He sat in the car, in the front seat. He loved it there. He loved to watch things through the windscreen and see how the road ahead of them swerved slightly. Now, though, it was scary. His mother was driving so fast and she remained silent beside him.

He clutched Rocky, his toy dog, tight to his chest with hot, clammy fingers. What was going on? They had been driving for hours now. He looked up at his mother. She was trembling. She had been since she’d picked him up from his friend’s house that afternoon.

“We have to go,” she’d told him as she dragged him away from David’s Nintendo and into their car.

She pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and looked into the rear view mirror. She kept doing that. It was almost as if she were frightened of what she would see.

“Mommy, I’m scared,” he finally said.

His mother didn’t answer. She didn’t speak to him much. She never had done. She reached out a hand and patted him clumsily on the head. “You’ll be okay, Sammy,” she said. After a moment she added, “You know that I do love you, don’t you? I may not show it but I do care about you.”

Sammy nodded. She was his mother. Of course she loved him. Even when she hit him, he knew that she must love him. It was his fault every time he’d been hit. He shouldn’t have been annoying her.

He held Rocky close and stared out of the window. It was dark now but from the headlights he could see that there was a thick clump of trees either side of the road. He wondered where they were going. Maybe she was taking him to some place fun?

“Where we going?” he said. “Nice place?” he added hopefully.

She said nothing and Sammy’s brow creased in confusion as she ignored his question. Instead her eyes darted nervously to the rear view mirror. Sammy felt his heart beginning to beat faster and faster.

Suddenly, his mother’s mobile phone rang. The tune Sammy had chosen when she had allowed him to play with her phone. He usually sang the song that went with the tune but something inside of him was telling him that something was wrong. That same something seemed to be stopping him from singing.

His mother picked it up. “Hello?” she asked nervously, her voice trembling slightly.

Sammy couldn’t hear the voice on the other end but his mother could. It made her face go white. Made tears come to her eyes. She put the phone down.

“Who was that, mommy?” Sammy whispered.

She didn’t answer and he could see the fear in her eyes. He could feel what seemed like an icy ball sitting inside of his stomach that made his whole body tremble.

“Mommy?”

Suddenly, she slammed the brakes on so suddenly that it made Sammy jump and halted the car by the edge of the road.

“Sammy, get out,” she instructed.

He did as he was told and then waited by the edge of the road holding Rocky tight to his chest.

“Now listen, if you see a white van come along this road, hide. You got that? When it’s passed you, look for help. Promise me you’ll be okay, Sammy?”

“M �“ mommy?” Sammy stammered, feeling his fingers tighten around his toy as his heart hammered faster with fear.

“Promise!”

“I �“ I promise.”

She shut the door. Then she started the engine up and left him.

“Mommy? Mommy!” he screamed. “Come back!”

She didn’t turn around. And then he could see her no more. She had been swallowed up by the darkness.

Fear filled him and his tears began to fall. Why had she left him here? Why? She had to be coming back, she was his mother! He waited, alone in the dark. She was going to come for him. His mother would not leave him all alone.

But she didn’t come.

Then he heard another car coming. Sammy, remembering his mother’s words, stumbled towards the wood. Blinded by tears, he clambered over the fence and crouched down by a tree. There was a rumble as a dirty, white van zoomed by at a frightening speed. Then it was gone. Just like his mother.

Thinking of her made him sob. He ran back out into the road, screaming and crying. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted her. His mommy.

“Mommy!” he screamed. “Mommy!”

He stared at the darkness around him and whimpered. He hated the dark, it scared him. Now he was alone. That was even more frightening than the night as it closed around him.

“Mommy!” he cried, tears stinging his eyes and falling in little streams down his cheeks.

He began to sob and his wails of despair carried out into the night. Why had she left him? What had he done wrong?

He was so busy crying that he didn’t hear the vehicle behind him. When he turned he saw a huge, black monster bearing down upon him. The headlights shone in the darkness and illuminated his terrified face. He screamed and tried to run but he slipped over. He covered his face with his hands and pulled his knees up to his stomach as the monster came to a halt above him, two wheels either side of him. He heard a door slam and the sound of footsteps. He gave a small cry as he curled himself up into a tighter ball and clasped Rocky with trembling fingers.

“What happened?”

“Is he all right?”

“He was standing right in the middle of the road. I didn’t see him in time…”

Sammy sniffed and held his breath in the darkness. What if they hurt him?

“Aww, he’s only a baby! You okay, kid?”

Sammy turned his head. Someone was peering underneath the vehicle at him. Sammy didn’t move.

“Can you move? We need to get you out of there.”

Sammy continued to stare at the man in pure terror, the tears still ran down his face.

“Come on,” the gentle voice said. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

A hand was stretched out towards him. Sammy slowly extended his own hand and the man gripped it gently. Sammy felt the warmth as his hand was squeezed and he clasped it tightly as his heart pounded inside of him.

“Brian, is he all right?” a voice from above called, urgently.

“I don’t think we hit him. He’s real scared, though. Henry, back the bus up slowly.” Sammy’s friend looked back down at him. “Just stay where you are and don’t move. We’re gonna back the bus up so that we can get you out of there. Then we’ll take a look at you, okay?”

Sammy nodded and was rewarded with a smile. The man let go of his hand and disappeared out of view. Sammy whimpered slightly as he was left alone again. He did not want to be alone. His hand felt cold without the comforting feel of his friend.

“Okay, back up Henry!”

Sammy pulled himself into an even smaller ball as the wheels moved either side of him. Soon, the roof overhead was gone, leaving him curled up in the road. His friend came back over as soon as the bus was out of the way. He lent down next to him.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sammy shook his head, but it was a lie. His mother had left him. That feeling hurt so much. It hurt more than when he had cut his arm and it seemed to be inside of him. He felt a tear rolling down his cheek.

“Hey, don’t cry,” the man whispered softly.

Sammy looked into his eyes. They were blue, just like his mothers had been. He reached out his hand to his ‘mother’ who took it. Then Sammy began sobbing his heart out as he pulled himself closer and nuzzled into the warmth of a fluffy jersey.

“It’s okay,” Blue eyes said, scooping him up into his arms. “I’ve gotcha.”

“Poor kid. Is he hurt anywhere? It doesn’t look as if he’s broken anything,” another man asked.

“Do you think we should call an ambulance?” someone else said.

“I think he’s okay. Just scared. Anyway, Howie, we’re in the middle of nowhere and it’d take hours for an ambulance to get here. We’ll just take him to the hospital when we get into town,” his friend said, still holding him close.

“Where’d he come from? I don’t see any parked cars around. You think there’s any campers around somewhere?”

“I don’t know. Be impossible to find them in the dark anyway.”

Sammy clung tightly to his blue eyed friend and buried his face in the man’s soft jersey again, wanting to try and shield himself from the pain. A few splatters of rain began to fall. The world was crying with him.

“Come on, let’s get him inside.”

Brian placed the little boy down on one of the bunks on their bus and then pulled a blanket over him. He still trembled so Brian placed his own coat over the shivering form. The boy kept a firm hold onto one of Brian’s hands. He didn’t seem to want to let go of him.

“How far is it to the next town, Henry?” he asked the driver.

“About two, three hours,” Henry replied. “You sure we don’t need an ambulance?”

“It’ll be quicker for us to take him rather than hang around for an ambulance at this time of the night,” Kevin said. “What’s a kid his age doing out by himself anyway? It’s not like he could’ve wondered from the town or anything.”

“Like I said, campers,” Howie said.

“But parents would have to be crazy to let a little kid like this wonder around on his own at night. We could have killed him.”

Brian glared at Kevin to be quiet. He didn’t want the kid to be even more upset. He squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I’m Brian,” he said, gently. “What’s you name?”

The little boy stared at him with pale blue eyes for a moment. “Sammy,” he finally said.

“Where are your parents?” He wished he had never asked it. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, tears began to fall from Sammy’s eyes. He reached his arms out towards Brian who gently put his arms around the distraught child and hugged him close whilst exchanging a nervous glance with the others.

AJ reached out and tried to pat Sammy on the arm but he cringed away and buried his face in Brian’s jersey.

“What happened to him?” Nick whispered, clearly distressed to see such a young boy so upset.

