"Okay, this is how this is gonna work. I'm going to tape-record our conversation. If I feel that something is utterly important, I'm going to write it down, okay?""Sure," Brian said with a small, hopeful smile.
Hailey turned on the recorder, recited the date and put it down. She looked at Brian, who sat across the patio table from her. "Let's start off with you describing your relationship with the other Boys," she prodded nicely.
"Okay, well, Kevin is my cousin. He is the most...intense person I've known. He lost his father tragically to cancer. And that hurt him immensely." He stopped, his voice shrinking to a smaller tone. "And when I went in for my heart surgery, he was having bad flashbacks. He hates hospitals for obvious reasons. Then, with the accident, he was so scared. And I was too. But he stayed, which I think he showed a lot of guts with. He is a faithful man to his family and friends."
"Go on," Hailey urged him softly.
"Umm, then there's Howie. He's a saint, honestly. He is so optimistic and happy and he helps us all out with any kind of problem. He always wanted peace and he achieved it eight times out of nine. He's one of the only reasons we've stayed together for so long. We went through a lot of shit and he was always there, supporting us. He loved the music, loved the fans...No one could compare to Howie...
"Then there's AJ." Brian rolled his eyes and laughed slightly. "AJ, AJ, AJ...He's crazy. I'm sure you've seen a picture of him, he's such a freak, to say it straight. In a good way, of course. He had a knack for everything. He loved singing, dancing, acting. He loved attention, he still does. He was the first to try something new. The first to be spontaneous and wild. Nothing could stop him from quitting the music biz. He's like a constant, driving force of music ability. He also had a way with the ladies. AJ was suave, but liked being his own childish self. He's a maniac."
Brian looked at her, as if he was done.
"And what about Nick?"
He sighed softly. "Nick is hard to talk about sometimes...He was my best friend. He was so complex. A side of him was goofy. Then there was several levels of seriousness. One was talking his career seriously. Then his family's and his own illnesses. All different kinds of things.
"He always did hate the idea of his family combining with his business. He hated that Aaron and Leslie were sucked in with him. Nick was extremely sensitive about the public's eye since he was in it more than any of us. Constantly, the media pestered him about his girlfriends, appearance and stuff like that. He didn't want it to happen to his siblings.
"He had a heart of solid gold. He didn't deserve what happened to him -" Brian stopped, his once-steady voice caught in his throat. He motioned for her to stop for a minute. He had trouble breathing for seconds at a time.
"He had his whole career ahead of him and it was ruined. It was such a cruel punishment for such an innocent man."
Hailey watched as a tear fell down his face. She felt helpless, not knowing what to do for him. So all she did was watch.