Chapter 90:
Before the Storm
Nick yawned, then stretched with
difficulty, annoyed at being unable to find enough room for his long legs. Damn
hotel beds! Sighing, Nick blinked a few times to clear his vision and saw Brian
lying next to him, already awake, watching him with curious fascination.
"Do you know that you still drool in
your sleep?" Brian informed him solemnly.
Nick scrunched up his face. "Do you
know that you have like, the worst morning breath, ever?"
They looked at each other for a moment in
silence.
"Marry me," swooned Brian.
"Show me the ring first,"
countered Nick.
They cracked up simultaneously.
"Ow, ow, shit!"
Nick sat quickly up in bed, watching Brian
painfully hold onto his right side. "Pain pills?"
"Yeah," breathed Brian heavily.
Nick shot out of bed and in an instant was
back with some water. "Here."
Grateful, Brian took the glass and
hurriedly swallowed the medication. Closing his eyes, he could feel Nick hover
over him anxiously. "Jeez, Nick, take it easy. Just give me a sec, all
right?" Brian felt the bed lower under his body as Nick sat back down
again.
"Okay. Let me know if you need
anything."
Keeping his eyes closed, Brian kept
himself as still as possible, waiting for the dull throb to lessen. It didn't
help that Nick couldn't keep himself from moving around, jiggling the bed with
his nervous agitation.
"That's it, the marriage's off,"
stated Brian. "I can't live with you. Your bedside manner is
horrible."
Nick stopped squirming. "Well, that
was the shortest engagement ever," he grumbled.
"Glad I found out before we got
married," scoffed Brian.
"Hungry?"
"Starving," admitted Brian.
"Me too." Nick bounded off the
bed in one leap, heading for the phone.
"Ow! Watch it, will ya?"
"Oh God, sorry Frick. I didn't mean
to kick you."
Brian opened his eyes, glad that the pain
was finally lessening. "Eggs, toast. Juice too."
Nick punched the button. "Okay."
"Oh, and some cereal."
Nick nodded and started to give the order.
"Bacon!"
Nick raised an eyebrow slightly.
"And sausage, don't forget the
sausage!"
Nick sighed dramatically as he continued
giving the order. "Anything else?"
Brian thought. "Biscuits and
gravy?"
* * * * * * * * * *
Xavier tossed his keys angrily on the
dresser, easing himself out of his grimy clothes. He glanced at the
softly-glowing clock next to his bed. Nine-thirty am. Shit! Eric's
stupid emergency had taken the whole night and part of the morning to complete.
He still wasn't sure if it had been necessary in the first place and Xavier's
mouth tightened in frustration. Still, there was no way of getting out of it
without looking suspicious and the other bodyguards had seemed as unhappy as he
when the unexpected call came through.
Shedding the last of his clothes, he
hopped into the steaming shower, trying to ease the tension and soreness out of
his shoulders. The warmth of the water began to soothe his frayed nerves and he
relaxed, his thoughts drifting to Brian. He wondered how well the young
Backstreet Boy had slept, wondered if the pain medication was keeping
everything under control. He felt himself tense a little when he thought of
Kevin and how he had managed to take over control of the painkillers. Well,
nothing could be done about it now. He just hoped Kevin was smart enough to
know when to give Brian the pills to keep him from being incapacitated by the
pain. He needed Brian alert and awake for the next few days. Needed. Brian.
Xavier glanced down at his growing hard-on. He smiled and closed his eyes,
enjoying both the heat of the water and the heat between his legs.
* * * * * * * * * *
"You forgot the cinnamon rolls!"
accused Brian as Nick watched in amazement at the amount of food Brian was
downing.
"You never asked for them!" Nick
shot back, swiping a biscuit off the overloaded breakfast tray. "You
managed to order everything else under the sun, but not that."
Brian mumbled a reply, his mouth too full
to be understandable.
"What are you, eating for two?"
Nick asked in disbelief.
Brian gave him a coy smirk. "None of
your business," he mocked primly.
Nick laughed. "Okay, now who
would ever want to fuck you?"
Brian's smile faded and Nick swore at his
own stupidity.
"Shit, Brian, I'm sorry. I wasn't
thinking…" Nick's voice faded off, embarrassed. They ate the rest of the
meal in silence.
* * * * * * * * * *
Xavier climbed wearily into the soft
comfort of his bed, enjoying the crisp freshness of the cool sheets. He had
forgotten how hot
His eye caught the soft blinking glow of
his telephone, indicating recent messages and with a grunt leaned over to
snatch his pager off the end table. More incoming messages. He made a mental
note to check them all later, too tired to take the time right now. In just a
few short hours he needed to be up and about, preparing for tonight's concert.
His thoughts drifted back to Brian, wondering if he would be able to perform.
Probably not, if yesterday was any indication. He was slightly surprised at his
disappointment. Even after countless performances, he still looked forward to
seeing him on stage, hearing him sing.
He winced a little as he lay on his back,
trying to find a comfortable position, propping a pillow against his side to
support his sore ribs. He knew it would take awhile before his broken ribs
would start to knit and it frustrated him that he had to constantly pamper the
aching tenderness. He gave a feral grin in the darkened room. Well, a few more
days wouldn't kill him; he'd survive, and then he could treat himself to a
different kind of pampering.
* * * * * * * * * *
Through out the morning and into early
afternoon, the guys had taken turns keeping Brian company, either letting him
sleep, which he did mostly, or quietly sitting together watching television.
