Kimberly walked out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. She accidently bumped into someone, “I’m so sorry.” She smiled sheepishly at the person, but then saw that person was AJ. She could feel her heart go into her throat and she swallowed hard, “I’m – I’m sorry,” she said again, but this above a whisper.
He scowled at her; his eyes were so dark they looked like shark eyes, “Yeah, I would be too,” he hissed. He shook his head in disgust, “I will never understand what Nick sees in you. I mean you can’t even fit out the door properly without hitting other people. Nope, you’re defiantly not worth breaking up the band.” He saw her eyes starting to swell, “Oh, does that upset you? You don’t like knowing that you’re the reason the Backstreet Boys broke up do you? Well tell me, how does it feel? Does it cut you like a knife?”
Kimberly inhaled deeply trying so hard to fight off the tears, “I-I tried so hard to talk to Nick about talking to you guys, I did. And yes, it kills me to know that I’m the reason.” She couldn’t hold it back anymore and it looked as though two tiny rivers were rolling down her cheeks, causing her make up to run. “I’d give anything to fix the mess I’ve caused. I loved you guys…I grew up listening to you and I’m sorry that I fell in love with one of you.”
AJ stared at her for a long moment. It almost looked as if he felt sorry for her. His brown eyes looked as though they had a hint of sorrow in them. Maybe he felt bad for causing her to cry, but then he gave out a small laugh, “Damn girl…I gotta give it to you. You’d make one hell of an actress. You must be friends with Paris Hilton.”
Kimberly just shook her head and stormed away, putting her hand up to her face as sobs escaped her. She knew she couldn’t go back to the table and let Nick see her look like this. He’d demand to know what caused her to become so upset and when he learned that it was AJ, all hell would break lose. So instead she went back into the bathroom and walked into one of the stalls. She sat down on the seat and cried hard. She tried not to be too loud, but she couldn’t help it. Why was AJ so mean to her? She knew he hated her, but didn’t he realize how horrible she felt already? He must have been the person to kick someone when they were already down.
“What’s taking Kim so long?” Wondered Nick out loud. Kimberly had excused herself to go to the ladies' room almost fifteen minutes ago.
“Maybe she fell in,” snickered Benny.
He looked at him and laughed and then looked at Angel, “Do you think you can go see what’s taking her?”
Angel took a sip of her drink before saying, “Something probably just isn’t agreeing with her.”
“Please, Ang?”
She sighed, “Alright, alright.”
He smiled, “Thanks.”
Angel then stood up and began to walk towards the restrooms and she felt a shoulder wham into her. She saw that it was AJ, “Hey, sorry.”
He looked at her aggravated, “What the hell is up with you and Nick’s bitch bumping into me? Don’t you ever watch where you’re going?”
She looked at him heated, “Excuse me? Nick’s bitch? First off if you’re going to try to get Nick to talk to you, I think you need to drop this stick up your ass attitude.” She shook her head in annoyance, “And did you even apologize to her?”
His brown eyes turned dark and he glared at her, “Sorry?!?” He raged, “Why the fuck should I say sorry to her?” If Angel thought for one second he would ever apologize to her for anything, she had another thing coming!
“For bumping into her…” she paused, “What’s with you anyway? I mean, I don’t get it. Do you really rather Nick with a girl that will use him and fuck him over than someone that actually cares for him? I mean who cares if she’s not some model or actress.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “She’s sure playing you all for some sap…I’d say she’s a great actress. Oscar worthy if you ask me. You should have seen the water works she pulled on me. Who the fuck does she think I am? Nick? I’m not stupid…but apparently you all are to believe her bullshit.”
“Waterworks?” Angel flew her hand over her mouth, “Oh God, what did you say to her?!?”
He shrugged, “I said what had to be said. I told her she was the reason why the Backstreet Boys broke up. We all know it's the truth.”
