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AJ’s raspy voice suddenly boomed through the stillness of the suite.

It was like a bomb had exploded. Brian and I sprung apart so violently that I slammed my leg against the side of the coffee table.

“Shit!” I hissed, clutching at my shin and falling onto the couch. I was still cursing under my breath and massaging my lower leg when AJ entered the room.

“AJ?!” Brian choked. “I thought you had a Skype date with Rochelle tonight.”

“Yeah, she cancelled it. Ava has been up for like the past eighteen hours straight. Apparently, getting some sleep is more important to her than spending some quality Internet time with me.” AJ joked. “Are you guys okay?” His eyes narrowed slightly as he took us in.

I looked up at Brian who was still standing in the middle of the room. His face was slightly flushed and his eyes looked a bit wild. Damn, he looked guilty! He quickly ran a hand through his hair and practically forced himself to sit down in one of the over-stuffed arm chairs.

“We were just thinking of watching a movie.” I lied.

“Really? You guys seem a bit tense.” AJ said, taking a seat next to me on the couch. “The door was unlocked ... am I interrupting something?”

“I think I’M the one who should ask if I’m interrupting something!” Leighanne screeched as she abruptly ploughed full force into the room. “What the hell is all of this, Brian?!” She screamed as she flung her purse towards one of the vacant arm chairs.

“Jesus, Leighanne! What’s wrong with you!?” AJ yelled as her open tote bag soared through the air just inches from his face. A tube of Clinique moisturizer pelted him in the forehead, while an assortment of expensive cosmetics flew out and scattered all over his lap.

“What’s wrong with me?!” Leighanne repeated, brandishing her iPhone in AJ’s face. “Why don’t you ask Brian what’s wrong with him? Why don’t you ask him why he can’t keep it in his pants? Why don’t you ask him why I’ve just been harassed by hundreds of your stupid fans about my failing marriage?!”

“What? Are you SURE that we’re talking about Brian?” AJ asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Yes, Alex. I’m sure that I’m talking about my husband.” Leighanne fumed, stressing every word as she spoke.

“I’m waiting for you to explain yourself!” she shouted, turning her rage towards Brian.

Brian merely stared back at her with a look of shock on his face. Maybe he was still trying to recover from what the two of us had almost done, but Leighanne definitely wasn’t in the mood to wait.

“You’re upset about the fact that the fans are saying that I’m cheating on you?” Brian slowly clarified; finally snapping out of his thoughts.

“Of course I’m upset about that!” Leighanne shrieked. “What else would I be upset about?!”

“I’m gonna go ...” I mumbled as I slowly tried to extricate myself from the couch cushions.

“This is your fault!” Leighanne growled as I got to my feet. “Don’t you even think for one second that I don’t know that!” she added, jabbing one perfectly manicured finger in my face.

“Okay, it’s definitely time for us to go.” AJ said, propelling himself off of the couch so quickly that the remaining cosmetics scattered off of his lap and onto the floor. “You two clearly have some stuff that you need to work out.”

“Work out?!” Leighanne repeated, the pitch of her voice rising exponentially as she continued her rant. “How are we supposed to work this out?! My husband has been fucking around!”

“Mom! You’re swearing!” Baylee’s young voice rang out.

The four of us whipped around to see him standing in the entrance to the sitting area. His pyjamas were rumpled and he was absent mindedly rubbing at his dishevelled hair. “Why are you swearing?”

“I’m swearing because your father has been having a lot of sex with a lot of different women.” Leighanne spat.

“Leighanne!” Brian yelled, reclaiming his full voice and jumping out of the chair. “What the fuck is the matter with you? How could you say something like that in front of our son?!”

“Dad?” Baylee questioned, his eyes beginning to well with tears. “Why are you swearing now? Why are you guys fighting?!” he wailed.

“Okay, buddy!” AJ interjected, coming around the couch and grabbing Baylee by the hand. “We’re going to go hang out in my room while your mom and dad calm down.” He explained, shooting Brian and Leighanne a heated glare as he headed towards the door with Baylee in tow.

Without daring to look back, I quickly followed them into the hallway. Once I had safely shut the door behind us, I finally dared to let out a long, shaky breath.

“We need to talk.” AJ stated, using his free hand to lock a strong grasp around my wrist. “Don’t even think about trying to get out of it.” He added, giving me a no-nonsense look as he began leading both Baylee and me by the hand down the hallway.

“AJ? What’s going on? Why are my parents fighting?” Baylee asked, roughly wiping a stray tear off of his cheek.

“I don’t know for sure, buddy.” AJ lied. “I’m sure they’ll work it out.”

“Ummmmm ... what are you guys doing?” Kevin interrupted.

The three of us stopped dead at the sight of Kevin standing in the hallway; fumbling in his pocket for his room card. The after party must have just ended. I quickly scanned the hallway for Lauren, Nick, and Howie, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“The others are on their way back.” Kevin supplied, as if reading my mind. “Are you guys gonna tell me why you’re walking the halls with Baylee at two in the morning, or do I have to guess?”

“Brian and the missus are in the middle of a ... errr ... a disagreement.” AJ stuttered. “We figured that it wasn’t the best environment for Baylee.”

“They were swearing at each other!” Baylee cried, fresh tears threatening to overwhelm his eyes as he spoke. “Mom said that she was mad because dad had a lot of sex with some girls. I don’t like it when they fight!” He began to hiccup as fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

“I seeee...” Kevin drawled, running his hand through his hair and shooting AJ and me a look the clearly asked; ‘what the hell is going on?’ “So, your mom is upset because your dad had a lot of sex?” Kevin clarified, placing a lot of emphasis on his last word as he kneeled down to match Baylee’s height.

Baylee sniffed loudly and nodded his agreement. “I just want them to stop yelling.”

“It’s okay, Bay.” Kevin soothed, as Baylee let go of AJ’s hand and fell into his open arms. “It’s okay.” He repeated, patting Baylee softly on the back. “Why don’t you come and sleep in my room tonight.”

“But I want to go back to my room.” Baylee protested.

“I know you do, but your mom and dad need some time to talk.” Kevin explained. “You don’t have to go to sleep right away. We can watch Iron Man.”

“I guess ..." Baylee conceded, wiping away his remaining tears. “If my dad comes to get me, can I go back to my room?”

“Of course you can.” Kevin promised as Baylee untangled his small arms from around his neck.

“I WILL be talking to the two of you later.” Kevin hissed, turning towards me and AJ as he finally managed to pull his room card out of his pocket. “I’ll send you a text once he’s asleep.” He added, opening the door and ushering Baylee inside the room.