~~ A couple days later ~~
Lis unlocked the door to her house and smiled weakly at Brian as he set her bags down. He turned on the hall light, breaking the darkness. "You okay here?"
She looked around the house, "Yeah, this is my place...I'll be fine."
Shan walked in behind her. "Well we settled?"
"No, I gotta take Lis' bags up and check on the dogs and..."
"And Bri I can do all of that myself." Lis interrupted his little tirade.
Shan laughed. "See Lis is a very big girl now. She can do all that for herself."
Bri shook his head. "I'm taking the bags up, Lis in your condition you really shouldn't be carrying things." he said seriously.
"If it'll make you feel better Rok, lug the bags upstairs." Lis said trying to hold back her laughter. He was being so serious about every little thing.
Shan shook her head as Bri disappeared up the stairs. "Oh he's a barrel of laughs isn't he?"
"You know it. And you get to stay at the hotel with him." Lis smiled cheekily.
"Now that isn't a bad little arrangement." Shan said with a smirk. "You don't think he has that gladiator outfit from a few years back on him do ya?" she whispered.
Lis laughed. "I think you'd have to ask him that."
Bri walked back downstairs interrupting their conversation. "Well Lis if you think you can deal on your own for the night...I guess we'll head to the hotel."
Shan sighed. "Oh no, trapped at a hotel with a Backstreet Boy."
Brian laughed. "Hey it won't be that bad." he said walking outside.
Shan shook her head. "Clueless!" she whispered turning to Lis, "I'll give you details in the morning."
Lis laughed. "Please I think I can do without them." She walked outside with them, watched them pull away and headed back inside.
She closed the door behind Brian and Shan and walked slowly through the quiet house. Han was at their parents for the week, watching the house while their parents went on yet another vacation. Brian had left the letter for her to read on the sofa and she couldn't make herself go over there to read it yet. She opened the back door and walked out onto the patio remembering Nick when he had seen the house...
~~ Flashback ~~
Nick walked through the empty house, checking everything out. Every nook cranny, closet, cupboard he'd been in and checked out. He heard Lis call him from outside so he walked outside. "Lis what?" he asked distracted. He still wasn't too sure yet, they'd only been on the first floor yet and so far it was nothing special.
Lis leaned on the railing. "Nick, you look like you have to take an exam on this place later."
Nick smiled. "I just want our house to be perfect." he said wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's gotta be perfect." he said softly, resting his head on top of hers.
"We don't have to leave the beach house if you don't want to Nick." she suggested.
"And then where are the babies going to sleep? Lis it's only three bedrooms, one's your study room, the other's Aaron's and the third one's ours."
"Babies..." Lis said softly. "Our babies." she bit her lip as she started imagining them, big blue eyes, blonde hair and Nick's smile.
Nick looked back at the house. "You know blondie, maybe this place is perfect..."
Lis leaned back against his chest. "I was hoping you'd think so."
He turned her around to face him. "And why's that?"
"Because I really like this place...did you see the upstairs?"
Nick watched the way her eyes lit up as she talked, and he nodded at whatever she was saying. Anything that made her look like that was worth everything to him. "Okay it's settled, we'll take it. Do a little renovating and make it ours."
"Are you serious?" she asked, looking up at him in surprise. She thought she would have had to do a bit more convincing.
He nodded. "Very serious, now let's go inside and you can show me the upstairs."
~~ New York ~~
Nick walked out of his small apartment and headed for the elevator. He was forcing himself to go out and do things but nothing made him feel like he was alive. The doors opened and he got inside, hardly noticing the other person standing there.
She stood there quietly watching the guy beside her read through his newspaper. He looked so familiar, but she couldn't place him. Not hard to do the building was filled with various celebrities. "Are you new to the building?" she asked finally breaking the silence.
Nick took his eyes off his paper, and looked at the woman beside him. "Yeah, just moved in about three weeks ago."
"I thought so, well that you were new...haven't seen you around before." she explained herself. "You look really familiar, sorry I'm just talking away here and your busy trying to read your paper. Just ignore me." she smiled and went back to watching the lights above the door.
In spite of himself, Nick smiled she seemed very friendly. "I'm Nick, Nick Carter and you are?"
Nick Carter! Why hadn't she recognized him earlier? "I'm Esha, but call me E."
"Nice to meet you E."
"Same here." She smiled at him.
"Which floor are you on?" He asked, he hadn't gotten around to meeting anyone in the building. Truthfully he just wanted to be alone. None of his New York pals even knew he was there.
"18th."
"I'm on the 12th. But you probably knew that, that's when I got on." he laughed softly.
E smiled. "Well that or you were visiting someone in the building."
Nick folded his paper and stuck it in his backpack. "Are there any good coffee places nearby?"
"There's a good one on the corner." The doors opened and they walked out into the lobby.
"Thanks, I'm thinking I might grab a bite to eat. Care to join me?"
E stopped and looked at him for a minute before she answered. "Sure, it's Sunday I'm free."
The house was dark when Lis finally went back inside, she had no idea how long she had been standing outside but in all honesty she didn't care. She walked over to the sofa picked up the letter and headed out into the garage, there was only one place she could read that letter and that was the beach house. Half hour later she was letting herself inside, the place was like it always was filled with Nick's things. She turned the far hall light on and set her things down. It was almost as if she expected him to appear, every fibre of her being wanted him to walk up the stairs from the studio and ask her to come down and listen to his latest track. She stood there a minute just in case he did appear but he didn't. Her eyes traveled down to the letter in her hand. "What do you have to say Nicky?" she asked outloud as she went over and sat on the couch.
E looked across the table at Nick. "I'm sorry Nick, this must be horrible for you."
Nick nodded, still not believing he'd told a total stranger everything that was going on in his life. "It's hell, but I have to get through it. Still have to start on the divorce, or annulment or whatever it is we need to do."
"Are you sure you want to go through that Nick? You still love her and I think she still loves you too." E couldn't believe anyone would cheat on this man with his best friend. And from everything he had said about Lisa she was having a hard time believing that she had.
He rested his head against his hand. "I have to E, make things easier on all of us. We have to move on." he said adamantly.
She reached across the table and held his hand. "Well if you ever need someone to talk to I'm always here."
"Thanks." He gave her his famous smile. His eyes drifted down to his watch. "Whoa it's late, I should head home and get some sleep. Who knew talking could be so exhausting?"
E smiled. "Well when you're telling someone practically your entire life history it can be a little exhausting."
He pulled his wallet out and put down a pile of bills on the table and helped E to her feet. "Thanks." She smiled at him as they walked out onto the crowded New York street.
"Welcome. Are you headed back home...or?"
"Apartment."
"I'll walk with you, come on." he took her arm and they made their way through the bustling crowds.
Lis reread the letter for the hundredth time, tears running down her face. She'd hurt him in the worst way and he'd left, and there was no way she could make him tell him the truth. Lis ran upstairs to their old bedroom and threw herself on the bed, crying herself to sleep.
