| Chapter 77 "I think this medicine is making me sleepy," Nick signed. He, Brian, Tara and Lyn were sitting on the couch watching TV. Everyone else had gone back over to the other house after lunch. "Well, why don't you go lay down for a while," Brian said. "Do you know how tired I am of laying down?" Nick asked. "Then don't say your tired if you're not gonna go to bed," Brian said, rolling his eyes. Lyn and Tara laughed, it was like watching two three year olds. "Why are we suddenly funny?" Nick asked. "We're always funny, don't you remember?" Brian said. "Oh, right," Nick said. Lyn and Tara stood up and walked toward the door. "Where are you guys going?" Brian asked. "Out for a walk," Tara said. "Yeah, we'll be back in a little bit," Lyn said. Nick and Brian watched them leave. "I have a feeling we will be the topic of conversation," Nick said. "Yeah, I do too. That could be dangerous you know," Brian said. Nick laughed, "Isn't danger our middle names?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn and Tara had walked down the beach away from the houses. "So what was wrong this morning?" Tara finally asked. Lyn stopped, "He didn't want to go back to the hospital." "But that's not the only reason," Tara said. "No, it wasn't," Lyn said. "So?" Tara asked. "I really don't know if I even understand it, but he was afraid that something was happening with his hearing," Lyn started. "What? Like he'd be able to hear again?" Tara asked. "Yeah, and he didn't want to," Lyn said. Tara looked at her shocked, "What do you mean he didn't want to?" "He said that he likes who he is now better than who he was when he could hear. He doesn't want to hear again," Lyn said. "You're right I don't understand it," Tara said. "Neither do I really," Lyn said. "So what's gonna happen if he does somehow get his hearing back? Is he gonna resent it?" Tara asked. "I don't know," Lyn said, looking out over the water. "Tara, what was he like when he could hear? I didn't know him then," Lyn asked. Tara smiled, "Much like he is now. He was funny, always cracking a joke, but at times he could be serious too." "So what about him has changed?" Lyn asked. Tara leaned against a log on the beach, "Well he's more focused now than I've ever seen him. It's like he's found a purpose in life and he's running with it. He seems more creative too. His artwork has defiantly taken a turn in the right direction, and he seems more sensitive now." "Really, how?" Lyn asked. "Well, when we were together, he never really let his feelings out much. I always knew when something was bothering him, but he never liked to talk about it. He seems more open now, more willing to let people see who he really is," Tara said. They both stared out over the water for a few minutes. "So, you guys are leaving day after tomorrow?" Lyn asked. "Yeah, Brian's gotta do some interviews and stuff for the CD before management has a cow," Tara said. Lyn laughed, "What about the interview about Nick?" "James is suppose to call today sometime I think," Tara answered. "I hate it that their personal lives are on display all the time," Lyn said. "Yeah, it's the price they pay for who they are. And you'll get pulled into it too," Tara said. "What do you mean?" Lyn asked. "People will want to know who you are, and what your relationship with Nick is. Even if he's not with the group anymore, he's still a celebrity, and any news people can get will spread like wild fire," Tara said. Lyn sighed, "I didn't even think about that. We've been so lucky so far, that no one has figured out where he is, or what's happened." "Yeah, but as soon as they do that interview, things will change," Tara said. "They won't say where he is will they?" Lyn asked. "No, but trust me, someone will figure it out eventually. Their fans are like the FBI, CIA, and the Secret Service combined. It's scary sometimes how much they know," Tara said. Lyn looked concerned. "Lyn, I didn't mean to scare you about all this, but you need to know that if your gonna be with Nick that kind of stuff will happen. It's gonna take some adjustment on your part as well to make what you have last," Tara said. "I know, I'm glad you told me. Now I can be prepared for it," Lyn said. Tara laughed, "Trust me, you can never be prepared for some of the stuff I've seen." "Well, as prepared as I can be then," Lyn said. "We should probably get back. Leaving those two alone for this amount of time only leads to bad things," Tara said smiling. Lyn laughed, and followed her back down the beach toward the houses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So, what'd he say?" Kevin asked. Howie had just gotten off the phone with James. "They want to do it live on TRL on Monday," he said. "Live? I'm not sure I like that," Kevin said. "Yeah, if we screw up and say something we weren't suppose to there's no taking it back," A.J. said. "Well it's either that or a press release," Howie said. Kevin sat on the couch thumbing his fingers on the side, "Well I guess we don't have much of a choice." "Yeah, really," Howie agreed. "We need to sit down and talk about what we're gonna say, and what we're gonna leave out," A.J. said. "Yes we do," Kevin agreed. "Well I guess I'll call James back and tell him it's a go," Howie said, picking up the phone. "We should go over and talk with Nick about this. After all the whole things gonna be about him, he needs to tell us what he wants us to say," Kevin said. "Yeah, when D gets off the phone, let's go," A.J. said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara and Lyn walked in just as Brian got off his cell. He was trying to sign to Nick, but he was so excited he couldn't. "What's going on?" Tara asked. "That was Steve. He said the CD is #1 on the contemporary Christian charts, and #4 on the pop charts, and the single's #2 on Billboards top 100!!!" Brian said. "Oh my God! That's great!" Tara said, hugging Brian. "What's going on?!" Nick asked. Lyn signed to him what Brian had just said. "Bri, that's great," Nick said. "OK, who decided to have a party over here and didn't tell us?" A.J. said walking through the door. "What's all the excitement about?" Kevin asked. "Brian's CD," Lyn said. "Oh, you get your numbers?" Howie asked. All Brian could do was nod his head. "Well?" Leighanne asked. Tara told them the news. "Damn Bri, that's cool," A.J. said. Kevin hugged him, "Good going cuz." "So what brings you guys over?" Lyn asked. "Oh, um, I just talked to James," Howie said. Suddenly the mood was not as light as it was moments before. "What'd he say?" Nick asked. "We're gonna be on TRL on Monday," Kevin said. "Wow, that's only three days," Nick said. "Yeah, so you have to help us figure out what we're gonna say," Howie said. "Just say what happened," Nick signed. "Nick, we need to omit some things. You don't want the whole world knowing exactly what happened," Brian said. "Well, that's true," Nick said, "Um, just say that I was on the promotional trip, when I got sick, and due to complications of the infection that I had, I'm now deaf, with no hope of hearing again." "Just be that blunt huh?" Howie asked. "You might as well be, pussy footing around with it isn't gonna change the outcome," Nick said. "Nick, do you want to prepare something for us to read, maybe a note to the fans or something?" Kevin asked. "Um, yeah sure," Nick said. "Guys, you need to talk to James and tell them to confirm Nick's promotional trip, or your version of the story will be blown outta the water," Lyn said. "Damn I'm glad you're around," A.J. said. Lyn laughed, "Just covering all the bases." "Good thing too," Howie said, "I'll call James back." Howie walked over to the phone and dialed the number. Tara smiled at Lyn, "See, you're catching on already." Chapter 78 |