"Because, I knew you would act like this."
~*~*~*~
"God, where are we going to stay where no fan will know about us?" Kevin asked.
"I have an idea." AJ suggested. "Why don’t we all go to my grandfather's camp?"
"Where is that? How do we know the fans or the media won’t find out about it?" Howie questioned.
"It’s a secluded place in New Jersey, I don’t think they will find out." AJ assured them.
"All right, man! But if we’re found, you’re grass." Nick spat.
"Okay, whatever Nick, you need to take a chill pill but anyways, I'm gonna go call my grandfather. Later."
~*~*~*~
"Well, you can’t let that ruin your time here. Come on girl! Tonight we are gonna PARTAY!" Juliana shouted.
"Jules, I don’t feel like going out tonight, but I promise you tomorrow I will." Jesykah said, not knowing that choice would change her life.