“Maybe he’s just lost,” Howie replied.

Brian shook his head ending all speculation. He didn’t want Sammy to hear them and the others understood. They could talk about this later. Carefully, he began to tuck Sammy back into the bunk underneath the blankets and his own coat. Sammy was only small and probably no more than five years old. He looked so innocent with the blond hair and blue eyes.

“Brian, I think you should stay with him,” Kevin whispered. “He seems to trust you.”
Brian nodded. He had no intention of moving from Sammy’s side anyway. He could feel the tiny hand clutching his own and the fear and the pain in Sammy’s eyes made Brian want to cry for him.

“Did you bang your head outside?”

Sammy shook his head.

“Good, you should try and get some sleep then. We’re a couple of hours from the next town. We’ll take you to the hospital there to get you checked out, okay?”

Sammy nodded again and closed his blue eyes for a second.

“B – Bri – Brian?” he stammered.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I – I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. We’ll take good care of you until we get you some help.”

“Not of y – you.”

“Then what?”

Sammy seemed to be struggling for words. He did not seem to want to say anything but at the same time wanted to.

“P – people were chasing us?”

“What people?”

“I don’t know.”

“Listen. Don’t talk now. Just sleep. No one’s going to hurt you here.”

Sammy closed his eyes again and pulled his teddy, a dark brown dog, closer to him.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispered.

“I’m not going to.”

So why had his mother?


**********************


Sammy’s mother Chloe was still driving along the road. Since leaving Sammy she had begun to drive at a much more dangerous speed, but the white van kept up with her easily. She’d had a head start but it hadn’t done her much good, what with her car’s tiny engine it hadn’t been long before the van had caught her up.

At least they wouldn’t get Sammy. It had hurt her more than she’d expected to leave him. She had never wanted children and had never known how to look after Sammy, but she had tried. He deserved better than here and she knew it. He wasn’t a bad kid at all. He never did anything wrong but she had always found herself shouting at him for something, even if it hadn’t been his fault. Thinking of his innocent little face bought the prickling sensation of tears to her eyes. She was more attached to him than she liked to admit. She hoped that someone had found him and that he was safe now. She hoped he would have the love he deserved, something she had never given to him.

She risked a glance in the mirror and felt her blood run cold as she realised how close the van was now. She couldn’t outrun them for much longer. They’d stop her and then… she dreaded to think what he would do when he realised that Sammy wasn’t with her.

The gunshot made her jump in fright and she found the car skidding out of her control. She screamed as the vehicle swung straight into a tree. Moaning, she lifted her head. The world about her swayed and she could feel trickles of blood sliding down her face.

The bastard. He’d shot one of her wheels. She couldn’t even try to outrun him now.

She tried to unfasten her seatbelt but it was stuck and she was trapped. She doubted if she could have run far anyway, she felt so sick and sleepy. The car door to her left was wrenched open and someone grabbed her by the shoulders. She stared into the cruel face of a well built man whose face was covered in dark stubble.

“Where is he?” he demanded in a gruff voice.

Chloe was going to tell him where to go but she could only cough and moan. Everything around her was beginning to go black. Her mind wondered to Sammy. She wondered if he would ever understand…

“Where is he! Tell me now!”

But she couldn’t say anything. The last thoughts she had before dying was a prayer for her son’s safety.

It wasn’t long before Sammy was fast asleep but every now and then he would struggle in his slumber and cry out. Brian, true to his word, stayed by his side and did his best to calm him when he was restless.

“How is he?” Kevin asked, coming over to him.

“Restless. I think he’s having nightmares, poor baby,” Brian replied.

“Can’t say I blame him. What are we gonna do with him?”

“I’m not sure. I say that we take him to the hospital as soon as we can and then call the police. I guess they’ll know how to deal with it all. They can probably find his parents.”

Kevin hesitated a moment before speaking again. “This is not the kind of area where you’d find campers. Where do you think he came from? Do you think his parents were in an accident or something?”

“I don’t know, surely he would have told us if his parents were nearby. When I asked him about them he just started crying on me.”

“Poor little guy,” Kevin said, patting the sleeping form.

“How long till the town?”

“Another hour at least. When we get there, you can take him to the hospital and the rest of us will go to the police to make enquiries. He’s probably been reported lost and his parents will be there waiting to pick him up.”

“I hope so, I really hope so.”


************************


Two hours later, Henry drove the bus into the town. AJ peered at the map in his hands. “Left here,” he instructed Henry as they approached a crossroad.

“What’s that red glow over there?” Howie said, pointing out of the window.

“There’s smoke. Looks like a fire of some kind,” Henry replied.

Three fire engines and a couple of ambulances zoomed by, the klaxons blaring out into the night.

“Fire,” AJ said.

“We’re here now,” Henry said, as he stopped the bus.

Brian wrapped Sammy up in a blanket and picked him up carefully so as not to wake him.

“Do you want me to come?” Kevin asked.

“I’ll be all right,” Brian replied. “I’ll attract less attention if it’s just me who goes in there. You guys go to the cops and see what you can find out.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, opening the door for his cousin to jump out. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.

Brian nodded and rearranged Sammy in his arms. Kevin gave him an encouraging smile before shutting the door. The bus slowly began to move away. Brian carried Sammy through the hospital doors and into a packed waiting room. A number of people looked up at him curiously. Brian kept his head down and wished that he had bought his hat, it would have been some kind of disguise at least.

“Can I help you?” the woman on the desk asked.

“We need to see a doctor. My friends and I found this kid in the road,” Brian stammered, aware of eyes burrowing into his back.

“Found him? Has he been hit by a car?”

“No, but he’s had a bit of a shock, we only just missed him. I want to get him checked out. He hasn’t woken up since he fell asleep a few hours ago.”

“Where are his parents?”

“I – I don’t know.”

“What’s his name?” she asked, pulling a pen and form towards her.

“Sammy.”

“Surname?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, what’s your name?” she asked, and Brian was disgusted at the slight amusement in her voice.

She thinks it’s funny, he thought. The Backstreet Boys almost killed a little boy and she thinks it’s amusing. Why are some people so sick?

“Brian Littrell,” he murmured. “Double t, double l.”

“Right, Mr.Littrell, please take a seat and we’ll be with you as soon as we can.”

“But - ”

“There has been a fire, Mr.Littrell and we’re expecting a lot of patients to arrive soon. We will deal with the boy as soon as we can. At the moment the doctors are all on standby for the fire patients.”

Brian looked about the waiting room, nervously. “Can we at least have a separate room to wait in?” he begged.

“You want us to make special arrangements because of your celebrity status?”

Brian gritted his teeth. “For the kid’s sake,” he said. “Please?”

The receptionist turned to a dark skinned man behind her. “Nelson, will you escort Mr. Littrell here to one of the family rooms? Then will you call the police and tell them that we have a lost child?”

“My friends have already gone to the police,” Brian said, quickly. “They’ll probably be here soon.”

The receptionist glared at him. “I wonder what they’ll think of this incident?” she said, icily. She clearly was not a fan.

Brian fought the urge to snap at her. Did she really think they’d intentionally hurt a little boy? He hoped that the police would have a higher opinion of them.

Brian followed Nelson into a smaller waiting room. It was much quieter in here. “Thank you,” Brian said. “I really appreciate this.”

“I’ll have a doctor see you as soon as possible but you must understand that we have a lot of people with more serious problems to deal with as well.”

“I understand. I’m just worried about him, that’s all.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. If you need anything, let me know,” Nelson said, quietly shutting the door as he left.

Sammy stirred in Brian’s arms and opened his eyes, blearily. “Mommy?” he asked, vaguely.

“No, it’s Brian,” he said. “Do you remember me?”

“Yes,” Sammy replied. He opened his bright blue eyes and blinked back the tears. One of his hands clasped Brian’s. “Where are we?”

“At the hospital. They said they’ll get a doctor to you as soon as they can.”

“I think I okay,” Sammy said, but Brian could feel him trembling in his arms.

“Sammy, what happened to your mother?” he asked, quietly. “Are you lost?”

Another tear fell from Sammy’s eyes. Brian felt his heart bleed for the poor, hopeless child in his arms. He hated seeing him so distressed. Sammy leaned his head against Brian’s chest, saying nothing. He squeezed his own teddy close.

