Drew walked down the hallway. He was sure that his friends were 
asking what happened and if he was okay, but Drew’s mind was too fuzzy 
to focus or care. He left the hospital.

	Nick got to the hospital a few hours later. He immediately 
rushed to Annabelle’s room.

	"Annie?" He asked while standing in the doorway. She was 
sleeping. He sighed. Nick thought about what he was going to say to 
Annabelle. He was hurt that she told Drew and he was angry. But how 
could you stay angry with the mother of your nephew. The woman your 
only brother was in love with. The same girl you grew up with and 
occasionally fooled around with. You just couldn’t. Nick sighed 
again.

	He sat down in the chair next to the bed. He wondered where 
Drew was. Wild horses couldn’t drag him away from her on a regular 
basis, but now he should be glued to her side even more. Nick was a 
little bit worried.

	He rested his head on his arm and slowly fell asleep.

	"Nick? Is that you?" Nick was pulled from his dream by the 
sweet voice of his favorite gal pal, Annabelle.

	"Annie?"

	"Yeah. What are you doing here?"

	"I came to see you, Drew and the baby."

	"It’s one in the morning."

	"I fell asleep."

	"Oh."

	"So, it’s a boy."

	"Yep. He’s a little darling; you’ll love him."

	"I already do. Where’s Drew?"

	"I don’t know."

	"You don’t know? I thought he’d be in here."

	"Well, he left yesterday."

	"He left? Annie, what are you talking about?"

	"I told him to go, Nick. It’s for the best."

	"You dumped him?"

	"Yeah."

	"Oh, Annie. How could you do that to him? To you?".

	"I let him go. He’s free now. He doesn’t have to be tied down 
by me."

	"Don’t you understand that Drew loves you more than anything? 
He’d give up singing for you, Annie. It doesn’t mean anything to him 
without you. You’re his everything."

	"No, he just thinks I am. In time he’ll find a nice girl who 
treats him right, and doesn’t have so much baggage. Besides, this is 
all my fault."

	"Of course it is, you’re pushing him away."

	"I mean our relationship is my fault. If I had stayed away from 
Drew in August, everything would be fine. We wouldn’t be together. And 
if I hadn’t asked him to marry me, he wouldn’t have to be responsible 
for me now."

	"Listen to me. Drew has loved you since the day he first met 
you. He doesn’t feel tied down, Annie. He wants to be with you, 
probably even more than you want to be with him. I bet he’s hurting 
immensely right now. He loves you. He really, really loves you."

	A tear slid down Annabelle’s cheek. "Go to him, Nick. Make sure 
he’s okay. You can’t see the baby now, anyway."

	"Are you going to reconsider what you’re doing?"

	"I can’t." Nick sighed.

	"I’ll leave this alone for now, but you can guarantee I’m not 
letting you off that easy."

	Nick kissed Annabelle’s hand before getting up and walking out 
of the hospital room.

	Jeff, J, Dee, and Vicky sat in the living room of the 
apartment. Dee sighed. It was a troubled sigh and Jeff hugged her 
closer. "This is so awful." She murmured. "They were great for each 
other. I can’t imagine what went wrong."

	Jeff kissed the top of her head. He was extremely grateful that 
he wasn’t in the same situation as Drew and Annabelle. "I know, 
baby."

	"Well, there isn’t much I can do here. I think I’ll head home." 
Vicky said as she stood up. She smiled at J. "I’ll see you at work." 
She bent down and kissed him softly. Vicky then exited the 
apartment.

	"So, J." Jeff said. "You and Vicky seem to be pretty serious. 
What’s going on with that?"

	"Vicky’s great. I wish I could spend more time with her. She 
gets me better than anyone I’ve ever met."

	"That’s only because nobody gets you."

	"Yeah, ha ha. I’m going to bed." 

	"Night," Dee called to J’s retreating figure. "I guess that’s 
our cue to go to bed too, huh?" 

	"Guess so."

