| Chapter 3 "Howie are you sure?" Eli asked, "You might be mistaken." Howie shook his head, even though his friend couldn't see him, "No Eli, I saw the marks." The older man sighed, "Do you know who did it?" "No, Brian's kinda in shock right now. I'll try to find out later," he answered, walking into his own room and pushing the room service cart through into Brian's. "You talked to him? Howard, you know you are only to observe," Eli admonished. Howie looked toward the bathroom as the water quit, "He's my friend Eli, I can't let him go through this alone." "But the rules ...." Eli started. "I know," Howie interrupted, "But it's to late for that now. I've gotta go, I'll call when I know more," he said, hanging up. He placed the phone back in his pocket as Brian exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. Howie watched as he seemed to be in a daze, getting dressed in a sort of automatic pilot kind of state. "Bri, sit down and try to eat something," he said. Brian pulled the t-shirt he'd grabbed out of his bag over his head, then turned looking for his shoes. "Brian?" Howie said. Brian looked up at him, tears threatening to spill over his cheeks. Howie reached out and guided him to the side of the bed, making him sit down, "Eat," he said, grabbing his shoes and putting them on him. Brian grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite. Howie looked around the room for Brian's wallet and key card, "Drink some orange juice too," he said, as he searched. Brian followed him with his eyes as he moved around the room, finally finding what he was looking for and coming back over to sit next to him. "Bri, you gotta act like everything's Ok. You can't shut down on me here," he urged. Brian looked down at his half eaten piece of toast, "I'm so tired," he whispered. "I know, and you will be for a while," Howie said, pushing the glass of orange juice in front of him, "Drink as much as you can. It'll help." With trembling hands, Brian took the glass and drank about half its contents before stopping. Howie glanced at his watch, "Bri, we're late. You think you can make it downstairs?" Brian shrugged, standing up, swaying on his feet. Howie steadied him, "Not to fast. Slow and easy, K?" Brian nodded, still trembling. "Are you cold?" Howie asked. "Yeah," was his only reply. Howie turned and rummaged through Brian's bag until he found a sweat shirt, then helped Brian put it on. "That better?" he asked. "Uh huh," Brian said, slowly moving towards the door. "Bri, we need to think of an excuse for your bruise," Howie said, before they reached the door. Brian just looked at him, a complete lost expression on his face. "Ok, guess it's up to me then," Howie said, more to himself than to Brian, "Um, OK, you had a flat in the storm and you slipped while changing the tire. How does that sound?" Brian shrugged, looking down at his shoes. "Oh Kay, then I guess that's good enough. Brian, you gotta act like you now, you can't do this when we walk out of this room. Got it?" he said, nudging Brian's arm. Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nodding. "Alright, just stay close to me today. If you need anything, let me know," Howie said. "K," Brian answered as Howie opened the door and they headed towards the elevator. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin paced the lobby, glancing at his watch again. "I'm giving them one more minute, then I'm going up there," he announced. A.J. and Nick were sitting on the couch, watching their eldest brother do what he did best ... fret. "Kev, lighten up will ya? It's not like they're missing for Christ's sakes," A.J. said. Kevin glared down at him, "We'll we're already fifteen minutes late. That makes us late for everything we do today." A.J. waved his hand at the older man, "They expect us to be late Kev. That's why the phrase Backstreet Time was invented." Nick laughed, catching a glare from Kevin. "Sorry," he muttered, looking back down at his magazine. The elevator doors opened and Howie walked out, Brian on his heels. Kevin stared at his cousin. Brian kept his head down, staring at his tennis shoes. He had pulled the sleeves of his sweat shirt over his hands, just his fingers poking out. And he looked deathly pale. "Brian?" Brian looked up to meet his cousin's eyes. "Damn cuz, what happened to you?" Kevin asked, seeing the bruise on his forehead. Brian glanced at Howie, then back to his cousin, "Um, I had a flat in the storm. I slipped and hit my head on the side of the car. Does it look that bad?" "You look like hell," A.J. commented, standing up and stretching. Brian half smiled, "Thanks, I feel like it too." Kevin walked over to inspect the wound, "You sure you don't have a concussion?" Brian shrugged, "I don't know. Can we go now?" he asked, walking towards the door. "Yeah, we're late aren't we? Better get on the road," Howie said, passing Kevin and catching up with Brian. A.J. and Nick followed behind, as Kevin stood there, staring at Brian's back. Something was off. "Come on Kev, you're the one bitching bout how late we are," A.J. called back. Kevin shook his head, heading towards the doors. Whatever it was, he'd have to figure it out later. