AJ heard pounding on his door early in the morning. He was having trouble separating the pounding in his head from the pounding on the door. He opened his eyes and glanced at the digital clock. It was 3:00am. 'It better be goddamn important.' He thought to himself."What." He barked into the darkness. "Hey J, it's me." Kevin said. "What." AJ repeated still unsatisfied with the interruption. "I was just checking to see if you were ready." He said through the closed door, "Let me in." AJ stood up and checked his room. Everything was packed up and presentable. He let Kevin in and returned to his chair. "Where the hell are your sheets?" Kevin asked eyeing the stripped bed. "I had my period." AJ said, sarcasm dripping from his raspy voice. "Whatever, the bus leaves in ten." Kevin said hurrying out of the room. He stopped before he reached the hallway. "J, if something was wrong, you would tell me right?" He asked. AJ opened one eye. Was Kevin becoming suspicious? "Of course I would Kev, now go wake up Nick, you know how hard he is to wake up." AJ smiled for conviction.
AJ dragged his two bags to the bus. He refused to let his bodyguard or anyone else touch them. It was early in the morning so they didn't draw much attention. There was a commotion across the street though. AJ counted 7 police cars and an ambulance. "Shit," he muttered to himself. The scene had drawn the attention of the other guys.
"Hey AJ, isn't that the chick you were with last night?" Brian asked as they lifted Bridget into the ambulance. AJ faltered, "I wasn't with anyone last night." He lied, trying to bite back the bile he could taste in his throat. Brian noticed the distressed look on his face. "Or am I wrong?" Brian added, a seriousness taking over his face. "Wrong, very wrong." AJ said too quickly. "Okay." Brian said taking in the scene one more time before getting on the bus. Everyone immediately headed to their bunks, anxious to get a little more sleep. AJ climbed into his and was almost asleep when he heard Brian whisper to Nick, "AJ was with a girl last night, wasn't he?" Brian asked him. He sounded like he didn't even know what was real or imagined. "I thought he was." Nick said. AJ could hear him climbing into his bunk. The conversation was over. AJ breathed a sigh of relief. It was beginning to get too intense for him. He reached for the teddy bear that was always in his bunk. If anyone else were to look at it, it would seem like a normal harmless teddy bear. AJ carefully lifted the ribbon around its neck and put his finger into the hole that he had made there. He found his Valium pills, swallowed two without water and waited until they kicked in. He could still hear Brian and Nick whispering. At least they weren't talking about him.
Part IV
Part II
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