	Nick came home later that morning. He had no luck in finding 
Drew and he was worried. It really wasn’t like Drew to just leave 
without telling anyone where he was going. Nick hoped it wouldn’t get 
to the point where he’d have to call his parents. It wasn’t worth it to 
needlessly worry them. Nick suddenly wondered if his parents knew about 
the baby.

	He sat down on the couch and waited for Drew to return. Five 
minutes later the door to the apartment opened. It was Drew.

	Nick rushed to the door and threw his arms around his brother. 
Drew hesitated, then hugged him back, weakly. He broke the embrace and 
walked to his room.

	"Don’t you want to talk about it?" Nick asked. He got no 
response, except the slam of the door. Nick decided to sleep in the 
living room.

	The month before they left for tour went by quickly. The guys 
were constantly busy and barely had any time to sleep, let alone worry 
about the tension in the house.

	When Drew was at home, he spent all of his time in his room. 
Sometimes at night, when everyone was asleep, he would visit the baby. 
Its cradle was in the living room because there wasn’t enough space in 
Annabelle’s room. Drew liked to hold his son and often he would sing 
softly to him. Drew couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live 
without him. He loved Tyler and he didn’t want to let him go. He 
especially didn’t want the baby to forget about his father.

	Drew cried every night he held the baby. He cried for what he 
knew he was going to lose. 

	Everybody noticed the change in Drew. It was hard not to. He 
never spoke and walked around with tearstains on his face. Drew was 
broken and everyday he was separated from Annabelle and Tyler, he 
shattered just a little bit more.

	During the one-month period, Annabelle searched for a new place 
to live. She wanted to move out of California. In fact, she wanted to 
be as far away as possible. She was moving to Florida.


	Annabelle moved out at the end of the month, as promised. Her 
new apartment wasn’t ready, so she went to stay with some old 
friends.

	Knock, knock! Annabelle struggled on holding the baby and her 
bags. JC Chasez answered the door. 

	"Hello, JC." She greeted with a smile. 

	"Annabelle?"

	"That’s me."

	"What are you doing here?"

	"Amber said I could stay with you until my apartment was 
ready."

	"Oh. I don’t remember her mentioning anything. Come in." He 
grabbed Annabelle’s suitcase and made room for her to enter the house. 
"So, you have a son."

	"Yeah." Annabelle smiled at her baby. "Yes, I do."

	"If you don’t mind me asking, who’s the father?"

	"Drew."

	"Oh..." JC didn’t know what to say.

	"Is Amber here?"

	"No, she went to the store. She’ll be back soon."

	"How’s Justin?" Annabelle sat down on a couch. The baby got 
heavy after a while.

	"He’s pretty good. He’s got a new girlfriend."

	"Yeah, what’s she like?" Annabelle didn’t even feel a ping of 
jealousy. She was sort of surprised.

	"Um...you know her better than me."

	"I do?" Annabelle was puzzled.

	The door to the apartment opened and Amber came into the 
doorway. Behind her were Justin and his new girlfriend.

	"Annabella?" Annabelle’s eyes went wide.

	"Annabelle?...Oh, dear...um...how are you?" Annabella sat down 
next to her sister. "So, this is my nephew, huh? He’s a real looker. 
I’m sorry I haven’t visited. I just felt bad about the whole thing that 
went down in August."

	Annabelle pulled her sister in a hug. She hadn’t even realized 
she’d missed her. "Oh, Bella. It doesn’t matter anymore. Do you want to 
hold him?"

	"Oh yes."

	"Um...I don’t mean to interrupt," Justin interrupted. "I 
understand it’s a sisterly moment, but since when have you had a 
kid?"

	"Hi, Justin. He’s a month old."

	"Oh." The room fell silent.

	"How was your trip, Annabelle?" Amber asked.

	"It was okay. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable if I was 
moving under better circumstances."

	"What happened?" Justin asked. He moved to sit on the other 
side of Annabelle. He had forgiven her a long time ago about "the 
incident." Now he was concerned. He did love her. They were together 
for two years.

