Chapter Five
“BRIAN!”
Brian glanced up in a daze to see one of the larger officers of the prison towering over him from the outside of his cell. He blinked a few times, wondering what they wanted with him. He didn’t have another trial date until later in the week, unless something had changed that he was unaware of.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“You have visitors. Would you like to see them?”
“Sure, send them in.” he replied half heartedly.
The officer didn’t say anything more as he disappeared, likely to retrieve his visitors. He wondered who it was, not really caring either way. His life had become a large black hole in the past couple of weeks, and his jury date the previous week hadn’t gone well at all. In fact, it had been nothing short of a complete disaster. He had to thank Kevin for being honest and wording things in such a way that sounded genuine. But then AJ had gone up to talk, and what seemed to start out so good, ended horribly. He couldn’t blame it all on his Latino friend though, for it was the opposing Lawyers job to make him look bad. It was a mind trick thing that he’d used, making AJ trip up…
As if on cue, his four friends walked up seconds later. Breathing a sigh of relief, Brian had never been so happy and relieved to see them in his life. It was as if God himself had sent them there for him. His guardian angels, coming to lift him back up and give him a little bit of his confidence and self-esteem back.
“Hey Bri!” Nick exclaimed, “How ya holding up in there?”
“Managing, somehow.” Brian admitted honestly, his face sullen.
“Everything’s going to work out,” Howie vowed, being his usual upbeat self, “You’re going to get out of here and one day, we’ll all look back on this and laugh.”
“Ha Ha.” Brian snorted dryly, not allowing his eyes to glance up at his friends.
There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence that were awkward. Brian realized he really didn’t know what to say to the guys, assuming that they were having the same problem. He wondered why they’d come to visit in the first place. He knew that he had their moral support either way, but seeing them out in the free world while he was being cooped up like a chicken on death row at the farm was almost too much for him to handle. He too had once been free. It seemed like eons ago, and wondered if he would ever get a taste of freedom again.
“So tell us, what exactly happened that night?” Kevin finally asked, and he saw Brian’s eyes both cloud over and darken all at the same time, “I mean, exactly.”
“I’m forbidden to talk about it outside of court.” Brian mumbled so lowly that the others really had to strain to understand him.
“We’re not gonna tell nobody. But it would help to, you know, defend your ass.” AJ pointed out.
Brian sighed, looking around. He really didn’t want to break the rules, and was almost certain that there was some sort of recording system somewhere hidden for security purposes, picking up every single noise that happened to sound within the area. He was getting to the point of not caring anymore though, deciding he was just going to tell his friends whatever they wanted to know without worrying about anything. So what if it messed up his trial and delayed it a few extra days or weeks?
“As I said, she’d cheated on me. We got in to a fight. That was the last time I saw her.”
“But what did you say to each other…what happened? You can tell us, Brian.”
Tears stung Brian’s eyes as he remembered the painful truth he’d found out upon getting back from the tour. He’d been so excited to see her and be with her again, and then in the middle of making out, BAM, he’d found them. He must admit, he’d lost his temper. But wouldn’t anybody? He loved the woman. He still did, and if given the chance, he would forgive her and try to forget, starting all over again.
“I…I called her a dirty tramp, and…she apologized. She just kept saying how sorry she was and how it was a mistake. I kept screaming about how she’d deceived me and lied, and that I’d never once cheated on her…ever. I asked her how many times it happened. She said only twice, but twice is still that many times too much. I told her I never wanted to see her ugly face again or sleep with her STD infested self. She slapped me. I admit, I hit her back, but all I’d seen was red…I would take that back if I could, but I…I didn’t know what I was doing. I told her I wished she would die…I…I…” his voice trailed off as he was suddenly at loss for words.
“And she left then?”
Brian froze, his eyes looking ahead like a deer caught in the headlights. He started to fidget a little with the hem of his orange inmate suit. His posture seemed to tense up a little, his breathing becoming heavy. His eyes darted around nervously.
“Bri?”
“Um, yeah…yeah, she left.” He stated with a shrug as another tear fell, “I didn’t stop her. I let her go.”
“Maybe she joined some sort of protection thingy…ya know, since you hit her and all…and were calling her such bad things.” Nick suggested, “And kind of, in your own way, threatened her life.”
Nobody had the chance to reply, for the officer came up to the guys, telling them that their time with Brian was up. Brian sighed, feeling drained of energy, the others looking disappointed because Nick’s question was somewhat of a good one, although somewhat crazy. Now, there would be no answer to it.
As the Boy’s left, all was silent for a few minutes. The situation was depression, not really one anybody wanted to discuss, yet at the same time, they all did. It was a sticky situation.
“So, what are you all thinking?” Kevin asked in distress
“I think he’s just nervous.” AJ offered, “And distraught. He lost somebody he loved, and she was messing around behind his back.”
“Agreed,” Nick nodded his head.
They all looked at Howie, who seemed to be awfully quiet in his own little world. After a few seconds, he caught their glances, but didn’t seem phased by it. He knew that they were expecting his theory though, so answered.
