Chapter
21 – Where
Can We Go From Here?
Two
days later, Howie called a meeting. Nick and Kevin were both still bed-ridden,
but with a broken femur and a busted kneecap, not to mention the complication
caused from the infection, that was not surprising. A.J. still had trouble
walking on his own, but was determined to get around without the crutch. Howie
still had his cane, but really only used it up and down stairs. His walking
cast was working just fine. Brian also had been given a walking cast, and was
able to make his way carefully around without the wheelchair for short periods
of time. His arm and shoulder were still in a sling, but they were healing
well.
Howie
decided it was time for them to start talking about the future. A.J. was ready
to be released from the hospital, which meant Howie had to leave as well.
Besides, he was beginning to feel ridiculous paying for a hospital stay that he
no longer needed. He asked for Dr. Westin to meet with the five of them in
Nick’s room. Dr. Westin granted permission for Kevin to get a wheelchair to
join them.
“So
this is what the hospital looks like,” he joked as he was taken out of the
room.
Once
they were all present and situated, Howie began to speak.
“Ok,
everybody. This is the deal. Management has been on my ass as much as they
possibly can while still trying to stay sympathetic. They want to know what we
plan to do now. In other words, where do we go from here? I figured that now
was an ok time to bring up the question to everybody.”
“The
media is screaming for another press conference,” A.J. added. “More so now
since Nicky came back from the dead.”
“Sometimes
I’m not so sure,” Nick muttered. A.J. pretended not to hear him, but Brian flashed
him a worried glance.
“So
basically,” Howie continued, “I wanted Dr. Westin to tell us where we all
stand, and then we need to start talking about what we want to do.”
“Well,”
Dr. Westin said slowly. “I’m sure you are all anxious to go home. There is no
real reason why Howie and A.J., and probably Brian can’t do that. Obviously
Kevin and Nick will still be hospitalized for a little while longer, but the
next hurdle for all of you will be physical therapy. I am a little hesitant to
let Nick and Kevin go all the way back to Orlando. Unless they have serious
objections, I would rather them begin their therapy here in San Antonio. A trip
to Florida is not in their best interest.” All five were quiet for a moment,
taking in this information.
“I
don’t want to split up,” Brian said finally.
“Where
the hell would we go?” A.J. asked. “We don’t have any connections here.”
“I’m
sure we could find something,” Howie said. “If we all decide to stay.”
“Well,
whether you stay or go is up to you, but all of you will be needing therapy.
Howie has already been doing some here at the hospital and he is coming along
nicely.”
“Howard,”
Brian said jokingly. “Are you working on your finely toned self?”
Howie
straightened up proudly. “Yessir, that’s right. And I’m doing a damn good job
of it.” A.J. snickered, and Howie reached over and grabbed his hat.
“Hey!”
he yelped, trying to scramble after it. He was unsuccessful. Howie teased him
with it for a moment, while A.J. shot him a look of pure poison. Kevin gave
them both a warning look, and Howie offered the hat back to A.J., who snatched
it while muttering under his breath.
“How
long will all of this therapy take?” Kevin asked.
“Well,
you and Nick have a hard few months ahead of you, if you want to get back up to
the same level as before, which I am sure you do. I’m very confident you can
get through this without any repercussions, but it will be hard work.
Especially when it comes to strengthening your short term memories.”
“I
see.”
“I’d
like to keep you here in this city for a few more weeks.”
“Well,
Nick,” Kevin said, glancing over at him. “I guess it’s just you and me.”
“Yay,”
Nick said, void of any enthusiasm.
“I want
to stay,” Brian repeated. He looked over at Howie and A.J. “Together.”
“I
don’t mind staying,” Howie said.
“Well
I’m not going back to Orlando by myself,” A.J. said, giving Brian a reaffirming
nod.
“Well I
guess that’s settled,” Westin said. “We can start working on some arrangements
for you. We’ve started laying out programs for all of you. You can get started
right away.” They all nodded in agreement.
“Do you
need me for anything else?” he asked them. “I have a feeling you have other
matters to discuss, and I will leave you alone.”
“Thanks,
doc. We can take it from here,” Howie said. Once he had gone, Howie became very
serious.
“Ok
guys. Now here’s the big question. What about the Backstreet Boys?”
No one
said anything for a moment.
“The
fans are going ballistic speculating whether or not we’re finished. The press
is printing everything they can think of. We’re almost a flipping controversy,”
Howie said. “I think we need to start coming up with some answers, at least
start to think about what we want.” Everyone agreed with him.
“I
don’t want it to end,” A.J. spoke up suddenly. “Not like this.” The others
turned their attention to him.
“We’ve
come so far and overcome so much. This is by far the worst we’ve had to deal
with, but I don’t want it to be the end. We’re stronger than that.”
“That’s
my line of thought too,” Howie said quietly.
“Easy
for you to say,” Nick spat. “You aren’t laid up in bed as a cripple with a
memory that doesn’t work right.” Howie was startled by his sudden outburst.
Nick hadn’t seemed exactly chipper for the last few days, but no one really
expected him to be. This, however, was a tone they hadn’t heard before.
“We’re
listening to you Nick. What do you have to say?” Brian asked him.
He
looked around the room at them for a moment. “Nothing,” he said finally,
directing his attention to the ceiling.
“Now is
the time to tell us where you stand,” Howie insisted. “We said before that if
one of us had something to say about their future in the group we would all sit
down and listen to him and then talk about it.”
“We’re
all here to help you, buddy. You’re not alone,” Brian told him.
“I
know,” Nick said softly, looking as though he was about to cry. “I just feel
all messed up right now. I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“Neither
do I, if that helps any,” Kevin joked. Nick smiled a little.
“I
don’t know how things are going to go, but if we can stick together, I guess I
want us to continue,” Nick said with a sigh.
“Don’t
half-ass this one, Nick,” A.J. said. “You have to want to do this. If you
don’t, that’s ok. We don’t have to decide today for sure. We’ll keep talking
about it.”
“I am not
half-assing anything.” Nick said sharply.
“Relax,”
Howie said gently. “I just wanted to get a general feel of where we all stand
right now. What about you, Kevin?”
“It’s
all going to end someday,” he said slowly. “But I don’t think today is the day.
I think we’ve all still got something left, and as long as we all feel that way
we should keep it going.”
“Brian?”
“This
is what I love,” he said simply.
“Ok
then. For right now, it looks like we’re still the Backstreet Boys.”