“So what’s the plan?” Nick asked as we once again hurried through the lobby of the Park Hyatt and into the waiting elevator.

“In other words, who’s going to be the one to call Kevin out about his hissy fit?” AJ laughed.

“I think that we should let him stew for a bit.” Brian suggested. “I have to rescue John, anyway. I’m sure that Baylee has been driving him crazy. We were supposed to be back almost two hours ago.”

“Yeah. I bet Baylee has been kicking his ass in Tomb Raider for the past five hours.” Nick grumbled. “I don’t know how that kid got to be so good.”

Our casual banter subsided as the elevator doors slid open. The sound of Baylee’s frantic voice invaded the small space, and I immediately felt my heart drop into my stomach.

“I’m not leaving until dad gets back!”

AJ sighed. “Guess who’s here?”

“Dad!” Baylee cried, catching sight of Brian as he and the rest of us stepped out of the elevator. He ran full speed down the hallway and flung himself into Brian’s arms. “Mom is saying that we’re going to another hotel and that you’re not coming with us.”

“Sorry.” John apologized as he followed Baylee down the hallway. “She just showed up and announced that she wanted to take him with her. I didn’t think that I could say ‘no’.”

Brian quickly embraced his son and knelt down to his level. “You’re not going anywhere until mom and I discuss it.” He said. The anger was seeping noticeably into his voice as he struggled to maintain his composure for Baylee’s sake. “How about you go with Lauren and Nick while mom and I talk, okay?”

Baylee glanced back at Leighanne before turning cautiously towards the rest of us. Lauren swiftly held out her hand and offered Baylee a warm smile. “We can kick Nick’s butt in Need for Speed again.” She suggested.

“Okay.” He shrugged, accepting Lauren’s outstretched hand.

“Baylee!” Leighanne yelled. “You’re leaving with me ... now!”

“But dad just said ...” Baylee stopped mid-sentence as he took in his mother’s angry stare. He quickly dropped his eyes to the ground and I could see his fingers close more tightly around Lauren’s hand.

“I think that we need to discuss things first.” Brian said. He returned to a standing position in order to address Leighanne, who was now closing the distance between them with long, rapid strides.

“Do you want to discuss it in the same way that we discussed these?” Leighanne berated, waving a sheaf of what I assumed were divorce papers in Brian’s face. “Or would you like to discuss it in the same way that we discussed your announcement on ET Canada?”

“You gave me no choice.” Brian stated, keeping his voice even.

“You had no choice?” Leighanne repeated. Her face was now only inches from his. “You had no choice but to serve me with divorce papers? Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?”

“Embarrassing?” Brian asked in disbelief. “I’m glad that you didn’t find it devastating to learn that our marriage is over.”

“Come off it, Brian! Our marriage isn’t over!” Leighanne cried. “You’re not going to go through with this!”

“I’ve already gone through with it.” Brian said. His voice was still surprisingly calm. “I mean it, Leighanne. I’m not going to change my mind.”

“You’re not?” Leighanne challenged. “You think those pictures were bad? I can make things a hell of a lot worse for you. I’ve only just gotten started.”

“What do you mean?” Brian asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Are you saying that you had something to do with those pictures?”

“I knew that you were thinking of doing this.” Leighanne ignored him. She waved the papers in his face a second time for emphasis. “I couldn’t let you make me look like the bad guy.”

“Leighanne, what have you done?” Brian demanded; his voice beginning to shake ever-so-slightly.

“I planted doubt in everyone’s mind.” Leighanne spat. “It’s unfortunate that someone saw through all of my hard work. My goal was to make you look like a cheating bastard”

“You made those pictures?” Brian asked. The colour drained from his face as the realization overtook him. “I don’t understand. How did you manage to get ...?”

“God, Brian. You’re such a prude.” Leighanne sneered. “I taped you in secret. I taped us; more than once.”

“You what?” Brian was clearly trying to wrap his head around Leighanne’s admission. “Why would you do that?”

“I couldn’t very well release the tape as it was.” Leighanne ploughed on as she continued to ignore Brian’s questions. “I had myself taken out and that little slut from the website put in.”

“But ... but ... everyone now knows that the images were faked.” Brian stammered. “They know that I wasn’t really with another girl.”

“Maybe those ones were.” Leighanne shrugged, confidence oozing out of her as she took in Brian’s weakening defences. “Who knows about the next ones?”

