Chapter
7
Kevin and Brian nervously paced the floor as they waited for Mike to
come up to their room. A knock at the door cause the two cousins to rush for
the door hoping it was Nick. Their faces fell as the door opened and Mike
entered the room. "What seems to be the problem here boys?" asked
Mike in an agitated tone. "Um, well. you see Mike. This morning we woke up
and Nicky was gone." started Kevin "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS
GONE? IS IT THAT HARD TO TAKE CARE OF AND NOT LOSE A DAMN FIFTEEN YEAR
OLD??" yelled Mike. Brian forced himself between Kevin and Mike and pushed
them apart. "Hey, no more of this crap now Mike! Quit yelling at Kevin
about it. It isn't his fault!" Brian said in a calm but angry voice. Mike
took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and quietly stated, "I'm sorry
Kevin. Let's sit down and you tell me all you know, ok?" The guys solemnly
followed and sat down on the couch opposite of Mike and started telling him
everything (well not everything, Brian didn't tell about leaving and going to
the park and witnessing a murder) about the night before and what happened when
they woke up just hours earlier. Mike sat quietly and listened as the guys told
their story. When they were done he slowly rose up from his seat and looked at
the watch on his wrist. "Well guys it is almost time to leave for the
interview. Why don't you all finish getting ready and I will meet you in the
lobby in 15 minutes." With that said, Mike walked over to the door and
walked out of the room while the other Backstreet Boys looked after him in
shock. "I can't believe him!! He is making us go to this damn interview
while Nicky is missing! He could be hurt or lost or scared and we are leaving
him! This isn't right!" yelled Kevin as he broke out into a run and chased
after Mike. He finally caught sight of Mike at the end of the hall and
quickened his pace to catch up to him. Moments later he was behind Mike and
Kevin reached out and grabbed Mike's shoulders and spun him around to face him.
"Just what the hell do you think you are doing Mike? Nick could be lost,
scared, or hurt and we are leaving to go to this damn interview. I sure as hell
know the Nicky means more to me than any damn interview! It isn't right for us
to leave while he is gone! While we are gone he could come back and be scared
when he discovers we aren't there and..." Mike held up his hand to silence
Kevin and said, "And Nick is probably playing a joke on you guys. You know
he is famous for playing jokes on everyone. Let's just go to the interview and
when he comes out of his hiding place he will discover we are gone and it will
teach him to never pull that crap on us again. And Kevin don't question my
decisions, you got it??" Mike looked expectantly into Kevin's eyes as
Kevin slowly nodded a "Yes" in response and walked back to his room.
He knew he had to do as Mike said even if in his heart he felt it was wrong.
When he opened the door to his room, he laid down on the bed and prayed that
Nick was just playing a joke and he would come back safely to them. With his
last thought being of Nick, Kevin fell into a restless sleep.
***