Kevin had cancelled all interviews except for one, a radio gig that only took a
half hour to complete. He spoke with the local DJ's regarding the second half
of their tour; how great it was to be back on the road; and as a precautionary
measure talked about Brian's little encounter with some over-eager fans and his
physical appearance. Explaining that Brian was still iffy in making tonight's
performance, he warned an on-line listener that if his cousin was able to
perform not to expect him to do anything much more than sing. The fan "oohed" in disappointment and Kevin smiled, gently
joking that his cousin couldn't dance anyway, so it wouldn't be that big of a
loss. Kevin finished the interview and hurried back to the hotel, anxious to
see how Brian was.
Nick opened the door, shrugging at Kevin's
questioning look. "Come see for yourself," was his cryptic reply,
ushering him inside. Kevin found Brian sitting up in bed, surfing the channels
with a bored expression.
Throwing down the remote, Brian looked up
from the TV screen. "How'd it go?"
Kevin sat down next to him. "Okay. I
warned the listeners that you wouldn't be able to make it tonight."
Brian sat up a little straighter.
"What?" he asked sharply.
Nick smothered a groan. Uh-oh.
"I said, you're not going on…"
"I heard you. Who said I'm not?"
"Me."
"You and who else?" challenged
Brian.
Nick picked up a magazine and buried his
nose in it.
Kevin sighed and leaned forward in his
chair, his hands folded. "Brian, I'm not gonna argue about this with
you…"
"I know, cause I'm going on tonight.
End of argument."
"No."
"Yes."
Kevin glanced over to Nick for help. Nick
stared raptly at the magazine. "Nick?"
"Hmm?"
"A little help here?"
Nick rolled his eyes and tossed the
magazine away. "Can't. Brian's mind is made up. I've been fighting with
him for the last two hours about the same damn thing."
Kevin turned back to Brian.
"No." And he meant it.
"Yes." Brian did too.
Before Kevin could speak again, Brian
continued. "Look, I'll be fine, really. Really! AJ's pain medication has
helped." Seeing the doubt in Kevin's eyes, Brian hurried on. "Kevin,
if I don't go on, what will I do? Just watch? With Xavier?"
Brian had a point. A very good point. Too
good. "You sure you're feeling well enough?" Kevin saw a quick
hesitation in Brian's face before he nodded.
Frowning, Kevin pointed a finger warningly
at him. "Okay. You're on. But you gotta promise me this, no dancing, no running
around. Just singing. And if you're feeling bad, you pull out, even if it's in
the middle of a song." Kevin watched skeptically as his cousin agreed too
readily. "Oh yeah, one more thing. You gotta swear on the Holy Bible that
you will."
Brian's mouth opened then snapped shut in
frustration. Nick snickered. Kevin hadn't used that trick in a long time, but
it always got the results he wanted.
Glancing sourly at Nick, Brian sighed.
"All right."
Kevin wasn’t going to let him get off that
easy. "All right, what?"
Brian glared. "All right, I swear on
the Holy Bible. There, satisfied?"
Kevin nodded and rose to leave.
"Good, get some rest. We'll be leaving soon enough."
Brian watched as Kevin left then turned to
see Nick leaning over, studying his back.
"What are you doing?" he asked,
irritated.
"Just checking to see if you were
crossing your fingers," smirked Nick.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Xaiver rapidly shaved, then hurried out of the bathroom,
glancing at the time. Throwing on the first available clean clothes he could
find, he finished tying his shoes, peeking once more at the clock. He nodded.
Good. He had managed to wake up before the alarm, so he had a few extra minutes
to spare. Deciding to check his pager first, he scanned it quickly, ignoring most
of the numbers. Stopping at the last one, he frowned, staring thoughtfully at
his pager for a moment before reaching over to snag the phone off its hook.
Drumming his fingers, he waited impatiently for someone to answer and started
to hang up when he heard a click and a confident "This is Terri Hamilton,
may I help you?" in his ear.
Xavier switched into his respectful tone.
"Ms. Hamilton, this is Xavier Delgado. You paged me?" He held the
phone to his ear with his shoulder, going over to his dresser to pocket his
wallet, keys, and change.
"Oh, Mr. Delgado, I’m so glad you
called," she gushed and Xavier rolled his eyes in disgust. "I just
wanted to thank you for everything." Xavier grimaced. He really didn’t
have time to listen to this bitch.
"You’re welcome," he said
bluntly, dropping his polite tone as he scanned the room one last time before
he left.
"I was so surprised when all the guys
visited me, it came out of the blue! But I knew you sent them. I just knew
it."
Xavier sat down slowly.
"All of them visited you?" he
asked softly. "When?"
"Why just a few days ago! They were
so sweet, so concerned about you."
"Me."
"Yes, wanted to know all about you.
Asked if they could see your personal file."
"Really."
"Naturally, I said no, that as much as
I wanted to help, it was confidential information."
"How considerate of you."
"However, I must warn you. I think my
secretary wasn’t as professional as me. I’m sure she accessed her computer to
give information to Mr. Carter. I fired her, of course."
"Of course." Xavier’s eyes
glittered. "Ms. Hamilton, do you have a second? If you don’t mind, I’d
like to ask you a few more questions."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Les was a nervous little shit, shifty,
untrustworthy. Xavier liked that. Towering over him, Xavier smiled down at him,
a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
"Okay, Les, once again. What exactly
did Nick Carter want you to do?"
***
