Chapter
36
Two months
later
It was the first concert of the second leg of the tour, and
the excitement of the first show was restored in everyone. And yes, everyone was there.
Since Jenna had gotten out of the clinic two months
earlier, JADE had decided to keep going as the Backstreet Boys’ opening
act. They had practiced non-stop,
especially Jenna, since it had been so long since she had sang. But she had quickly made a come-back, and
they were ready.
Well, not all of them were ready. Elyssa was coming down with the flu and
wasn’t feeling great. But she was still
performing.
The other three girls were surprised that Elyssa hadn’t
tried to back out of it. She had always
had a hypochondriac tendency and complained at the slightest discomfort. When they had been in school, she missed
more school than any of them. It was
something they had teased her about often.
But now, even though she obviously felt pretty bad, Elyssa
had insisted on performing. Ashalyn,
Serena, and Jenna were glad. This was
their first concert together in months, and they didn’t want anything to keep
them from performing it as an entire group.
***
When the concert was over, and they had all changed and
showered, they headed outside to where the tour buses were parked.
“Where we going for food?” Nick asked.
“McDonald’s?” AJ suggested, his eyes gleaming.
Jenna made a face.
“Please, not McDonald’s again,” Nick said quickly, noticing her
expression.
“Burger King?” Brian offered.
Now it was Ashalyn’s turn to make a face, along with Jenna.
“Okay, I guess not,” Brian laughed.
“How about Taco Bell?” Howie said.
“Yeah, Taco Bell sounds good,” Serena agreed. Elyssa and Ashalyn nodded. They all looked at Jenna.
“Sure, Taco Bell sounds fine,” she finally replied,
ignoring Nick’s watchful eyes. Ever
since that night when he had caught her purging, he had been so protective of
her! And he always made sure she ate at
least three meals a day. No skipping.
“All right then.
Taco Bell it is. Let’s go,” Kevin
said.
They piled into their separate buses, informing the
driver’s of their restaurant choice.
Then they headed away from the venue and onto the road.
***
“You okay, baby?” AJ asked Elyssa, as they sat in a booth
in a Taco Bell a few miles away.
Elyssa shrugged. “I
think I’m getting the flu. I feel like
crap,” she admitted.
“Aww. Well, as soon
as we get out of here, you get on that bus and go to sleep, okay?”
“I will,” Elyssa replied.
She shoved her food aside. “I’m
not hungry,” she said, resting her head on top of her folded arms, which rested
on the table.
AJ reached across the table and ran his fingers lightly
through her long blonde hair. As his
fingers brushed over her forehead, he commented, “I think you have a fever,
Lyss.”
“Probably,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Hey, you guys ready to go?” Kevin asked from the next
table over.
“Yeah,” AJ replied.
“Lyssa needs to get some sleep.”
“Yeah,” Kevin said, nodding as he saw Elyssa. “Come on.”
They all stood up and threw away their trash. Then they headed out into the warm June
night, Elyssa leaning her head on AJ’s shoulder the whole way.
***