Angel looked at him appalled, “How could you even say that to her?!?” She demanded, “It’s obvious she’s not the reason…you are! I mean look at everything that you've been pulling. If it weren't for you Nick never would have left in the first place!” She didn't wait for him to reply and she stormed off and ran into the bathroom and that was when she heard the sobs coming from the third stall. She could only imagine what Kimberly was feeling. She finally could understand why Nick didn’t want to fix things with the guys, how could he? AJ was an unbelievable prick. She walked over to the stall and gently knocked on the door, “Kim?” She said, in a concerning voice, “Are you alright?” Angel heard the door unlock and moments later it opened and that was when she saw how horrible Kimberly looked. Her mascara was streaked all down her face and her green eyes were no longer green, but a deep red. Angel wanted to cry just from the sight of her. It wasn’t fair of AJ at all to be treating her like this; she almost wanted to tell Nick. She wanted to see him beat the shit out of his former band mate. What’s gotten into him? He was always such a sweetheart, what happened to him? “Oh, Kim.” Was all she could say and she tightly embraced her into a hug, “I’m so sorry.”
“What are you sorry for,” she asked between her sniffles. “It’s not like you told him to say all those things to me.”
“No, but it’s my fault he’s here. I wanted to try have Nick talk to them and have them show that they miss him and respect his girlfriend.” She then shook her head in disgust, “But I can see I was wrong and I don’t know what is up his ass, but no one deserves what he said to you. I’m really sorry. Come on, let’s tell Nick we wanna leave. I can see that there’s no point in staying here any longer anyway.”
Kimberly pulled away from her hold, “Was this just some sort of set up?”
She shrugged, “Kind of. Kevin came to me and said how he missed Nick and stuff. I thought I was helping, but apparently I just made it worse.”
Kimberly knew Angel was just doing what she thought was best for her brother. She would have done the same thing if she were in her shoes. She just nodded, “Yeah, let’s go.”
Kevin saw that Nick was along at the table, except for Benny. He looked at Howie and Brian and moved his head towards Nick’s table, “Let’s talk to him while AJ isn’t around.”
Howie nodded, “Yeah, good idea.”
The three of them stood up from the booth and slowly walked over towards Nick’s table. He looked up and saw them standing there, “Ugh, what do you want?” Were the only words to escape his mouth, as he put the drink up to his lips.
Brian was the first one to sit down; he scooted next to him, “We came to talk to you.”
“There is nothing left to talk about,” he coolly answered.
“Actually, Nick,” said Kevin, as he and Howie sat down on the other side of the booth, causing Benny to have to get pushed against the wall. “There is much we need to talk about.”
“We miss you,” blurted out Howie.
“You miss me?” He coughed out a laugh, “It took you a month to tell me you miss me?”
“Uh, you’ve been avoiding our phone calls, remember?” Chimed in Brian.
Benny could feel the tension slowly growing and in the back of his mind, he knew that this was going to blow up in their face like he originally thought. He kept his head down and tried not to make contact, because he didn't want any of the guys to make him choose sides.
“Look, let’s just cut to the chase,” Kevin spoke with authority. “No more beating around the bush. You’re our brother, we love you. Everything that happened, that was said went way too far.”
“Ya think?!” Sarcasm dripped in Nick’s voice, “Fine, let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” He glared at Kevin with hard blue eyes, “How about we talk about you treating me like a child…or better yet how about we talk about me seeing a girl that I’m crazy about.”
Howie shook his head, “Nick, we told you it had nothing to do with the girl. It had to do with you leaving for her. You can’t just walk out on a meeting like that…just skip a photo shoot.”
“I told you I forgot about that damn photo shoot!” He hissed, “I would never jeopardize a chance like that. I fuck up, I know that, but you had no right attacking me in front of her like that.”
“We were not attacking!” Defended Brian.
“Oh no? Then what would you like to call it? Because of that little stunt you pulled, causing me to lose my temper, it caused a lot of friction between us. She and I nearly broke up! Of course, I’m sure you’re happy to hear that.”
Kevin looked at him almost hurt, “Why would that make us happy?”
“It sure would make AJ happy,” he grumbled under his breath, as he went to take another sip of his drink.
“We’re not AJ, Nick,” said Brian in a soft tone. “We want you back. We want to fix all this shit that happened between us.”
He shook his head, “I don’t know if it’s that easy anymore, Bri.”
“Let me ask you something…do you back in the group?” Asked Kevin with care, “Because if you don’t, then tell us right now and we’ll be on our way and tell the fans that BSB is over. But if there is a chance you want to fix this mess, tell us now. Because we don’t want the band to end…not like this…not over a girl.”
