Chapter Twelve

Two Worlds Apart-Chapter 12 "Nick? Come on, let me in! It's kind of embarressing to be shouting at a closed door!"

The door opened and Brian walkin inside. "Well? Is there any particular reason that you let me yell out there for five minutes?"

"Brian, I really don't need your attitude. This hasn't been a good night."

"Really? What happened?" Brian plopped down on the bed and turned on the TV.

"Oh, don't even go there. You already know what happened. I fucked up and now I'm paying for it. You just came in here to read the stupid note. It's over there on the table."

Brian unfolded the paper and began to read.


Dear Nick:

There's really no easy way to say this, but I'm leaving the tour. Actually, I'm leaving the business altogether. By the time you read this, I'll probably be on an airplane, heading home. This was a decision that was a long time coming, although the tape did push me over the edge. I thought I knew you better than that. Or maybe I just expected too much. I don't know. Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this is person, but I just can't face you right now. You understand, right? I hope so. I put the ring in the envelope. Maybe you can give it to the redhead from the Grammy party. Or maybe her hair was brown. I don't remember. Not that it matters. I'm sorry things turned out like this. I'm sorry I couldn't trust you. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to stay. But most of all, I'm sorry for myself because even after all that's happened, I still care a great deal for you. It's been a wild ride, Nick. I'll carry these memories with me for the rest of my life. Maybe even longer. I'll NEVER forget you, and I'll always wonder how it could have been. By the way, if you guys ever play Monopoly again, you better use my strategy. I'll miss you.

Love, Kelli


 "Well, Carter, you certainly got yourself into a mess this time."

"No shit, sherlock. But I'm getting the idea that you knew she was leaving."

"What if I did?"

"I would be really pissed that you didn't tell me when I could have stopped her."

"Dude, if you had watched her performance with AJ and me after we watched the tape, you would have known. She only told the whole audience. She sang a great song and she was practically in tears on the stage."

"I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"Stuff? She was your fucking girlfriend! What kind of stuff could be more important? Are you smoking something? First you go and make out with some random girl, which you don't even tell your girlfriend about and APOLOGIZE for--"

"Well, would you tell Leighanne if you were in my shoes? NO!"

"I would never be that stupid to start with! And I'm not done yet! AFter you screw up royally, you don't even try to be supportive and watch her sing! You know more than anyone how scared she gets. So come on Nick. What's the 'stuff?' Where you with the redhead again?"

"NO! As much as you love to underestimate me, you need to hear the whole story before you go running off your big mouth! For your information, I was writing this." Nick threw a piece of paper at Brian.
He quickly scanned it and then nodded his head, impressed.
"This is really good."

"Thanks. I wrote it for..well, you know."

"Yeah. We should put it on the next album."

"There's no time. Maybe on the third one. I want to have enough time in the studio, you know, to make it perfect."

"Ah, I understand. Well kid, good luck. With the mess you're in, you're gonna need it."




Although the flight from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh was a short one, it felt like hours to Kelli. When she finally claimed her luggage at 2:30 am, she was ready to drop. Sighing, she sat down on her suitcase and called her cousin, who had an apartment in Pittsburgh. The phone rang a few times before someone finally answered.
"Whoever this is better have a damn good excuse for waking me up when I have exams tomorrow," a tired voice came over the phone.

"Sally? Is that you?"

"Yeah. Who's this? Oh, my god. Is this Kelli? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I'm at the airport. Do you mind if I crash at your hose until tomorrow afternoon?"

"No, I don't mind at all. Do you need me to come get you or what? And what's wrong? You should be in Minneapolis right now, if my obsessed friends are right."

"Well, yeah. I should be there. But I'm not. I'll tell you about it after your exams. I'll just call a cab, because I don't want you to have to drive out here to pick me up."

"Ok. When you get here, there's gonna be a key underneath the doormat, alright?"

"Cool. See ya."

"Bye."

Wearily, Kelli went up to the desk to ask for a phone book to call a cab. It was gonna be a long night.




"Come on, Katie. I know she gave you her home phone number!"

"Nick, I'm going to ignore you and try to enjoy my breakfast."

"So you DO have it!"

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"If you don't shut up, I'm gonna slug you."

"Sarah?"

"Sorry, Nick. If she wanted you to contact her, I'm sure she would have given it to you. But, she didn't. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Nick tried to talk, but ended up spraying food out of his mouth.

AJ eyed him warily. "Chew, swallow, then talk."

