Part 90
Howie and Nick walked through the door, exhausted from the show. Looking for their wives, they smiled as they found Sarah, sound asleep on the couch and Becca, sitting in the recliner, her eyes glued to the TV.
Howie immediately picked up on Becca's mood, but Nick was slower to react.
"Honey, I'm home!" he grinned, tossing his jacket on the floor beside her.
"Nick, we need to talk," she said quietly, a disturbed look in her eyes.
Howie knew then that Sarah had told Becca everything that had happened, and that events were about to be set into motion over which he no longer had control.
"You two have a nice time tonight?" Nick asked leaning over to kiss her on the forehead.
"Sure," Becca answered absently.
"Sarah told you, didn't she?" Howie asked softly.
"Told you what, Bec?" Nick asked. "What's wrong?" He was finally taking notice of the strain on her face.
"Nick, some things … some things have happened." Becca struggled, unsure how to continue. She looked up at Howie, silently begging for help.
Howie sat next to her on the arm of the chair. "It's ok, Bec, I'm here, just like I promised. He needs to know."
Becca took a deep breath and looked at Nick, who was now kneeling at her feet. "Baby, talk to me," he whispered, his heart beginning to pound.
"This afternoon … this afternoon I was hanging around during sound checks. You were off somewhere with the guys when it was AJ's turn." She took a deep breath. "Nick, he made a pass at me."
Nick laughed, missing the entire point. "Becca, that's nothing, that's just AJ. What, you thought I'd be mad at you? Baby, that's just the way he is." He smiled up at her, wondering why she looked so frightened and then he began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Bec, that's not all though, is it."
Howie squeezed her hand and began to rub her back as she struggled to tell the rest of the story.
"I thought he was playing around, too, but then it changed. He wouldn't let me go and he said …" She stopped to catch her breath and think.
"He said what?" Nick whispered.
"He told me how great I must be in bed to hold onto you for so long-" She flinched as Nick jumped to his feet, but held his hand to keep him there so that she could finish. Her eyes were filled with tears at the memory. "Stop Nick, there's more."
"More? That wasn't enough?" he spat angrily.
"Nick, just listen," Howie said. "Please."
Tears were rolling down her face as she told him the rest. "He was pretty graphic about the things he'd like to do with me. He said something about my being pregnant being a turn on."
Nick paled. "Did he touch you?"
There was no doubt about what he meant. "No. Howie was there. He-"
"You saw this? And didn't STOP it?" Nick was furious.
"Nick, he DID. He pulled him off of me before anything could happen." Becca wiped the tears from her face. "But-"
"But what? God, there's more?"
"This wasn’t the first time, Nick." Becca sat forward, struggling to get comfortable.
"That sonofabitch has done this to you before?" Nick was livid.
"No, it was me," Sarah whispered. No one realized that she was awake, but she'd heard the entire encounter. She sat up, brushing her hair away from her face as Nick turned to her with questions in his eyes.
Howie moved to sit beside her, putting his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. This was it, another step in the unraveling saga and he wished he could just wave his hand and make it all disappear, make everything better once again.
"Becca, what the hell is going on here?" Nick asked, more confused than before.
"When we were in Nashville," she paused to look at Sarah, the words choking her. "When we were in Nashville, AJ raped Sarah." She watched as the words hit home. As Nick paled, she could see that his thoughts were much the same as hers had been earlier.
"Baby, he could have- if Howie hadn't been there-"
"He might have raped her, too, Nick," Sarah said. "That's why you had to know."
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Not yet, but I will be. It's going to take time, Nick. But AJ-"
"AJ?! How the fuck can you be concerned about AJ after what he did to you? And what he almost did to Becca?" Suddenly the visual image of AJ with his wife became more than he could stomach. Turning a deathly shade of green he bolted for the bathroom and proceeded to become violently ill.
Becca struggled to rise to her feet, but Howie stopped her. "I'll go," he said as he followed Nick.
"Bec, I'm so sorry," Sarah said.
"*You're* sorry? What kind of twisted fucking logic is that?" Becca laughed. "Sarah, YOU are the one that was raped." She shook her head in irony. "Please tell me you're going to get counseling. Please?" she begged.
Sarah shook her head. "I have you. And I have Howie…"
"We're friends, Sarah, but I think you need more. At least say you'll think about it?"
Before Sarah could answer, the sound of raucous laughter and singing could be heard in the hallway. Nick and Howie came out of the bathroom as AJ's voice floated through the closed door and something in Nick snapped.