Chapter 57:
Separation
"Does it hurt here?"
"Ow, yes, dammit!"
Nick scowled at Kevin, trying to swat away the older Backstreet Boy's hand.
"Get away!"
Wincing, he carefully peeled away his sock
to reveal an ugly bruise forming at the base of his middle toe. Kevin and Howie
bent over to take a better look.
"It's broken," he wailed,
touching it gingerly.
"How do you know?" questioned
Howie.
Nick glared at him. "Because it feels
like it!" he shouted. "Jeez!"
Kevin placed a reassuring arm on Nick's
shoulder, relieved. With the mauling Nick had received, it was a wonder he
hadn't been injured more severely. "You were lucky."
"He was damn lucky," commented
Xavier dryly.
Heads turned as they saw AJ and Brian
entering the room; Xavier leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed. Brian
sensed the frustration in Xavier's voice and knew that the bodyguard had
intended for something more serious to occur.
AJ shook his head. "What happened,
Nick?"
"Well, as soon as we got off the
elevator, I got mobbed. I felt someone grab me and pull. Since it was a guy's
hand, I thought it was Xavier, ya know? Trying to help me. But it wasn't. It
was some other dude, and he kept punching me! I tried to jerk away, but he was
strong. Then all of a sudden he let go. I think he got pushed outta the way by
a bunch of girls. Anyway, I heard Kevin and Xavier yelling at me to run. I
managed to break free, but not before I tripped. I smashed my foot into
something."
Nick gazed intently at his left foot,
experimentally wiggling his toes, then grimaced. He looked up at AJ.
"Yeah, it was weird, like that dude wanted to hurt me instead of grab at
me like most of the fans try to do. I don't know…." Nick shrugged, at a
loss. "I wonder how the fans knew where we were? We usually don't get
ambushed that easily."
Carefully keeping a straight face, Brian
leaned over, examining Nick up and down, thanking God that things didn't go the
way Xavier had planned. Except for being extremely irritated, Nick looked fine.
A wave of indescribable euphoria washed over him and he gave a relieved laugh.
Nick stared at Brian, a weird expression
crossing his face.
"I shoulda known you would
laugh," he sneered. "It wouldn't surprise me if you planned
it."
Brian froze, his smile evaporating. The
other three shifted uneasily, stunned by the vehemence in Nick's voice.
"Nick…hey, I wouldn't do that…why
would you think I'd try to hurt you?" The disbelief in Brian's voice was
unmistakable.
"Oh, I don't know," Nick jeered,
"Maybe finding you outside my door with a switchblade has made me a
little paranoid! What do you think?"
So that's where it went, thought Brian. He opened his mouth, then closed
it, slumping in defeat. There was no way he could explain. He met Nick's angry
gaze and said nothing, backing slowly away from him. Nick shook his head
disgustedly, taking Brian's silence as admission to his guilt. Glaring
meaningfully at AJ, Kevin, and Howie, Nick's eyes dared them to object. None
did.
Brian turned to each one, hoping, praying
for a flicker of support. Kevin stared back, his distaste evident. Howie bowed
his head, his gesture saying more than words could. AJ was unreadable, his face
set in stone. Brian nodded numbly. The damage was done, complete. Brian turned
stiffly away, meeting Xavier at the door, feeling the burn of Xavier's smug
satisfaction.
"Let's go," he said lifelessly.
***