“Who’s this?” Brian asked, changing the subject, he patted the small stuffed dog.

“Rocky,” Sammy replied.

“He’s cute. You like dogs?”

“Yes,” he replied shyly.

“I’ve got a dog.”

“What’s his name?”

“Tyke. He’s really sweet.”

Brian held him silently for a few seconds.

“She left me,” Sammy said, suddenly.

Brian felt himself turn numb. “Who did?” he asked, knowing and dreading the answer.

“My mommy.” Sammy stopped as he tried to choke back sobs.

Brian stared at him in amazement. He felt tears in his own eyes. He was only a baby. How could someone have just left him?

There was a knock on the door and the woman from the desk walked in. “Your friends are here with two police officers,” she informed him.

Brian peered around her and saw Nick and the other’s anxious faces. Two men in police uniforms were with them. Brian wondered if they had been laughed at as well. The press were going to love this ‘Backstreet Boys almost kill five year old’.

“You okay, Brian?” Kevin asked. “What about you, Sammy?”

Brian nodded but Sammy peered fearfully at all of the men looming above him. He clutched Brian’s hand tighter.

“This is Sergeant Muir and Sergeant Harsen,” Kevin said. “They want to talk to you, Sammy. Is that all right with you?”

Sammy looked up at Brian who cuddled him gently. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

Muir nodded and noticing Sammy’s nerves said: “Would you like everyone to leave so we can talk in private?”

“No!” Sammy said, clutching Brian and trembling even more.

“All right, calm down then. We’ll let your friends stay. Now Sammy, were you hit by the vehicle these men were in?”

Brian’s mouth fell open. It seemed everyone really did think they had tried to kill Sammy. He stared at Muir in disbelief. Kevin shook his head in the background, warning Brian to keep his mouth shut.

“No, they rescued me,” Sammy replied. “They look after me.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like us to talk in private?” Muir persisted.

“They never hurt me. They really nice.” He pressed closer to Brian.

“You say they rescued you? In what way?”

“I would still be alone if they hadn’t found me.”

Muir glared at them all. He seemed disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to arrest them all for something. He turned back to Sammy. “What’s your surname?” he asked.

“Brooks,” he whispered.

Harsen wrote it down in his notebook. “B – R – O – O – K – S?” he asked.

Sammy nodded.

“What’s your address?” Muir asked.

“T – thirty seven b, Carrie Street in L.A,” he replied.

Harsen raised an eyebrow. “L.A is a long way from here. Where were you going?”

“I d – don’t know,” he said. “People were chasing us.”

“What people? Did you know them?” Muir asked.

“I didn’t see them and mommy never told me who they were. They were in a white van.”

“Did you get the registration number? No? What about your mother’s car, what’s that registration number?”

Sammy looked blank and turned to Brian.

“He’s only a kid! How’s he supposed to remember a vehicle license plate?” Brian said, fighting back his anger. They were clearly frightening Sammy. He was intimidated enough as it was without the persistent questions from Muir and Harsen.

Muir glared at Brian. “Do you know you’re phone number?” he asked Sammy.

“No,” he whispered.

Muir looked annoyed. “It’s all right. We’ll go to your home and see if we can find your mother,” he said.

Tears sprang to Sammy’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Muir asked.

“She – she - ” Sammy stammered. He hugged Brian close.

“She left him,” Brian said, quietly. “On the road. He told me so earlier.”

“You were abandoned, Sammy?” Harsen asked, sympathy in his voice.

Sammy began to sob as Brian held him close. Brian saw the looks of disbelief on the other boys’ faces. Nick looked as if he were going to cry himself.

Muir looked up at the boys. “We’ll take it from here. You boys can go now. We’ll deal with it.”

“Can’t we stay just to make sure he’s okay?” Howie asked.

“I think it would be better if you all went. You boys draw a lot of attention to yourselves. Sammy doesn’t need any of that now.”

“D – don’t leave me, Bri! Please don’t leave me!” Sammy begged, shivering and beginning to cry even more.

“I’m staying,” Brian said, quietly.

“I think you should leave. He’ll calm down - ” Muir said, irritated.

“No, I’m staying. He’s scared and he needs someone to look after him. He wants me to stay.”

Sammy looked up at Muir with his wet eyes. “Please?” he whispered.

“Let him stay,” Harsen said to Muir.

“All right,” Muir said, grudgingly. “But the rest of you can go.”

Kevin and the others looked at Brian for confirmation of this.

“It’s all right, you guys go. I’ll be fine. It’s no use us all hanging around,” Brian said. He felt that Sammy would prefer it if it was just the two of them.

“Sure?” Nick asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”

“All right, then,” Kevin said. “See you later, take care Sammy.”

Sammy gave a small wave as they went. “Thank you for looking after me,” he said, quietly.

“You’re welcome,” Kevin said, smiling at the tiny figure. He led the others out.

Muir stood up to. “I’m going to make some enquiries,” he said. “Maybe we can track some of his family down. Don’t leave until I return.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Brian replied.

Muir gave him a suspicious look before departing. Harsen came over to sit beside them.

“What’ll happen if you don’t find my mommy?” Sammy asked.

“Well we’d find somewhere else for you to live,” Harsen said.

An orphanage, Brian thought. That’s where he’d end up going.

Hours later, Brian found himself sitting at the police station. Sammy was asleep under a blanket on a row of chairs beside him. Brian rubbed his sleepy eyes. It was almost three in the morning and he could barely stay awake. The end of a tour was supposed to be a time to catch up on lost sleep, but now he was losing more than ever.

He had been stuck at the hospital with Harsen for two hours before a doctor finally examined Sammy. The good news was that he was all right but he was still in shock after being left in the road and would need plenty of rest to recover. Harsen had then driven Brian and Sammy down to the police station and left them both in an empty room while he got in touch with the L.A police. It had taken Brian a while to get Sammy to sleep, but the little kid had nodded off as soon as he was certain that Brian wasn’t going to leave him.

Harsen had insisted that Brian would be better to leave but Brian was not prepared to go back on a promise he had made to Sammy. He was not going to leave him alone to deal with this. He needed the support and if his mother was not going to be here for him then Brian would make sure that he looked after him himself.

Eventually, sleep invaded Brian’s own mind and the dreams took control of him. He was in a car with his mother and now she was telling him to get out and go.

“Mommy, please don’t leave me,” he begged, but she didn’t even look back as she sped away, leaving him alone in the dark. “MOMMY!”

“Mr. Littrell?”

He awoke with a start. He was gasping for breath and his mouth felt dry. He looked about him in panic. A police man was staring down at him. Had the police found him? And then he remembered… His own mother would never have abandoned him. It was Sammy who had been left on the road. He was the one that was alone.

He looked down at Sammy’s sleeping form. He was all right. He turned back to Harsen. “Y – yes?” he said.

Harsen glanced at Sammy and then looked at the door. “We need to talk.”

Brian nodded and slowly stood up. His legs ached from sleeping on the chair and he awkwardly stumbled towards the door with Harsen. He left the door open in case Sammy awoke and wondered where he was.

Harsen looked uncomfortable. “The L.A police went to his apartment.”

“And?”

“The land lord said that Chloe Brooks left earlier saying that she would not be returning. A few hours after she’d gone, there was a fire. The whole place has been destroyed.”

“What caused the fire?”

“We don’t know. The land lord thought that Chloe might have set alight to something before she left. It seems suspicious that it started in her apartment.”

Brian struggled to take everything in and there was something in the way that Harsen spoke that gave Brian the feeling that he was holding something back. He ignored it though. The fire was not the most important thing at the moment.

“What’s going to happen to Sammy?” Brian asked.

“The land lord didn’t know of any relatives and or family friends. There’s no one to look after him. He’ll have to go to a home now, until we find his mother. I’ve called the local foster home and they said that they can take him.”

Brian closed his eyes. Sammy didn’t deserve to go to a foster home. No child did. He deserved a real, loving family like everybody else.

“Can I stay with him until he goes?”

“I suppose so,” Harsen said, with a shrug.

Brian let himself back into the room and sat beside Sammy. He brushed the blond hair back from his sweet face and re tucked the blanket back around him. Sammy stirred slightly but didn’t wake.

