AD13

Chapter 13: Explanations

�Oh my god, you guys have to see what AJ and I did,� I cried as I dragged AJ into the girls and my hotel room.

I stopped short when I noticed there was an extra person in the room.

�Hey guys, who�s your friend?�

The girl sitting on the bed got up and faced me.

�Hello Evie,� she said.

I looked at the girl and couldn�t believe my eyes.

�Anya, is that you?�

She smiled and shook her head.

�Oh my god! What are you doing here? How are you? What have you been up to?� I bombarded her with questions as I ran over and threw my arms around her.

�You always were inquisitive, weren�t you?� she commented as she pulled away to look at me. �First let me ask you something. Who is he?�

I looked in the direction she was pointing and noticed AJ still standing there.

�I almost forgot! Anya, this is AJ, my boyfriend. AJ, meet my sister, Anya.�

AJ said hello then gave me a quizzical look. �I�ll explain later,� I mouthed to him.

�So what are you doing here?� I asked again.

�I was out and ran into Juliet and Kassandra,� she replied. �What are you doing here?�

�AJ here is in a band and we�re on tour with them,� I explained.

�I thought he looked familiar. What band is it?� Anya asked.

�The Backstreet Boys,� AJ answered.

�Really? That�s pretty cool,� she said. �Hey, do you guys till have your band?�

The girls and I all looked at each other.

�We haven�t worked on that in a while,� Kassandra answered.

�Wait, you guys have a band?� AJ asked.

�Again, I�ll explain later,� I told him.

There was a pause then Kayla asked, �Eve what did you want to show us?�

�Oh yeah!� I exclaimed, remembering what I was originally doing. �I wanted to show you this.� I reached down and pushed the waist of my jeans down and lifted my shirt to reveal a small sun tattooed on the lower right side of my back.

�Eve, are you crazy?! Mom�s going to flip!� Kayla exclaimed.

�I�m twenty. What is she going to do? Ground me?� I replied.

�It is a nice design though,� Anya said.

�I picked it out,� AJ beamed.

�Yes you did sweetie,� I said giving him a light kiss.

�Um, Eve, can I talk to you alone for a sec?� Anya asked, suddenly looking nervous.

�Sure. Guys we�ll be right back,� I said and left the room with Anya. �So what�s up?� I asked when we were in the hall.

�I don�t know what brought you guys here, but it is a miracle. Three days ago Patrick and I got into an argument and he kicked me out of our apartment. I have no place else to go.�

I looked at my sister who was now almost in tears. I honestly didn�t know what to say to her.

�Haven�t you been living with him for like, four years now?� I asked.

�Yeah, and he said he loved me and that he wanted to marry me, but apparently not any more,� she cried.

�Oh honey,� I said putting my arms around her. �I�ll talk to Denise and see if you could come on tour with us for a little while.�

�Really?� she choked out.

�Of course. You�re my sister,� I said. �Now wipe those tears away and lets go see what we can do.�

******That Night******

�So your sister is coming on tour with us?� AJ asked as we laid on the couch in the hotel room after their show.

�Yeah, I guess so,� I replied.

�Why didn�t you tell me you had another sister?�

�I don�t know. Sometimes I forget I even do have another sister. I mean, I haven�t talked to her in almost four years.�

�Why?�

�It�s kind of a long story.�

�I�ve got time,� AJ said looking genuinely interested.

�Okay then,� I said, sitting up to face him. �When Anya was nine-teen she fell in love with this guy named Patrick. Right from the start he was bad news, but he always treated Anya like a goddess so Kayla and I didn�t mind him. My mom hated him and didn�t want Anya dating him. They got in a fight and Anya ran away for a few days. She came back and apologized, but continued to date Patrick. Well things progressively got worse between Anya and my mom so, on her graduation day, Anya ran away with Patrick for good. We haven�t really spoken to her since. Kayla and I have gotten a few calls from her, but not many.�

AJ took a minute to absorb what I said. A wow was all he could muster.

�Yeah, it�s pretty crazy.�

�So what�s this band you and the girls have?� AJ asked, a smile growing on his face.

�Oh my god, it�s nothing,� I said, recalling the singing group we had when we were younger.

�I don�t care, I want to hear about it,� AJ insisted.

�AJ, no,� I said sternly.

�Fine, then I�ll just have to do this,� he said as he pinned me to the couch and tickled me.

�Okay, okay! I�ll tell you!� I cried.

AJ got off me and pulled me up so I could tell my story.

�Back in the day Kayla, Juliet, Kassandra and I had a singing group called Eternity. Anya was kind of our manager. We played some local clubs and that was about it. When Anya left we just kind of stopped doing it.�

�Would you be interested in starting up again?� he asked with that gleam in his eye that told me he was plotting something.

�What are you getting at McLean?�

�Well if you sing for our management and they think you�re good then you guys could be our opening act,� he said.

�AJ, I don�t think so,� I replied skeptically.

�Pretty, pretty please with sugar on top? It couldn�t hurt,� he pleaded.

I took one look at his sad puppy dog eyes and cursed myself for falling for it.

�Fine, but I have to talk to the girls first.�

�Did I ever tell you that you are the best girlfriend ever?�

�No. Definitely not.�

�Well you are,� he said as he leaned over to kiss me.

�And you�re the best boyfriend ever...most of the time,� I smirked and dodged the pillow he threw at me.

I just laughed and laid back down against him.

Starting the band again could be fun, I thought. Who knows, we might make it big.