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Chapter 12: Accusation


The next morning Brian again was woken up by the ringing of his phone. He had a small hang-over, but at least he had gotten some sleep; not much, considering that it was 7 in the morning, his watch told him.

“No please, am I late again for something?” he was wondering while hurrying to get up and to the phone. “no…I'm sure this morning was off…am I sure…damn!”

“Yeah?” he asked as he picked up expecting nothing good.

“Morning Brian. This is Kevin. I want you down in the conference room in ten minutes”, Kevin commanded.

“Whoa there, where's the fire? I don't know about you but my morning was supposed to be free…ya know F-R-E-E!” Brian wasn't trying to hide his anger.

“For you to write it down: You are going to be in the conference room in ten minutes from now on. I already called the others. Don't make us wait – again!” Kevin wasn't angry at all, he was furious.

Brian wanted to smart back, but Kevin had already hung up.

“Shit!” Brian hissed. He knew there was no way of not following Kevin's `wish´. He already had ninety per cent of the Backstreet Stuff up his back… Marc told him to avoid any more trouble, to have a better position later on, he said…

If there really would be a need to have a good position…

While dressing without taking a shower and hurrying out of his room and down the hall, Brian was again thinking about his situation. He realized that he still didn’t really believe the things which were going on. Would the same people he had had so much fun with, he had had the biggest success with and some of the best times in his life really make his family go home and him leaving the group?

Brian was slightly shaking his head while the elevator reached the floor the conference room was on. “When did we start to use conference rooms to have interior group meetings?” he wondered while entering the room.

He was somewhat pleased to see that he wasn't the last to arrive. Howie and Kevin (of course) were already sitting at the table, but Nick and AJ still weren't here.

“Morning D!” he greeted Howie while sitting down as far as possible from Kevin.

“Hey Bri…sorry to say this, but you look like shit!” Howie simply stated.

“Don I?” Brian wondered in his head. I'm feeling better that I have the whole last week.

“My dear cousin wouldn't let me take a shower”, he growled in Kevin's directions.

“Why wouldn't he? He called me about an hour ago or so…there was plenty of time then!” Howie sounded a little annoyed like saying “you should have better excuses for oversleeping”.

“Well, he called me like ten minutes ago!” he exclaimed.

“Tried to reach you earlier though, but you weren't answering you cell”, Kevin explained raising his voice a little bit.

“You are lying!” Brian thought. He wasn't a heavy sleeper, and even if he wouldn't have woken up…Leighanne surely would have.

While he thought whether or not he should tell Howie that he thought Kevin was lying Nick entered the room, looking ready to kill any of them with his bare hands. “Maybe at least I'm not the only one being informed way too late”, Brian thought smiling.

“How can you be smiling at this time of day?” Nick snapped at him, “I hate to be woken up at 6 in the morning on a FREE day.”

Or he really was the only one. Nick had been woken up at 6? Why had he been woken up at 7?

“Where's AJ?” Kevin sneered.

“Depends on what time you called HIM!” Brian couldn't stop himself snapping back.

Kevin was giving him the “no-step-further”-look he used millions of time for Nick and himself. Even on live-TV…no one ever noticed…well, accept Nick and him, of course. That was a long time ago.

“I called him when I called everybody else, but I heard he had a long night yesterday…” Kevin said looking directly at Brian.

“Good thing I made him come down here without showering and stuff. The others are about to see that he has been drunk yesterday. There is no way out for him!” Kevin thought looking in Brian's sleepy blue eyes. “His eyes kind of look grey… He looks exhausted. Good thing the meeting concerning Leighanne’s staying with the group will take place in two days when we are in Paris!”

Brian locked eyes with Kevin for only some seconds. What there concern in them? At least now he knew what this meeting was all about. Surely Kevin had heard about him and AJ´s evening in the bar.

Brian suddenly felt guilty. It was his fault AJ maybe would get into trouble, although all AJ had asked for after re-joining the group was the forgiveness and the trust of his `brothers´ back, and maybe now he was ruining everything for AJ. His gaze dropped back to the table.

Seconds later AJ walked into the room. He looked as grumpy as Nick and collapsed into the seat next to Brian mumbling his morning greetings.

Kevin spoke up “Looks like we are finally complete!”
“Yeah sorry for being late!” AJ exclaimed.

“Well, actually that helped me to get straight to the point of this meeting”, Kevin explained.

“Now it’s going to be interesting. I wanna know what ruined my free morning again!” Nick ironically stated, still looking annoyed and ready to kill as soon as he knew who the cause of this meeting was.

“AJ, I thought you were done with staying out late and spending your evenings in the bar?” Kevin suddenly asked out of the blue.

“God, leave him alone”, Brian thought.

“Well, I…what?” AJ was confused.

“That was my fault. I was in the bar having a beer and AJ came down and we talked. Yeah, it was late, but since he morning was supposed to be off…” Brian now had raised his head looking directly at Kevin.

“I can't believe you. Are you going to tell me that you were getting drunk with AJ around in a public bar where everybody could see both of you?” Kevin almost screamed.

Nick and Howie had followed the discussion quietly so far, turning their heads from Kevin to AJ and Brian as if they were watching a tennis match.

“Firstly, Brian wasn't getting drunk. Secondly, I would have told him if I would have had a problem if he'd gotten drunk. And thirdly…a public bar, Kevin? It was the God-damn hotel bar!” AJ snapped back.

“I don't want to see you in a bar, AJ. And I don't want to see you in a bar. And I don't like my cousin getting drunk” now Kevin looked from AJ to Brian, “You have you son around, do you really want him to see you this way? How often do you get drunk like this? Is this the reason you are being so unreliable and selfish? Haven't you seen with your own eyes what alcohol can do to you? I don't know you anymore, Brian.”

Brian looked at Kevin as if he had been taking in Chinese.

“This is not true! I'm still in bed dreaming, this is a wired, wicked dream and nothing else!” Brian kept telling himself over and over again.

Kevin took Brian's quietness as a silent approval of what he had said.

Angry about the thought that all he said was really true his rage built up even more.

“I'm ashamed of you as my cousin. And as a part of this group. I can't believe you…” Kevin wanted to say more, but in this moment Brian was on his feet and stormed out of the room not saying another word.