Chapter 11:
Brian’s 30th… and Michael
Who?
February 20, 2005
Hershey, Pennsylvania
I smirked at my reflection on the bathroom mirror after
I combed my hair for the nth time, and got out of the bathroom when I heard
impatient knocks on my hotel room door. I knew right away that it was AJ behind
it. He texted me forty five minutes earlier to inform me that Brian would take
us out for lunch and be ready in thirty minutes. I quickly grabbed my phone,
wallet and keycard from the bedside table.
“What’s taking you so long, man?” AJ looked at me
from head to toe “This isn’t a date, dude!” He chuckled.
I chose to ignore AJ when I saw the birthday boy
behind him “Hey, B, Happy Birthday!”
We did the special Frick and Frack handshake
before squeezing him in a hug. I still couldn’t believe that Brian turned
thirty today.
“Thanks, man, come on.” Brian smiled and nodded
his head towards the elevators.
AJ and Brian together with their bodyguards led
the way. I smiled at Marcus, my designated bodyguard for the day, and followed
the fellas.
“Hey, Nick.”
I tilted my head to the side and saw a beautiful
woman taking big steps to catch up with me. I’ve racked my brain if I knew her
but she was not familiar to me at all. She had golden blonde hair, stunning
light blue eyes, and lips that a man could kiss for hours. She looked so damn
perfect except for her clothes that seemed to belong to 1980’s.
I smiled at her, she must be a member of
Backstreet management, Marcus would have pushed her away if she was a random
fan.
“Heeey,” I answered cheerfully, and was surprised
when she laughed.
Brian and AJ looked over their shoulder and gave
me a questioning look. I looked at the girl to let them know I was talking to
the girl not them.
“What?” Brian stopped walking and waited for my
answer.
I turned my attention back and glared to the girl
when she snickered.
“What?” She said innocently with a heavenly voice “Ain’t
my fault you can’t distinguish souls from humans.” She laughed again when I
shot her a deadly stare.
“I just want to say I’m really sorry if I didn’t
get you anything, Rok. We’re on tour and I had no time to look for a gift.” It
was a really dumb thing to say but that’s all I could think of. I waited
nervously for Brian’s answer while AJ was laughing hard.
“Seriously, Carter?” AJ asked in between his laughs
“Don’t worry about it, Nick, your friendship is
the most amazing thing you could ever give to me.” Brian answered with a goofy
grin on his face.
“Jeez, Brian, you talk Leighanne now.” I rolled my
eyes.
“Hey!” Brian smacked my chest with his left hand
and pretended he was offended.
“Nick, my name is Andrea Miller….”
I started to hum my favorite songs and pretended
she didn’t exist. Well, if she was really a ghost then she didn’t really exist.
It was a childish thing to do but I would have covered my ears if the guys
weren’t with me.
“Daniel sent me to warn you about Micheal.” She
spoke louder to make sure I’ll hear her. "He isn't happy about you helping
two souls to cross over."
My eyes widened when I realized what she just said
“What?!”
The guys stopped from riding the elevator and
looked at me.
“….. time is the sound check?” I asked in a low
voice hoping they would just let it go.
“Same as always,” Brian responded when we were all
inside the elevator “Are you ok, Nick?”
“Yes. Um, can we talk about this later?” I tilted
my head to the side where Andrea stood to let her know the message was for her.
“Sure,” AJ and Andrea answered at the same time.
Brian gave me worried look, and I gave him a
playful smirk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brian opted for a not so expensive restaurant so he
could treat the whole Backstreet family, management and the roadies. He rented
the whole place for two hours to give us all the privacy we needed and wanted.
Leighanne, Baylee, Howie, Leigh, and Kevin were
already on the restaurant when we arrived. Leighanne already ordered for
everyone and the lunch was already set up on the table in the center. The
roadies will not join us for another hour, so we could goof around and
celebrate Brian’s birthday the Backstreet way.
I took my seat between Howie and AJ, and waited
for my turn to get my food. I picked the fork up, and it sent a tickling
sensation into my body. It felt like I had been forced to sleep in a moment and
when I opened my eyes, the place looked different. The restaurant was instantly
full of people and my Backstreet family was nowhere in sight.
I froze when I saw a man in a black leather jacket
suddenly appeared in front of us, and was looking for a certain George Davis. I
opened my mouth but no words came out; I was shaking with fear not just for
myself but for my Backstreet family especially the kids. People started running
towards the door, and I wanted to do the same but I felt like I was glued to
the chair. I didn’t also like the idea of leaving my friends behind; I had to
find them.
“Please, don’t hurt my family.” A man wearing blue
long sleeves pleaded. He looked over his shoulder and gave a reassuring look to
the people on the table behind him. There was a woman carrying a more or less
ten months old baby, a boy which around eleven to twelve years old, and a girl
that looked ten years old to me on that table.
The man with a gun didn’t answer and pointed the
gun to the man, whom I could only assume as George. They were the only people
left inside the restaurant. I saw the woman handed the baby to the boy and
whispered something to him. The boy took the baby with care and slowly crawled
in the floor. I took a deep breath when I realized they were trying to escape.
The boy looked back and shot a worried look to the girl that was now on her
mother’s lap. His mother just nodded and motioned for them to go before she
hugged the girl tightly.
I didn’t know I held my breath until the boy and
the baby reached the back door safely. While George and the man with a gun
continued arguing, the woman and the girl started to crawl to the floor to
follow the boy and the baby. They were halfway to the back door when I heard
gun shots.
My Backstreet family appeared in front of me again
and my eyes widened with fear.
“Everybody down!” I screamed before ducking down
under the table.
***