| Chapter 44 Over the next two days Tara put her plan into motion. She was the perfect captive, doing everything she was told without hesitation. She had free reign of the house now, able to come and go as she pleased. The only thing was that she couldn't leave. Nick stayed with her most of the time, and they had started talking more like the friends they used to be. Tara knew that in order for her to take him, she would have to convince him that he was getting what he wanted from her. She had decided that if Brian really was gone, then the only thing she could do was to get Nick back, even if it cost her everything to do it. She knew that at some point she was going to have to get him distracted enough for the others to come in and grab him. For this to happen, none of the others needed to be in the house. That was going to be a rare moment, because as long as she'd been there, at least two of them had stayed at all times. She had to think of a way to get Nick to make them leave for a while, but she wasn't sure how to do that without making him suspicious of her reasons. Ted had released Brian from the hospital. He was still extremely tired, but he had convinced Ted that he could rest better at Lyn's than in the hospital. Ted came by each day to check on him, and had left a couple of sedatives, just in case Brian had another episode and needed them. Fortunately he hadn't. Brian and Lyn kept their distance from one another, never staying alone together. They worked it so that the rest of the guys never caught on to what they were doing. Still, it didn't alleviate the feelings that both of them were having. If anything it made it harder on them. They would steal looks at one another when no one else was looking, and each time both their hearts would skip a beat. They were both completely confused as to what to do, and not being able to tell anyone wasn't helping either. Normally Brian would talk to Kevin about whatever was bothering him, but he couldn't even approach the topic with him. Kevin would have a cow on the spot if he knew what was going on. Lyn had faired better, talking to Tracy. Although Tracy could offer nothing in return, it was just good to get it off her chest. Everyone was going stir crazy in the house. They'd been cooped up there for a week. The only time they had left was to go see Brian in the hospital. A.J. was driving everyone bonkers, wanting to go out for a while. Kevin and Howie finally gave in. Brian was alseep on the couch, and Lyn was working on her laptop. Kevin came out of the room he was sharing with Howie, "Lyn, you sure you don't want to go with us?" She smiled up at him, "Someone needs to stay with him," she said, pointing at Brian. "Besides, you guys need to get out, let off some of that pent up energy," she said with a laugh. "Yeah, I just hate it that you're stuck here," he said. She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm behind on my work anyway. It'll give me a chance to get caught up, and he'll probably sleep the rest of the night anyway." Kevin leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head, "OK, we all have our cells if you need us." She smiled at him, "OK. So I guess not to expect you back tonight?" Kevin grinned at her, "Probably not, more like early morning I would say." She laughed, "Ain't no party like a Backstreet party huh?" "You said it," Kevin laughed as he headed toward the door. Howie and A.J. quickly joined him, saying quick goodbye's to Lyn on their way out. Lyn listened as the car pulled out of the drive and down the road. She sighed, looking over at Brian. This wasn't what she wanted, but she couldn't very well tell the guys that she didn't want to be alone with him. That would spark to many questions that she really didn't have answers for. She just prayed that he slept most of the night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara sat on the patio watching the stars come out. The sun had set a while ago and as the sky darkened, and the stars appeared one by one, she prayed. She was afraid that her plan would work to well, and that she would lose herself in the process. But it was the only thing left for her to do. She had to get Nick back, no matter what it cost her. If Brian was truly gone, then the least she could do would be to return Nick to Lyn, she had to. As much as she despised what he'd become and what he'd done, she kept telling herself that he could come back. It was possible, and she was going to make sure of it. Nick walked out with a couple glasses of wine and handed Tara one. She stopped swinging and let him sit down. "Whatcha doing?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders, "Just thinking bout things." "You want me to leave?" he asked. She shook her head, "No, you can stay." Nick smiled at her. They rocked in silence, both of them looking up at the night sky. "Nick, did you ever think that things would turn out like this?" Tara asked. "Not really," he said. "How did you picture it?" she asked, looking at him. He shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno really. I guess like things were before, everyone would be with the one they were suppose to be with, and we'd all live happily ever after I guess." "And who do we belong with?" she asked. He looked deep into her eyes, "You know the answer to that." "I want to hear you say it," she said. "You and I belong together," he said, "Always have, always will." Tara looked back up at the sky and took a sip of her drink. Nick watched her, knowing she was thinking about something. "Tell me," he said. She looked at him, "What?" "Tell me what you're thinking," he prompted. She sighed and looked back up, "Just that....I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe I just didn't see it til now, I dunno." Nick's heart was in his throat, "You really mean that?" She nodded, still not looking at him. "It still hurts though. I mean I really loved Brian, but I think that I've always still loved you to," she whispered. Nick reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing it, "I wish I could take it back." Tara turned to face him, "Let's not talk about that. It only brings up bad memories, and I'm tired of crying." "OK," Nick said, "I won't mention it