Nick let out a heavy sigh, “You just don’t get it, do you? It wasn’t because of Kim that I left. I left because I was unhappy, because of how you talked down to me. You talked to me like I was this kid…like I was stupid…like I didn’t give a fuck.”
“We felt you didn’t,” shot in Howie. “It looked as though all you cared about was seeing Kim and that was it. You didn’t care about the band, the fans. It looked as though you only cared about her and that was it. That is what sent us over the edge.”
“This was way before Kim,” Nick told him. “I was feeling pushed around for almost a year now. I’ve just been unhappy.”
“With the band?” Wondered Brian.
He shook his head, “Everything. Life in general.” He then sighed, “And I know how corny this sounds, but then I met Kim and finally for the longest fucking time I’m finally happy. I love her, I know you guys don’t believe that, but I do. I’d do anything for that girl. And when I saw how much pain AJ was putting her through that just sent me over the edge. I just can’t deal with him treating her like she’s the fucking plague.”
“What if AJ treats her better?” Wondered Howie, “What if he apologizes to her?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know…maybe.” Nick then saw that AJ was coming his way and groaned.
“Guys, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he snapped.
Nick rolled his eyes and looked at the other three, “I can’t see it happening.” He then stood up, “I need to find my girlfriend.”
Kevin shook his head at AJ and frowned at him, “He can,” he promised.
“I can what?” He demanded.
“Tell Nick,” urged Howie. “Tell him we can make a mends so that the band can get back together. We’re brothers here, let’s start acting like it.”
AJ glared at Nick with shark-like eyes and folded his arms, “Make a mends?”
Kevin looked at his tattooed band mate and could see the hostility in his eyes so he nudged him, “Cool it,” he ordered in a hard voice. “Remember what we talked about.”
Nick just rolled his eyes, “Forget it. I’m done with this shit.”
“Fine, I’ll make a mends.”
Nick looked at him suspiciously, “Oh you will?” Doubt filled his voice.
He nodded, “Yes. I’ll make a mends when you finally smarten up and leave that whore. Why can’t you see her for what she really is?”
Brian slapped his hand over his face and shook his head in appall. He knew right off the bat that there wouldn't be any hope, not if AJ had anything to do with it. “I knew it,” he mumbled.
Nick could feel his fists tighten into two balls, causing his fingernails to dig into the flesh. He took a deep breath. He would not take a swing at him, not while they were still in the public eye…he would have to wait. Nick just shook his head in disgust at this man he once called a friend, “Fuck you. I did smarten up…I smartened up when I left.” He looked at the other three members, “Sorry it didn’t work out, but I’m done.” With that said, he stormed off in search of his girlfriend. She and Angel were taking far too long. Maybe they were having girl talk in the bathroom? They were girls after all.
AJ felt all eyes on him, “Don’t give me that look!”
“Way to go!” Snapped Howie, “You just killed the Backstreet Boys!”
“No! Nick did. He left us because of that fucking whore. If you have anyone to blame, blame that fucker. Not me!”
Kevin shook his head in disgrace, “You disgust me, Alex. I asked one thing from you and that was to be nice. All Nick ever wanted was us to be nice to his girlfriend and you couldn’t even do that.” His green eyes turned bleak as he said, “I don’t even know you anymore…you’re dead to me.” He looked at the other two, “Let’s get out of here.”
Brian nodded as his blue eyes turned moist. It was over, really over. The band was beyond saving. Nick was officially out. How were they going to tell the fans? He looked at AJ in dismay and then dropped his head and walked out the door with the other two. Suddenly why did AJ feel so bad about himself? No! He was not going to put on an act just so Nick would come back. He was not a fraud, he would not lie. He knew the truth and he knew the others did too, they just didn’t care. All they wanted was Nick back, they didn’t give a fuck if Nick was dating a whore. A girl that would backstab him more than Paris Hilton. He would not watch his friend go through that again. That’s what he kept telling himself, but deep down he knew he that was bullcrap. He was trying to convince himself of that…all he wanted was Nick back. He wanted everything to be the way it was, he wanted Nick to dump her. Why the fuck couldn’t he just drop her?!? What was so great about her that he had to sacrifice the band? Surprisingly he felt a twinge of regret spreading through him like some sort of disease. He knew what he did was wrong, he hurt his once best friend more than he ever intended. All he wanted was him back and because of his selfishness he may have lost him for good. He inhaled deeply and walked out the door. He was too proud to go up to him and beg for his forgiveness. That wasn’t him.
