Chapter 9

Brian, AJ, and Howie quietly made their way to the hotel lobby hoping that the sooner they got to the interview, the sooner the interview would be over. They walked out of the elevator as soon as the doors to the lobby opened and they made their way to where Mike was sitting. They approached him cautiously as they seen the look of anger in his eyes. He stared at Brian and hissed, "Where in the hell is your cousin, Littrell? You better find him NOW or his ass is in big trouble. I'm tired of putting up with all this crap. First Nick's little joke and now Kevin is not down here. Find him NOW." Brian stared back at Mike and felt the hatred grow from deep inside him and was about to open his mouth to give him a piece of his mind when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He turned around and looked into Howie's concerned brown eyes as Howie gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Brian gave him a small smile and walked back towards the elevator to go and look for Kevin.

Brian walked quickly out of the elevator as soon as it reached the floor their suite was on and jogged to the suite. Using his key to get in, Brian quietly crept in the suite and quickly searched all the rooms for his cousin. He let out a sigh of relief as he seen Kevin lying on his bed with his back to the door. He quietly tip-toed over to his cousin and shook him gently knowing if he woke Kevin up suddenly he would be very cranky. Brian heard Kevin let out a yawn and said, "You better wake up Kev. Mike is fit to be tied because you wasn't down there on time. I about told him off but Howie unfortunately stopped me." Brian waited a few seconds for a response but didn't receive none and reached out a hand to his cousin's shoulder and gently turned Kevin over on his back. Kevin's hands automatically flew up to cover his face as Brian forced him over on his back. He heard Brian let out a frustrated sigh and felt Brian trying to pull his hands away from his face.

After a few moments of struggling with Brian, Kevin unwillingly gave up and allowed Brian to pry his hands away from his face. He heard Brian let out a gasp as he looked at his face and seen the tears silently streaming down his cheeks. Kevin pulled roughly away from Brian and rolled over on his stomach, burying his head in the pillow. Brian cleared his throat and gently laid his head on the top of Kevin's back as he rubbed Kevin's shoulder in an effort to calm him down. After a few seconds of silence, Brian softly asked Kevin what was wrong but didn't get a response. He again rolled Kevin over on his back and looked him in the eye and repeated his previous question. Kevin shook his head and whispered, "Nothing, Bri. Don't worry about it." Brian shook his head furiously as he mocked Kevin, "Nothing, Bri. Don't worry about it! That is a bunch of bullshit Kevin. Don't you trust me enough to tell me why in the hell you are crying man? I can count on my hands how many times I have seen you cry in my lifetime and it isn't many. So tell me why in the hell you are crying!" Kevin quickly sat up and looked in cousin in the eye in anger as he yelled at him, "OH why do you think I'm crying Brian? Three years ago I promised a 12 year olds parents I would take care of him and protect him while he was on tour with us. Now I have broken that promise and Nick is gone and is no where to be found, I will never forgive myself if anything happens to him. If anything DOES happen to him the blame will be on me and I will never fogive myself for not taking care of him! Can't you see that Brian?" Brian stared at Kevin in shock as what he said registered. Brian reached out his arms and pulled Kevin into his embrace softly telling him everything would be alright, but he also hoped that his words were true.