Chapter 9
"Rok, why
do you keep saying that?"
"Because
it's true," Brian cried out in frustration, "Nick phoned me! I
heard his voice!"
A.J
sighed. "Rok..."
"A.J you
have to believe me! You know I wouldn't be saying this if it wasn't
true!"
He looked at
Sarah and Leighanne with skeptical eyes before returning to Brian.
"Well...we never did find his body..."
"I'm just
as wary as you are about this A.J, but I was there when the call took place and
you should've seen the look on his face," Leighanne spoke up in her
husband's favor.
"But I
thought all those calls were ruled out as pranks," Sarah replied in
confusion.
Brian shook
his head. "I was beginning to think that everyone was right about
that until a few days ago."
"What did
he say when he spoke to you man?" A.J asked in curiosity.
"He only
said 'Bri' and then he hung up on me."
"That's
it?!"
"That's
it."
A.J
sighed. "Nick wasn't what you'd call eloquent..."
"He isn't
A.J. He isn't."
"What do
we do if it is him?" Sarah posed the question that had been dominating
Brian's mind since the phone call.
"We have
to figure out where he is...and bring him home," he said determinedly,
"where he belongs."
A.J put his
head in his hands. "I don't know what to think anymore..."
"Look,"
Leighanne took Brian's hand, "for now, let's try to put our minds on
something else. Howie and Kevin will be here in about a week or so.
Once we're all together, we'll discuss this more thoroughly...and hopefully find
a way to get to the truth..."
***
"Mass has
ended. Go in peace."
Howie lifted
his head and stood, feeling a little less upset, but not completely tranquil
with his emotions. He needed more time in here...to sort through his
jumbled thoughts and to pray for Nick's soul, which he hoped wholeheartedly was
safe in heaven. He waited until everyone had exited the church before he
made his way to the front and sat in the first pew. With disheartened
eyes he stared at the cross that loomed over the now empty altar. There
were so many questions that needed answers...like why his sister left the world
before he could say goodbye, why Nick died at such a young age...so many
painful questions...
A part of him
wanted to believe that Brian was right. That Nick was still here, among
the living...breathing and talking and laughing like everyone else. But
if that were the case...
then why
wasn't he home yet?
No. It
just wasn't possible.
Sighing, Howie
closed his eyes and began to pray again, hoping to find solace in his faith
that somehow, he would find the answers he so desperately needed.
"Excuse
me?"
Startled,
Howie opened his eyes and dropped his jaw.
Not
surprisingly, she did the same. "Oh my God--I mean gosh..."
Howie stifled a
laugh as she stumbled over her words. She was cute...more than cute
actually.
He'd never
seen anyone more beautiful in his life.
"Wow,"
she quietly exclaimed, "I never thought I would ever meet you..."
Neither did
I, he
thought to himself while in awe.
"I'm
sorry," she continued, "you were praying. I didn't mean to
disturb you."
"That's
okay," he replied warmly, finally finding his voice, "was there
something you wanted? An autograph?"
"No,"
she smiled, "I honestly had no idea it was you who was sitting up
here. This is great! Must be my lucky day..."
You're
telling me!
Her smiled
dimmed. "But since you're here, I really want to give you my
condolences. I was so upset when I heard about Nick..."
He looked away
and felt the sadness returning. "Thank you. I was just praying
for him."
She nodded in
understanding. "I should probably leave you alone now."
"Are you
sure you don't need help with anything?"
"Well, I
was actually looking for the priest," she smiled, "I'm getting
married and I need to book a church."
Howie's heart
sank even lower. Well, so much for luck. "His office is
that way," he pointed over his shoulder, "he should be in
there. Mass ended a few minutes ago."
"Okay.
Thank you so much. And maybe afterwards, I can get your autograph."
He couldn't
help but laugh, despite his dismal feelings.
"Sure." Then he extended his hand. "Well, obviously
you already know this but I'm Howie Dorough."
This time it
was her turn to laugh and she took his hand and shook it. "It's nice
to finally meet you Howie. I'm Billie Clark..."
***
"Hey
sis!" Katarina spoke cheerily into the phone
while Caroline searched for some food to bring home.
"Rina! How are you girl? I miss you!"
"I miss
you too...and I'm fine. Perfect actually."
"That's
great! I can tell by your voice that you're happy."
