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Day 3 - Part 17

-Mmm... Nick Carter said to the phone when he after at least twenty rings finally was wake enough to roll over and answer. -Hi mom. Mom!
Nick sat up and looked around in his room. It was quarter to eleven. Luckily he didn�t have to be in the studio until past noon. He was sleeping with all his clothes on. Though he had a image in his head in which Be-Bob tried to convince him taking them off. But where the hell was Aaron?
-No mom, we�ll be really good boys. No, I wont take him out! We did go to this concert last night... No it was just a small club. He had some coke. No, I mean coca cola, god mom, I�m not that stupid! Well, he�s out right now, gonna be back for lunch. No, you didn�t wake me up, I was just watching some videos. We were home really early. Yeah, I�ll tell him to call you. Cheers mom. Bye.
Nick hung up and rolled to his back. Shit. He knew they were in trouble. He just wanted to buy some time. But where was Aaron? Maybe Be-Bob would know. He took his phone and started to call around.

Cara was sitting on the sofa. Boys were in the studio but no one had time to drive him back to the hotel. Jeannie was �just about to leave�, had been like for an hour. She just ran around like a crazy women.
Cara was tired. Not that they stayed up that late in the evening. It was more like a common state. They never slept. If someone called you and asked if they woke you up, only right answer was no. If Kristin wanted another room in the middle of the night, like she did two nights before, you got to the reception and arranged it. Cara had done things like she never thought she could do. She had been so mean, like a little bitch to get what she, or actually one of her bosses, wanted. She got some advance from her background but was unaware how to use that, unless it didn�t come naturally.
She heard some noises and looked around. Perhaps Jeannie would finally be ready to go. That was after all her day off. But the person coming wasn�t definitely Jeannie. It was that same young fellow Cara had seen with Nick the night before. He looked kind of familiar but she couldn�t really tell his name or anything.
When he saw her, he just stopped. Be-Bob behind him tried to push him forward.
-I�m not going anywhere, he argued.
-Yes you are, Be-Bob said. -You�ve been making your brother nuts. Guess how many excuses he has given to your mother. I wouldn�t be surprised if Ms. Carter isn�t on the plane already.
-She can�t. She has to take care of Angel�s courier. We all have to bare with her for a while. Too bad when she gets to the youngest.
Cara listened their conversation being painfully aware that boy was looking at her all the time. Brother? This was Nick�s brother?
-Hey, I�m Aaron.
He just crashed next to her. She moved away a little.
-Hey Aaron.
-So what�s your name? What are you doing here?
If Cara would have been older she would have recognized gestures that Aaron made to look like the king of the world.
-I�m Cara. And I kind of work here.
-Kind of?
-I�m waiting for a ride back to the hotel.
-Waiting? What�s that? Why is this beautiful woman waiting? Aaron asked accusingly from Be-Bob who sighed. He knew every young man�s tricks. -Let�s just take her to the hotel.
Aaron stood up and offered his arm to Cara.
-I should go tell to Nick that I found you, Be-Bob said.
-You already called him, Aaron reminded. -Besides he�s so mad. I don�t want to see him.
-Mad? Why would he be mad? Didn�t you just run away from us last night, didn�t call or anything and made us all thing you�re in laying in some dark alley, raped, abused, mugged, killed?
-Don�t be a drama queen, Be-Bob, it really doesn�t suite you. So are you coming? Aaron asked from Cara again. She looked at Be-Bob who shrugged. He just wanted to get it over with. Cara stood up, didn�t say a word and started to walk to the car.

Aaron soon found out that his companion wasn�t the most talkative. It didn�t really matter because he could talk his whole day through without even catching a breath in the middle. He was telling about their wonderful evening but noticed that girl wasn�t listening anymore. Cara kept her ears open when Nick was mentioned but when Aaron moved to the part going around alone, she didn�t care anymore. And she was tired.
-Am I boring you? Aaron asked and she was sophisticated enough to shake her head. But she was still quiet. It kind of made Aaron more interested on her. -How old are you?
-Eighteen, she answered looking out of the window.
-Really? You don�t seem that much older than me, Aaron said. Cara turned to see him and smiled a little. For his own amazement Aaron felt how he blushed. -Can�t we drive any faster? he said to the driver, making Be-Bob chuckle in the front seat.

He tried his best to convince her to go with Nick�s room together. In any other case she would have agreed, just have a chance to finally talk to Nick but she knew that they would be recording late. They were little late from their schedule. Everyone had been taking easy since getting to Stockholm. That meant only the Boys of course. Samuel let them do that for a while, knowing that they would work harder after they�ve had some time with their wives and love ones. But that had been going for about a week then and it was time to catch up.
-I�m just gonna go to bed, she said and started to walk to her own room.
-Stop by later, if you feel like it! Aaron yelled to her back. She just waved her hand and disappeared around the corner. Aaron leaned to the wall and exhaled. He was in love, for the first time in his life. Or maybe for fifth. But who counted anyway?

