| Chapter 78 The next few days passed by quickly. Lyn had called Connie and told her they wouldn't be taking any lessons until everyone had left, so they would have time to spend with each other. The guys spent their last couple days watching TV, and talking. Nick would get up early every morning and work on what he wanted Kevin to read at the interview. He wouldn't let anyone read it, saying that he only wanted it read once, on the air. The guys were going to fly straight to New York, do the interview, then go home. Steve had set up several appearances for Brian in promotion of the CD, and he would be on the road for the next two weeks. Leighanne and Gary were going back to LA, excited to go to their first official doctors appointment together. Lyn walked into Nick's room. He was sitting at the desk, re-reading what he had wrote. She stood next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Nick looked up at her and smiled. "Are they getting ready to leave?" he asked. "Yeah, their plane leaves in a couple hours," Lyn answered. Nick folded his letter and sealed it in an envelope. Then he got up and walked out into the living room. Everyone was there, somber looks on their faces. No one wanted to leave, but they knew they had to, for them and for Nick. Nick walked up to Kevin and handed him the envelope. "I want to see you unseal it on the air, don't read it before hand," Nick signed. "OK, I won't," Kevin said, taking the envelope and placing it in his pocket. "Guys, if we're gonna get through security on time, we need to leave," Howie said. Leighanne walked up to Nick and hugged him. "You take care, and call if you need anything," she said. Nick patted her stomach, "You too, and take care of my nephew or niece there." Gary shook Nick's hand, "Anytime you're in LA come see us." "I will," Nick signed. A.J. walked up, "Man I already miss you and I haven't even left yet." "You'll be seeing me soon enough. I plan on coming down when you guys go into the studio," Nick said. "Great!" A.J. said smiling. Howie came over and hugged Nick, "I'll call you and let you know about the house." "OK," Nick said. "What about the house?" Kevin asked. Howie looked over, "Nothing, I'll tell ya on the plane." Kevin pulled Nick into a big hug. Nick started patting him on the back, and Kevin let go. "You trying to kill me there?" Nick signed laughing. Kevin blushed, "Sorry. I'm just gonna miss ya." "Yeah, me too. Tell Kris hi for me," Nick said. "I will," Kevin said. Brian walked up, and Nick could see the tears in his eyes. "This isn't goodbye you know, it's just see ya later," Nick said. "I know," Brian said. "You got your phone machine right?" Nick asked. "Yeah," Brian said. "I'll call you while your on the road," Nick said. Brian smiled, "OK, I'll talk to you soon then." They hugged, and Brian moved out of the way. Nick smiled at Tara, "You going with him?" "Yeah," she said. "Good, he gets into to much trouble by himself," Nick said laughing. Tara laughed, "Nick, if you need anything..." "I'll call," he said. She smiled and gave him a hug, then headed for the door. Everyone said their good-byes to Lyn. She was standing by the door. Tara walked up, "Take care of him." "I will," Lyn said. "I'll call you when we get to New York," Tara said. "OK, be careful," Lyn said giving her a hug. "We will," Tara said, then walked out to the cars. Nick and Lyn watched as they all piled in and backed out of the drive and headed toward the airport. Lyn looked over at Nick. He looked sad as he watched his friends leave, but there was also a look of relief in his eyes. "You OK?" she asked. He half smiled, "Yeah, I'm just gonna miss them." "Yeah, I will too," Lyn said. "You feel like taking a walk?" she asked. "Sure," Nick said, "Where?" "On the beach, don't wanna go to far, you're still a little weak," Lyn said. Nick took her hand and together they walked out to the beach. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn was in the kitchen putting the dishes away from supper when the phone rang. She picked it up, "Hello." "Hey Lyn," Tara said. "Hey, you guys make it OK?" Lyn asked. "Yeah, that is one long flight," Tara said. "Yeah, I've done it a couple times. So, are they ready for the interview?" Lyn asked. "As ready as they can get I guess. That's why I'm calling, you guys can watch it on the Internet. They're setting up web cams in the studio, so those places that don't get MTV can see it too," Tara said. "Great, I know Nick wanted to see it," Lyn said. "Yeah, how's he doing since we left?" Tara asked. "He's OK. We went for a walk on the beach for a while and talked. He was sad that you guys left, but he's also a bit relieved. He was starting to feel like we were baby-sitting him," Lyn said. Tara laughed, "I figured as much. Well it's late here and we have to be at the studio early." "OK, good luck," Lyn said. "Thanks, we need all of it we can get," Tara said. "Goodnight," Lyn said. "Bye." Nick walked into the kitchen just as Lyn was hanging up the phone. "Who called," he asked. "It was Tara. They got to New York OK," Lyn said. "Good," Nick signed. "And she said that the interview is going to be on the Internet so we can watch it," she said. "Great, what time is that here?" Nick asked. "Um, let's see, they are four hours ahead of us, so that's 10:30 in the morning," Lyn said. "OK, set the alarm, I don't wanna miss it," Nick said. Lyn laughed, "OK." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey guys," Carson said as he walked into the green room. "Hey man," A.J. said getting up and shaking his hand. Carson looked around, "Where's Nick?" The guys all looked at each other. "Um, that's what we're here about," Kevin said. Carson looked concerned, "Is everything OK?" "Yeah, we just need to let the fans in on some things," Brian said. "OK, well John is gonna join us during the interview," Carson said. "OK," Howie said. Carson headed for the door, "It'll be about ten minutes, then you guys are on." They watched as he left. "Damn, ten minutes," A.J. said. "Have we got this down?" Howie asked. "Yeah, just like we planned. Kev's gonna tell what happened, we'll field the questions, then Kev's gonna read Nick's letter," Brian said. "OK, just making sure," Howie said. "Guys, I don't think it would hurt if we prayed before we went out there," Tara said. They all got up, joined hands, and began to pray. