"Come on, you guys! I went through hell and high water to get these damn passes and we're going to use them!" Jackie was dragging Chris and me backstage.
"All right! I'll come if Lindsay stops pulling me!" Chris replied. Lindsay stopped tugging on his arm but kept hold of his hand. I laughed at the two of them. They had been my parents since I was nine and I loved them. Before Chris adopted me, my life had been pretty rough.
"Well, are you coming or do I have to drag you?" Jackie asked me. Jackie was almost like a mother to me. Before Chris and Lindsay got married, Jackie was the one I went to when I needed a mom.
"I'm coming." I coughed as I spoke. Chris glanced at me. His eyes were full of worry.
"I'm okay Chris." I reassured him. Chris nodded at me but I could tell he was still a little worried.
~*~AJ's POV~*~
"AJ, are you all right, man? You've been quiet tonight." Howie asked.
"I'm fine." I answered quickly. He didn't know what day it was. No one did except me and mom. I never told anyone about my brother. Nobody even knew I had a brother. I looked up to see Brian and Nick talking to a few people. The sight shocked me. One of the people was a kid about 14 who looked a lot like me. I shook my head and walked away. My mind's just playing tricks on me, I thought as I walked into the house I shared with Brian and Kevin, it's just because today was the day . . . I sat down on my bed and put my head in my hands. Today was the day he disappeared. I heard my door open but didn't bother looking up.
~*~Howie's POV~*~
I walked into AJ's room. He seemed upset tonight and I wanted to make sure he was okay. Kevin came with me. He had notice AJ acting strangely as well.
"AJ are you okay?" Kevin asked. AJ was sitting with his head in his hands. AJ shook his head. I saw a tear run down his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked as he came into the room. Nick followed closely behind him. AJ just stared at the floor for a few seconds. When he spoke, his voice was soft and mournful.
"I never told anyone this before but, I have a brother." I was stunned, I had known AJ for a long time and never heard about a brother before. "He was seven years younger then me. When I was nine and he disappeared from our front lawn. I never heard about him again" We all sat in shock for a few moments. AJ didn't seem to want to say anymore. Tears were streaming down his cheeks now.
"No one's knows about him except me and my mom. At the concert tonight there was someone who looked like him, but I probably only thought so because today was the day he disappeared . . . " AJ voice trailed off. Kevin put his arm around AJ whose shoulders were now shuddering.
"I'm sorry man." Kevin commented. I suddenly noticed that Brian's face had gone pale.
"I talked to that guy. He did resemble you and . . . " Brian paused until AJ looked at him. "And, he was adopted." AJ stared at Brian for a few seconds.
"Are you serious?" AJ stammered finally. Brian nodded. AJ looked at the floor for a second then shook his head.
"It's probably just a coincidence. Besides I have no idea where they are now." AJ was fiddling with the sheets on the bed. He only did that when he was nervous.
"You might as well try." Kevin fell serious. AJ looked at us. Then sighed.
"It's worth a shot." Nick told him. AJ nodded his head. Kevin took out his cell phone.
"I can get the address for the people who went backstage." He explained, "what's his name?"
"Matthew." AJ looked at Kevin, "He might have changed it though." I sighed. Finding this guy might be hard. Kevin spoke on the phone for a few seconds then smiled. After he hung up, he turned to AJ
"Matthew Wilson. He lives at 12 Nirvana Avenue." Kevin told us, "It's to late tonight but you could go over tomorrow after the concert." AJ nodded.
"I don't want to tell my mom yet," AJ was staring at the floor, "it's probably not be him."
~*~Kevin's POV~*~
AJ knocked on the front door. You could tell he was nervous. A woman my age opened it.
"Hi, does Matthew Wilson live here?" AJ asked politely. The women was about to say something when a man came up behind her. He didn't notice us at first.
"He's asleep, Lindsay." The man sighed, "He's getting worse now." He then noticed us.
"Um . . . hi." He greeted.
"Hi, I'm AJ and this is Kevin. We were wondering if Matthew Wilson lives here." AJ introduced us.
"I'm Chris and this is, my wife, Lindsay. Matthew is asleep right now. I can tell him you dropped by." The man told us.
"I was wondering, is Matthew adopted?" AJ asked hopefully.
"Yes, I adopted him when he was nine." Chris replied, "Why do you ask?"
"Well you see . . . " AJ was fiddling with his jacket, "I think he might be my brother." Chris and Lindsay looked shocked.
"Why don't you come in? But please keep your voices down. I don't want to wake Matt." Chris invited. I glanced at the counter on our way in. There were a bunch of doctors bills on it. AJ noticed it a well. Chris lead us into the living room and we all sat down.
"So, you think you and Matt are brothers?" Chris asked.
"Yeah. When I was nine, my brother was kidnaped from our front yard. I saw Matthew at the concert last night and noticed a resemblance. If you adopted him then maybe he's my brother." AJ tried to explain. There was suddenly a lot of coughing coming from upstairs. Chris and Lindsay glanced at each other. Chris then got up and left the room.
"Sorry about that." Lindsay turned back toward us, "I don't mean to sound rude but, do you have anything to prove Matt and you are related? Like a photo or something?" AJ took a picture out of his wallet. He handed it to her.
"That's Matthew, me and my mom at Christmas. Matt would have been two there." AJ told her. Lindsay's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the photo. She quickly pulled out a photo album and flipped to a page. She showed it to AJ and me. It was the same picture.
"That's the only photo Matt has of his family. That, and some clothes, were all he had with him when Chris first adopted him." Lindsay handed the book to AJ who stared at it for a few seconds. A few minutes later Chris came back down stairs.
"Is he okay?" Lindsay's voice was full of worry.
"Yeah, for now." Chris sounded tired and concerned. AJ looked at them.
"Is there something wrong with him?" He asked. Chris nodded slowly.
"Before I met and adopted him, Matt had a tough life. Some of the foster families he was placed in were abusive." Chris sighed, "In one of the homes he was forced to work at a chemical factory. He worked there for about six months. Almost everyone who worked at that factory is either sick or dead. Whatever Matt has can't be cured. No one even knows what it is. I've taken him to countless doctors and they've given him countless treatments. Nothing works. Everything just made him worse. About two months ago, Matt told me he didn't want to have any more treatments. So, we stopped them. I took him to a doctor last week and the doctor said that Matt has six months to live." Chris paused and looked at AJ with watery eyes, "If he's lucky." AJ and I were both speechless. Chris noticed the two pictures and picked them up.
"I guess you are brothers, but if you don't want to meet him I won't tell him about you." Chris put down the photograph, "I'm sorry you couldn't have met Matt sooner, he's a really great kid. I just wish there was more we could do for him." Chris sighed and Lindsay took his hand. It must be hard for them, I thought to myself, they have lived with him for five years.
"I don't care if he's sick." AJ said softly, "he's my brother. I want to meet him."
"All right, it would be good for Matt to see his family before he dies." Chris paused and looked up the stairs, "Do you think you could come over tomorrow? Around seven." AJ glanced at me. I nodded. We didn't have a concert tomorrow, in fact we were free for a few weeks.
"Yeah, sounds good. Um . . . my mom will want to see him too." AJ hadn't mentioned his mom yet. I wondered how she would react to the news. "She's out of town for a few days but after that, maybe she could see him." Chris nodded. AJ was silent on the car ride to the hotel.