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Brian now found himself sitting on a plane in first class next to his daughter. He couldn’t help but notice how quiet she had been since telling Connie goodbye. It actually worried him a little. He hoped it was something that would pass as she got more comfortable.

She seemed to be off in her own world. Her eyes looked as though they were locked in a trance as she stared at the back of the seat in front of her.

“Emersen?” He questioned softly placing a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped a bit and pulled away from his touched. “Sorry.” She quickly corrected realizing it was only Brian touching her.

“Are you alright?” He asked. His eyes were full with genuine concern.

She nodded her head then paused and shrugged her shoulders.

“Talk to me.” His voice was so kind and it warmed her heart. Her heart had been frozen by the bitter cold words she’d endured from her mother and Tyler.

“I’m just… nervous.” She said the last word as she looked away from him.

He took a breath then asked, “Nervous about what?”

She licked her lips and kept looking away from him as she responded, “A lot of stuff. Like, you said your band mates and their kids were looking forward to meeting me. You also said your manager was gonna figure out how to tell your fans about me.”

It was Brian’s turn to lick his lips. He nodded and said, “Yeah, I didn’t really tell them anything about you. Just that I didn’t know about you and how you needed me to take care of you. I did tell them that there was a lot more to it but… I let them know it didn’t need talked about right now.”

“So they don’t know what happened to me?” She asked looking down at her hands. They were folded neatly in her lap.

“No, I figured it was pretty painful and personal. If you want them to know I’m sure you’ll tell them in your own time.” Brian knew he’d have to tell the adults but he figured she didn’t need to know that. He knew he could trust all of them to keep their lips sealed. He also had no plans of going into the details that he knew about.

“Thanks.” She looked out the window.

For a moment there was an awkward silence.

Emersen looked briefly at the floor then back out the window and asked, “What are they like?”

Brian smiled. He couldn’t help it. They were a pretty crazy and yet, amazing bunch. “Well, like I said before, Kevin is my cousin. He’s the oldest. We all give him a hard time a lot and tease him about it. He tends to be the most serious of us all. He defiantly takes on the father role. If it wasn’t for him we probably wouldn’t be as famous as we are. Mainly cause we all tend to be lazy and he keeps us in line and on schedule.”

Brian paused to take a sip of water from his water bottle. He tried to ignore the fact that she still wasn’t looking at him.

“Kevin has a son. His name is Daniel but he hates being called that. Everyone calls him Danny. Danny’s mom, Kristen was married to Kevin but they divorced about two years ago. Danny seems to spend most of his time with her but that’s just because Kristen likes to hoard him.” Brian couldn’t help but roll his eyes thinking about it. “Danny is more like his mom then he is Kevin. He’s not much into music. He loves being in front of a camera though. He’s obsessed with his girlfriend, pretty typical teen boy stuff. Not real athletic but very mature for his age.”

“How old is he?” She asked looking back down at her hands.

“He just turned seventeen two weeks ago.”

She just nodded.

Brian continued on, “Howie is next oldest. He’s the most down to earth guy you’ll ever meet. Of course being Latin he does have a temper but it takes a lot to make him mad. Our fans say he’s the sweet heart of the group. He adopted his God-son, Max after his parent’s died. Max was really young when that happened so he doesn’t really remember them. He’s a pretty good kid, I think he gets that from hanging around Howie. He defiantly knows how to get in trouble though. He full of energy and it just gets the better of his sometimes.”

She nodded.

“He’s 15 by the way.” Brian got a little more comfortable in his seat and looked to her as he kept going, “AJ’s next. He’s the wild child. He’s got all kinds of tattoos and wears a lot of dark colors and jewelry. He’s defiantly looked at as the bad boy. He’s had a rough road to walk which I personal think adds to his image. When you get to know him though, he’s actually just a big teddy bear. He’s struggled with a lot of things and overcoming all of it has softened him up a lot. He had his son, Andrew pretty young. He’s really tough on him but it’s just cause he cares and doesn’t want to see him end up dealing with some of the same things he had to.”

Finally Emersen looked at Brian. He worried she would look away if he made a big deal about it though so he kept talking.

“Andrew is 16. Most everyone calls him Drew. Don’t tell him I told you but when he was little he called himself Drew Drew. That’s how he got the nickname.”

She smiled.

“He’s pushes a lot of limits. I guess you could say he’s just like dad. Don’t get me wrong. He’s not a bad kid. He just… well he’s on the rebellious side of what’s considered a normal teenager.”

“I see.” She softly replied.

“Lastly is Nick. He’s the baby of the group. He’s also the heart throb. Everyone loves Nick. He’s a big kid. He’s extremely energetic, very creative, and a goof ball at times. He’s the messiest and the most mischievous. I will say he’s come a long way from when the group started though. He also had his kids early on.”

“Kids?” She questioned.

“Yeah, he has twin boys. They’re almost 15 and are identical. Both are total miniatures of their dad. Their mom hate’s it. She and Nick haven’t ever really gotten along. Especially now that the boys are with him almost all the time cause they got signed a record deal. Considering they are the spawn of Nick their pretty decent kids.”

“You never mentioned Drew’s mom.” She caught.

“That’s cause she’s not around. After having Drew in the hospital she gave him up for adoption.” Brian explained to her.

“So then… AJ is his adoptive father?”

Brian was happy that she seemed to be coming around. “No, no, see his mom put AJ on the birth certificate so the state had to get his permission to place him up for adoption. AJ refused to let them and was given full custody because she didn’t want him.”

Emersen simply nodded.

“I guess when you think about it, you and Drew have a little in common… kinda.”

Chapter End Notes:

Ooo.... I wonder if Drew will end up being able to help Emersen leave her past behind.