Run by emily_michele
“Just a minute, Howie.” Nick held up his index finger and gestured to the cell phone attached to his ear as he turned his back to him and kept talking. “So, what did you find out for me?.... Good. That’s good..... No, she doesn’t know yet. I wanted to get all my facts straight before I talked to her about it..... Thanks, man. I owe you one. Oh, and Jordan, let me know when you have everything ready, okay?” He turned off his phone and tossed it on the couch. “You ready, D?”
Howie raised an eyebrow. “Were you just talking to Jordan from legal?”
“Yep.” Nick crossed his living room and bent down to examine the computer and web cam that had been set up on one of his end tables.
“What are you up to?” Howie asked, squinting his eyes at him suspiciously.
Nick gave him a non-committal shrug. “Nothing I can really talk about right now.”
“Everything okay?” He couldn’t help himself. Even though Kevin was back, Howie was forever and always going to be in protective big brother mode after having to step up to the plate in the older man’s absence. Kevin was always “there,” so to speak, assuring them that even though he was no longer in the group, they could count on him if they needed anything, but when they were out on the road or in the studio, that job became Howie’s, and he couldn’t help feeling that maybe Nick’s needing some legal help might not necessarily be a good thing.
“Oh, everything’s great! Really. It is. Jordan’s helping me out with some stuff, but ultimately, it’s good stuff. I promise.” Nick gave Howie a genuine smile that set the older man at ease. “There’s lots of lovely ladies waiting anxiously for our lovely faces to appear on their computer screens. What do you say we get this thing started?” Nick plopped down one of the kitchen chairs situated in front of the web cam and looked up at Howie expectantly.
“Uh-- is that what you’re wearing?”
Nick looked down at his ensemble of old, white wife beater and black basketball shorts, then back up at Howie. “Yeah. What’s wrong with it?”
Howie rolled his eyes. “Nothing. You might as well just go shirtless.” Nick shrugged and started pulling at the bottom of his tank top. Just as Howie got a glimpse of his bare stomach, he scrambled to grab Nick’s wrists. “I was kidding.”
“They’d probably like it,” Nick said with a smirk.
“Of course they’d like it.”
“Annie might like it. Did you know she always watches these things? How cute is that?” Nick let out a little chuckle, his eyes bright with happiness.
“I have a feeling Annie would be mortified. Leigh usually watches, too, for the record,” Howie answered matter-of-factly. “But it’s usually so she can make fun of me later.”
**********************************
Nick was wearing a life preserver on his head, and Howie was having a hard time keeping a straight face while they ended their BSB cruise planning video chat. Just as they turned off the webcam, he burst out laughing. “You are such a dork!”
“Oh yeah? Well, takes one to know one!”
“That’s real mature.”
“You want a beer?” Nick got up and started heading for the kitchen.
“Sure. Why not?” Howie stood and picked up Nick’s kitchen chairs, then carried them into the kitchen and slid them back under the table.
Nick’s phone rang from it’s place on the couch in the living room just as he was closing the refrigerator door. He tossed a can of beer in Howie’s direction as he jogged past him. “Bring snacks!” Howie grasped the frosty can in his hand and eyed a bag of kale chips on the counter warily, then went to grab them, doubting there would be anything else that was actually considered “snack food” in the house.
When he heard Nick exclaim, "What the fuck?!" he dropped the bag and immediately rushed back into the living room. A year ago, he'd have thought nothing of Nick's little profane outburst, but since he'd been with Annie, he'd toned down his language considerably, especially since he was around Drew's "tiny impressionable ears," as Annie called them, quite a lot. Something was wrong.
Howie found Nick sitting with his shoulders hunched forward, his elbow resting on his knee, and his hand clenched in his messy blonde hair in frustration while he held the cell phone to his ear with his other hand. "Oh my god, is she okay?....Where's Drew?....Can I talk to her?.... I said let me talk to her damnit!". His voice shook and his cheeks were flushed. "I'm so sorry. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?" His tone changed instantly when Annie apparently got on the phone. Howie stooped down to pick up the unopened can of beer that was lying on its side at Nick's feet. "Of course I'm coming! Right now. I'm coming right now." Nick stood and marched out into the hallway, brushing past Howie’s shoulder as if he wasn't even there. Without missing a beat, Howie turned on his heel and followed him into the messy bedroom. "I'll call you as soon as I book a flight out, okay?" He pulled a duffel bag off the top shelf of his closet and started opening dresser drawers and stuffing clothes into it. "Just hang in there and take care of yourself. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you--" He lingered on his last words, his voice quivering, as he clenched his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger in an attempt to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. He held the position for several moments, gripping the phone tightly against his ear as he let out a loud sniffle. Finally, he pulled the phone away from his ear and dropped his arm to his side like a dead weight. The phone clattered on the floor.
"Nick?". Howie took a few cautious steps towards his friend. The taller man looked down at him and sighed. "What happened?"
"I have to go to Florida," he answered stoically.
"Florida? Why?"
Nick gulped and looked down at the floor, then back up at his friend. "Annie's parents were murdered this morning,” he rasped.
Howie gasped in disbelief as Nick sank down onto the bed, burying his face in his hands. Howie eased down beside him and placed his hand in the middle of his much larger little brother’s back. Nick turned to look at him with sad eyes, his shoulders still hunched over in defeat. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked quietly.
Howie pursed his lips thoughtfully. He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly with a sigh. “I think you just do what you’re doing, Nick. Pack up your bags and go to Florida. Is she there now?”
“She’s on the way with her brother and sister in law. That was her brother Josh that called me. His wife Katie is going to watch Drew while they go to the police station.”
“So go. Be with her. Grieve with her.”
Nick nodded slowly and looked up to stare at a blank space on the wall in front of him. “What do I say? I mean, she just lost her parents. My parents kind of suck, but if they both died, at the same time, and like that, I’d be falling apart. I’ve never lost someone that close to me, and here she has to go through something like that again. Tell me what to say to her, Howie,” he begged.
Howie nodded in silent understanding of the undertones of what Nick had just said to him. You’ve been where she’s been, Howie. Help me help her. He closed his eyes and thought about his sister and his father, then opened them and faced Nick, placing his hands on his shoulders and staring intently into his eyes. “You know, Nick, usually it’s not the things people say that make a difference in times like this. It’s what they do. Being surrounded by the people you love really helps. She’s really going to appreciate just having you beside her while she deals with this.”
Nick only pondered Howie’s words of wisdom for a few seconds before he jumped back up and grabbed the still-unzipped duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "I have to go." Howie followed Nick's footsteps as he raced out the door.
"I'm coming with you."
