Part 82
After the show, Sarah and Becca were waiting backstage for the guys to come off talking quietly about nothing in particular. Howie snuck up behind Sarah grabbing her by the waist and kissing her on the neck. It terrified Sarah which everyone saw and Howie felt her body tense.
"Angel…what’s the matter?" asked Howie turning her to face him. Sarah’s shirt had been shifted revealing what she had desperately tried to cover. Howie saw the bruises and fire flew through his eyes.
Sarah saw it and she begged him with her eyes not to say anything. Softly, she whispered, "Not here."
"I’m going to get my stuff and we’re going straight to the bus," he said firmly, anger lacing his usually calm voice.
Sarah didn’t respond and watched as Howie went quickly to get his bag.
Kevin was making his way to the dressing room too and Sarah grabbed his arm. "Boo….I need you."
Leaving Becca with Nick, Sarah and Kevin stepped away from them to talk privately. "What’s up, baby?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"What?"
"Ride with us to the next town and make up some excuse to tell Howie."
"What’s going on, Sarah?"
"Not here."
Howie returned and took Sarah’s hand. "Let’s go, Sarah."
Kevin saw the look in Sarah’s eyes as she begged him silently. He spoke up. "D, I need to ride with you guys tonight. My AC is screwed up on the bus."
Howie wasn’t thrilled with the idea but he said, "Fine! Sleep on the couch. Sarah and I need to talk."
"Let me grab my bag and I’ll join you."
Howie and Sarah waited for Kevin and together the three headed to Howie’s bus. When they got on, Howie started to pull Sarah to the back of the bus so they could talk privately but she stopped cold.
"Sarah…we need to talk. NOW!!"
"We’re gonna talk..here, with Kevin listening."
Both men looked at Sarah and saw that she was trembling. Howie took her hands in his and said, "Sarah, you’re scaring me. First you changed clothes and took a shower…then you called me Howard…then the bruises…and now wanting Kevin to hear too? What the hell is going on?"
Sarah suddenly felt like she was going to throw up and she sank down onto the couch. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began to sob. Howie moved to her quickly and tried to take her in his arms but she pulled away from him. "God…don’t! You aren’t gonna EVER want to touch me again when I tell you what happened."
Howie was desperate. "Angel….please! Nothing could ever happen to make me NOT want to touch you. Please, tell me what’s wrong? What’s happened?"
Kevin had started putting the pieces together. He had seen AJ’s reaction when Sarah had joined them before they went on stage; he had seen the lack of interaction between AJ and Sarah when they were onstage; now Howie was asking about bruises; plus the look in Sarah’s eyes. He had seen that look once before-the night at Tabu after he and AJ had made love to her and Howie had made his presence known. He sat down beside Sarah and put his arm around her. Sarah leaned into him as he asked gently, "Sarah, something happened with AJ, didn’t it?"
Timidly, Sarah nodded her head ‘yes’. She looked into Howie’s eyes and said meekly, "AJ raped me."
Both men felt like a truck had hit them. Howie was reeling from Sarah’s words. This had to be a nightmare and he would wake any minute.
Kevin recovered first and asked, "What happened, Sarah?"
As they felt the bus beginning to move, Sarah explained to Kevin and Howie what had happened. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she talked, her eyes never leaving Howie’s. Howie held onto her hands and Kevin rubbed her back to give her courage to continue. When she was done, she said softly, "Howie, please…tell me you still love me."
Howie couldn’t hold back the tears as Sarah looked at him pitifully. He moved to take her in his arms and Sarah went willingly this time. His tears fell in her hair as he held her, whispering, "God…I could never STOP loving you, Sarah."
His heart breaking for the couple, Kevin said, "Sarah, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll deal with AJ at the next stop."
"Please! Don’t tell the others!" begged Sarah, sheer terror in her eyes.
"We won’t but he’s going to stay away from you," said Kevin.
"Raoul is looking out for me," said Sarah. "I sorta told him on the way back into the arena…when he came looking for me. Howie…I’m sorry you weren’t the first one I told but I couldn’t tell you before you went on stage! You’d never have gotten through the show without killing AJ."
Howie snorted, "Not sure I’m not gonna kill him NOW."
"NO….please…let it go! I’ll be okay."
"Sarah, SOMETHING has to be said to AJ," said Kevin. "Look, both of you are tired. Go back to the bunks and get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow."
"Thanks, Kevin," said Sarah.
Howie took Sarah’s hand and led her back to the sleeping area where he closed the door. He took her in his arms and held her tight. "Angel, I need to get a shower. Are you gonna be okay?"
"No, but I’ll survive. Go on."
Howie watched as Sarah lay on the bunk and cuddled with her teddy bear. His heart was breaking…again…and he was furious too. How could AJ of all people hurt Sarah like this? He’d deal with AJ later. His first priority now was his wife. She needed him.