He stayed with Sammy for the remainder of the night. Harsen bought him some coffee at seven and Brian was glad to have something to keep his heavy eyelids open. His head ached from the lack of sleep but he knew that if he surrendered then Sammy would probably have been taken by the time he woke up again.

He held the hot mug in his hands thinking things over and gaining comfort from the warmth it provided him with. However, when he looked at Sammy, he felt an icy coldness settle inside him that refused to subside. He felt sick thinking about it. Sick that there were some people in the world who were willing to leave something so young and fragile on a dark road to fend for themselves. He heard a murmur and saw Sammy’s eyes flicker open. He smiled when he saw that Brian was still with him.

“Hey buddy,” Brian said.

“You stayed,” Sammy replied, thankfully.

“’Course I did. You asked me to and I promised.”

Sammy reached out a tiny hand to clasp Brian’s. But the contact was short lived as Harsen walked in the room along with a pretty, dark haired woman.

“I’m glad you’re awake Sammy. This is Hilary. She works at the local foster home. She’s going to look after you for a while until we find your mom,” Harsen said.

Sammy turned his blue eyes to Brian and he saw the fear in them. He didn’t want to go.

“Can Bri come?” he asked, hopefully.

Brian lowered his eyes, knowing that Harsen would force them to part ways now. Why did he feel like crying? He’d only known Sammy for half a day…

“You’ll be fine with us, sweetheart,” Hilary said with a big smile. “There’s lots of children your age at the foster home. You’ll like it.”

“You don’t need Brian anymore,” Harsen said and the words stung Brian’s heart.

Sammy looked at Brian imploringly. “Please come with me,” he begged.

“I would if I could,” Brian said in anguish.

“Come on, Sammy.” Hilary reached out and seized Sammy’s hand.

Sammy had tears in his eyes as he stood up. He clasped Brian’s hand and refused to let it go. Brian knelt down in front of him, his own eyes becoming wet though he tried his hardest to hide it from Sammy.

“If I could take you home with me, I would but I can’t. You go with Hilary and I promise that I will come and visit you soon,” Brian said.

Sammy gave him a hug and then slowly began to back away. He kept hold of Brian’s hand until he was too far away to hold it any longer. Brian kept his eyes on Sammy’s back as he left.

He sat back down upon one of the plastic chairs. Why did it feel as if his heart had just been broken?

Brian stared out of his hotel window. Out on the fresh, green grass he could see a small group of young children tossing a bright blue ball about carelessly and laughing. That’s where Sammy should be, out having fun, not locked inside a home.

“Brian?” AJ called.

“It’s open,” Brian replied, not taking his eyes off of the children.

He heard AJ come in and tore his eyes away from the window to face his friend. “Hey,” he said, trying to smile.

“Hey Rok, me and Nick are gonna go find a park to play some B Ball in. Wanna come?”

Brian shook his head and turned back to staring at the outside world.

“You okay? You’ve been real quiet since we got here. Cheer up, now we’ve got the last press conference over we can go home.”

Brian shrugged.

“C’mon, what’s the matter?”

“Just thinking.”

“Sammy?”

Brian nodded and closed his eyes. It was too easy to picture Sammy with big, blue innocent eyes. He wondered what he was doing now… crying because nobody loved him?

“You’ve been really taken with him haven’t you?” AJ said, sitting down on the edge of Brian’s bed.

“I just… I mean how could someone have left him? He could’ve died or - ”

“But he didn’t and he’ll be okay. They’ll find a family for him.”

Brian said nothing but for some reason he felt even more miserable. One of the girls outside squealed as she tripped over. A parent immediately came dashing over to see if she was all right.

“Why don’t you ask if you can see him? That’s what you want isn’t it?”

“You think they’d let me?” Brian asked, hope arising in his heart.

“Why shouldn’t they? And Sammy would love it. He really likes you. Why don’t you give the home a call and see if you can sort something out?”

“I – I might do that,” Brian said, quietly.

“You should.”

Brian looked out of the window once more. The little girl was with her friends again. “Can I borrow your phone?”


******************************


Sammy sat on the edge of his bed cuddling Rocky and staring at the pale yellow walls. Hilary had been in earlier trying to interest him in various toys; big plastic blocks and cars with missing wheels. He had refused to take anything she had offered him, he preferred Rocky.

When he had first arrived at the home yesterday, they’d taken Rocky away from him saying, “He has to be cleaned, darling.”

They’d snatched him away and left him with a shabby replacement; a green bear. Sammy had cried silently and ignored the bear. He hadn’t spoken or ate until Hilary had bought Rocky back, clean and smelling of cheap soap which made Sammy’s eyes run when he held him close. Hilary had been displeased at his behaviour and scolded him for being such a baby.

Now he would not let any of the nurses near Rocky in case they tried to steal him again. Rocky was his only friend. There had been Brian of course, he had liked him a lot, but he’d been taken away from him as well. He had tried to ask a nurse if Brian would come and see him but she had just laughed and said, “You’ll be lucky.”

That had hurt Sammy. Brian might as well be an imaginary friend because Sammy doubted if he would ever come back.

“Sammy, someone wants to speak with you. He can’t stay for long though. It’s almost dinner time for you,” a ginger haired woman said, entering his room. “Come with me, sweetie.” She held out her hand for him but Sammy cringed away, refusing to take it.

He clutched Rocky close as he trailed after the nurse down the corridor and up some stairs. She pushed open a blue door and let Sammy inside. There was a man seated in one of the red plastic chairs. He fidgeted with his hands, nervously and looked up expectantly when Sammy walked in. he gave him a weak smile as he stood up.

“Bri Bri!” Sammy cried, excitedly dashing over to him.

Brian grinned and lent down to pull Sammy close. Sammy smiled happily as he buried his face in Brian’s woolly, blue jumper. He knew Brian would never forget about him. He felt himself scooped up and then Brian sat down with him upon one of the chairs.

The nurse sat down opposite them with one of those big smiles that all of the nurses in the home wore. Sammy scowled slightly. He didn’t want her to be here. Brian was his friend and was nothing to do with her.

“He’s been asking for you,” the nurse said to Brian.

Brian held Sammy onto his lap. “How you doing?” he asked, pushing Sammy’s blond fringe back.

“Okay. I’m glad you came to see me though. I don’t like it here,” Sammy replied, ignoring the nurse’s frown.

“But we are treating you well, Sammy,” she said.

“I’m sure you are,” Brian said to her. He turned back to Sammy. “But I bet it’s not like a real home,” he added quietly.

“No,” Sammy said softly.

Brian held him close. “So how’s Rocky?”

“The nurses kidnapped him and gave him a bath, look!” Sammy said, waving Rocky in front of Brian. “He smells horrible now!”

Brian took Rocky from Sammy’s hands. “It’s not that bad!” he said. He started to tickle the little dog and made him bounce about Sammy’s lap. “He can still tickle people!” With that he immediately began to tickle Sammy all over.

“No!” Sammy squealed, trying to jump away from Brian but it was too late. Brian seized him around the waist with one arm and then mercilessly used Rocky to tickle him. “No!” Sammy said again but now he was laughing uncontrollably.

Brian kept hold of him for a little longer and then, grinning, he released him and handed him Rocky back. Sammy still laughing, began trying to tickle Brian back.

“No, no, no!” Brian said, trying to push Sammy back but failing.

The nurse on the other side of the room was laughing as well. “Okay, break it up now,” she said. “Sammy, your friend is going to have to go now because it’s your dinner time.”

“Yuck,” Sammy said quietly so that only Brian could hear him.

Brian gave him another hug and Sammy wished that he stay with him and forget all about this home and his troubles. He clutched one of Brian’s hands. He didn’t want him to leave. He was the only person in the world who cared about him. He wanted to ask Brian if he could take him home with him, but he couldn’t. Brian might not like that and might not visit him again.

“Will you come and see me again, Bri?” Sammy asked, hopefully.

“Just try and stop me,” he replied, tidying Sammy’s hair.

“Stay,” Sammy whispered. He didn’t want to go with the nurse again. He didn’t like this home with it’s faded yellow walls. And what if Brian never came back? What if he left him like his mother?

Brian straightened Sammy’s jersey. “Listen Sammy, the man I spoke to on the phone said it might be possible for you to visit me at my house sometime. Would you like that?”

