| Chapter 42 Brian and Tara had stayed up talking about Nick. They both knew he was having a hard time with all that had happened, but they didn't know how best to deal with it. Nick would never admit to them that he was hurting, and he would never say what he did was wrong. They talked about sitting him down and having a heart to heart with him, but in the end decided to let things go for now and see if it got any better. The orderlies had come and got Brian at 7:00 am and he'd been gone for about an hour and a half when Kevin showed up. "Hey, how long has Bri been gone?" Kevin asked taking a seat next to Tara's side of the bed. "Over an hour now," she replied. They sat in silence for a long time. "Tara, can I ask you a question?" Kevin said. "Sure Kev, what is it?" she asked. "You and Bri really love each other right?" he started. "Yeah we do," she answered. "And you have since you first met right?" he asked. "Yes, but neither of us really admitted it until recently," Tara said. "So if in the beginning you knew you loved Bri, why did you and Nick get together?" Kevin asked. Tara took a deep breath, "Kev, it's really hard to explain. I love Nick too, and I chose to be with him. It wasn't like, oh I can't be with Brian so I'll just be with Nick, it was different. When Brian and I finally admitted our feelings to each other, we decided that it wasn't going anywhere because we both loved someone else. It wasn't until Nick and Lee gave us permission, I guess you'd say, that we even let ourselves feel like that." "But when you got shot, you both basically confessed your love for one another right there in front of everyone," Kevin said. "I know we did. But we both thought we were gonna die, we just had to say it one last time," Tara answered. Kevin sat there trying to think of some way to say what he wanted to say without sounding crude. "Kev, Brian and I both know Nick is hurting. We talked about it for a long time after you guys left last night, and we decided not to do anything just yet," Tara said. "Do you think that's best?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, cause if we talk to him about it he's just gonna say that he's fine and he'll never admit he regrets what he did. I think if we just give him some time and some space, that maybe things will get better," she answered. "Well, you are right about him not admitting that he's hurting. I swear that boy is so stubborn sometimes," Kevin said. "Yeah, but that's what makes us love him," Tara said with a smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne was getting her things together when she heard a knock at the door. "Just a minute!" she yelled, placing the papers her attorney had left back in its folder. She walked to the door and opened it to find Gary standing there. She started to shut the door when he put his foot in the door jam stopping her. "Anne, please I need to tell you something," Gary pleaded. Leighanne put her hand on her hip, "Make it quick." Gary looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes, "Anne I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the pain that I put you through, and for what I did to Brian." Leighanne stood there staring at him for a moment, "Brian told us what happened. You were really gonna kill him weren't you." "I went there with that intention, yes. But when those things showed up, I realized what he tried to tell me was right. I was being controlled by them, and when they left all I could feel was regret and shame," Gary said. "So you came here to apologize? Gary and apology isn't gonna fix what you did," she said. "I know it wont, I just had to come and do it, and hope that someday maybe you would forgive me," Gary said softly. "Gary its gonna take a long time for that, if ever. He saw what we did, and you knew it. Every time he looks at me, I know what he's thinking. You used me to get to him, and I can't just forgive that," Leighanne said with anger in her voice. "Anne, I'm so sorry. If I could take it back I would, but I can't. I just want you to know that what we had was real, I do love you and would do anything for you. I didn't make those feelings up just to get to Brian, they were real, and still are," Gary said looking up at her. Leighanne was shocked that he even had the gaul to tell her that, "I've got to go," she said pushing the door shut. She waited until Gary's car was down the drive before she even let herself breathe. "How could he come here and say that?" she asked herself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie and Kira had showed up, followed by Nick and A.J. Everyone was sitting in the room joking and watching TV when the orderlies brought Brian back in. "Hey, how come it took so long this time?" Kevin asked. "I screwed the test up, they had to redo it," Brian said annoyed. "You moved in there didn't you?" Tara asked laughing. "Yeah. I don't know why they would create such a test where you can't move, and not knock you out before they do it," Brian said. Everyone laughed. "Well what do we do now?" Howie asked. "We wait," Brian replied. Nick was flipping through the channels and stopped on MTV. Again there was a news flash on about Brian, and the boys future as a group. "Guys, we've gotta do something about this," A.J. said. "Yeah, I was thinking bout that while I was stuck in that tube. I'm gonna call and have John Norris come out to the house and do an interview when we get outta here," Brian said. Everyone looked at him. "Brian, what are you gonna say?" Nick asked. "I'm gonna tell them everything from the beginning, leaving out a few things obviously," he replied. "Bri, do you think that's a good idea?" Kevin