“Brianna, Bree, when you get this call me okay? Please?” That was it. That was the entire message. He barely even got that much out. He was crying. She heard it in his voice. He could barely even catch his breath. He also called her Brianna; something he only did when he was upset.
Where are they now? New York. Right. MTV. How soon can I get there? She didn’t know whether to call the airport, her parents, or Nick first. Finally she decided calling Nick first would be the best course. Maybe they weren’t planning on staying in New York for long. Hell, they weren’t even supposed to be there to begin with.
Of course she got his voice mail. “Nick, oh God, Hon. I just found out. I was on my way to class when someone came and told me. I didn’t even see you guys. By the time they told me it was over. Honey call me. Where ever you are I’ll be there as soon as possible if you want. I’m home, in my dorm. I’m not leaving here until I hear from you okay. So, just do what you have to do. I’m right here. Call me when you can. Nicky, I love you. It’s gonna be alright. Remember, in the end, everything’s always alright.”
She hung up her phone shaking and crying. All she wanted to do was see him and hug him. Nick crying on national TV, she knew this had to be serious, and seriously upsetting him. He never cries on TV and he never just sits there, perfectly still and not say anything. Didn’t one of the girls say he never even looked up at the camera? “Nick, just hold on, okay.” She said to her empty room.
Picking up the phone she dialed her parent’s number. “Hey Mom. You sittin’ down?” Brianna talked to her mom and dad, who had picked up the other phone at Brianna’s request, for over an hour. It was here that she let out all of her tears. She wanted to get them out because she wanted to be able to be strong for Nick. Her parents told her that wherever she needed to go they would take care of it.
“Just use the credit card Brianna. I agree, stop and get a phone on your way. I hear you can get them up and running almost immediately. If you have time, though, you need to try and get in contact with your professors and let them know you’ll be missing a few days.” That was Brianna’s mom.
“Tell Nick he’s more than welcome to come here for a while. I know he has a home in Tampa and Marathon. But I don’t know what his family’s doing. He doesn’t need to be alone. None of them need to be alone.” Brianna’s dad added. Then laughing softly, “Tell them all they are all welcome here if they need a place to get away. The pools clean, the lake’s warm, and we have plenty of room.”
“Thanks Dad. I’ll let them know as soon as I find out what’s going on. I imagine though, Kevin and Brian will want to be with their wives, and Howie will probably want to go home. You know how close he is with his family. Look, thanks for listening. I don’t mean to cut you short, but I want to start packing. I don’t want anything delaying my getting to Nick. I’ll call you and keep you informed, okay. I love you guys. No matter what, I love you.”
“We love you too, Brianna.” Both her parents said in unison.
After packing a small suitcase with just basic clothes and needs Brianna took her mother’s advice and started calling her professors. She couldn’t explain to them that she would be missing class because of a Backstreet Boy. That’d go over like a ton of bricks. Instead, she told them it was a family emergency, and she had to leave town for a few days and she’d understand if she wouldn’t be allowed to make up any missed assignments due to leaving on short notice.
That finished she started pacing. Nick, please hurry and call me. Frustrated she went to the kitchen and poured a shot of Tequila. Swallowing she sat the glass down, looked at the bottle and just stared at it. Wasn’t this part of the reason AJ’s getting help? Upset, and needing to calm down she shook her head and downed one more shot before putting the bottle up. That’s enough, girl. You don’t want to be drunk when you see him. But, she did get the desired affect. She felt her muscles start to relax a bit.
Needing something to do she started calling around to find a place that sold cell phones, finding out their different plans, area coverage, and how soon she would be able to have the phone activated after she bought it. That took up another hour of time. But it was a productive hour. She found a place near by that had Sprint service and her phone could be activated immediately upon purchase, providing credit checked out. That wasn’t a problem. All she needed now was for Nick to call.
<~ Chapter 22 or Chapter 24 ~>
In the End
Karina 2003