Sammy almost bounced with excitement. “Yes,” he said. “Yes please.” He looked at the nurse, imploringly. “Can I?”

“If Brian wants you to,” she said. “We’ll sort the details out later. Come along, Sammy.”

Sammy gave Brian one last hug. “Bye bye,” he said. “Thank you for coming to see me.”

“Bye,” Brian whispered. “I’ll see you soon.”

Sammy kept his eyes on Brian until the nurse had shut the door. “When will I get to see him again?” he asked.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Sammy. Mr.Littrell is a very, very busy man.”

“But he said I could visit him!”

“We’ll see. Hilary will have to approve it, of course. Personally, I don’t approve of a man with his kind of job. You hear all those stories… He’s probably after even more attention. The press will love him for this.”

Sammy was confused. What did she mean by ‘his kind of job?’ Didn’t Brian care about him after all?

“Here we are, Sammy. Go get your dinner.” She stopped outside of the dining hall and pushed the door open for Sammy. He stepped inside and watched as all of the children chatted happily at the tables. He didn’t have any friends so he sat by himself. But he didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be with Brian.

thanks for the reviews people! i'm trying to get this story up as quick as I can for people to read.

Oh and for those wondering, last time around I was a Stephanie but then my account was deleted and someone else picked that name so I went back to my old pen name bluecloud. anyway, on with the story!

**********************


“Hi, mom it’s me, Brian,” Brian said, as soon as his mother had picked up the phone.

“Hi honey how are you?”

“I’m okay. How are you and dad?”

“We’re both fine. Your father’s out at the moment though. Are you home now?”

“Yeah, after the tour had finished we had one press conference and then we were free to go.”

“I’ve not seen you in a while, Brian. You’ll have to come down to see us.”

“I was planning to anyway,” Brian said, grinning. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you during the last few days. I lost my phone!”

“Likely excuse!”

“I did! I think I left it at one of the arenas.”

“You’d lose your own head if it wasn’t screwed on, Brian!”

“Yeah, I know. So when do you want me to come down?”

“Any time you want, dear. I’ve missed you a lot and I do worry when you’re running about the country. I’m glad you’re back now.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to be home. No more hotels…” He paused. He was saying everything except the one important thing he needed to talk to his mother about.

“Brian? You still there? You’ve gone all quiet.”

“Mom, on the way to the hotel we, um, almost hit someone on the road.”

“Were they all right?” his mother asked, in concern.

“Yes but… Mom, it was a little boy we almost killed.”

“What was he doing in the road? What did his mother say?”

“That’s just it, mom,” Brian said, feeling the tears spring to his eyes. “He’d been left there. His mother had abandoned him!” Brian found himself crying. This whole incident had unsettled him but it was only now that he let it all out.

“Abandoned?” his mother said in disbelief.

“His mother just left him in the road all by himself! How could someone be that cruel!” Brian sobbed.

His mother went silent for a few seconds and Brian could imagine how shocked a loving parent such as herself would be. “Can’t the police find the mother?” she asked eventually.

Brian shook his head and then remembered that she couldn’t see the gesture. “No. They went to his home but the land lord said that she’d left for good.”

“Where is the boy now?”

“In a children’s home! Sammy’s only five! He should be with his family!”

His mother sighed. “Brian, sometimes parents can’t care for their children and - ”

“But she shouldn’t have - ”

“I’m not saying it was right. But sometimes a parent has no choice but to give up their children for adoption. Maybe there was a reason that she couldn’t look after him and thought he’d do better to be with someone else.”

“He could’ve died on that road!”

“Maybe she had no choice.”

“No choice? She could’ve left him in a town at least! What if he’d wondered into the forest or something?”

“You said the boy was only five? If she didn’t want him then she would have put him up for adoption as soon as he was born. To hold onto him for five years and then let him go, I’ll bet it hurt her a lot and I don’t think any parent would leave a child on a road unless there was a good reason.”

Brian could not believe what he was hearing! He respected his mother but how could she be defending someone so cruel and heartless? “How can you say that?”

“I am a parent, Brian and I know that I love you and Harry very much. Every parent loves their children. They may hurt them sometimes or do bad things but a mother will always love her children.”

“Would you have left me alone on an empty road?”

“Don’t be silly, Brian!”

“Would you? If there was a ‘good reason’?”

His mother hesitated. “What if someone was after you? What if someone was chasing us and I had to hide you? It would hurt more than anything in the world to leave you somewhere but if it was for your own safety… But that would be the only reason. You know that I would never hurt you in any way unless there was a reason.”

Brian said nothing. A part of him understood what his mother was saying but he doubted if he would ever understand completely.

“Brian? You still there, honey? Please understand what I’m trying to tell you,” she said. There was a hint of tears in her voice.

“I’m still here, mom. I’m sorry, I was just thinking.” Something she had said had started a niggling sensation in his brain. What was it?

“I’m sure the child will be fine.”

“I hope so. I went to see him a few days ago and I rang the home this morning. They’ve agreed to let Sammy come and visit me tomorrow.”

“You care about him don’t you? That’s why it upsets you so much.”

“I like him, he’s so sweet. I hate to think about anything happening to him. It just upsets me because… I always thought parents were supposed to look after children, like you look after me.”

“I can’t tell you why she left him. Nobody can. Not for certain. How’s the little boy doing?”

“Sammy? He was okay but upset and shocked. I stayed with him to keep him company.”

“You’d make a wonderful parent. Brian.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You care about Sammy so much, that’s what a parent does to a child.”

“Thanks for talking to me, mom. I needed to get things off of my head.”

“I’m your mother, you don’t have to thank me. It’s my job to look after you.”

Brian smiled. “I’ll come and see you this weekend. Bye mom.”

“Bye dear. Just one last thing.”

“Yes?”

“You say that Sammy is sweet… do you really think it would have been easy for someone to abandon him?”

“I guess not,” Brian said, softly. He thought of Sammy’s little face. Any parent would love a child like him, surely?

“See you at the weekend, honey. Bye.”

“Bye,” Brian said. He placed the receiver down and slumped into a nearby chair. His mother had made him feel a bit better. She always did. He just wished he could understand it more…

There was still something about what she had said that rang a faint bell. He remembered back to when they had found Sammy. He had been curled up into a terrified ball beneath their bus. What had he said to Brian?

“P – people were chasing us.”

He remembered what Sammy had told the police. That people had been chasing them.

Oh god. Was that why his mother had left him?

Sammy was so excited about visiting Brian that he could hardly sit still as he waited for his friend to arrive. He fidgeted non- stop in the plastic chair in the lobby.

Eventually, Brian arrived just like he’d promised he would. He smiled. “You ready, Sammy?”

Sammy nodded and jumped to his feet to give Brian a hug. Brian held him for a second and then took his hand and led him out of the dreary home and into the warm sunlight outside. It was so bright that Sammy had to blink for a few seconds. He hadn’t stepped outside since he’d arrived at the home and he found that he missed being out of doors.

In this place, there was thick green grass growing on the verge and the sun sparkled off of the clean sidewalk. Back at his home, the sun had barely penetrated their dark, cramped street. The roads there had been grubby and untidy. Things were so much nicer here.

There was sleek, black car parked by the road and it bleeped as Brian deactivated the alarm. He opened the front passenger door and Sammy hopped inside and looked about curiously. He had never been in a car like this before. It was so different to his mother’s rickety old car. His mother… He closed his eyes and thought of her for a moment but then he pushed her away. He didn’t want to be miserable today.

Brian jumped in the other door and did Sammy’s seatbelt for him. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sammy said, making sure that Rocky was safe beside him.

Brian smiled at him fondly and then started the engine up. “My place is about an hour from here,” he said.

“Where do you live?” Sammy asked.

“Atlanta. On the outskirts anyway.”

“What’s your house like?”

“You’ll have to wait until we get there won’t you?” Brian teased, as he pulled onto the freeway.

“What’s your job?”

Brian hesitated for a moment. “I’m a performer,” he said, eventually.

“Wow, like an actor?”

“No, I sing.”

“Really? What things do you sing?”

“Pop songs. I’m in a band. Do you remember the four other guys who were with me when I found you?”

Sammy nodded. Rescuers are not people you forget.

“They’re my band mates. We all sing together.”

