As the last notes of the song they just got finished laying down rang through the nearly empty room, the five guys looked at one another expectantly. "I think we've got that one down. What do you guys think?" Brian asked the other four. AJ, Howie and Nick spoke their agreement while Kevin merely nodded, his mind a million miles away.
He stood by impatiently, eager to get out, while the other four Backstreet Boys conversed about the song they just finished. Kevin was looking around the room, trying to find the most polite words possible to bail out when his savior walked through the door in the form of Laura.
Howie went immediately to embrace his girlfriend and Kevin seized the opportunity and left the room, nodding a short greeting to Laura as he passed.
He walked swiftly through the studio and headed straight towards the break room at the end of the hall. He entered the small room and went directly to the small TV in the corner, flipping it on. He turned the channel to the local news station and a news reporter appeared on the television.
"The situation here has not changed. The police are reluctant to release in information and give publicity to the criminals. We will try to keep you updated as much as possible on the situation. Back to you in the studio, Jim. From Washington D.C, this is Kelly Fieldman."
The in studio anchor Jim Daley came on the television then and began a story about the drought in the Midwest and Kevin shut the television off. He leaned back against the back of the couch he was sitting on and closed his eyes.
Drew had been gone for three days now and the hostage situation in D.C wasn't improving at all. She'd called him the first night she got down there and told him she was staying in a hotel close to the building where the hostages were. She told him that she left early in the morning from her room and stayed at the scene as long as possible. She called him every night to reassure him that she was ok but he was still worried out of his mind.
Kevin asked Drew why the police couldn't just end it quickly by storming the building while they were asleep but Drew responded "These guys that have done this have planned this out good, Kevin. There are quite a few of them and there is always someone awake. The police don't want to risk injury to any of the hostages by doing anything rash."
Kevin snapped out of his reverie and opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into Laura's sympathetic eyes as she looked down at him. "What's wrong, Kevin?" she asked softly.
Kevin sat up straight on the couch and shook his head. "Nothing." he mumbled.
Laura sat down on the couch beside him but said nothing. The silence grated on until Kevin finally looked back at her and saw the worry in her eyes. "It's Drew, isn't it?"
Kevin started and turned fully toward her. "How did you know?" he asked.
Laura nodded toward the television and said "I heard the news report coming down the hall. Drew's there isn't she?"
Kevin leaned back against the back of the couch again and sighed. "Yes." he said. "She's been down there for a few days now but nothing's changed. It's still dangerous up there."
Laura put her hand over his and squeezed it gently, both of them thinking of the person they were both worried about.
It'll be ok. Kevin told himself. She'll be home in a few days.
******************************
A few days turned into weeks. A week after Drew left Orlando, her nightly calls to Kevin stopped coming. When he didn't hear from her for two night's, he became frantic. He followed a hunch and called information to get Drew's parent's number in Michigan. After briefly explaining who he was to her father, he asked him if he'd heard from Drew.
"No, we haven't heard from Drew but the police called us two nights ago." William Bailey paused for a moment then continued. "She's in there with them. The police said that she must have gotten too close at one point and she was dragged in. She's a hostage now too." William didn't say as much but the tremble in his voice betrayed how much he was worried about his daughter.
Kevin didn't know what he said to Mr. Bailey but he ended up saying goodbye and getting off the phone.
She's a hostage now too. William Bailey's word's rang in his head and he heard nothing else.
Kevin had known from the very beginning that the situation was dangerous and he wished that Drew had never gone to Washington D.C. What if she was killed in there? He asked himself. If she died in there, he'd never see her again. Never get to hold her in his arms again. Never get to see her laugh again.
He'd never get to tell her that he loved her.
Kevin rose from the chair by the phone and walked determinly to his bedroom and packed a suitcase, then he walked back into his living room and picked up the phone and booked the soonest flight possible to Washington D.C.
