“Hey, Frack, wake up man. We’ve got an interview in half an hour.” Brian shook his friend awake at 7 AM.
“Lemme alone; wanna sleep,” Nick mumbled as he rolled over and pulled the white covers of the hotel bed around him tighter.
“Nope. You’re getting up,” Brian ordered as he yanked the covers off of the 19-year-old and throwing them on the floor at the foot of the bed. This left Nick stretched out on the bed in only his boxers.
“Man, Frick, give me my blankets back. It’s cold,” he complained as he curled up into a ball.
“Nope. Get up Nick. Kevin’s gonna kick your butt if you don’t get out of bed and start getting ready right now.” Brian walked over to the window and opened the heavy white drapes.
“Aright, fine, but only because I don’t want to face the wrath of Kevin,” Nick agreed as he sat up and blinked against the light. “What’s the schedule for today, anyway?”
“Well, we’ve got an interview at 7:30. Then, at noon we’ve got an appearance at a local record store signing autographs and stuff. After that, at around 5:45 we’ve got a sound check for the concert tonight. The actual show, for us, doesn’t start until about seven though. After the concert, we’ve got the party with the crew and everyone back here. Same o’. Same o’,” the 24-year-old informed his bandmate.
“Sounds cool. What time does Aaron’s flight come in? He wants me to meet him, Mom, and Leslie at the airport,” Nick asked as he browsed through his suitcase looking for a pair of clean jeans.
“Four o’clock, I think. They were going to get here with plenty of time to get Aaron checked-in and ready for the show tonight,” Brian explained as he watched his friend rummage through his clothes.
“OK, cool. I should be able to get there in time then.” Nick finally grabbed a pair of jeans and a green Adidas shirt. “Be right back,” he said as he went into the bathroom. When he came back out, five minutes later, his blonde hair was neatly combed and halfway slicked back. He had also quickly shaved whatever stubble had been on his face. The Adidas shirt hung loosely around his shoulders and the jeans went down over his feet, almost totally covering his socks.
“Long enough pants there, Frack?” Brian joked as he handed Nick’s shoes to him.
“Nah. They’re just right,” he smiled. As soon as his shoes were on, he headed towards the door. “C’mon, Frick, let’s get this thing over with.”
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
“I thought they’d never shut up!” AJ complained. “Those people must have had a million questions!”
All five guys laughed at this comment and continued to eat their food. The group had gone through a McDonald’s drive-through after the interview. Now, they were all lounging around in the back of the bus, eating their lunch and waiting until they were summoned by someone to come out and go into the music story they were supposed to appear at.
“Time anyone?” Nick asked suddenly.
“Eleven thirty-five,” Kevin replied after glancing at his watch.
“Cool! Anyone up for a game of Mortal Kombat?” he questioned, energetically.
“You’re on, Nick!” Brian challenged as he moved closer to the TV that was set up in the corner of the lounge. Within five minutes, the two were engrossed in a game of blood, gore, and friendly competition.
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
“But my love is all I have to give. Without you I don’t think I can live. I wish I could give the world to you, but…Love is all I have to give…to you.” The guys finished the song and waited for the applause to subside. Soon, it did and the guys started toward the door to get back on the bus. Quickly, Nick glanced at the clock hung on the wall.
‘Only 2:45,’ he though. ‘Plenty of time to hang out at the hotel and chill until I need to go meet Aaron, Mom, and Leslie.’
They guys ran onto the bus followed by their bus driver and their bodyguards. Deciding against sleeping for a while, he followed the rest of the guys into the back lounge. Kevin turned on the TV and started flipping through stations. A few minutes later he stopped at a station with a big ‘Special Report’ sign up on it.
“Wonder what this is all about,” he wondered aloud.
The reporter came on within seconds and started talking. “Most of your children have heard of ‘The Backstreet Boys’,” she started. This immediately got the all of the guys’ attention. Five pairs of eyes were now glued to the screen. “But have they heard of Aaron Carter, one of the member’s little brother?” Nick snapped into full attention. His mind was swarming with thoughts, worries, but mostly fear that something had happened to his little brother. “Well, if they haven’t, it’s too late now. We just got word that Aaron’s plane has crashed in Oklahoma, half way through the flight. He was on his way, along with his mother and his older sister, Leslie, to meet his brother in Los Angeles. There was a show scheduled tonight for his brother and himself. All three family members were announced as dead on impact…” the reporter continued to talk, but Nick wasn’t paying any attention anymore. He’d heard the last thing that he had ever wanted to hear. His only little brother was dead. ‘No!’ he screamed in his head. ‘It can’t be true! They’ve got their information messed up! It’s not him! He’s still sitting on his plane, looking out the window, and bugging Leslie!’
Brian glanced over at his best friend. It hurt him to see so much pain in his eyes. ‘His Mom, Aaron, AND Leslie…all at the same time.’
Nick just sat there. He didn’t see anything and didn’t hear anything. He was just there. The 19-year-old’s silence frightened his bandmates. They’d never seen him so quiet before. This wasn’t still the teenager that loved to play video games, basketball, and pull pranks on his friends…was it?
Before anyone could or wanted to say anything, Nick got up and went to his bunk. The remaining four guys exchanged knowing glances and then Kevin got up to go tell the management what they’d just learned and to call off that night’s concert. Brian, AJ, and Howie were left in the lounge with nothing to do but listen to the rest of the news reporter’s report. None of them wanted to do this, so within seconds, the TV was off and they had all retreated to their bunks. No one wanted to talk to anyone else.
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
A month later, the guys were back in Florida for the funerals of Nick’s three family members. They had been able to do a few of the shows that were scheduled, but Nick never seemed quite all there for any of the, so they decided to take a short vacation to go back home for a week or two.
Now, as the priest said the final words and Aaron’s coffin was lowered into the ground, Nick tried to keep the tears from streaming down his face. Finally giving up on the impossible feat, the tears flowed like rivers splattering on his shirt. He tugged on his hat to bring it down over his eyes. It was a cloudy day and looked like it might rain. ‘Like God was sad about something,’ Aaron might’ve said. Nick looked around and spotted the rest of the guys a few feet away. He lifted his head in a weak greeting and the others returned the gesture.
Fifteen minutes later, the service was over and Nick found himself standing in front of his little brother’s gravestone. Kneeling, he took something out of his jacket pocket and laid them in front of the engraved piece of rock along with eleven roses…the exact amount of years Aaron had lived.
“Make some noise up there, lil bro’,” he whispered. “I know I’ll see you again, but it might be a while. Don’t bug Leslie too much. Wait for me up there, Aaron. I know you’ll be waiting. Maybe then you’ll be able to finally beat me in MarioKart,” he knew his younger brother could hear him but it still made his heart ache to know that he wouldn’t be seeing him for a long, long time. Tears started flowing down his cheeks again as he stood up. As he started to walk away, he suddenly turned back around. Before him stood a little boy with blonde hair smiling like he’d just been handed a chocolate ice cream cone. He waved and Nick choked back more tears as he waved back. He pointed to the object he’d laid down on the dirt and mouthed the words ‘I love you.’ The little boy smiled even more and turned around to see what was on the ground for him. He glanced at it quickly as recognition filled his eyes. He turned back around and waved again. His smile could’ve lit up the whole world. Nick once again, turned around and headed for his car. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He’d been able to say good-bye to his little brother and given him all he needed to keep doing what he wanted to do even if he wasn’t still living on the Earth. Before getting in his car, he quickly glanced over his shoulder one more time only to see that the microphone had mysteriously disappeared. Nick smiled, got in his car, and drove off feeling the best he’d felt in a long time.