	"Drew and I." She paused. "Well, we were together. 
And...um...were gonna be married... and I broke it off."

	"Oh..."


........................................


	98* went on their very first tour and became an instant 
success. Annabelle followed their career through three albums and even 
went to a few concerts. And then it happened.




	The four men that made up 98* ran off the stage. They were 
handed towels and rushed to their bus. Drew ran the towel through his 
hair as he sat down at the table. In front of him sat piles of mail. He 
leafed through it, taking out his mail.

	There was a letter from his mother, some fan mail, and a letter 
from Russ. Drew opened Russ’ letter first. It had been a couple of 
years since he had spent any real time with his friend. Drew felt a bit 
nostalgic for the old times. Back when he, Russ, and Annabelle 
car-pooled to school. Back when things were simple. When even though he 
wasn’t with Annabelle, she was still in his life. When he was truly 
happy. Not that he didn’t like performing. The high was unimaginable 
and his fans were great. But Drew couldn’t remember the color of his 
son’s eyes. 

	Russ’ wife was pregnant, the letter said. Six months. Drew had 
made it to the wedding, but hadn’t stayed long at the reception. He 
supposed Annabelle was there. Tyler too. 

	Drew sighed.

	Jeff walked up to the table. He searched for his own mail. "Is 
that a letter from Russ?"

	Drew grunted in reply. Jeff rolled his eyes and walked away. 
Drew wasn’t fun to be with.

	It was an hour before they were supposed to arrive at the 
hotel, when Jeff got a phone call. Drew wasn’t paying any attention 
until he heard Jeff say, "I got the invitation. I’m glad they’re 
finally getting married. ‘Bout time he made an honest woman of her...of 
course the wedding is in Florida, that’s where they live. I gotta go... 
I’m supposed to help Nick out with some song he wrote... I’ll see you 
on Wednesday. I love you, baby. Bye."

	"Dee?" Drew asked.

	"Yeah."

	"Whose getting married?"

	"I’d rather not say."

	"Why not?"

	"Because you’re a pissy bastard, and if I mention names you’ll 
only jump down my throat."

	Drew snorted. He went and sat in his bunk. ‘Who lives in 
Florida?...Annabelle!...and Justin...oh my god, they’re getting 
married. How could she? No, it’s not possible. But why would Jeff hide 
who it was if it wasn’t Annabelle? And I know she wouldn’t go to 
Florida without contacting Justin. Oh dear, this can’t happen. 
Annabelle is supposed to be with me. We’re destined to be together. I 
gotta stop this wedding. I’ll fly to Florida.’

	Tuesday morning found Jeff on an airplane. His destination was 
Florida. His reason for departure was a wedding. Expected time of 
arrival, quarter of three. Approximate time on the plane, three 
o’clock. Jeff wondered what was taking so long.

	Drew had taken a flight late Monday night. He didn’t mention it 
to any of the guys. He didn’t want them to talk him out of it. Drew 
didn’t give a damn if Annabelle thought she was in love with Justin. He 
had separated them before and he could do it again.

	The fact that Nick, Annabelle’s oldest and dearest friend

besides himself, didn’t get an invitation didn’t cross Drew’s mind. He 

was too busy figuring out a way to crash the wedding.

	He decided that he didn’t want to interrupt a wedding. It was 
too high profile. Instead, he’d go straight to the source before the 
joyous occasion. He’d visit Annabelle. Even if it had been a few years. 

	Drew was able to get Annabelle’s address from a letter she had 
written Nick. He arrived at her house at roughly ten o’clock Tuesday 
night, the night before the wedding.

	Drew knocked until he heard Annabelle yell, " Who ever is at 
the door better stop pounding before they wake the baby." Drew stopped 
immediately. He knew the baby was his son. But Tyler was hardly a baby 
now. He was four years old. Drew couldn’t believe he had stayed away 
that long.

	Annabelle opened the door. She was dressed in a nightgown. Her 
breath got caught in her throat when she saw Drew.