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The morning was full of press. The guys had two radio interviews and three interviews with local papers. Brian did his best to act normal, but his exhaustion showed through. He told everyone he was coming down with the flu, which worked pretty well for keeping people away from him. Now they sat in their last interview, live on the radio. Brian leaned heavily on the counter, his head in his hands, praying for the end of the interview. All he wanted to do was lay down, and the headache he had didn't help matters any. "So Brian, what's your take on the new album?" the DJ asked. Brian looked up having heard his name, and nothing else, "Huh?" "What's your take on the album? Are you satisfied with it, or are there some things you would have done differently?" the DJ asked. Done differently? How bout never coming on this promotional tour? How bout never leaving the damn airport and trying to drive the rest of the way in? God, if those few hours could be redone. Kevin leaned forward, "Brian, answer the question," he whispered forcefully. "Huh? Oh sorry, I like the album. I don't think I'd change anything on it," he answered, looking somewhat embarrassed. Spacing out was suppose to be Nick's job, not his. The interview went on, and for the most part Brian stared at his shoes. If he was asked a question, he tried to answer in as little words as possible. Howie glanced over, seeing him wince and close his eyes, a slight sheen of sweat on his face. "You Ok?" he whispered. Brian shook his head as the DJ wrapped things up and they went off the air. Howie leaned over close to Brian, "You gonna be sick?" "I dunno, just get me outta here," he replied. Howie glanced over seeing the rest of the boys talking to the DJ. Thankful no one was paying attention to him, he helped Brian to his feet and they left the studio. "Come on, lets get down to the room they put us in when we first got here," Howie said, as they slowly walked down the hall. "God D, my head hurts," Brian said, lifting a shaking hand to his forehead. "Hey guys, wait up!" Nick yelled, running down the hall to catch up. Howie looked back, just in time to see a giggling Nick grab him and lift him off the ground, twirling him around in circles. "Nick, put me down!" Howie demanded. Nick dropped him to his feet, grinning wildly, "Aw come on D, I'm just playin." "Howie," Brian said. Howie stuck his finger in Nick's face, "I don't care. You don't go running down the hall and grabbing people, that's not nice." "Howie," Brian said again, with more urgency. "And no more candy for you," Howie went on, "I swear you're like high or something. I'm putting it in our rider, from now on Nick isn't allowed any candy during interviews...." Brian reached over and grabbed Howie's arm, "Help," he muttered as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. Nick and Howie both caught him before he hit the floor. "Oh shit!" Nick said, looking around frantically for help. "Nick, help me get him into the green room, " Howie instructed. The two carried Brian down the hall and into the room before anyone else saw. They placed him on the couch, Nick biting his lip with worry. "I'll call an ambulance," he offered. "No!" Howie said, grabbing the younger man's arm, "No ambulance. You know how he hates hospitals." "But he ....." "Nick, listen. Go see if you can find him something to eat. A soda and maybe a candy bar, Ok. He hasn't eaten much today, and I'm sure that's why he passed out," Howie said as calmly as he could. "You sure?" Nick asked, looking down at his best friend. "Yeah, now go. And don't tell anyone, we don't want it blasted all over the air," he said, pushing Nick towards the door. Nick looked back, not sure if this was the right thing to do or not. Brian moaned, and Howie shoved him out the door, "Now