“I’m not quite so sure,” he replied, “There’s more to it than he’s saying, I think.”
“So you’re saying you doubt my cousin?” Kevin’s eyes blackened at the thought
“I..I don’t know what to think,” Howie replied, “I just think he’s not fessing up to something…I…guess I do doubt him somewhat. Think of how he was today. Just fidgety and stuttering. He seemed overly anxious. Like he was hiding something.”
“He’s upset.” Kevin defended angrily, “I can’t believe you don’t have more faith in Brian. He’s been like a brother to you for nearly thirteen years, and now you’re betraying him.”
Kevin looked to Howie in disgust, shaking his head as he stormed off. One by one Nick and AJ also looked at him, shaking their heads sadly at Howie for going against their brother. They followed Kevin, leaving Howie behind to trail in their footsteps. He knew that he had hurt them with his confession, but he had to be honest with what he was feeling. But what he was feeling was beginning to cause a rift within the group.
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Flashback
June 3rd, 2005
Brian tapped his foot anxiously on the floor of the bus as he looked at his watch. The time was nearing eight in the evening. They were due to arrive back in just under an hour, and he couldn’t be more excited. The tour had lasted just over two months and keeping his promise to Julian to call every day, he was finally going to get to see her again. Even though they were still sixty something miles away, he could already see her lovely face waiting for him. They’d talked earlier that morning and he knew that she would be there, just as she’d been there to see them off. The difference was, he wasn’t sure how many fans would also be around. It wouldn’t matter though, for the second he saw his beloved Julian, he would make a beeline straight towards her. God, how he’d missed her. And now, after all of the endless days blending in to one another, he was going to get to see her.
“You’re going to pound a hole in the floor of the bus, Rok,” Howie joked, “Chill out. She’ll be there, you’ll see her. Life will be good again.”
Brian hardly heard his friend though, still picturing Julian’s face in his mind. He could almost see her bright smile as their bus pulled up. The excitement in her voice earlier that morning gave him the assurance that he need that their reuniting moment would be bittersweet and the happiest moment in his life so far.
“You’d think they’d been dating years upon years instead of just a few months.” Kevin laughed, happy to see that his cousin was so happy.
“When you find the ‘one’, you just…know.” Brian shrugged, “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been with them.
Nick rolled his eyes and made a teasing gagging noise and the others snickered in the background. Brian was already back to being engrossed in his thoughts of Julian though. He didn’t care what anybody said. This was the real thing. He just knew, because his heart was beating in a different way than it ever had before. His soul felt as if it were lifted up just a bit higher. Everything was brighter and happier when it came to Julian, and when he was without her, Brian felt his world was a darker place.
During the last hour of the ride, the minute slipped by slowly, dragging on as if each one were an hour in itself. Or perhaps it only seemed that way because he was so anxious to see Julian, his mind stuck on the romance channel of their lives. He barely noticed anything passing by around him, yet the second they pulled in to the lot where their bus was to drop them off, he suddenly snapped out of his daze, bouncing from his seat and rushing towards the doors before the bus was even to a complete stop.
“Easy, boy!” AJ cracked as the bus halted, causing Brian to stumble in to the doors, banging his head upon the darkened glass
The doors opened slowly as a group of about two-hundred fans clustered the area. One by one, the Boys made their way out, shaking hands and signing some autographs along the way. Brian was no different, however he barely glanced down to actually look at one of his fans, smiling quickly at them as he scanned the area for Julian. His heart sank when after several moments, he didn’t see her, but then, as if appearing out of nowhere, he spotted his angel. Without stopping to greet one more fan, he pushed his way through the crowd with an adrenaline rush surging through him, giving him more strength than he knew he had. The others stopped momentarily to watch in amusement as he reunited with his girlfriend, whom was standing a ways back from everybody shyly, just waiting with a soft smile on her lips.
The second Brian reached her, they were enveloped in a hug that sent fireworks shooting in to the cool night air for both of them. They shared a kiss so passionate with tears of happiness streaming Julian’s face.
“I missed you so much.” She breathed, hugging Brian tighter as she buried her face in to the cloth of his shirt, taking in the scent of him.
“I missed you too.” Brian replied, not letting go of their embrace, “I thought I was going to go insane without you. I never want to leave you behind for so long again.”
“I’m never going to let you.” Julian agreed with a laugh though her wet eyes, leaning in to kiss Brian once more.
The couple was so engrossed with themselves that neither realized what was going on in the world around them, unaware that they had a small audience, the eyes of every single person on them in awe. They were like two people out of a fairy tail, and not even the most cold-hearted person could say that they weren’t touched by the moment.
“How sweet…it’s like Cinderella and Prince Charming.” AJ quipped.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re about to have a new member added to the Backstreet family.” Kevin smiled.
“I think you’re right.” Howie stated as they continued to make their way through the fans, getting to each and every one of them as they let Brian continue to be off in his own little world. After all, it would be hours before Brian would be ready to leave, and none of them were in any hurry at all.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for the feedback, all! Here is Chapter 5 for ya! :) And its getting closer and closer to the big surprise...*evil laugh*
