After that first night, nothing happened for awhile. Mind you, I stayed awake any night mom and I stayed at the Bandhouse from that point on. There were days I was a walking zombie during practice. I used to fall asleep if we took the smallest break. Just pass out on a couch or the floor, whatever. As long as the other guys were around I felt I was okay. The group was coming along really well. Lou got us some gigs, they were small but important for us. We did some malls, conventions, restaurants, that sort of thing. Lots of acapella stuff and some songs to backing tracks. I must say, Lou put his money where his mouth was. We always traveled in style, limos, the whole bit. It was fun, I was relaxing a bit and enjoying myself. AJ and I would joke around a lot, just be goofballs, you know? Be kids.

Anyway, in-between the gigs, we still had to rehearse, so there were many more nights at the Bandhouse. Lou thought he might have gotten us a chance to record a demo record, so we did a lot of vocal practice. One night we worked until 1 in the morning. Gotta love those child labor laws, huh? Anyway, like I said, I had relaxed a bit, nothing had happened since and, in my child's mind, I figured it might have been a one time thing. I had settled into bed and had just fallen asleep when I heard the door open. Yup, it was him, but just him. Mom wasn't with him to watch this time. I squeezed my eyes shut and lay as still as I could.

He stood by the bed and looked down at me. "Oh Nicky. Do you know how hard it has been to leave you alone? You are the most beautiful boy in the world. I need you so much. I need to feel you." I shut my eyes even tighter and willed him to go away and leave me alone. He sat down on the bed and shook my shoulder gently. "Nicky." I refused to open my eyes, I couldn't do it. "Come on, Nicky, you just came in here, wake up son." He continued shaking me until I had no choice. I opened my eyes a crack and peered up at him. "Ah Nicky!" he whispered. "You're awake!" He turned his back to me and then handed me a small pill and a glass of water. "I'm not sick." I protested and handed the pill back to him. "I know that!" He laughed and smiled at me. It made me sick to my stomach. "But this will make you feel good. Please take it. Everything will be so much easier if you take it." I didn't know what he meant. It didn't sound good. "Take it Nickolas. Or I tell your mother that you aren't co-operating." I stared at him and shook my head. He handed me the pill and I gulped it down with the water. "I'll be back Nicky. Don't you go anywhere."

After a few minutes I started to feel funny. The room was spinning and everything looked weird. I felt hot all over and, just weird. I knew he hadn't given me a regular pill and the thought made me laugh for some reason. Lou came back in the room and asked me to come over to him. I could barely walk and that seemed to please him. I couldn't feel my legs and he was smiling like a lunatic. "I think you are ready Nicky." He took my in his arms and laid me on the bed on my stomach. I was too weak to stop him. I felt like rubber. What happened next...well, no pill in the world could take that pain away. I screamed and he slapped his hand over my mouth. It hurt so much. I can feel it to this day. How could someone do that to a child? God, it hurt so much. He kept going until he was satisfied and stood up. I just lay there, sniffling and whimpering. "This is part of the deal Nicky. I talked it over with your mother so there is no point in saying anything to her." He leaned over and rubbed my shoulders. "The first time is always the worst. It will get better." He moved over to the doorway. "Get some sleep son. Tomorrow is another big day."

I lay there until he was gone and the door was shut. I dragged my self off the bed and pulled up my pants. I needed to go to the bathroom so I tiptoed to the door and made sure he was gone. It hurt to walk. Once I got in the bathroom I almost fainted. My pajama bottoms were covered with blood. I pissed myself before I could sit down. I wiped the blood and pee off my legs with toilet paper. It seemed like it was all over me. I cried out softly and lay on the floor. This was only the first time. It would get better, he said. How could this get better? I ran the water in the tub and climbed in. It hurt to sit, so I washed quickly and got out. I grabbed the pajama bottoms and stuffed them in the trash can, right near the bottom. I went back to my room and saw the blood on the bed too. I pulled the sheet off and threw it in the garbage too. I put on a pair of sweat pants and curled up on the chair and sat there for the rest of the night.

I wondered if he did that to the others too. AJ was the only other young one and he was bigger than me. It was probably just me. I put my head on my knees and cried myself to sleep.

In the morning, Lou made sure to mention how he comforted me when I screamed out while having a nightmare. "I thought I heard someone scream." Sam mentioned. "What was the nightmare about?" Lou stared at me, wondering what I would say. "Nothing, I don't remember." I mumbled. "Well, it must have been pretty bad to make you scream." Mom said casually. I nodded my head in agreement. It had been the worst kind of nightmare. The one that is real and you can't get away from the bad guy.