Adam, who was sitting across from Nick, looked closely at his plate. "Dude, you just spit on my bacon. This was perfectly good bacon, and now it has been spit upon."

Joe looked at him. "Which piece of bacon has been 'spit upon?'"

"That one."

Joe picked it up and tossed it on the floor. "There. Now you don't have to eat it."

"Hey! You threw my bacon on the floor!"

"Who cares? You weren't gonna eat it anyway."

"Yo, I want my bacon back."

Brian picked up bacon from his own plate and threw it at Adam. "There. Eat my bacon. I just lost my appetite."

Kevin nudged him. "Don't just give away your food like that."

Howie looked at them as if they had lost their minds. "It's just bacon. Calm down. We can always order more."

"Thank you, Howie," Sarah said gratefully. "Now, if you guys are done fighting over your food, we can salvage what is left of any decent conversation."

"Hah! There WAS never any decent conversation. As soon as we sat down, Nick was bugging me about Kelli, and he hasn't quit yet."

"She's my girlfriend and I'm worried about her. She might need me."

"Reality check! She WAS your girlfriend for about two hours before you betrayed her. And chances are, she doesn't need you to go fly in and save the day. She did fine before she met you and she'll continue to do fine after she's forgotten about you. And the only thing you're concerned about is your precious reputation. You're worried that she'll tell MTV or some magazine exactly why she's leaving the business. But you don't ahve to worry about that. Unlike you, Kelli is trustworthy."

Nick was fuming. This girl had some nerve. "Hey now wait a min--"

Katie stood and cur him off. "I'm not done yet! I'm very thankful for you guys allowing us to be alternate dancers for the rest of the tour, but let's get one thing straight, Nick Carter. I'm not one of you millions of followers. You can't turn on that smile and expect me to melt. Unlike them, I know you. And I don't like you. You're a very lucky man because each and every person here is out of your league, including Kelli! And for all I care, you can rot in hell!"

Sarah stood up, almost knocking her chair over. "Katie! What's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?"

"There's not much left in there for her to lose! Kelli may be out of my league, but you don't know me at all. Yeah, I screwed up. So what? And even though, more than anything, I want to chase after her and make her forgive me, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to let her move on with her life, because I don't want to hold her back. But you don't know what's going on in my head, and if I'm going to hell, there's a damn good chance you're coming right down with me!"





The next day, Kelli was sitting at Sally's kitchen table, looking at car ads and waiting for her to return from her exam.
When Kelli had arrived at about 3:45 am, the two had stayed up talking until Sally had to leave to go take her test. Now Kelli was anxious for her to return, because she needed a ride so she could go look at cars.
When she finally heard the door upen, she bolted into the entryway. "Come on! I want to go buy a car!" Sally laughed as they headed outside. "When most girls get depressed, they go to the mall. Not my cousin. Nope, she goes out and buys a car!"

"I'm not depressed and I NEED a car. I got rid of the Jeep."

"Are you going to get another one?" Sally asked as they pulled out into traffic.

"I don't think so. I'm leaning towards a Jag, a Mustang, a Beamer, or a VW Bug."

"Why don't you just buy all four?"

"Because I can't drive four cars home. What's the best car dealership in Pittsburgh?"

"The one I'm driving to now."

"Oh, that makes sense."




"You know, you never did tell me what your story is," Sally said as she loaded a bag into Kelli's new mustang. "Every time I tried to bring it up, you changed the subject."

Kelli sat down on the hood of the car. "Let's see here. I think I'll tell you the short, unemotional version. Girl joins tour, girl meets boy. Boy and girl connect and hook up, boy cheats on girl, thus ruining her self-esteem and causing her tro leave tour."

"So this is about you and Nick?"

"Bravo. And I'm sorry for sounding so hostile. Today's Sunday, right? Man, I guess I'm going back to school tomorrow."

"I didn't think I would hear you say those words again."

Me neither. It kinda sounds...I don't know...almost refreshing, doesn't it?"

Laughing, Sally shook her head. "Yeah, it does."

"I better be getting home. I want to tell my mom everything before she hears it from someone else."

"Alright. Come here and give me a hug. You're a strong girl, Kelli. Stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"Thanks! I work out."

"Not like that! You know what I mean. You'll pull through this junk. You always do. I admire that about you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Now get on home, before I start to cry."

"Ok. And Sally?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me stay here," Kelli said as she got in the car. "You're good in a tight spot and I wish I could be more like that."

"Anytime, Kel," Sally said as Kelli drove down the stret. "Anytime."

Chapter 13
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