“If that chick looked at you I’m Marilyn Monroe,” a male voice cut through Libby’s restless sleep and she opened her eyes to see two guys in front of her by the elevators. One of them looked familiar from the side and she sat up.
“Hey,” she called and they both turned around. “Aren’t you Backstreet AJ?”
“Backstreet AJ?” he looked amused and his blonde partner chuckled. “I guess ya COULD say that but I prefer just plain AJ.”
“Ok then, plain AJ,” she smiled sweetly and he laughed, walking closer to where she still lounged on the couch.
“You look pretty comfortable there.”
“After a ten hour bus ride, an iron horse would be comfortable,” she grimaced and pulled her legs up to her chin.
“So, you know my name…”
“Yup I do,” she said without offering to tell him hers. “And you’re a Backstreet guy too,” she told the blonde man. “But I forget the name.”
“It’s Nick,” he supplied.
“Hey Nick,” she waved at him slightly and then groaned. “Damn my shoulder is all kinky.”
“What about the rest of ya?” AJ grinned and started to flex his fingers. “I’m told I give great massage.”
“Hmm, massage… I could go for that big time,” she considered the thought. “But that would involve moving and uh, no can do.”
“Shame,” AJ pouted. “So, you gonna give me a name to call ya later or do I just make one up?”
“Surprise me.”
“Hmm, lemme think…” AJ looked her over intently, making her blush slightly and then grinned. “I got it. I’ll call ya mine. That sound ok?”
She rolled her eyes at him and looked at Nick. “So Nick, is Kevin gonna be long?”
“Kevin?” Nick looked at her with a surprised expression.
“Yeah Kevin. I’m kinda waiting for him,” she explained.
“You are?” Nick stared at her. “But Kristen isn’t here.”
“She isn’t? Ah well, I’ll deal,” Libby said dryly.
“Why do you want Kevin?” AJ sat next to her on the couch. “You got ME. Plus, Kev’s MARRIED and uh…” His voiced tailed off and she chuckled.
“Stop there before you insult me.”
Before AJ could respond, the hotel doors opened and the remaining three Backstreet Boys walked in. Kevin headed to the front desk to check his messages while Brian saw Libby straight away and almost knocked her over with a big hug.
“LIBBY!” he exclaimed delightedly.
“Hey Brian,” she grinned back at him. “It’s great to see you!”
“You too!” he stepped back and looked her over. “You look tired. Everything ok?”
“Yeah, it was just a long journey,” she said as Kevin finally joined them.
“What’s all the…” he stopped when he saw Libby and stared at her. “Libby?”
“Hi Kev,” she said.
“Uh, what are you doin’ here? Are you ok? What’s happened?” he asked quickly and she laughed.
“Gee, don’t overwhelm me with all the love at once will ya Kev?”
“Sorry,” he chuckled and pulled her into his arms for a big hug.
She smiled and held onto him tightly, savouring his smell. He could always make her feel safe and right now she needed that. She felt hot tears pricking her eyes and screwed them shut tightly so they wouldn’t fall and give her away.
“It IS good to see you Libby. And I missed you.”
“You too,” she stepped out of his arms and smiled.
“Ok, anyone wanna fill the confused in on this whole sit?” said AJ.
“You met AJ?” Kevin asked Libby with a touch of amusement and she nodded. He turned to AJ, Nick and Howie and pulled Libby close to him. “Guys, meet Libby. She’s my baby sister.”
“Hey, less of the baby thing,” she retorted and he laughed.
“Aw, you’ll always be my baby sis.”
“Yuk,” she pushed him away and pulled a face at him. “Why did I ever miss you?”
“Because I’m your big brother,” he replied. “You got someplace to sleep?”
“Uh, no…” she made her eyes as big as possible and he laughed. “I was kinda hopin’…”
“I got it,” Brian grinned and headed off to the reception desk.
“So you’re Brian’s cousin?” asked Nick.
“Regular Sherlock you got here,” Libby told Kevin who rolled his eyes.
Kevin looked at his sister who was sat cross-legged on the bed in the room Brian had hired for her. She looked tired he thought. Her long black hair was tied up and her green eyes had lost their sparkle. She looked pale and skinny. She also looked like she hadn’t slept for weeks. He was going to call mom the minute he got back to his room and find out just what had been going on in Libby’s life lately.
“So Lib, you gonna tell me why you’re here?”
“Can’t I come see my big brother any more?” she played for time and he sighed.
“Of course you can. But we both know that hopping a bus from LA to Houston is kinda extreme for just missing your brother.”
“I just felt like seeing you,” she shrugged.
“Ok,” he smiled lightly and stood up. “We’ll have a real catch up tomorrow but right now, you look like you need some sleep.”
“Thank you,” she said as he headed out of the door.
He shut the door behind him and caught the elevator up to his room. He sat down and dialled his mom’s number. She answered after a couple of rings.
“Hello?”
“Hi mom, it’s me.”
“Kevin, hi honey!”
“Everything ok with you?”
“Yes, of course. You?”
“Yes, I’m good. Uh, mom, Libby just turned up.”
“Libby?!”
“Yeah. Apparently she caught a bus from LA just cos she wanted to see me.”
“Uh huh,” his mom replied suspiciously and he nodded.
“My thoughts exactly. Something’s wrong.”
“How does she look?”
“Pretty awful. Tired, pale and skinny,” Kevin sighed.
“Oh god Kevin. I’ll catch the next flight out.”
“No mom, relax. I’ll take care of her. Whatever it is, she’s not ready to talk about it yet so you just turning up would seriously spook her.”
“But Kevin…”
“Mom,” he interrupted. “I’ll find out and I’ll help her. I just wanted to let you know where she is.”
“Ok. You’ll get her to call me?”
“First thing tomorrow,” he promised.
“And you’ll take good care of her?”
“Mom, she’s my sister,” he replied as he hung up the phone. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and lay back on the bed. Judging by mom’s reaction she was as much in the dark as he was when it came to Libby. What the hell had happened to his sister and why hadn’t he been around to protect her?