"Excuse me, miss, where are you going?" Krista stopped at the sound of the doorman's voice.
"I'm just going to visit one of my friends," she answered, turning around to face him.
"And who might that be?" he asked. "All guests must be announced."
"Katelin Taylor," Krista replied.
"I'm sorry," the doorman began. "But the Taylor's are to receive no visitors. This is a time of mourning for them. If you were really a friend of Miss Taylor's you would know that her father has just passed away."
"Listen," Krista said. "The fact that I am really a friend of hers is the reason I'm here. She needs her friends right now."
"Well, I'm sorry," he told her. "But I cannot allow you to go up there." He turned to the next guest and Krista took the opportunity to sneak into the elevator and ride up to the Taylor's penthouse.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******
"Hey," Ang greeted as Nick opened his front door. "How are you?" Nick shrugged:
"Okay, I guess." He let Ang into the house. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Ang lied. "Just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing."
"Bullshit," Nick replied. "You live an hour from me. You're not just dropping by. Why are you here?"
"Where's Lanie?" Ang asked, sitting down on the couch.
"Home, I guess," Nick replied. "Now, why are you here?"
"Are you going to New York?" Ang finally managed to get out, surrprising Nick.
"What?" he asked, incredulously.
"Come on, Nick," she said. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. No one's stopping you, or any of us, from seeing her anymore."
"It's been three years, Ang," he told her. "I've finally managed to get on with my life. Do I really want to go through that again?" Ang shrugged:
"I don't know, Nick. That's entirely up to you. The funeral is on Friday. I'm flying up there tomorrow. It's been three years since I've seen or talked to my best friend."
"What are you saying?" Nick asked.
"I think that you should come with me," Ang responded.
"I can't," Nick said, quietly, after a moment. "It's been too long. I have Lanie now." Ang stood up and walked over to the front door.
"I think you're making a big mistake, Nick," she told him, her hand on the doorknob. "No one's asking you to betray Lanie. But if you ever loved Katelin, you would be there for her on Friday." She walked out of the door and slammed it behind her before he had a chance to respond.
'That's the reason I can't go,' Nick thought to himself after she had closed the door.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******
Krista rang the doorbell of the Taylor's penthouse and waited patiently for someone to open the door. A minute later, Katelin's stepmother, Adrienne, opened the door, looking tired and emotionally drained.
"Can I help you?" she asked, tiredly.
"Yeah," Krista answered. "Is Katelin home?"
"Yeah, come on in," Adrienne instructed. "You're Krista, right?"
"Yes," Krista answered. "I'm ver sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine." Well, actually, she could but that wasn't something she was going to bring up now.
"Thank you," Adrienne responded. "Let me go get Kate. I don't think she's come out of that room all day." Adrienne disappeared from the room while Krista made herself comfortable on the couch.
"Kate?" Adrienne called, knocking on Katelin's door. "Someone's here to see you." A second later, the bedroom door swung open, revealing a red-and-puffy-eyed Katelin.
"Who is it?" she asked. Adrienne shrugged:
"You should go see for yourself." Katelin quickly smoothed out her clothes and threw her messy hair up into a ponytail before running down the stairs. Thinking it was her new boyfriend, Dylan, she threw open the doors to the den, ready to cry on his shoulder. Instead, she was greeted with the familiar face of an old friend.
"Krista?" Katelin asked, astonished.
"Hey girl,' Krista replied, smiling slightly Katelin ran over and threw her arms around Krista's neck.
"I can't believe you're here!" she cried. "It's so good to see you."
"You too," Krista replied, pulling away. "I'm so sorry about your dad, Kate."
"Thanks," Katelin said, her blue eyes welling with tears. "It's just so hard, you know? I'm nineteen years old and I don't have any parents left."
"I know, Kate," Krista soothed. "I wish there was something I could say to make it better."
"Just the fact that you're here, Kris," Katelin replied, wiping her eyes. "At least I have Adrienne. She's the only family I have." Katlein did have another member of her family out there somewhere. A son she hadn't seen since ten minutes after he was born.
"So how is everyone?" Katelin questioned. "AJ and the baby?"
"You didn't hear?" Krista wondered in disbelief. She thought for sure Katelin would've known about the baby and the fact that Krista had walked out on AJ. Katelin shook her head:
"I've separated myself from anything Backstreet," she told her. "I couldn't tell you a damn thing about any of them."
"I lost the baby, Kate," Krista answered, quietly.
"Oh my god!" Katelin cried. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
"It happened the night you left," Krista explained. "He was premature and he didn't survive. And then, I left AJ a few months later."
"I'm sorry," Katelin apologized again, hugging her. "I didn't know."
"I've been in New York ever since," Krista continued. "Taking classes and dancing a little here and there. I would've gotten in touch with you but I couldn't."
"I know," Katelin answered, staring at the floor. "My dad changed everything. Phone numbers. He told the people downstairs not to let any of you up if you tried. He really didn't want me to have anything to do with you guys, especially Nick."
"It's not your fault, Kate," Krista soothed. "You never did anything wrong. You guys were in love."
"I know," Katelin whispered, not even wanting to think about Nick.
"What have you been doing?" Krista questioned.
"I've been dancing," Katelin answered. "At the New York City Ballet where my mom used to. It was the only thing I had left when I got back here."
"Do you ever wonder about any of them?" Krista asked, carefully. "About Nick?"
"I used to all of the time," Katelin whispered, tearfully. "Memories were all I had to hold on to. It's gotten a little easier, though. I mean, it's been almost three years. You'd think I'd be completely over him by now."
"You can't help who you fall in love with," Krista reassured her. "I still think about AJ. I heard he was engaged.
"Everything's changed so much," Katelin stated. "There's nothing we can do except move on with our lives."