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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the delay updating. Weird things happening lately. I'm off tomorrow, I'll try to update again. :) Thanks for sticking with me!
Seeing Ghosts
Chapter 10
By Dottie
Copyright 2015

When Chealyn's sobs are nothing but sniffles, Nick whispers, "What can I do?"

She stays curled up against his chest and in a tired voice, she says, "Will you stay? I wish...I wish all of you could just stay here with me a while. I miss him so much and when you're here..."

He pats her back and says, "You know I will. I'm sure all of the guys will come over and stay as long as you need us to." When she sighs quietly he whispers, "What else?"

She sniffles again. "I never want to leave here. Ever. I miss them so much!"

Nick squeezes her. "You don't have to leave Chealyn. You can stay as long as you want."

She cries herself to sleep in his arms. He lets his own tears fall, managing to get his cell phone from his pocket. He dials the phone and waits. Brian answers on the second ring. "What's up Nick?"

In a tearful voice, he whispers, "Brian, get everyone over here in a couple of hours. Bring dinner."

Brian's voice has a catch in it. "What's wrong?"

Nick fairly trembles when he says, "Chealyn needs us all here." He glances down at her before whispering, "She was married to him Brian. They got married before she went into witness protection. She was his wife."

Brian gasps. "Nick! He...WHAT?"

Nick sighs. "Just come Brian. She needs all of us."


A short time later, Grant starts getting edgy and quietly opens the door. When he sees Nick holding Chealyn rage consumes him. Before he can storm in and rip them apart, Chealyn cries out, "Kevin come back!"

Grant pulls up short, watching as Nick soothes her. His need to whisk her away is almost overwhelming, but Nick Carter is in the way. Some part of him wants to just kill him, making everyone think the mob is playing a part.

As the plan forms in his mind, he reaches for the gun hidden in the waistband of his pants. Before he can pull it out, he hears Nick say, "The guys are coming over Chealyn. We'll be here as long as you need us."

Grant backs out slowly, cursing under his breath. They aren't going to give him a chance to take her. Time is running short.


By the time the rest of the guys show up, Chealyn has calmed down considerably. She clings to Nick. He’s like a lifeline for her. Once they all settle down and are picking at the food Brian brought, Chealyn glances at Nick. “Were Sophie and DJ ok after I left?”

Nick nods. “Yeah, they were. They cried for you but Kevin kept telling them you had to go and they you loved them and you’d be back.” When she lowers her eyes, he whispers, “Kevin told them every night you loved them. He played with them…fed them. He was…he…they were ok.”

She nods slowly. “I knew he would take care of them. I just couldn’t keep running with them. Every day the danger was there. I was afraid to take them out. I was getting to the point of needing to put them into preschool and I didn’t know if I could do it. I’d think about Sawyer and everything I saw…I was paralyzed with fear.”

Brian takes her hand and whispers, “Chealyn, why did you marry Kevin?”

She sighs, giving him a sad smile. “He insisted. We knew we were going to be apart for a long, long time. He said he wanted me to be assured that when it was all over and I could come out of hiding, he’d be waiting for me.” Her lip trembles and she whispers, “When they took me away, I told him not to wait. I told him to get a divorce and move on with his life. One of us going through life alone was enough, but he swore he wouldn’t.”

Nick folds his arms on his stomach, the plate of food in front of him still untouched. “He didn’t Chealyn. He never looked at another woman. Those pictures on his wall, we all wanted to ask…but we didn’t. The one time we mentioned it, he told us she was someone who made a difference in his life. Someone he cared about deeply and someone he had lost. We all assumed…”

AJ clears his throat. “We all assumed you had…died.”

She sniffles. “Part of me did the day I walked away. I knew what I was doing was right, but the price was too high.”

Howie takes a sip of his wine. “Chealyn, we all knew Kevin…he loved you…we saw that in those pictures. Knowing what happened, I know he would have gone into hiding with you if he could. You couldn’t let Sawyer get away with what you saw. He needed to pay for it…the woman he killed deserved justice.”

She nods slowly. “I know that. She did. Her name was Savannah. She was only 19 years old.”

After a lengthy silence, AJ asks softly, “Chealyn, why did you want us here?”

She shrugs, looking down. “It’s like…he’s still alive when you talk about him.”

AJ moves to kneel beside her. “He’ll always be with us Chealyn. And so will DJ and Sophie.”

She hugs him, fresh tears pooling on her lashes. “Can I show you something?”

AJ pulls away. “Of course you can.”

She looks around, wiping her eyes. When she sees her bags, she gets up and wanders over to them, opening a shoulder bag and pulling out a bunch of DVDs. Turning back to them, she whispers, “This is…this is all I have left of Sophie and DJ. I made them hoping Kevin could…”

AJ walks over to her and takes the discs. “Chealyn, are you sure?”

She nods quickly. “Please…I…I held my babies and Kevin in Chicago and said goodbye. I always thought that one day we’d all be together again. I need…I don’t know…I need you to know my babies…I need you to understand what Kevin and I had was…perfect. It was…beautiful.”

AJ touches her face and wipes away her tears. “We know that Chealyn. We’re grieving for your babies too.”

She falls against him. “Why? Why did this have to happen? Why couldn’t it have been ME? They were so little…and he was so wonderful!”

AJ looks lost, not sure what to say. Brian comes over to Chealyn and pulls her away from AJ. Holding her hands, he whispers, “You know how faithful Kevin was, don’t you?” When she nods, he whispers, “Kevin believed God has a plan and a purpose for us all. Right now, it hurts too much to believe, but God does have a plan. Kevin is looking down on you…and he’s still taking care of Sophie and DJ. They are all watching over you.”

She lets Brian pull her against his chest, her sobs consuming her. The others watch helplessly, wishing they could somehow lessen her pain…but they know they can’t. They are feeling the exact same kind of pain. None of them know how they will ever be able to just let go.
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