“You like singing?”

“I love it and the rest of the guys are great too,” Brian said. “What about you? What do you like doing?”

“I like drawing,” Sammy said, shyly. No one had ever been really interested in him before. “I used to have a big box of crayons at home and some paints.”

“I’ll have to get you some more crayons won’t I?”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Sammy said, going red.

“No it’s all right, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Sammy said. “I never got many presents before.” He remembered that his mother used to buy him little things every now and then but that had stopped once she had lost her job. Once again he had to banish her from his mind. It still hurt too much to think of her, especially all of the nice things she had done for him.

“What pictures do you like drawing, Sammy?”

“I do stories,” Sammy said, proudly. “I did lots with Rocky in.”

Brian grinned. “You’d like Nick, that’s the blond headed friend of mine, he loves drawing as well. He drew pictures of me and the rest of the guys and we all looked terrible!”

“Can I see the others again sometime?”

“Sure you can. They’ve been asking about you a lot. I could bring them with me next time I come to see you.”

“I’d like that,”

For the next hour, Sammy chatted happily to Brian. He hadn’t ever really had anyone who he could really talk to before so it was a real treat to be with someone who seemed to understand him. Brian was quite happy to hear about Sammy’s stories about Rocky and the things that he had been doing at the foster home.

Eventually, Brian pulled onto a more quiet road. He slowed down as they reached a small cluster of shops.

“Wanna stop for ice creams?” he asked Sammy. “There’s a great place just here.”

“Yes please!” Sammy replied, hardly believing his luck.

Brian grinned and turned into a car park. Sammy bounded out of the car and looked about him. The ice cream parlour was painted a bright blue. Outside were white tables with sky blue umbrellas, shielding people from the strong sun. A few people were seated at the tables slurping away at cones of ice cream.

“Come on,” Brian said, taking Sammy’s hand.

Sammy happily walked beside Brian while taking in everything around him. This was nothing like his run down home area where he had lived with his mother. The grass was green and well watered and flowers had been planted along the paths. The side walk was clean and well swept and the buildings were completely free of the graffiti he was used to. As they approached the ice cream parlour though, he began to feel uneasy. Why were people staring?

“This is a lovely place. I swear it does the best ice creams in the country!” Brian said, ignoring the stares.

“I haven’t had ice cream since I was at Dylan’s party. That was months ago,” Sammy said, remembering the tiny bowl of vanilla he’d tried back then.

“In that case we’ll have to make sure you get a big one!” Brian said, smiling and leading Sammy into the parlour.

Inside an elderly man was cleaning a spare table. He looked up when they walked in. For a second, his eyes lingered on Sammy, curiously. He seemed surprised at something. He smiled at them both.

“Hi Brian! Long time no see!” he said, moving back behind the counter. “Been touring?”

“Yeah, but I’m done now. Last show was on Tuesday,” Brian replied.

“Everything go okay?”

“Nick fell over during the finale, but yeah it went great! How have you been?”

“Oh, I’m all right. How can one not be when you’re surrounded by ice cream all day!” He winked at Sammy. “So what’ll it be?”

The counter was too tall for Sammy to see in properly so Brian carefully picked him up and showed him the dozens and dozens of ice cream pots. Sammy had never seen so many flavours in his entire life. He thought he’d been lucky at Dylan’s just to get vanilla but now he was confronted with cookie dough, chocolate, peppermint, fudge, strawberry and pots of others.

“So what would you like?” Brian asked.

Sammy was spoilt for choice. “I’ve never tried any of these before,” he said. “What are you having?”

“Me? Same as always, choc chip cookie dough!”

“Can I try one as well?”

“Sure you can. Tell you what, we’ll make it double. What other flavour do you want as well?”

Eventually, Sammy chose plain chocolate to go with it and was soon licking at a huge ice cream. Brian paid for both of them. The man handed him the change and once again stared at Sammy. “I never knew you had a son, Brian.”

Sammy stopped mid lick and felt his face burn slightly.

“He’s not mine,” Brian said, eventually. “He’s my little friend. His name’s Sammy.”

“Really? Well I’ll see you both again. Bye Sammy.”

Sammy followed Brian out of the parlour and once again felt stares upon them. He shuffled closer to Brian. Why was everyone so interested in them?

“Let’s go for a walk around the park,” Brian said. “I can’t drive and eat this!”

They left the ice cream parlour and stares behind as Brian led him around the shops and onto a wide, grassy park. There was a small lake surrounded by leafy bushes and a play park at the far end. Brian started to walk towards it.

“Was there a park near your home, Sammy?”

“No, we used to play in the old Market Square. Mommy never liked me going out much,” Sammy said, sadly.

Sammy stared at his rapidly diminishing ice cream and wondered where his mother was now. Was she thinking of him? Did she still care about him?

“Bri?” he asked.

“Yes?” Brian said, polishing off the remainder of his ice cream.

“W – why did she leave me? I don’t understand.”

They were at the play park now. Brian looked uncomfortable and said nothing for a moment. He sat down on the bench and Sammy copied him.

“Sammy, I don’t know why she left you. Sometimes adults do bad things even when they mean well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… you said that people were chasing you…”

“I – I thought they were. Mommy kept glancing in the mirror but she never told me anything. Was that why she left me?”

“I don’t know,” Brian repeated. “Maybe she thought you were in danger.”

“I tried so hard to please her. I tried not to do anything wrong but she still used to get mad at me. I never knew why.”

“I’m sure she loved you,” Brian said, softly. “I bet it hurt her more than anything to leave you there.”

“It – It hurt me,” Sammy said, quietly.

Brian placed an arm around him and Sammy pressed closer to him, trying not to let his tears come through.

“It’ll be okay,” Brian said. “You’ll see.”

Sammy said nothing. Sometimes it felt as if things were okay, other times it didn’t. He couldn’t understand. His mother had made him cry sometimes. He remembered lying awake at nights silently praying for someone who loved him, but he still missed his mother. Was it natural to feel like this?

Brian leaned over and used his sleeve to wipe Sammy’s tears away. “Thank you,” Sammy said.

“It’s all right. If ever you need me or want to talk then just say. I’ll be in regular contact with your home so that I can check up on you.”

Sammy smiled. He liked the sound of that and knew that he was very lucky to have such a good friend. It was wonderful to have someone who cared about him. Brian slowly stood up and took Sammy’s hand.

“Come on, let’s go and invade those swings over there!” Brian said.

Sammy grinned and rushed with Brian into the empty play park. He couldn’t remember ever having a day out like this before. His mother had never taken him to a park or played with him. Now, he had Brian pushing him on a swing, playing with him on the seesaw and spinning him around on the merry go round. Sammy was just about to have another go on the bright blue slide when he spotted a woman rushing towards them.

“Um, Sammy? You ready to go back to mine now?”

“Okay,” Sammy replied, wondering why Brian suddenly looked a little nervous.

“Come on.” Brian held out his hand for Sammy and led him out of the play park and along a path leading back to the car park.

When they reached Brian’s car, Sammy noticed that the woman had followed them and that she had a camera in her hand. As soon as both of them were inside, however, she began to walk away. What was all that about?


*******************************


Brian’s house was on a quiet road with lots of large, pleasant houses. All of them were surrounded by huge, well kept gardens, except for Brian’s house where the grass was overgrown and the bushes leafy and untidy.

“Yeah, I was supposed to do that yesterday but I never had time,” Brian said. “It doesn’t always look that bad, honest!”

Sammy was a little shocked at the size of Brian’s house. He had lived in a tiny apartment but this house was positively huge and much bigger than anything Sammy was used to.

Brian pulled into the drive way and then rummaged about in his pockets for his house keys. When he found them, he led Sammy up the path and pushed the door open. As soon as the gap was wide enough, a brown hair ball bowled straight into them. Sammy hid behind Brian’s legs while a small, brown thing yapped excitedly and bounded about them both.

“It’s all right!” Brian assured Sammy. “It’s only Tyke! Come here, boy!” Brian lent down and seized the excited chihuahua by the collar before he could hurl himself at Sammy again. Tentatively, Sammy patted Tyke on his bony head.