	He was better looking then she remembered, but the light in his 
eyes was gone.

	"Drew?" she whispered. Her voice was hoarse. She straightened 
her hair unconsciously. She felt plain in front of him. He was dressed 
nicely and he was beautiful.

	Drew tried to clear his head. She was stunning and he fought 
the urge to touch her like he used to. He remembered his mission. "I 
can’t let you marry him, Anna."

	She frowned. "Who? What are you talking about, Drew?"

	He pushed past her and into the house. "Nice place. Justin. You 
can’t marry Justin, Anna."

	"Marry Justin? I’m not marrying Justin."

	"I heard Jeff talking about it."

	"You must have misheard. Justin’s dating Annabella."

	Drew looked confused. "He’s dating your sister?"

	"Yes. He has been since him and I broke up."

	"When did you break up?"

	"You know when. It was when we got together."

	"So, you haven’t been seeing him. At all?"

	"No. I haven’t been seeing anyone."

	"In four years?"

	"I’ve had sex, Drew. I just haven’t dated." He flinched. Okay, 
so he didn’t really expect her to go without sex for four years. He had 
had sex. Drew just hoped she had waited for him.

	He sat down on the couch. In front of him was a coffee table. 
On the table was a picture that was obviously drawn by a child. It was 
signed Andy. Drew looked up at Annabelle. He picked up the picture and 
handed it to her.

	"What’s this?" He asked.

	"A drawing."

	"Whose Andy?"

	"You’re son."

	"No, my son’s name is Tyler."

	"I never named him Tyler, Drew. I named him after you. Andrew 
John Lachey Jr." Drew could feel the tears on his cheeks.

	"Can I see him?"

	"He’s asleep."

	"I’ll just look in. I won’t wake him." Annabelle 
sighed.

	"Alright, but not for long."

	Annabelle walked up the stairs and Drew followed her. She went 
to the first door on the right and opened it a crack. Drew looked in. 
He could see little Andy. He was practically a clone of Drew. His face 
was illuminated by a night-light.

	"What color are his eyes?" Drew asked Annabelle.

	"They’re hazel, like his father’s." Drew cried a little bit 
more.

	He wanted to stand there forever, but Annabelle pulled him away 
a moment later. They went back downstairs.

	"Does he know about me?"

	"I try to avoid talking about you." Annabelle looked down. 
"Would you like something to drink?"

	"Yeah. Some water would be nice...Anna, if you’re not getting 
married, who is?"

	"Jeff’s cousin, Amber and Justin’s friend, JC."

	"Oh...I still love you."

	"I know."

	"Don’t you love me anymore?"

	"I’ll always love you."

	Drew stayed long enough to finish his water. He asked Annabelle 
to come see him before he left the next evening. She agreed to meet him 
at his hotel after the wedding.

	"Hi," Drew greeted as Annabelle entered the room.

	"This is a pretty expensive hotel. Your career is going well, 
then?"

	"Yes." Drew sat down on the bed and motioned for Annabelle to 
do the same. She sat. "Annabelle, I want to give us another try. I love 
you, and I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve been miserable since the 
day you told me to leave your hospital room. I love you and I love my 
son. I miss my family. I don’t want to spend another moment 
apart."

	Annabelle leaned over and kissed Drew, effectively shutting him 
up. The same thing that brought them together in the first place, also 
seemed to reunite them.

	The next morning Annabelle was gone.

	Drew found a note. It contained partial lyrics from a Heart 
song Drew recognized. 

	"So, we found this hotel
	It was a place, I knew well
	We made magic that night
	Oh, he did everything right
	He brought the woman out of me
	so many times, easily
	and in the morning when he woke
	all I left him was a note
	I told him	
	"I am the flower, you are the seed
	we walked in the garden,
	we planted a tree
	don’t try to find me, 
	please don’t you dare
	just live in my memory
	you’ll always be there""

	Drew left Florida after he found the note.

TO BE CONTINUED...