hurry," he said before slamming the door in Nick's face. "Easy Bri, " he said, going over to the couch. "Wh-what happened?" Brian asked, looking around. "You passed out. I sent Nick to get you something to eat," he answered. "What's happening to me?" Brian asked, in barely a whisper. Howie squeezed his arm, a compassionate look on his face. Just then Kevin burst through the door, "What happened? Nick said Bri passed out." "Brian passed out," Howie said flatly. Despite how bad he felt, Brian had to chuckle at his two older brothers. The looks on their faces were priceless. Kevin all concerned, and Howie down right annoyed, then Kevin annoyed at Howie for stating the obvious. "And what's so amusing?" Kevin asked. Brian shook his head, "You." Kevin knelt down and examined his cousin, "Maybe we should take you to see a doc?" "No!" both Brian and Howie said. Kevin looked from one to the other. "I'm fine Kev," Brian said, sitting up. "Bri you look like death warmed over. Let me get a doc in and ......" Kevin started. "No docs Kev, I'm just coming down with the flu or something from being out in the rain last night. And I haven't eaten much today and my head is killing me. I just wanna go back to the hotel and lay down, is that to much to ask?" Brian said. Howie pulled Kevin aside before he could answer. "Let him go back and rest, it's not like he's dying," he whispered. "He doesn't look good Howie," Kevin protested. "And I'm sure some rest will help that. If he's not better in a few days, then call in a doc," Howie said. Kevin glanced back at Brian. He was rubbing his temples. "Alright, we'll take him back to the hotel, but if he's not better tomorrow, I'm taking him to the doctor," he conceded. Howie nodded as Nick and A.J. came in. "This is all I could find," Nick said, offering Howie a can of Coke and a Snickers bar. Howie took them, "That'll do," he said, taking them to Brian. "I don't want them," Brian said before Howie even sat down. "I know, but try anyway," he said. Brian took the Coke and drank, feeling it go all the way down to his stomach. Howie opened the candy bar and gave it to him. Brian slowly ate it, feeling the concerned eyes of his band mates on him the entire time. When he finished, he had to admit he felt a little better. "You think you can make it back to the hotel?" Kevin asked. Brian nodded, standing up and heading to the door. The rest followed him to the van. Once the vehicle was moving, Kevin pulled his itinerary out glancing over it, "Alright, we're free the rest of the afternoon. The bus doesn't leave til 9:00 AM in the morning." "Great, we can go check out that club," Nick said. Kevin pointed a finger at the two youngest members, "Don't stay out all night. We have work to do tomorrow." "Yes daddy," A.J. mocked, making Nick laugh. Brian smiled at the scene before him. Life was so simple for them. He wished it was still simple for him too. He closed his eyes, afraid the tears he felt would show themselves. He still wasn't sure what was happening to him, but he knew his life would never be the same. He felt someone nudge him and looked up, "We're here," Howie said. Brian looked over to see the hotel in front of them. He got out of the van and walked through the lobby. Thank God the fans hadn't found out where they were staying yet. He really didn't feel like smiling and signing autographs. As the boys stepped off the elevator, Kevin pulled Howie to the side, "Man, listen I have somewhere I have to be in a little bit. Can you keep an eye on Bri for me?" "Of course Kev," Howie answered. "Thanks," Kevin said, running up to Brian before he got into his room. "Bri, I gotta be somewhere but if you need me call me, alright?" he said. "Alright Kev, I'm fine really," Brian assured him. Kevin patted his shoulder, "K, see you in the morning." Brian headed into his room, Howie following behind and shutting the door. Brian went straight for his bed and fell into it. "I'm so tired," he muttered through the pillow. "I know," Howie said, "But you got through today, and tomorrow will be better." Brian turned over, "How do you know that?" Howie shrugged, "I just do. Now rest for a while and I'll order room service, I'll wake you when it gets here." Brian kicked his shoes off and settled into the bed, "D?" "Uh huh?" "Thanks for helping me. I dunno what I'd do if you weren't here," Brian said. Howie smiled, "No problem. We're in this together. Now rest, we can talk later." Brian nodded and closed his eyes, asleep in seconds. Chapter 4 |