“Fuck him,” he grumbled to himself and walked out the door.
Nick walked up the corridor and that was when he found Angel. She was at the entrance of the women’s restrooms. He saw that she was talking to someone, “Hey, Ang. Where’s Kim?” He asked, “Is she still inside?”
She looked at him alarmed, “Umm….yeah.”
He looked at her suspicious and then glanced over to see Kimberly. Her eyes were blood red and her makeup was streaked all down her face. Immediately his eyes blew up and he grabbed her away from the restrooms and looked her over, “What happened?!?” He demanded, “What’s wrong?” The same franticness was in his voice.
She shook her head, “It’s nothing,” she lied.
He looked annoyed, he could see perfectly clear that she was lying, “Baby Angel, why are you crying?” That time his voice sounded almost pleading.
Angel let out a loud sigh, “It was AJ.”
“Angel, don’t,” ordered Kimberly in her broken voice.
“AJ?” Questioned Nick. His eyes then turned dark, “What did he do?!? Did he say something to you?” His voice was no longer pleading, but angry, “Kim, what the fuck did he do?”
She shook her head, “It’s nothing,” she repeated. “Can we please just go?” She then yanked out of Nick’s hold and walked over towards the table and grabbed her purse. There was already a check on the table and paid for. As always Nick paid for the whole meal, that would have bothered her, but she was too upset to think of anything other than AJ and what he had said to her.
Benny was staring at her curiously, “Are you okay?” He finally asked.
She nodded, “I’m fine. Come on, we’re leaving.”
He could hear the pain in her voice and just silently stood up and followed her to where Nick and Angel were. He saw the ire look in Nick’s eyes and that almost frightened him. Angel looked pretty upset too. What had happened? What did he miss?
“Come on, let’s go,” ordered Kimberly, in a low voice. Nick eyed her with such a look Benny didn’t know what to make of it. First he looked at her so caring like all he wanted to do was pull her in his arms and coddle her, but on the other hand, he looked so furious it looked as though he wanted to kill someone. He had never seen him look so spiteful before.
They all walked outside. That was when they heard loud voices. Kimberly glanced over to see Kevin reaming AJ out. It almost nine-thirty and a lot of people weren’t outside. The parking lot looked almost dead. There were maybe about five cars in the parking lot and before anyone could blink, Nick was gone. Kimberly shot up and saw that he had dashed over to AJ and slammed him as hard as he possibly could against the brick wall of the pub.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!?” He raged, “HOW THE FUCK DARE YOU TALK TO HER!”
“Nick!” Ordered Kevin, “Get off him.”
“I said what needed to be said!” Spat AJ, “Sorry the truth hurts.”
Nick was much faster than Kevin and before he could pull him off of him, Nick slammed him in the face, “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”
Kevin grabbed Nick from behind and yanked his arms behind him, “Cool it, Nick!” He ordered with a hard tone.
Kimberly flew her hand over her mouth as she watched in shock. AJ then looked at her, “See what you did. You caused us to turn on one another. I hope you’re happy, you fucking whore!”
Tears streamed down her face. Angel and Benny both stared at him outraged, “Let’s get out here,” snapped Angel.
Nick was struggling with all his might to get out of Kevin’s hold, “LET GO OF ME!” He screamed.
“Nick, calm down,” ordered Howie. “You’re making a scene.”
His eyes were so dark they looked nearly black, “I don’t give a fuck!”
“Nick, stop it,” cried Kimberly.
He looked at her fuming and it scared her, “How the hell can you be so forgiving?” He glared back at AJ, “I fucking hate you! I can’t believe I was stupid enough to even consider getting back with you guys. All I ever asked was for a little fucking respect. Can’t you see I love her?!? Why can’t you just fucking let me be with her?!?” His voice sounding pleading again.
Kimberly looked up at all of them, Nick in Kevin’s embrace, AJ against the wall with his nose and mouth bleeding. Brian and Howie on both sides of him so he couldn’t lunged at Nick. They turning against each other. What AJ said was right…everything he said was right. Look what she was doing to these guys. They had been friends for years…long before she ever came around and she was destroying what they had. What kind of person was she? She looked at Nick again and she felt sick, so sick as she thought about the words that entered her mind.