“You don’t have any more. Even if you did have more, people would automatically assume that they’re a fake” Brian called her bluff.

“Don’t I?” Leighanne challenged. “I’ve exposed you ... in more ways than one. I’ve made the world think that there’s a chance that you’re a liar and a cheater. All it takes is a little bit of doubt for a judge to decide that you’re responsible for the disintegration of this marriage. Hell, no judge in their right mind is going to take the word of a man whose dick pops up in a Google search. Do you know what all of this means, Brian?”

Brian swallowed hard, but Leighanne didn’t give him the opportunity to speak.

“It means that I will take it all. I will take your money, I will take your career, and I will take your son.” She whispered devilishly. “So you might want to think twice about trying to get rid of me.”

“You can take everything I earn, everything I have.” Brian shot back. “But I will fight you tooth and nail for Baylee.”

“You can fight all you want” Leighanne laughed. “There’s no prenup. Remember? You were too much of a southern gentleman to ask me to sign one. You can’t stop me from winning, just like you can’t stop me from taking Baylee with me right now.”

“He’s not going with you.” Brian stated.

He darted a pained look at Baylee who was still holding tight to Lauren’s hand. He was staring at his parents in shock and confusion with silent tears running down his face.

The rest of us all had similar looks on our faces, minus the tears. No one had moved or uttered a sound since we had exited the elevator. I knew that it was wrong; that we should have left Leighanne and Brian to fight in private. It was like a car crash in the sense that none of us could bring ourselves to turn away from the carnage.

“Try to stop me.” Leighanne smirked. “Let’s go, Baylee.” She held out her hand to the boy and waited.

Baylee quickly shifted his eyes back and forth between his parents. He was clearly conflicted, and my heart went out to him. Leighanne was out of her mind to make him choose.

“I said, let’s go.” Leighanne demanded. “Your father doesn’t deserve to have you stay with him.”

“I hate it when you fight.” Baylee hiccupped. “I want to stay here with both of you.”

“That’s not possible, so stop crying and come here!” Leighanne barked, waving her outstretched hand. “I don’t have time to wait for you to stop being a baby.”

Baylee gave Brian one last tearful glance before letting go of Lauren’s hand and taking hold of Leighanne’s. He frantically swiped at his tears and attempted to hold in his sobs.

As Leighanne jabbed at the down arrow next to the elevator, Nick stepped forward and placed his hand protectively on Baylee’s small shoulder. “There’s no shame in the fact that he’s upset. You don’t deserve to take him with you.”

“What are you going to do?” Leighanne hissed. “I’m his mother. He belongs with me. If you want to help, try to talk some sense into your best friend. It won’t be just Brian’s career that comes to an end if he makes the wrong choice.”

Nick glared down at Leighanne; the hatred burning in his eyes as he struggled to hold back his words.

“It’s okay, Nick.” Brian whispered. “Baylee, you should go with your mom tonight.”

Leighanne smirked in satisfaction as the elevator doors slid open.

“He’s supposed to perform with us tomorrow night in Ottawa.” Brian said. “Are you going to bring him to the venue?” The panic was written all over his face as he waited for Leighanne to respond.

“I’ll make sure that he’s at the show tomorrow night.” Leighanne answered simply as she pulled Baylee into the elevator. “Think about what I’ve said.”

The elevator doors closed with a soft thud. Leighanne’s final threat hung in the air as we all remained rooted to the spot. I didn’t dare look at Brian or anyone else, so I kept my eyes glued firmly to Howie’s shoes. I could hear Nick breathing heavily beside me as I focused on a small scuff mark in the leather.

“I think ... I think that I need to sit.” Brian stammered. He took a few steps backwards until his back was against the wall. He slid slowly down the wall until he was sitting on the hallway floor.

I pulled my eyes away from Howie’s feet and watched Brian draw a shaky breath as he leaned his head back against the overpriced wallpaper. His chest began to rise and fall in rapid succession and a pained look crossed his face.

Without a word, Nick crossed the hallway and sank down next to Brian. He drew his knees up to his chest and placed his arm around the older man’s shoulders.

Following Nick’s lead, I lowered myself to the ground on the other side of Brian and reached for his hand. As our fingers intertwined, he pulled his head away from the wall and gave both Nick and I an appreciative glance. I returned the look as AJ, Lauren and Howie wordlessly joined us on the floor. We sat in silence as Brian’s breathing slowly returned to normal; none of us knowing how to begin.