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Chapter 9: Influences

The next day went by pretty eventless. They did the TV-stuff and all these interviews and since there was no concert that night, they were free after dinner.

Brian still hadn't told Leighanne about the things that might were coming towards them. Baylee had gotten a little better and after they had put him to bed, Brian decided that he needed to talk to Leighanne.

“Baby, we need to talk” Brian was standing by the windows in their living room at the hotel starring out onto the city below him.

“You sound serious.” Leighanne sounded a little bit concerned. Although Brian couldnīt see her, he could picture how she was frowning her brows as she always used to do when some kind of problem was coming up.

“I am” Brian kept looking out of the window.

“Now you got me really concerned.” Leighanne stated the obviously.

Brian turned around, now facing his wife. Leighanne studied him. He had lost some of the weight he had gained during their pregnancy and the break from his career. He really had become slim again, almost skinny. And now, as he was standing there, looking concerned, Leighanne noticed that her husband somehow looked sick – even more than he had yesterday. He almost looked fragile as she tried to read in his eyes – these eyes she had fallen for on first sight.

“Remember yesterday? We stared to talk about these complaints about…”He trailed off. This was hard.

“About me and Baylee leaving?” she had expected this. It had become an all-too-familiar topic.

He simply nodded “Yesterday – after the concert…” again he didn't finish his sentence.

Leighanne waited patiently for him to continue.

“Looks like management will soon be involved into this”, he finally said.

“They will?” Leighanne was shocked. They had never expected this.

“Yeah, I guess. I called Marc this morning”, he informed her.

“What did he say?”

“He's after this. There has to be a way…I asked him to check if the management really has got the power to…”, he was at a loss of words.

“Maybe we should just go…” Leighanne said again. She nowadays was feeling really uncomfortable, somehow unwanted.

“No, please.” He was almost pleading, “I need you. Maybe now more than ever before. I donīt want them to win easy like this. I had these people influencing and planning my life too often, in too many ways.”

Leighanne knew that through the last sentence he was referring to the time their management had made him cancel his heart-surgery two times. His trust in them had been incurable damaged at that time – one of the reasons the Boys had split from them. Now they were back with part of that management from the old days. A fact, that Brian had never been happy about. He tried not to speak to Johnny and Donna if even possible. He was happy that Kevin was doing most of theses business things so that he could minimize his contact with them as much as possible. He also had sent Marc to the first meeting with the Wrights after it was clear that they’d be their management again, instead of showing up himself, like Kevin, AJ, Howie and Nock had done. They have had some conversations bout that afterwards, but he didn't care. It had done the trick. Johnny had understand that Brian hadn't forgotten about their past. And that he wasn't ready to go back to a friendly relationship like the others had done. It worked. They had given him more time to sign the new contract. He was the last to sign. They never had put any pressure on him – until now.

“What do you mean by `I need you more now than everī” Leighanne was wondering what he was planning.

Brian turned his back on his wife, now again watching the nightly city. He said nothing for some minutes. She watched her husbands back.

“If they are able to make you go home and there is no way for me to prevent this…”he said, turning again and now looking directly into Leighannneīs eyes, “then I'm done being a Backstreet Boys.”




AJ was sitting on the balcony that belonged to his room, relaxing. He was smoking a cigarette thinking nothing in particular. Sudden he needed to cough.

“Maybe I should stop smoking” he thought.

How many times had Kevin and Howie and even Nick tried to lecture him about how his smoking could damage his voice or even threaten his health?

“At least they know how to set their priorities –voice goes first”, he thought with a bitter smile.

Brian on the other hand had never done that. But he had been the only one who really got him thinking abput quitting. Brian hadn't said that he should stop smoking, he simply hadn't allowed him to smoke inside his house in Atlanta when AJ had visited them. One day when he had been in the garden again smoking, Brain had come out too…


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Needed it again?” Brian said standing next to him, but not looking at him.

“Yeah, I know I suck”, he had said.

“No you don't. I don't like you smoking, but you are old enough to decide yourself if you do”, Brian said still scanning the garden instead of looking at him.

“You don't want me to stop?” AJ asked disbelieving. Wasn't Brian the Backstreet Boy on the health trip?

“I would prefer it, but I won't make you stop. You are a grown man and able to live with your decisions and the results. Just make sure Baylee isn't around when you smoke.” Brian had walked back into the house.

He had looked at his cigarette. He hadn't felt like smoking anymore. He threw it away and followed Brian into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again AJ felt like disappointing Brian. He was the only one really making him feel like he was a normal person with own decisions again. He made him feel like a human being, a man, able to stand his ground, not like a fragile ex-addicted like the others did from time to time.

He threw the not even half finished cigarette off the balcony.

“Damn him!” AJ thought with a smile.