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hurry up!" Nick signed. Lyn had hooked her laptop into the TV, so they could watch the interview. "There," she said, hooking up the last cable. She turned it on, and got on the Internet, finding MTV's web site. There on the main page it had an ad, �Special announcement from the Backstreet Boys, watch live.' She clicked on it, and it took her to the studio web cams. She looked to make sure the TV was still on captions, it was. She sat down next to Nick on the couch and squeezed his hand as the show started. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "As all you guys know we have some special guests in the studio with us, let's hear it for the Backstreet Boys," Carson said. All the guys took a deep breath, then walked out and took their seats. The crowd had calmed down when they saw the looks on the guys faces and that Nick wasn't there. "Welcome guys," John said, "So tell us why you're here today." All the guys looked over at Kevin. "Um well we have an announcement to make concerning Nick," Kevin said. "Is this the reason that he's not here?" Carson asked. "Yeah," Kevin said, "Um well, several weeks ago Nick went on a promotional tour for the label, and not long after he left he got sick." "This was right after the last interview right?" John asked. "Yes it was," Brian said. "So anyway, Nick got sick. He had a really bad case of pneumonia, which lead to a viral infection in his blood stream," Kevin said. "So is he OK?" Carson asked. "Well, yes and no. He developed complications and due to those he has lost his ability to hear," Kevin continued. The entire room gasp, and some girls in the audience began to cry. "Is it temporary?" John asked. "No, I'm afraid not. Nick will be deaf the rest of his life," Kevin said. "So how is he doing? Is he out of the hospital?" John asked. "Yeah, he's out and recovering. He's still pretty weak from the infection, but he's getting stronger everyday," Kevin said. "So what does this mean for you guys?" Carson asked. "What? Do you mean are we still a group?" Howie asked. "Yeah," Carson said. "Yes we are still a group, and Nick is still a part of it, he just will no longer be singing with us," Brian said. "I know this must be a huge adjustment for Nick, how's he dealing with it?" John asked. "He's doing really well," A.J. said. "Yeah, he actually took the news better than we did," Howie said. "He's already working on some projects and the start of a new foundation," Kevin said. "So you guys will see him before to long I'm sure," Brian said. "Well I really don't know what else to say," Carson said. "Um before we go," Kevin said, "Nick wrote a letter he wanted me to read." "Go ahead," John said. Kevin pulled the envelope out of his pocket and ripped it open. He cleared his throat and started.... To all my friends, and fans around the world, I just want to thank you guys for all the love and support you've shown me through the years, I will always treasure it. By now the guys have told you what has happened, and I'm sure that some of you are upset. Please don't be. I know you may not understand what I'm about to say, but this is how I feel. I'm glad this happened. For the past ten years I've been blessed to be in a group that has enjoyed much success, and to have all of you as fans. But since this has happened I've been able to see my life in a different way. I've noticed things that I missed before, and I've changed for the better. I'm happy with who I am now, so please don't be sad about this. For the first time in a long time I feel like I have a purpose in life. I've found someone that I truly love, and who loves me for who I am. I believe that all of this happened for a reason, and I'm grateful to get to experience it. I know some of you are thinking that I've lost my mind saying this, but what other choice do I have but to embrace this and see where it takes me? I'll still be doing things, so this isn't goodbye, it's just kind of a see ya later thing. Kevin stopped and cleared his throat again, wiping the tears that had come to his eyes. And to my brothers, You guys have always been there for me, and I thank you for that. I will always remember the great times we had on the road, and all the crazy things me and Brian did to the rest of you. I'll miss recording with you, and performing. Although I won't miss hearing A.J. sing "I'm To Sexy" in the shower at 3 in the morning. HAHA I've had fun with you guys, and you are truly my Brothers in every since of the word. I love you guys, and I'll see you soon. Love Always, Nick Kevin folded the letter and placed it back in his pocket. There wasn't a dry eye in the place, including the four of them and John and Carson. Carson finally cleared his throat, "OK, coming up the top three videos for today. Thanks guys for coming on." "Thanks for having us," Howie said. "Guys give Nick all our thoughts and prayers," John said. "Thanks man," A.J. said. "Which camera are we on?" Brian asked. "That one," Carson pointed out. Brian smiled and signed into the camera. "OK, we're on commercial," one of the producers said. "Thank God," A.J. said getting up. They all said their good-byes and walked back to the green room, relieved to have that over with. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick and Lyn burst out laughing. "Oh I hope they didn't get that on the TV," Lyn said. "I can't believe he signed that," Nick said. "So did you?" Lyn asked. "No, I never sang Over the Rainbow in the shower, ever," Nick said. "Are you sure?" Lyn asked teasing him. "Well, OK, but just once, and that was like a hundred years ago," Nick signed laughing. Lyn looked at him, "So, it's over now." "Yeah it is," Nick signed. "I think it went well," she said. "Better than what I was expecting," Nick said. "So, what do you want to do now?" Lyn asked. "Let's go to the art gallery downtown, I read they were having a show for amateur artists next week. I want to see if I can get anything in," Nick said. "Are you ready to go out in public?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to sometime anyway. No time like the present," Nick said. "OK, let me go get ready," she said heading to her room. Nick watched as she closed the door. He looked at the TV, still displaying the rest of the show. He turned off the computer, and put his hand on it. "Bye," he whispered. After a few minutes, Lyn came out of her room, "Ready?" Nick stood up, "Yeah." Together they walked out to the car, and headed for downtown. Chapter 79 |