“Come on,” said Benny’s kind voice. “Let’s get out of here.” He glared at Kevin, “Let him go, Kev. We’re leaving.”
Kevin looked at his once baby brother and slowly released him, awaiting for him to try to go after AJ once again. Nick would have loved so much if he could just do something to make him feel sorry for ever causing Kimberly to cry. He then shook his head, “Fuck it, you’re not even worth it anymore. Have a great life…all of you!”
Kimberly ran her hands through her hair, “I can’t take it anymore!” She cried, “I-I can’t do it..I-I can’t.”
“Do what?” Asked Brian.
“THIS!” She wept, “Look what I’ve done to you guys…I just…I just can’t deal with it anymore.”
Nick looked at her alarmed and quickly walked over towards her, “You’ve done nothing, Baby Angel. Everything has happened because of them…not you.”
She shook her head, “You’re wrong.” She looked over at the four men that were staring at her with confusion, “I’m so sorry,” she said in between her sobs.
“You have nothing to be sorry for!” Reassured Nick, “Let’s just go.”
She shook her head, “I’m sorry, Nick. God I love you so much.”
She pressed her forehead against his chest and wept and Nick wrapped his arms tightly around her, “Please stop saying that. You did nothing wrong. Now let’s just leave being around these guys is making – ”
She pulled away from him, “I did everything wrong! I let this go on longer than it should have. I can’t…I can’t keep on pretending none of this is my fault. I’m the reason that you guys are fighting…I’m the reason why the Backstreet Boys are breaking up!” She put her hands on her face, “I can’t let you do this, Nick.” She pulled her hands away from her face and looked up at him with her blurred eyes, “I won’t let you ruin your life because of me.”
Fear began to overcome him, “You’re not ruining anything for me! Now please stop talking like this. Let’s head back to our place…please let’s leave.”
She shook her head, “I can’t, Nick. I won’t let you throw away your life for me.”
Nick slowly began to feel his heart starting to shrivel up, “Without you…” he could feel a lump forming in his throat, “There is no life. You make my life worth living, you make me happy. So please Baby Angel, stop with this crazy talk.”
“I love you Nick, I’ve never loved anyone more than you. I love you so much that I need to realize that you and I can never be.”
His blue eyes began to sting, “Wh-what are you saying, Kim?!? Please God, no. Don’t do this…I’m begging you, don’t do this to me. I-I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.” His arms embraced her tightly, holding her as close as he could to his body. His breathing began to quicken, “I love you,” he sobbed. “Don’t.”
Angel looked at Kimberly in shock and then the four guys on the side. They looked as dumbfounded as she and Benny were. “Kim, you’re being influenced,” she said. “Things are way out of hand. I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”
She pulled away from Nick and looked at her, “I do…as much as it kills me I know I’m doing the right thing.” She looked back at him, “You even said that you wanted to get back with the guys, I’m interfering with that. I’m the reason why you’re holding back. Stop holding back….this is where you belong.”
He shook his head, his eyes over filling with tears, “No, Baby Angel. With you is where I belong so fuck…please I’m begging you, Kim. I’ll go on my hands and knees if that’s what you want…just please….fucking please don’t do this….please, Kim.”
“I’m going back to your place and pack. I’ll be out by the end of the night,” she promised.
“No…” Tears flowed from his eyes and down his cheeks, “DON’T FUCKING DO THIS, KIM!” He let out a loud cry, “I’ll…I’ll do anything. Just please…don’t fucking let them get to you.”
Angel put her hands up to her face and could feel tears making their way down her face as well. She hated how much pain Kimberly was putting her brother through and she wanted nothing more than to just lash her out and tell her to stop with this idiocy. It was killing her to see him like this, but she understood why she was doing it.
Kimberly wiped her watering eyes, “It has to be this way…and deep down inside you know it too.”
“I don’t want to be in the band anymore…I just want to be with you. That’s all I need…that’s all I’ll ever need.”
She shook her head and could feel her heart slowly dying as she continued, I’m sorry Nick…but it just has to be this way.” She closed her eyes and felt the warm liquid rolling down her flushed face, “This is how it has to be.” She leaned over and pressed her lips upon his, “I’ll see you at the house.” She looked at Benny, “Can you please take me to Nick’s?”