asked. "Kev, we've always been honest with our fans. I think they need to know this, especially since it's changed all our lives so much. They'll never understand any of this without knowing the story, and even then it'll be hard for them to understand. If we don't tell them and it leaks out, we'll lose much more than our privacy. We'll lose our fans, and I'm not gonna put us in that situation, just to keep this a secret," Brian said. "You're right, I'm just afraid of what their reaction will be," Kevin said. "They've stuck with us this far, I'm sure that once they see that things are cool with all of us, that there's no bad guy in all this that they'll be OK with it," Brian said. Everyone looked at each other, agreeing that what Brian wanted to do was the best thing. "Bri, are you gonna want all of us there?" Howie asked. Brian thought for a minute, "Well it would be more convincing if we were all there." "Bri, I'm leaving pretty soon to do that promotion stuff I told you about," Nick said. "Well, we'll work something out," Brian replied. Leighanne walked in the room carrying a briefcase. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I had an unexpected visitor," she said. "Are you OK?" Nick asked, seeing she was hiding something. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Don't tell me he came to your house?" A.J. said. "Yeah he did, he came to apologize," Leighanne said. Kevin pulled out his cell, "That's it, I'm having him arrested for harassment." "Kev, don't. I'm fine, he said what he needed to say, and he's gone. Just leave it be," Leighanne said. Kevin saw the look in her eyes, and knew he'd better not argue with her. He put his cell back in his pocket. "Whatcha got there?" Brian asked, referring to the briefcase. "Oh, I almost forgot," Leighanne said pulling out the papers. "Here are the papers you need to sign," she said handing them to Brian. "Um guys, lets all go get some coffee," Kevin said, seeing what the papers were. "I don't want any," A.J. said. Howie grabbed him and pulled him up, "That wasn't a request you idiot." "Alright, gezzz," A.J. said leaving the room, followed by all the others. "Bri, I'm gonna take a walk down the hall," Tara said getting up and unplugging her IV so she could take it with her. "Have someone walk with you," Brian said. "Bri, I can walk by myself," Tara said leaving the room. Leighanne sat down on the edge of the bed, "Determined isn't she?" "Yeah, more like stubborn," Brian said with a laugh. "It's all there according to the pre-nump. You get the house here, I get the one in LA. All your earnings from the group are separate from mine anyway, so we don't have to split that. We each have half ownership of the production company," Leighanne said. Brian was thumbing through the papers, "What bout the dogs?" "I was gonna ask you about that, it's the only thing not in there," Leighanne said. "Well we can't separate them, they've been together to long," Brian said. Leighanne laughed. "What's funny?" Brian asked. "Just that we can't separate them. We've been together longer than they have," she said. Brian looked at her, "Lee, are you sure you want to do this?" She smiled at him, "Yes. If this hadn't happened, I think that we would still be in this place. It might've taken longer, and probably been messier, but we'd still be doing this." "Yeah, I guess you're right," Brian said, "OK, you take them." "Bri, Tyke was your dog even before I met you," she said. "I know, but I've been gone so much, that he really doesn't even know me anymore. And he won't mind a word I say anyway, so you take them," Brian said with a smile. "OK, but you're welcome to come and visit them anytime you want," Leighanne said. "OK, where do I sign at?" Brian said. Leighanne showed him and he signed. "So when does this all become final?" he asked. "Well it has to be filed thirty days before the decree can be signed. That means the media will have it before it's done," Leighanne said. "Yeah, it's OK. I'm gonna do an interview as soon as we get out anyway. Do you want to be there?" Brian said. "You want me there?" she asked. Brian nodded his head. "OK, tell me when and I'll be there," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara came out the door pushing her IV in front of her. "Where you going?" Nick asked. "For a walk, wanna come?" Tara said. "Sure," Nick replied, leaving the others and joining Tara on her way down the hall. "So, how are you feeling?" Nick asked. "OK, I'm still tired, but I guess I will be for a while," she replied, "How are you?" "I'm fine," Nick answered. "No you're not," Tara said looking at him. Nick didn't say anything, but she could see the pain flash in his eyes. "Nick, if you don't wanna do this, just tell us," Tara said. "No, I'm not gonna do that," Nick said. Tara stopped and looked at him, "Nick, I don't want it to be like this. I know you're hurting, and I wish I could do something to make it stop." Nick stared into her eyes, "There's nothing you can do, I have to do this on my own. I'll be OK, I just need to get away for a while, let things settle down a bit." She studied him for a moment, "There's no promotional trip is there, and don't lie to me cause you know I'll see it." Nick looked down at his feet, "No there isn't. Don't tell anyone else, you know how they all worry. I just want to leave and be alone for a while." "Where are you going?" she asked. "I'm not gonna tell you, just somewhere where I can think without being hounded," he replied. "Will you call us from time to time so we know you're OK?" she asked. "Yeah, I promise I will. Let's get you back," Nick said, taking her hand and leading her back to the room. Chapter 43 |