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Chapter Seventy-Four
Point of View: Narrator

Brian was waiting on a bench in the hall of the police station, waiting for Nick to come back out. He'd picked up a magazine from a side table and was flipping through it. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming down the hall and felt his stomach drop. Officer Walters was leading Nick along through the hall by his elbow, Nick's hands behind his back, his eyes focused on his feet.

Brian stood up, "What's going on?" he demanded.

"I'm being arrested," Nick said, his voice low, "Again." Officer Walters pulled Nick along past Brian.

Brian turn and trotted after him, "What do you mean?" Officer Walters stopped so suddenly, making Nick stop quick, that Brian almost ran into his friend's back. "Nick, didn't you tell him what happened?"

"We already knew Mr. Carter was at the scene at the time of death," said Officer Walters shortly, "He was wanted as a suspect for the murder of Krystal Armaletto," he explained. "He's also up for a trial involving an assault charge." Officer Walters turned and whispered something to a woman at a desk behind bullet proof glass. He looked at Brian, "We're going to be detaining Mr. Carter until we can go to court to settle this."

Brian glanced between Nick and Officer Walters, "What? That's bull," he stammered, "Nick? Go to jail? This is crazy."

"Mr. Carter doesn't exactly have the cleanest record," Officer Walters said, shrugging, "The legal system has to do what it has to do. You'll have an opportunity to post bail after the arraignment." He took Nick's arm and started to lead him away again. Brian started to follow, but they reached a door and Officer Walters stopped, "You're not welcome beyond this point. You can talk to the secretary if you need more information."

Brian stopped in his tracks. "I'll be calling his lawyer," he said, scowling, and he watched, dumbfounded, as Walters brought Nick through the heavy door and Nick's hands twitched nervously behind his back.

Walters led Nick through the hallway, which echoed ridiculously with every step they took. Nick had never felt so alone in his whole life. He focused on his sneakers as they padded down the hall, watching how his feet lifted and fell with each step. "We'll be booking you in here, right this way," Officer Walters led him into a small room. The door locked automatically behind them, and Nick winced.

They took his fingerprints and Nick signed the paper. After asking him some questions and looking up records that they printed off, and Officer Walters did a quick body search. They had him stand against the wall, where they took his mug shot. He was biting his lower lip, his eyes almost pleading in it, the scruff of his unshaven chin darker than he'd realized before seeing the image. They added it to his file and Nick was led through the halls again to a holding cell.

"You'll be waiting here until your arraignment," Officer Walters told him, "It may be a couple hours." He closed the door and Nick sat there, leaning against the wall, shaking.



Zoe was sitting on the couch with Kayla, who was picking at her bowl of beef stew only half heartedly. Zoe frowned, flicking through the channels. "So you are Nick were awfully comfortable this morning," she said carefully as the pictures danced across the screen. Cartoon, cartoon, music video, news, news, news, cartoon, Full House...

"Yeah," Kayla nodded, taking a carrot out of her bowl and letting it drip the beef juice off before tossing it into her mouth.

Zoe cleared her throat. Buffy the Vampire Slayer rerun, MASH, news, news, Spanish soap opera. "How, uh, how close have you two... gotten?" she asked.

Kayla looked up, "Oh ew, you're not seriously asking me about our sex life are you?" Zoe turned red. "Aunt Zoeee," Kayla whined, "I'm a grown up, seriously."

"I just worry about you," Zoe said sharply, "And I'm allowed to worry as long as you're under my roof, no matter how old you are."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Well, if you must know, we haven't... yet."

"Yet?" Zoe asked, the channels still flicking. Animal Planet, History Channel, game show, game show, another soap opera, news, news... "What do you mean yet?" she dropped the remote, landing on Fox News channel.

"I mean we're waiting until the time is right," Kayla said with a shrug.

"And you've told Nick this? He's aware that you want to wait?" Zoe asked, concerned.

Kayla laughed, "Aunt Zoe, enough with the interrogation already, please. Seriously. Besides, it was Nick who told me he wanted to wait."

This shocked Zoe into next week. "Say what?" she asked, "Are you kidding me?"

Kayla shook her head, "He said he wants it to be special with me," she explained slowly. "He was very honest, and open about it, actually." Her smile warmed her face and she put the bowl of soup down on the coffee table beside her. "Nick was a perfect gentleman, and I was just throwing myself all over him, and pulling his shirt off and everything, and he just was so sweet, and so respectful, and ---" her eyes flashed to the TV screen and widened in horror.

Zoe turned. Nick's mug shot was center screen. Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter Arrested for Murder of Krystal Armaletto was written boldly under the image.

"No!" Kayla yelled, jumping to her feet, "NO! He didn't DO it!" she screamed at the TV, her voice pitched high.

Zoe turned the volume up.

"...arrived at the station today, a little after 2:00 PM. Carter's band-mate and best friend, Brian Littrell, accompanied him into the station, where he was planning on making a confession. Littrell, who was seen leaving the station a little more than an hour later, was quoted as saying," the quote showed up on the screen, a picture of a flushed looking Brian over it, "'Nick came to confess being at the scene of Krystal's death, not to take the blame for it. He didn't do this. He just didn't do it.'" The screen flashed back to the reporter, the mug shot hanging in the corner of the screen, the awful headline right below it. "Carter, who had been dating Armaletto for quite some time before the time of her death, was a suspect in the case early on, as he was the last known person to have seen Armaletto alive. During the autopsy, Armaletto was discovered to have been pregnant. The morning after Armaletto's death, Carter filed a report stating that Armaletto had ransacked his Beverly Hills home, forty minutes before the estimated time of death. Armaletto tested positive for a high blood alcohol content. Recent findings in the case came from forensic scientists who successfully matched Carter's 2009 Chevy Camaro to treadmarks near the scene, suggesting that Armaletto was forced off the road by another vehicle."

Kayla had her face covered, shaking her head violently, trying to block it out.

"Carter is currently being detained by the Los Angeles Police Department and will be brought to his first arraignment within the next twenty-four hours, at which point bail - if any - will be set and posted. Now let's get our panelists in here and talk about what the likelihood is of these charges being held against Carter..."

Zoe muted the TV and looked at Kayla. "Kay?" she asked.

Kayla turned around and looked at Zoe, her eyes stony, instead of full of tears and Zoe had expected. "Why can't they just leave him alone?" she cried, loudly. "He's trying so hard to clean up! He's trying so hard." She shook her head, "Can't they see that?"

Zoe frowned, "I know he's trying, I've seen it, too. And he's going to be okay, Kayla, he will" She sighed. "He's just got to get through this first. That's all, baby girl."

Kayla shook her head and pointed at the TV, where they were showing pictures of the outside of the jail they would be keeping Nick in if he wasn't offered bail. "They'll break him in there," she said, her voice shaking just a little. "He's too gentle."

If she was honest with herself, Zoe would've agreed. But she bucked up for Kayla, "Nick's a strong guy, he can take it," she said.

Kayla turned and ran up the stairs, and Zoe heard her bedroom door slam. She looked back at the TV. They were showing a close up of Nick's mug shot, the sad, pleading eyes staring out at her, hauntingly.

"Oh Nick," she sighed, "What the hell am I going to do with you?"