A week had passed and Dawn hadn’t heard from Anthony. She couldn’t say that she was surprised, though. She knew he wouldn’t try to get help for his drinking. It was just something he said to try to get her to come back to him.
One day, after they had finished recording a few songs for the new Backstreet Boys album, Dawn was on her way to the store when she needed to stop at the gas station. She went inside to pay and on her way out, Anthony was standing at her car.
"Where did you come from"? She asked as he approached her.
"Actually, I followed you from the studio, I didn’t want to attempt to talk to you there, with all your bodyguards around and everything,” he said, sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes and started to pump her gas.
"Let me do it,” Anthony said as he took the pump out of her hand.
"What do you want Anthony?" She finally asked.
"I wanted to talk to you and let you know that I went and signed up for anger management classes, they’re offering them through the AA class I joined".
Dawn looked at him, surprised.
"You joined an AA class??" She asked, still shocked.
"I told you I would,” he replied. "I want you to come back home,” he finished.
"Well, that’s going to take some time,” she responded.
"I realize that and I’m willing to wait as long as it takes,” he said cupping her face in his hand, their eyes locked. "I love you so much”.
As she looked into his eyes, she lost all the willpower she had built up in the past few days. She found it almost impossible to stay mad at him when he was trying so hard to change and was being so sweet.
"I don’t know, Anthony,” she started. "Why don’t we see how things are after you go to a few classes,” she finished.
"Can I still see you?" He asked softly. "I can’t deal with not seeing you, not holding you”.
"Well, okay, how about dinner tomorrow night," she offered.
"Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there,” he replied.
They made dinner plans and as Dawn was about to get into her car, Anthony pulled her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Dawn couldn’t resist any longer and kissed him back. She missed him, she had to admit, and she missed the way he made her feel.
Dawn got into the car and headed towards AJ’s house. Her mind was racing, there were so many things going through her head at that moment. On top of it all, she wasn’t feeling well, her stomach had been bothering her all day and she had felt light-headed earlier in the day.
"It’s probably just stress,” she told herself.
As she pulled in AJ’s driveway, his car was already there. When she got out of the car, she got light-headed again. As she walked into the house AJ walked into the kitchen as she was putting her keys on the table. He was eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger.
"Hey,” he said to her, he looked at both of her hands, then looked behind her with a puzzled look on his face. "I thought you were going to the store?"
"Long story, I’ll explain later," she answered quickly.
She felt the queasy feeling come back as soon as she smelled his food.
"I’ll be right back,” she said as she ran out of the room covering her mouth.
AJ stood there watching her run out of the room with a confused and worried look on his face. She got to the bathroom and shut the door in just enough time to throw up.


Chapter 18
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