Nick frantically ran his hands through his hair and looked at her with his sore eyes, “I love you so much,” he whispered. “I can’t deal with losing you again…Baby Angel please…” he trailed off, knowing it was a lost cause. There was no changing her mind.
“I’m taking her back to his place,” Benny whispered to Angel. “Can you ride with him?”
She looked at him with her sad eyes and nodded, “Yeah.”
Benny then sighed, “I told you this wasn’t going to work,” he said a little too loud.
Nick turned his attention to his sister and he glared at her with such menacing eyes, “YOU FUCKING KNEW ABOUT THIS?!?”
She turned to Benny and it looked as though he wanted to go crawl in a hole. He didn’t mean for Nick to hear. “I’m sorry…” he whispered.
She sighed, “He had to find out sooner or later. I’ll deal with him, take her back to his place.”
Nick was too angry at Angel to notice Kimberly leaving and before he knew it she was gone. He watched as she drove off and the pain began to increase. Tears once again began to roll down his face as he thought about her leaving him…leaving him because of this scheme his sister created. He glared at her with the most horrified look she had ever seen, “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!?” He screamed and the agony shot out in his voice.
Angel looked at her brother as her eyes began to sting, “I-I was just trying – ”
“To try to fucking ruin my life? Make me lose the only thing that matters to me?!? Well you fucking succeeded!”
She could feel tears overfilling her eyes, “I was trying to help you,” she choked out.
“Help me?!?” He looked at her outraged, “How the fuck were you helping me? Oh wait, that’s right. I forgot. She’s no good for me, right? She’s only using me, she wants nothing but to stab me in the back…I guess you were talking to AJ.” He then shot AJ a hard look and he looked confused and almost remorseful, “I fucking love her!” Nick could feel his heart to twinge in anguish, “She was the only thing that made me happy! Why couldn’t any of you fucking see that?!?” He cleared his throat, “If you wanna help me, stay out of my fucking life!”
Kevin walked over towards him, “Don’t blame Angel,” he said in a soft voice. “Me and Howie came to her…we wanted to try to get you back. We missed you, man. We were desperate. We never thought in a million years that Kim would ever…” he trailed off.
“This must be some sort of trick,” interrupted AJ. “I mean come on, why the fuck would she break up with you? Just so the band could get back together? That’s fucking bullshit!”
Nick flew over to him and once again pushed him against the wall, but this time no one stopped him. Kevin just watched in dismay, “You don’t fucking get it, do you?” He choked out, “She is doing it because she loves me. She’s doing it because she thinks you guys are fucking more important than her.”
AJ looked at him and saw his blue eyes were tinted red and he had never seen his friend so overwhelmed with sadness before. “I-I’m sorry,” he managed to say.
Nick pulled away from him, “I have to fucking stop her.” He looked at the guys for a second and just jetted out of there and to his car and sped to his house.
“Maybe…maybe I was wrong about her,” AJ said as he could feel the guilt slowly eating him alive. He was the reason…the reason for so many things that could have been prevented.
“Ya think?!?” Snapped Brian.
Angel felt the small dribbles of tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, “He hates me,” she wept.
Kevin put his hand on her shoulder, “No, he doesn’t…he’s just hurt. Kim loves him, I saw that today…and I think along with everyone else.” He glared at AJ whom just dipped his head in shame, “She won’t leave him. They’re already been through so much.” He sighed, “Come on, we’ll take you home.”
Kimberly sat down on the large bed and ran her hands through her hair and cried her heart out. She could feel herself becoming sick as she recapped what had just happened. She broke up with Nick, she broke up with the only man that loved her…truly loved her. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe she should just apologize to him for being so stupid. She shook her head, she couldn’t do that. He wanted to ruin his whole life just to be with her. She just couldn’t allow him to do that, it would be far too selfish of her to stay with him while she knew his career was going down in the drain. She picked up her trembling hand and dialed her best friend’s number.
“Hello?” Said a cheerful voice.
“Ashley,” she wept into the phone.
“Kim?” Panic began to flow through her vocal cords, “What’s wrong?!?”
She inhaled deeply as she said, “I-I broke up with Nick.” She let out a loud cry again.
“WHAT?!?” She screeched, “Did he hurt you?!?”