Nick did. He didn�t like the idea at all.
-You�re flying back home tomorrow!
-What? Aaron asked. -So you do fancy her?
-It�s not about her, Nick stated. -It�s just... Well, mom is gonna go crazy when she hears where you�ve been and what we�ve been doing. You�re far too young for this.
-You were younger than me when you started.
-I was younger than you�re now, but you started younger than I did. It�s not a good thing.
-How can you say so?
-Because you don�t know anything about a normal life, Nick said.
-This IS normal.
-No, this is just all you know. And I can�t take it right now. I just can�t. It�s not I�m driving you away or anything but we really have to work and I�m gonna see you back LA soon.
-Yeah, like in two months or so. I never get to see you!
-But that�s normal to you, Nick reminded. Aaron looked hurt. -I�m sorry, midget. But you have to go home.

Cara sneaked in the hall. She had slept for few hours but had then woke up. It was like she couldn�t sleep as much as she wanted. But it didn�t do any good to just lay in your bed and get thoughts going in your head. Leighanne came behind the corner.
-Hey, she said with a friendly voice. -Can�t get sleep, huh?
Cara grinned.
-Brian is writing a song, humming all the time, driving me crazy, as usual. I want to get some fresh air, Leighanne confessed.
-I saw AJ on the balcony too, Cara said.
-Was he smoking?
Cara denied and Leighanne continued: -I think I�ll go see him. Some company would be nice. What about you?
-I�m just gonna go...
Cara waved somewhere to distance and Leighanne nodded understandingly.
-So I�ll probably see you tomorrow?
-Good night.

Leighanne opened door to the balcony quietly. AJ was leaning far over to the edge.
-Hey, I heard you were here, she said. He turned rapidly.
-It�s just the habit I have hard time to get out, he said. -Cigarette before going to bed.
-Must be hard. But I�m very proud of your effort.
-Good that someone is, AJ said little hostile. Leighanne went to stand next to her and for a moment they stared nightly city. She scanned him with her eyes.
-Is everything OK? she asked. AJ sighed.
-I don�t know. Helen is...
-She�s pregnant. It�s not easy for women, you know.
-But it�s not easy for a man either! She�s like... We don�t sleep in the same bed. I�m not into sex, I�m afraid because of the baby, whatever the doctors might say. But I�m longing for some closeness, just being with her, caressing her tummy, talking to our kid.
-She could be feeling uncomfortable in her body right now. It�s far, her pregnancy. Was it due June 21st?
-Yeah.
-You should be there when it happens.
-I hope that too, AJ said. -I don�t know how it would feel to be other side of the country and just receiving a phone call: �Mr. McLean, you just got a boy�.
-You think it�s a boy?
-We both think. But it doesn�t really matter. This is just really frustrating. Helen has to go back home right after this, she can�t travel to Portugal or anything. I�ll see her next time after we�ve released our album. And then all the fuzz, touring and stuff...
-You couldn�t prevent this.
-I know, AJ sighed. -But I wish I could be there more. I�m having a baby! And it�s like I don�t feel it.
-You�ll get to know him all right. Is everything OK between you two?
-I don�t know.
AJ looked far beyond the sea.
-She is probably back to her home already. Starting a life without me.
Leighanne didn�t have to ask who he was talking about. She just wondered would the wounds over Anna ever heal. After all he had been about to marry her. Leighanne had seen everything they�ve gone trough, from the beginning when Anna moved to their house, AJ trying to escape what was written in the stars. Seeing it going up and down, from miserable to great expectations. And now this.
-You haven�t heard anything of her? AJ suddenly asked, voice filled with anticipation.
-No, Leighanne said. -She was very strict not to contact her.
-I know. And still...
He didn�t have to finish his sentence. It was in his eyes. If he�d have a choice, he would go and find her, no matter what it would cost. But life of a baby, his own child, was too precious to be sacrificed. Leighanne touched his hand softly.
-It�ll past.
-But when?
Question she couldn�t answer. Question no one could answer.

Nick was playing one of his games when he heard knock on his door. He checked the time, it was already past midnight. He got up, hoping it would be Aaron. He had fled after their conversation and Nick surely hoped he wasn�t getting into any more trouble. He would have hard time explaining previous night to their mother.
But when he opened the door, he saw that black haired little girl.
-Hey. I just... Is Aaron here?
-Um, no.
-Do you know where he is?
-He went out. What did he...? Why do you want to see him?
-He invited me over. If I�d like to do something. I couldn�t sleep so here I am.
Ticklishness fell thick between those two even if they couldn�t explain it.
-So you�re not expecting him back soon? she asked.
-I hope he�d come before morning, he said.
-OK. I�ll see him tomorrow then.
-He�ll leave tomorrow.
-Why?
Because Nick couldn�t state it to himself, how could he have done it to her?
-He has some business.
-Always so busy, girl smiled tiny. She was so little, so vulnerable, marks of pillow still showing in her face, grain of sleep still in her eyes. -Tell him I stopped by.
-I will.
Slowly she turned, like waiting for something. And for unknown reasons Nick stood there holding the door open until she had disappeared from his sight.