“I only picked him up from my friend’s house a few days ago. I’ve been away for a long time so he’s really pleased now that I come home to him every day,” Brian said, scooping the struggling Tyke up and shooting the door with his foot. “Um, welcome,” he said, stepping on a squeaky bone while Tyke tried to chew his fingers.

Sammy grinned while Brian pushed Tyke’s teeth away from his hand. He carefully placed the small dog down and Tyke bounced over towards Sammy, who then patted the dog until he rolled over onto his back.

“Tyke, go play with… something!” Brian said, pointing down the hallway.

Tyke stared at him for a second before dashing off in the direction that he had indicated.

“Crazy dog,” Brian muttered.

He pushed open the door to the right and beckoned Sammy inside. It was a huge sitting room, bigger than any Sammy had ever seen, and at either end were bay windows, which allowed floods of sunlight to pour into the room.

“Wow,” Sammy said as he stared about in awe. There was a stereo by one wall and a massive TV set beside a cabinet full of videos.

Brian smiled and reached out to take Sammy’s coat off. Then, he sat down on the blue couch and patted the place beside him. Sammy sat down next to him.

“I got you a present,” Brian said, shyly taking a plastic bag from the table. “I thought it might be nice for Rocky.” He pulled out a small, toy sized dog basket with a red cushion and handed it to Sammy.

Sammy pulled Rocky out from his pocket and placed him inside the basket. It fit perfectly.

“Thank you!” he cried, flinging his arms about Brian.

“Don’t mention it,” Brian said, pulling Sammy onto his lap.

Tyke chose this moment to rush in with a red chew clenched between his teeth. Sammy bounced onto the floor to pet him and Tyke wriggled excitedly at all of the attention. Brian joined them and began trying to wrestle the chew from Tyke. As soon as he had it, Tyke began to yap and jump up at Brian. Eventually, Brian gave Tyke his chew back and the little dog settled down happily on the rug to chomp at it.


Next, Brian introduced Sammy to his Playstation and showed him how to play the racing games. While Sammy was occupied with the bizarre world of computer games, Brian cooked dinner for them both.


By five, Sammy was seated at Brian’s dining room table and munching away at a hamburger. Brian had him in fits of giggles when he turned his hamburgers into puppets and had them chatting away at each other in silly voices.


After dinner, Brian played more computer games with him and then they both crashed out on the sofa with a DVD and a huge bowl of popcorn. For Sammy, the day had gone too quickly and he avoided looking at the clock which showed him how horribly close he was to going back to Hilary and her squadron of nurses. He leaned against Brian’s shoulder, completely exhausted. As he felt his eyelids drooping, he wished that he didn’t have to go back. Maybe if he closed his eyes then his wish would come true and he would be able to stay here forever with Brian.

He heard the film finish but he kept his eyes firmly closed. If Brian thought that he was asleep then maybe he would let him stay.

“I think I’d better be taking you back soon,” Brian said, gently. “Before everyone think I’ve kidnapped you.”

“You could kidnap me.”

“I could but then Hilary would track me down and set her nurses on me!”

Sammy smiled and then yawned. He barely had the energy to move. He yawned again.

“Come on.” He felt Brian scooping him up into his arms and carrying him out of the room.

“Bye bye, Tyke,” Sammy said, opening an eye and spying the dog snoozing in his own basket.

Brian carefully opened the front door and Sammy felt the cool, rush of wind against his skin and the beep as the car alarm was disabled. Brian placed him in the front seat and strapped him in safely. Then he got in himself and started the engine up. Sammy yawned for the third time.

“I think I tired you out too much,” Brian said. “You had fun, though?”

“Yes, definitely!” Sammy replied.

“You’ll have to come round again sometime, won’t you.”

“Can I?”

“Sure. I’d love to see you again.”

Sammy hesitated. “The nurse told me that you were really busy and wouldn’t have time to see me lots.”

Brian stiffened. “That’s not true.”

“Why did she say it? Does she know you?”

Brian took a deep breath. “It’s true that I am quite busy. I travel a lot.”

“Where do you go?”

“All over the world. I’ve been to England, Spain, Australia…”

“Wow, because of your singing?”

“Yeah, I have to perform a lot. My band’s kinda… popular.”

“What’s it called?” Sammy asked, a flicker of suspicion beginning to creep over him.

“… Backstreet Boys,” he said, eventually.

Sammy couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping. “Y – you’re a pop star?”

“Um, yes. You heard of us?”

“My mommy had one of your CD’s. ‘I want it that way’,” Sammy sang. “I like that song.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before… I didn’t want to scare you away. I like spending time with you. Does it bother you? Me being a Backstreet Boy?”

“No,” Sammy said. “You’re really nice and I like spending time with you as well.””

Brian smiled. “Good.”


********************************


It was completely dark by the time they arrived back at Sammy’s home. Sammy was fast asleep by the time they got there so Brian had to carry him into the reception. Sammy yawned and opened his eyes.

“We’re back?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Brian said. “You can go to bed now.”

“You come see me again?”

“Definitely.”

Hilary came out of the door. “You’re late. I was beginning to wonder where you were.”

“Having fun,” Sammy said.

Hilary smiled. “Well, you’re going to have to come to bed now, Sammy.”

Brian, reluctantly, let Sammy go and gave him his coat and basket with Rocky in it. Sammy gave him a hug. “Night night, Bri.” He reached up and kissed Brian on the cheek.

“Sweet dreams, Sammy.”

Brian was slightly stunned and watched as Hilary led Sammy back to his own room. He slumped down onto one of the chairs and thought for a moment. Posters of children on the walls stared back at him. He looked across at the receptionist and then made up his mind…

“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked, looking up as Brian approached.

“I want to adopt Sammy.”

She was taken back for a moment. “I don’t know if that would be very appropriate.”

“Why not? Because I’m a Backstreet Boy?”

“It’s not that simple. Sammy isn’t up for adoption. This is a foster home and - ”

“Can I foster him then?”

“There’s a lot of procedures - ”

“I know, but I want Sammy to come and live with me. I care about him and I can look after him.”

“You’ll need to speak to Hilary.”

Brian nodded. He hardly believed what he was doing. He hadn’t thought it through or anything. All he knew was that he wanted to keep Sammy so that he could see him every day. He knew it was a big step to take on a child, especially a five-year-old, but he felt that this was the right thing to do.

“All right, can I speak to Hilary, please?”


******************************


“So, what movie are we gonna go and see?” Howie asked the others. “If we don’t pick soon then the cinema will be closed by the time we decide!”

“Don’t know, don’t mind,” AJ replied, while munching his way through a bag of potato chips. “What do you think, Brian?”

They all looked over at Brian, but he was staring out of the window, not listening to a single word anybody was saying.

“Hey! Frack to Frick! Return to Earth!” Nick called.

“Huh? What?” Brian asked blankly, turning around to face the other boys.

“What movie do you want to go and see?” AJ asked.

Brian shrugged. “Anything.”

“You okay?” Nick asked.

“Fine.”

“Only you seem kinda preoccupied.”

He shrugged again.

“Didn’t you get to Sammy yesterday?” Kevin asked. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s great,” Brian said, smiling for the first time that day. “We had a good time. I took him to the park.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet to him,” AJ said. “Is he still upset about his mother?”

“Yeah, but that’s bound to take quite a bit of time to get over.”

“I guess. Still, at least he’s got you to help him through it all, eh Brian?”

“Guys… I need to talk to you all about something,” Brian said, suddenly.

“You’re gay?” Nick asked, causing all of the others to laugh.

“I’m serious!” Brian replied.

“And being gay isn’t?”

“Look, I am not gay!”

“Okay, we believe you,” Kevin said. “Fire away.”

Brian took a deep breath. He had wanted to tell them since he arrived but he wasn’t sure how they would react. He was still in shock himself.

“I, um, offered to foster Sammy,” he said, eventually.

The others stared at him.

“Seriously?” Howie said.

“Yes I asked and, well, they’re thinking it over. I had to give them some details and fill in some paperwork, but I’m hoping that they let me keep him.”

“You really want this, don’t you?” Kevin said, after another moment of silence.

“Yes, I do,” Brian replied, looking his cousin straight in the eye.

“Well, we’ll back you all the way and you know it,” Kevin said.

“Thanks,” Brian said, smiling. “I hoped you would.”

“You know we would,” Nick pointed out, patting his friend on the shoulder.