again." "Thanks," she said, squeezing his hand back. Nick moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "You're cold," he said, feeling her arms. Tara shrugged, "I hadn't noticed." "Here lean back and I'll keep you warm," Nick offered. Tara leaned back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. They sat like that for a long time, rocking gently, watching the sky. Tara could feel the desire in Nick, but she could also feel love, genuine love. She hoped that he could feel the same from her, she was doing her best to convey that to him, and hide her true intentions. Nick leaned down and gently kissed her neck. Tara tensed for a second, but a second was long enough for him to notice. He pulled back. She turned and looked at him, "I'm sorry Nick, I'm just not ready for this yet." He looked disappointed, but quickly hid it. "It's OK. I shouldn't have done that without asking you, I'm sorry," he said. Tara nodded and leaned back against him, "Will you please just hold me for a while?" Nick smiled, "Anything you want," he softly whispered. Tara settled in his arms, feeling comfort there, and fighting with herself to remember what she was doing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much to Lyn's dismay, Brian woke up about an hour after the guys left. She had talked with him some, but for the most part had left him alone, working on her computer. When she couldn't find anything else to work on, Brian had convinced her to watch a movie with him, like they used to. Lyn made the pop corn and together they had watched two movies and drank several beers. They were in the kitchen looking for something else to drink when Lyn found a pitcher she didn't remember being in there. "What's this?" she asked, taking it out and showing it to Brian. "Oh, that's A.J.'s concoction," Brian said. "What's in it?" she asked, smelling of it. "He never tells, and we probably don't wanna know," he said with a laugh. "Well, it's the only thing left. I'm game if you are," Lyn said. Brian shrugged his shoulders, "Sure." He grabbed a couple glasses and Lyn brought the pitcher back to the living room. Before they knew it they had watched their third movie and drank all of the mysterious liquid. Neither one of them were what you would call heavy drinkers, so the amount of alcohol they had consumed was taking its toll on them. They were both giggling at a commercial that had come on, then found random things in the room that seemed to be funny. "Oh looook," Brian slurred, pointing to Lyn's laptop, "This matchesss the floor." Lyn laughed, "I think you're drunk." Brian looked up at her and cheesed, "Naww, I don't think sooo." Lyn stood up, swaying, "Hell, I think we both are," she laughed. "Then why don't....um...don't you sound funny?" Brian asked. She shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno. May have something to do with the fact that you just got out of the hospital and your system's not back to normal yet." Brian pointed at her, "Ohhhh, that's smart." Lyn giggled and he joined her. They laughed for a few minutes then Lyn spoke up, "What are we laughing at?" "I dunno," Brian said, sending them into another bout of hysterics. "Come on," Lyn said, giving Brian her hand, "I think you need to go to bed." "Awww mom, just a few more min..um, what's that called?" Brian said. "Minutes?" Lyn asked. "Yeah, that," he said, waving his hand in the air, "I wanna stay up some moreeeee." Lyn laughed and shook her head, "Nope, you're coming with me." She reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him up. Brian grabbed onto her, instantly dizzy at the sudden movement, "Whoa, the room's spinnin." "Oh good, I thought it was just me," Lyn laughed. They wrapped their arms around one another and staggered in the direction of Brian's room. Lyn ran Brian into the wall, laughing hysterically, "Sorry." Brian rubbed his head, "Was that alwayss there?" "Uh huh," Lyn said, steering them into the room. "Wow! That's a huuugggeee bed," Brian said, staring at it. Lyn let go of him and staggered over to the windows, turning the knob and shutting the shades. She loved those shades. You could still see out, but no one could see in. She looked down at the water, losing herself in the waves when she heard a loud thud behind her. She turned around to see Brian laying on the floor, his jeans wadded around his ankles. "Oooppps," he said, laughing. Lyn walked over and pulled them off for him, helping him back up to sit on the bed. "Oh God," Brian said, holding his head as the room began spinning again. "I have a feeling we are both gonna have one hell of a hangover," Lyn said. He nodded, "It's all A.J.'s fault." "Yeah, we'll blame him for it," she said, reaching over and lifting Brian's head up, "You OK?" He stared into her eyes for a moment, then reached up and caressed her cheek with his hand. Lyn smiled and leaned her head into his hand. "I looove your smile," Brian whispered. Lyn laughed, "You should hear how you sound right now." Brian licked his lips and ran his hand from her cheek around to the back of her neck, gently stroking it. Lyn shivered at the sensation, and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew, Brian's lips were on hers and they were locked in a deep passionate kiss. Their tongues massaging each others slowly, darting in and out of each others mouths. Brian had his hand entangled in her hair, and was massaging her back with the other. Lyn wrapped her arms around him, and they moved to get closer to each other. They broke the kiss, both of them heaving for air, their heads spinning. Brian got up and staggered to the door, closing it and turning the lock, before coming back to sit next to Lyn. "Bri, I don't think we should..." she started. "Shhh," Brian said, putting his finger on her lips, "I don't wanna think." "But Bri..." Lyn said. "I want you soooo much," Brain slurred, leaning in and taking her mouth in his. Lyn closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of electricity moving through her. She leaned back on the bed, and Brian moved on top of her, never breaking the kiss. His hands were roaming her body, and she craved every touch. Brian moved her towards the head of the bed then reached over and turned out the lights. Chapter 45 |