Chapter 24
The four stayed that way for a long time, until Howie's tears had dried up and he was left lying limply in Kevin's arms, his head buried in Kevin's strong chest. Slowly Brian and Nick moved back, staying close but allowing Howie some room. Kevin gently moved so that he could look at Howie's face. He wiped his cheeks gently with his thumb, staring into Howie's tired eyes.
He wanted to tell Howie that everything was going to be okay, but he wasn't sure himself. He wanted to reassure him that AJ wasn't going to go back to Leona, but he didn't know that for sure and he didn't want to raise his hopes only for them to be dashed again. He couldn't make him feel better, but he could help him with one thing.
"Brian, Nick, go get your shit together, we're going to get out of here, go let Security know, have them get one of the vans ready, we're gonna go out for breakfast, and then head over to the venue early 'kay?"
The other two nodded, they realised what Kevin was up to. Howie didn't want to be around AJ at the moment, and so they were gonna get him out of there, and try to distract him a little, not giving him time to be alone and think. They stood to leave, but Brian turned back around.
"Kev, give me your keycard and I'll get your stuff for ya."
Kevin nodded and managed to pull it out of his jeans pocket with difficulty, as he was trying not to disturb Howie too much.
"Thanks Bri." Brian merely offered a weak smile. Before mouthing to Kevin 'Look after him.' Kevin nodded in reply, and watched as they left the room and shut the door behind them.
Meanwhile AJ was stood in his bathroom a towel wrapped around his waist, still wet from the shower. He moved over to the sink and wiped the condensation from the mirror. He stared into the mirror. His reflection stared back at him. Same as always. No different than on any other day. Or was it? He wasn't the same. He knew it, could feel it. Something about him had shifted, changed, knocking his world onto a different axis.
The thing was he didn't know quite what to make of it. Whether it was a good change or not. He thought back to the events of the last few days, everything that had happened to him, the things he had done. Every thought led him back to the same person. Howie. Unconsciously he raised his hand to his lips, pressing his fingers against them, almost able to feel the kiss again. His lips felt suddenly dry, and his tongue flicked out to wet them. He would swear that he could still taste Howie, even though he knew that was impossible. He closed his eyes and sighed. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.
The ringing of his phone startled him out of his thoughts, and he moved over to his bed to find his cell phone in the same place where he had left it when he had hung up on Leona. He sat on the bed and picked it up, running his free hand over the pillow that Howie's head had rested on the night before.
"Hello."
[Hey man. It's me]
"Hi Marc. You nearly back?"
[Almost. Give us about 10 minutes]
"Kay. I'll be waiting. See ya in a few."
He shut off his phone before dropping it back on the bed. He rubbed his hands over his face. He didn't know what he was doing anymore, could no longer tell what he wanted. What the fuck was he going to do? Did he want her back? Should he find someone else instead? Did he need to? What about Howie? What was going on there? What was this thing that he was feeling? Too many thoughts bombarded him at once, and he began to feel dizzy. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to pull himself together before Leona got here. He looked down at the towel around his waist; he needed to put some clothes on.