“Can you cope with Sammy?” Kevin asked. “I mean, I know he’s a cutie but he’s still a kid- he’ll need a lot of attention.”

“I know and it’ll mean some changes in the way I run my life but I think I’ll be okay. Our touring plans will have to change,” Brian said.

“Don’t panic, we’ll work around it somehow,” AJ said. “What did the management say?”

“Quite a lot. They warned me that it would be hard work and tried to persuade me not to go through with it,” he said, remembering the argument he’d had on the phone earlier. “I had to do a lot of begging but they agreed to let me in the end.”

“Wow, that’s great then!” Howie said.

“I even got them to write me a reference saying that I can cope with a kid.”

“How’d you manage that?” Kevin asked, suspiciously.

“I have my ways,” Brian said, mysteriously.

“Did you threaten to leave the band?” Kevin asked.

“No…”

“You did, didn’t you?”

“I wasn’t serious! They knew I wasn’t serious!” Brian protested. “Eventually I just told them that I was fostering him with or without their help! Then they gave in and agreed to it!”

“You can be so stubborn sometimes,” Kevin said. “Especially when you’ve got your heart set on something!”

“When do you find out if you can foster Sammy?” Nick asked. “It’s about time we had an ‘ickle Backstrret Boy around the place!”

“They said they’d call… I just hope they say yes.”

“If not, we’ll kidnap him for you! I bet Sammy wouldn’t complain!” AJ said.

“And if you leave the band,” Howie said. “We’ll kidnap you as well!”

Brian grinned, glad that they were all supporting him. He’d been half-afraid that they would call him an idiot to take on a child. He could barely believe it himself. He just prayed he had what it took to be a foster parent and a Backstreet Boy. He may have made a few threats but he could never leave the band and the rest of the guys.

“Aww!” Nick said. “Brian’s going to be a daddy!”

Sammy sat on the grass of the foster home’s garden. It was a warm day and Hilary had insisted that he spend some time outside, claiming that it wasn’t good for to be locked up in his room so often.

Sammy would have much rather stayed inside. He didn’t get on well with the other children. They avoided him and never let him play with them. As it turned out, though, he liked being outside in the sun, it reminded him of his day out with Brian.

Hilary had given him some paper and a few crayons and now Sammy was sprawled out on the grass drawing a picture for Brian – a glorious splodge of colour at the moment.

A shadow fell across the paper and Sammy looked up to see a burly seven-year-old standing in front of him. He recognised it as Christopher. A few of his friends were with him.

“Is it true?” Christopher demanded.

“Is what true?” Sammy asked, nervously.

“We heard that you’re friends with one of those Backstreet Boys.”

Sammy said nothing, but he could feel his heart beginning to pound more and more..

“Why does he come to see you? Why do you get to visit him?” Christopher demanded. “Are the rest of us not good enough for him? I can’t hear you.” Christopher glared down at Sammy.

“H – he’s my friend,” Sammy whispered, truly frightened now.

“Really? Why would he like you? He could probably buy himself any kid he wanted! Not that I want anything to do with a stupid, tone deaf arsehole like him!”

“Don’t call him that!”

“Why not? Have you heard their music? They’re pathetic! My older brother says they should be shot and I agree!”

Sammy took a deep breath and fought to hold back his tongue. He packed the crayons up, picked up the picture and made to leave. Christopher grabbed him by the collar.

“Where are you going? You can’t go crying to your friend because he’s not here,” Christopher said.

“Let me go!” Sammy said, struggling to get away from Christopher.

Christopher laughed at him. “Are you scared, weirdo? I’ll give you something to be scared of!”

Christopher suddenly lashed out and hit Sammy on the arm. Sammy began screaming while the rest of Christopher’s friends laughed.

“Christopher! Stop it!” a voice yelled, furiously.

With bleary, tear filled eyes Sammy looked up and saw Hilary rushing over to them along with Matt. Hilary seized the seven-year-old by the arm while Matt pulled the sobbing Sammy into his arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Hilary said, angrily. “He’s only five!”

Sammy didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as Matt carried him to the medical room and placed him down gently onto the bed. Sammy looked down at the crumpled picture in his hands and began crying even more.

“It’s all right now,” Matt said. “No one’s going to hurt you.” He looked at the place where Christopher had hit him. “It’s not so bad, it’s just bruised.” He handed Sammy a tissue.

Sammy sniffed and blew his nose while Matt found an ice pack for his arm. It hadn’t hurt too much but he was terrified to think about what Christopher would have done to him if Matt and Hilary hadn’t shown up. Matt tried to put an arm around him but Sammy wriggled away.

“I want Brian!” he said, his eyes filling with tears. He was the only person who cared.

“He’s not here,” Matt replied, softly.

“Please call him! Please! I want to see him!”

“It’s seeing him which makes the others jealous.”

“I don’t care! He’s my friend!” Sammy began to sob again. All he wanted was Brian.



*******************************


Brian was at his parents’ house when he heard the phone ring. His mother, Jackie, picked it up.

“Hello?” she said, in her southern accent. “Brian? Yes, just a minute.” She held the phone out for her youngest son.

Brian felt his heart beating faster. He’d given Sammy’s foster home his mother’s number because he was staying here for a few days… Were they calling to tell him he could keep Sammy?

“Hello?” he said, nervously. He could feel his mother and father’s eyes upon him. He’d told them all about little Sammy.

“Mr. Littrell? It’s Hilary. I’m sorry to bother you, but - ”

“Is Sammy okay?” he asked, immediately. There was something in her voice that made concern begin to creep over him.

“Yes, but there has been a slight problem…”

“What? Is he hurt?”

“He was in a fight but he’s not hurt. He wants to see you.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“There’s no need to rush - ”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll come right away.”

“When you arrive we have other things to discuss as well.”

Brian gulped, thinking about his request to foster Sammy. “Okay,” he said, quietly. “Bye.” He replaced the phone and turned to his parents. “I’m sorry but - ”

“Of course you have to go to him,” Jackie said.


*************************


As soon as Brian got back, he rushed into the foster home.

“I got a call about Sammy,” he said to the receptionist, breathless from running.

“Your name?” she asked.

“Brian Littrell.”

“Hold on a moment,” she said. She picked up the handle of a phone and dialled a short number. “Hilary? Brian Littrell is here to see you about Sammy.” She listened for a moment and then replaced the phone receiver. “She’ll be down in a minute.”

Brian shuffled uncomfortably while he waited. He had an ominous feeling about this. ‘Please let me keep him,’ he prayed, silently.

Hilary opened a door on the other side of the reception and looked about until she spotted him. “This way, Mr. Littrell,” she said.

Brian swallowed nervously and followed Hilary through the door and down a corridor.

“How is Sammy?” he asked. “What was the fight about?”

“He’s fine but still a little shaken. He only got hit on the arm and it’s only a small bruise.”

“Who hit him?” Brian asked, disgusted that anyone could hurt such a small child.

“Another boy. They were picking on him. This is my office,” she said, stopping outside of a door.

She pushed the door open and Brian saw Sammy sat on one of the spongy chairs at the far end of the office.

“Bri Bri!” Sammy called, happily. He held his arms out.

Brian ran to him and bundled the little boy up into his arms. He was surprised to find that he was almost crying. He really had been worried about him.

“You okay?” Brian asked in concern. “I heard what happened and I came as soon as I could.”

“I’m all right,” Sammy replied, but Brian noticed that he winced slightly when Brian touched his arm. “I just wanted to see you.”

“It’s all right. I said I’d be here if you ever need me. I’m sorry I took so long.” He ruffled Sammy’s hair. “What you been up to then?”

“I’ve stayed inside since… I’ve been drawing. I drew you a picture!” Sammy said, proudly.

“Wow, thanks!” Brian said, relieved to know that he was okay and not seriously hurt.

“It’s in my room. Hilary, can I go and get my picture for Bri?” he asked.

“Sure you can,” Hilary said. “I need to have a word with Mr. Littrell anyway.”

“Okay,” Sammy said. He gave Brian another hug. “Back in a minute!” He smiled as he bounced out of the office.

Brian watched him go and then turned back to Hilary with a heavy heart.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” he asked, but he already knew the answer.

“Your request to foster Sammy.”