On the way to the airport, in the back of the van, Nick pulled out his cell phone,
"Here goes nothing." He wished AJ wouldn't pick up the phone so he could leave a message,
"Hello?" He took a deep breath,
"Hey AJ, look I need to go away and take care of something. Something came up but I'll be back tomorrow afternoon in time for the concert." AJ frowned,
"What? What are you talking about?" Nick sighed, this was something he preferred to not do at all but Larry would not let him get on the plane unless his whereabouts were known,
"It's a family thing. I can't explain it right now." He should have just called the front desk and left a message for his room,
"A family thing? Is everything alright?" Nick sighed,
"Yeah, it will be, I just need to take care of this. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." AJ stopped moving,
"You'll be back? Where are you right now?" He looked out the window and saw a sign for the airport,
"At the airport." AJ sighed heavily,
"Nick are you fucking crazy? We have an interview tonight. Get back here right now." Nick shook his head,
"I can't J, this is important. It has to be taken care of. I'll call you tonight. Don't worry about me Larry is with me." Before AJ could say anything more Nick hung up and turned off his cell phone. Larry turned around and looked at him,
"How did it go?" Nick looked up at him wearily,
"I snuck out the hotel, left without telling anyone. blew off a second obligation in like two days and I'm not going to be back in town until the day of the concert. Oh yeah, they have no idea where I am. How do you think it went?" Larry smiled sympathetically,
"Boy, its going to hit the fan when you get back." Nick sighed and closed his eyes, this has been some week and its only been two days.
The four remaining Backstreet Boys met in AJ's room per his request. He didn't tell them Nick wouldn't be there or that the meeting was about the youngest one. When they pressed for information on the impromptu meeting he simply told them it was group business and it was important. Kevin was the last to arrive, AJ was sure it was because it wasn't a meeting he called,
"Where's Nick?" AJ nodded,
"Have a seat. That's what I wanted to talk to you guys about." Brian sighed,
"What the hell has he done now?" AJ wished he could say Nick hadn't done anything if only to remove that damn tone from Brian's voice,
"Look something happened, something with his family and he had to leave." Before he could finish Kevin began to yell,
"He just left the damn tour?! I don't believe this!" Howie sighed,
"If he had talked to us I'm sure-" AJ nodded,
"He called me from the airport, so its too late to do anything about it. He said he'd call us tonight. He'll be back tomorrow afternoon." Kevin shook his head,
"What time?" AJ shrugged,
"I dunno, he didn't say." Brian sighed and threw his hands up,
"Tomorrow? What about the interview tonight?" AJ sighed,
"We'll just do it without him, its no big deal. What can we do about it now?" Kevin was pissed and was not about to let it go that easily,
"It is a big deal. He's a part of the group, he has responsibilities. This is fucking ridiculous." Howie stood up,
"Look, its done. He's gone, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it so we might as well calm down and get over it." AJ gave Howie a grateful smile, Howie knew there was no use in crying over spilt milk,
"So, we'll miss some Willa questions and Nick won't be there to flub up some lines. He never says all that much in interviews anyway." He saw that Brian and Kevin were beyond calm and now Howie looked a little worried,
"What is it Howie?" Howie shook his head,
"First drunk and can't do a photo shoot and now this? Are we sure there is a family emergency? Are we sure he even left Atlanta?" Kevin nodded,
"Yeah, he's probably out partying and didn't want to be bothered with doing the interview tonight." AJ stopped, he never thought about that. Would Nick be that deceitful all for the sake of a little partying? Brian pulled out his cell phone and AJ asked,
"Who are you calling?" Brian didn't say anything, he just rolled his eyes,
"Nick's cell phone is off." He searched through his cell,
"Hey man, its Brian. Get me Jane Carter's number will you. Yeah, I'll hold." Howie frowned,
"What are you doing?" Brian covered the phone,
"Seeing what Carter family emergency has caused Nick to leave the tour and for his sake something better have happened or his ass is through." Brian thanked whomever was on the other end and then dialed the number,
"Hi Jane, it's Brian. Give me a call when you get this message. It's important." They looked around as Brian left his number on Jane's phone, telling her to call whenever she got the message no matter the time.
Nick sat on the plane and stared out the window until he felt someone tap him. He looked at Larry and when he pointed he followed his finger and locked eyes with a flight attendant,
"Would like something to drink Mr. Carter?" He shook his head,
"No ma'am." and went back to staring out the window.
"Hey, what are you thinking? If you don't mind me asking?" He turned and looked at Larry,
"Honestly?" Larry nodded and watched as Nick looked around before lowering his voice,
"How I would give anything if this baby wasn't mine. I don't want a kid man. I just don't. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it." Larry nodded,
"But you do know she is yours right? I mean, you don't have that feeling that she is? I know you and Quinn parted ways in less than wonderful terms but do you think she would say a kid is yours if its not? We're talking about Quinn here." Nick sighed as he lay his head back,
"She's not always honest." Larry nodded,
"Yeah the boyfriend, but you aren't always honest and up front yourself about girls. Just because you lie about certain things does that mean you lie about everything?" Nick sighed,
"Of course not." Larry nodded,
"What is it going to take for you to believe she is your daughter? A blood test?" Nick shook his head,
"No, her word really is good enough. I would believe her. Even if I didn't want to."
Chapter 16
Reunited
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