“No,” she whispered. “I called you because I wanted to know…can I…can I stay with you…please?”
“Oh My God, Kim. You know you don’t have to ask!”
“Good,” she whimpered. “Because I already bought a ticket tonight.” She faked a laugh, “I’ll see you around six in the morning then.”
“Okay, sweetie,” said her friend’s caring voice. “I’ll be at the airport waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” she wept. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Kim.”
“I’m gonna…” she had to inhale deeply again as she could feel the bile wanting to rise, “I’m gonna start packing.”
“Okay, Kim.”
She then hung up the phone and slowly stood up, but only to fall down onto her knees and that’s when the tears ran freely down her face. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She couldn’t believe what she was letting go, but it had to be done. If you loved something you had to set it free…and that’s what she was doing. She was going to set Nick free. He didn’t know it yet, but he was really a prisoner. He was like a caged bird, he wanted to fly, fly with the others but he was being pulled back. Kimberly wasn’t going to pull him back anymore and she then stepped up onto her feet and gathered her things.
Nick rushed into his house, “KIM?!?” He shouted; he prayed that she was still there. He turned and saw that she was at the kitchen table. She was sitting in the dark, “Oh thank God.” He rushed over to her side, “I thought you were gone.” His foot kicked something and that was where he saw the bags and he looked at her in agony, “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes I do,” she whispered.
He knelt down on one knee and looked up at her, “No, you don’t! Now please Baby Angel, I’m begging you to stop this foolishness. I know what you think you’re doing, but you’re wrong.”
She shook her head, “No, Nick. It has to be this way, we both know it.”
“WHY?!?” He shouted as he stood up, and causing Kimberly to get startled, “Why the fuck does it have to be like this? I don’t give a fuck about those other guys, I don’t give a fuck about anything but you! Why can’t you see that?!?”
She then stood up as well, “Because down the road I know somewhere you’re going to hate me because I was the reason why I ruined your life. You may think you’re happy right now, but you’re not. You’re just so blinded.”
“Did AJ get to you?” He asked, as the thickness was still present in his voice, “Because that’s exactly what he’d say.”
“It’s over, Nick!” She choked out, she tried so hard to hold back the tears, “We both know a guy like you can’t stay with a girl like me. It doesn’t work that way. It was amazing while it lasted, but it’s over now.”
“A guy like me?!? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
She shook her head, “I don’t wanna get into this again with you.” A horn beeped and she sighed, “I have to go.”
She went to walk away, but Nick aggressively grabbed her arm, “You can’t leave!”
“Nick, let go of me,” she said above a whisper.
“Why the fuck are you doing this?!?” He demanded as his voice broke, “Is there another reason?”
“I’m doing it for your own good,” she told him. The horn beeped again, “I love you,” she whispered.
“NO!” He shouted, “Don’t you fucking do that! If you loved me you wouldn’t be doing this! You’re thinking of no one but yourself.”
“Myself?” She repeated, “How am I thinking of myself. All I’m thinking about is you!”
“You’re letting what those bastards said get to you. You’re being such a coward. Stick up to them like I do. Tell them to fuck off, you love me and want to be with me and there is nothing…” he paused, “Unless the band does mean more to you than our relationship.”
“What?” She gasped, “Don’t you even start with that, Nick.”
“Well it’s true, you’re leaving me so the band can try to get back together. That’s bullshit…I can’t believe you’d let me go all because of a fucking band…that’s fucked up!!!!”
“You’ll thank me in the end,” she promised. “Look, I really need to go.”
“You know what….I think I will thank you….THANK YOU FOR FUCKING ME OVER! AJ was right about you. There are you happy?”
Tears ran down her face and she looked at him one last time and he saw the pain and anguish he just had caused and that killed him. “Goodbye,” she choked out and grabbed her bags and booked it out of the house.
“KIM, WAIT!” Cried Nick, but she kept on running and before he could get to her, she jumped into the cab that was waiting for her outside of the house. And then she was gone…Nick fell down to his knees and whispered, “I’m sorry, Baby Angel…I’m so sorry.” He wept.
Kimberly looked behind her and watched as Nick’s figure grew smaller and smaller until she couldn’t see him anymore. She put her hands over her face and sobbed like a child. It was over, she set him free. Now he could move on with his life and as for her….that was a question that she didn’t think could ever be answered.
