***Brian's House***
Brian stood in front of the grill in his back yard anxiously awaiting the arrival of Marie, who was possibly Nicola. His heart raced in his chest with expectation and antcipation. He hadn't been so keyed up since the Backstreet Boys' were on tour. They still performed once in a while, but not the way they used to, not for months on in.
"Hey Bri, how are ya holding up?" Kevin questioned as he came up behind Brian placing a hand on his shoulder. Brian snapped back to reality, he had been so absorbed in his thoughts he forgot about everything else.
"Oh, I am ok I guess. I mean I am kind of nervous. Has Shawn gotten here yet?"
"Not yet. He was just leaving when I left and he still had to go pick up Marie. But with the way that boy speeds he'll be here any minute."
"Oh, uh huh."
"Then the blue smurf fell in love with the red one who ran off to the circus." Kevin said to see if Brian was really listening to what he was saying.
"That's great."
"Alright Bri, you need to sit down cous. Let me finish cooking before you have to use the Cajun style excuse (Inside joke, just ask if you wanna know)." He said leading Brian to a chair.
***Later***
Everyone was just about gone. The only people left were Nick, Nikki, their younger children, Andrea, AJ, Kevin, Kristin, Alyssa, Howie, Jessica, and Shawn with Marie. "Shawn, Hon, could you come over here and help me and Nikki lift this thing please?" Kristin called to her son.
"Yeah, coming mom." he responded. "I'll be right back Marie, Just chill out here for a second." he told marie quickly kissing her cheek before he went to help his mother.
"hello Marie." Brian said walking up behind her.
"Well, hello Mr. Littrell. How are you today?"
"I am doing pretty good, how about yourself?"
"I am good."
"I have a question for you..." Brian said letting the sentence hang as he tried to think of a way to word the question.
"Go ahead and ask." she said snapping him back to reality.
"Is your first name Nicola by any chance?"
"Um...Yea, but how did you know that?" she was totally shocked, and couldn't figure out how Brian would know that.
"It's a long story, but you have to listen to it all to understand it."
"Ok...."
"Well I am kind of your dad…"
"Excuse me? I don't think I want to hear the rest of your stupid story, do me and you and big favor and stay the hell away from me!" she ranted as she stormed away, Shawn right on her heels. She plopped herself into Shawn's car and slammed the door. Tentatively Shawn got in.
"Marie, babe what..."
"Just drive Shawn!" she barked. Shocked by her attitude Shawn started the car and sped off. Almost half way to Marie's she finally spoke up. "I'm sorry Shawn. It's just Brian told me today that he was kind of my father. I just blew up. I shouldn't have screamed at you but I vowed that I would never have anything to do with my father."
"Brian said he is your dad?? I never heard about him having a kid before Devon."
"It makes since Shawn...I have a bear that I have had since I was little, on it's left foot it says Bri and on the right it says Bear, it's also wearing an old wildcats jersey with the number 13 and Bri-Bear on the back too. That means, I can't see you anymore."
"What? Wait!! why??"
"You are my damned 2nd cousin." she shouted. Now Shawn was furious, not at Marie, but Brian. This was the one girl Shawn could see himself with in the long run, but all this time she had actually been his 2nd cousin. They finished the drive in silence and when they reached Marie's she got out and slammed the door. Shawn sped out as fast as he could, fully intending to yell at Brian for this mess. When he got there he stomped up the stairs and flung the door open to find the remaining adult guest huddled close together in a circle. Shawn was totally confused now. He walked in further to figure out what it was that they were doing exactly.
"What the heck is going on in here?" he fumed, even more frustated and angry from trying to figure out what was going on.
"Shawn we need to explain something to you." Kevin said looking up at his eldest son.
"No! Kev, not yet. I have to tell Leigh. She has to be the first to know."
"To know what Brian? To know that you are a bastard?? To know that you abandoned your child? To know that you ruined more than one persons' life?!?" he hissed.
"You had better take that back young man!!" Kristin shrieked as she stood up and walked over to her son.
"Why, doesn't Brian there like hearing the truth?" he said smugly. Just as he finished the sentence Kristin reached up and back handed him across the face.
"How DARE you say that…You DON'T know the truth. And if you EVER, I repeat EVER talk that way to ANYBODY I will see to it that you will never have children, if you catch my drift!" She screamed.
"Yes Ma'am." He responded rubbing his sore cheek. He couldn't believe what had just happened, his mother had Slapped him, she never even yelled that much. It was a day full of shock, and it wasn't over yet.
***Later***
"Hey Leigh, hon."
"Bri!!! I miss you so much hon."
"I miss you too Leigh."
"How are the kids?"
"They are doing great, Devon went to the movies with Hazel, Brad went to a friends, so it's just me and Mariah tonight."
"Aw, father- daughter bonding, how sweet."
"Listen Leigh I really need to talk to you about something."
"oh no…that sounds bad. What did you buy now?" she laughed.
"It's a little more serious than that. But please promise you'll listen to the whole story."
"I promise hon." She said feeling slightly scared.
"Before I meet you I was dating this girl that I had met through our tour because she was one of our dancers. This thing between me and the girl got pretty serious and I even asked her to marry me…but during the time while we were dating her mother was kind of a dead beat and ended up dropping off the girl's baby sister outside our Tour bus. The girl and I took her in as our own…." Brian paused fighting back tears as he recalled the things.
"And…Please Bri, tell me you did not hook up with this girl…just please tell me that."
"I didn't, I swear to you that is not the problem. There is a little more to this story but it has nothing to do with monogamy."
"Ok, continue please Bri." She said feeling relief wash over her.
"Well almost 2 months before the wedding, the girl was murdered by white supermistics…Soon after her death her mother wanted the little girl back. I had never legally adopted my daughter… I grieved for a long time over the loss of my fiance and daughter."
"I am so sorry Bri babe, but what does that have to do with now?"
"Everything…I locked away all things that were Nina and Nicola into Nicola's room…"
"But I have never seen this 'room'." Wondering if Brian had been dreaming.
"It's hidden, behind my book case in our bedroom. But I just found out Shawn has been dating Nicola. I talked to her tonight, but I started off wrong and now she won't speak to me...."
"I am sorry but I am going to have to call you back..."
"Leigh wait... Please, please ,please don't be mad. I love you with all my heart."
"Then why did you not tell me about this Bri?? I am very hurt that you felt you couldn't trust me. I just can't believe you've kept it from me for so long..."
"Baby, I didn't want to tell you because it hurt. I didn't want you to leave me. I was scared."
"Why would I leave you for that?"
"Because I had promised them that I would take care of them both....I broke my promises. She died because I wasn't there for her...I didn't have any body guards with us that day... it makes me sick to think that if I had, that maybe she wouldn't have died."
"Well right now I am not too pleased with you my self Brian. We'll talk about this when I get home."
"But Leigh you aren't coming back for another month!!"
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I get a break and I am flying home day after tomorrow."
"Really???" he asked perking up.
"Yeah…I need you to pick me up from the airport, I don't want to call a cab."
"What time?"
"Around 8."
"Um AM or PM?"
"AM, that a problem?"
"Nope, just writing it down so I remember. I can't wait to see you baby. I miss you."
"I miss you too Bri. And We WILL talk more about this thing when I get home, I'm still not too please that you lied to me. But oh well, we'll talk about it later. Love you."
"I love you too Leigh."
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