She
smiled. "I am Billie. I don't know what it is about this
place, but I love it."
"I bet
it's the men," Billie laughed.
Katarina blushed, her sister's joke not far from the truth. But it wasn't
the men...it was a man...
"Rina I can practically hear you blushing!"
"I hate
you!"
"I
know."
She
laughed. "So what's new?"
"Oh my
gosh Rina! You won't believe what happened to
me yesterday!"
"What?"
"I went to
book the church for my wedding and you wouldn't believe who I ran into!"
Katarina smiled at the animated tone of her voice. "Who?"
"Howie!!"
"Who's
Howie?"
"Rina!!! Howie D!!!"
She was still
confused, although the name did seem familiar. "Billie, I don't know
any Howie D's..."
Caroline
gasped and Katarina looked at her in
bewilderment. What? she mouthed.
"He's a
Backstreet Boy Rina!!" Billie exclaimed.
"A
Backstreet Boy?!"
Caroline
smiled and returned to her grocery shopping.
"Oh!
Well, I thought the name was familiar..."
"Geez
girl!"
"Sorry!"
"Anyway,"
Billie continued, "he was praying in church for poor Nick." Her
voice dropped. "He was pretty sad..."
Katarina's heart went out to him. If he only knew...
"That's terrible."
"Yeah.
But he was so sweet to me Rina. He's exactly
how I pictured him to be like...no, he's better than I pictured him to
be..."
"Really?"
"Yes...I
don't know what it is about him, but for some reason, I haven't gotten his sad
eyes out of my head..."
Katarina raised her eye brows in surprise at her sister's statement. Hmm...
"I guess
it's because I've been a fan of BSB for so long that it was such a dream come
true to meet one of them."
"Yeah,
that's probably it," she smiled.
"Kris was
wondering where you were when I got back from
Her stomach
sank. "Please tell me that you didn't tell him where I am
Billie!"
"Of
course I didn't! I promised you, remember?"
She sighed in
relief. "Thank you."
"Why
don't you want him to know anyway? He's practically family now."
Ugh! "It's not
him Billie...I just don't want other people knowing my whereabouts that's
all..."
***
Nick opened
his door and was surprised to see Katarina standing
there with a smile on her face.
He gulped.
"Hey!"
"Hey."
"I have
an idea that I hope you can help me with."
Letting
curiosity get the better of him, he moved out of the doorway to let her
in. "What is it?"
She sat on the
end of his bed and he wished that she'd chosen to sit somewhere else.
Since her lips made contact with his cheek, he'd been having some
pretty...interesting dreams. He may be a freak, but that didn't make him
any less of a man...
"Hello?"
Nick looked at
her in confusion. "Huh?"
"You
didn't hear a word I said did you?"
"...Sorry."
"That's
okay," she smiled again.
Dammit. Doesn't she see how she's killing me with that smile of
hers...? "So, what were you saying?"
"Well, as
you know, Caroline's birthday is coming up in a few days..."
He nodded and
gave a hint of a smile. "Yup, 81 years old."
"I think
that we should celebrate it."
He
frowned. "No way! I told you, nobody knows that I'm alive Rina!"
She crossed
her arms. "I meant the three of us Nick. I'm not that
stupid."
Why did he
always have the habit of messing things up? He sighed. "Right...I...I
don't think your stupid at all." The room was nearly pitch black
except for the crack of moonlight coming from space between the curtains, but
he knew that she was blushing. He wanted to laugh.
Too bad he
couldn't remember how.
"Um, I
thought that since Mr. McAllister is taking her out to lunch that we could
decorate the living room, bake a cake...and surprise her when she gets
home."
"Sounds
like a nice idea, but I don't see how I can help."
She
frowned. "Why?"
He shrugged
and sighed. "Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly what
you'd call a party animal. At least not anymore.
"That's
okay. I'll coax it out of you."
He gazed at
her. "I doubt you can."
She
grinned. "We'll see." She stood and moved toward the
door, "I'll find a way."
Nick watched
her go longingly. He had the feeling that she would work very hard to
bring out the part of him he buried long ago, but he was too weak to care right
now. It scared him senseless that she could do this to him...that he could
feel such strong, foreign emotions for her in such a short time. But he
did.
He was
falling.
Hard.
***
