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We'd reached a door with the number "44" on it. Nick pounded on the door, and we heard a crashing sound.

"HOLD ON, I'M COMING!" A woman's voice shouted. We heard what I assumed was several locks being unlocked, and then the door opened.

A thin, tan woman answered the door. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she leaned in the doorway, looking us over. "What d'you want?" she barked, apparently not too thrilled with our visit.

"Where's Tony?" Nick asked, confused, looking behind her to see if there was any sign of him.

"That jackass?" she said, taking a puff of the cigarette in her other hand, "Haven't seen him in days."

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to show my intimidation. She looked like she could smell fear.

"No, I'm lyin'." She responded sarcastically.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Nick questioned.

"No, and if you see him, tell him he owes backrent and the landlord has his shit. Goodnight." She said, before slamming the door in our faces. Well, that was effective. I feel better already.

I sighed in frustration as I slammed the passenger's side door of Nick's black GMC Yukon Denali.

"Don't worry, we're gonna find Aaron." Nick said as he turned to comfort me. "Do you have any idea where Jack might have taken him?"

"I...I dont know." I said while deeply in thought.

I stared at my cellphone, wishing it would ring and the person on the other line would give me even the smallest hint as to where Jack and Tony might be keeping Aaron.

I looked out the window at the street. Why did I have to push him?

"Whats on your mind?" Nick asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you think?" I sighed. Hes worried, too. No need to snap at him. "Its my fault this is happening to Aaron. I kept pushing him."

"Amy, its not your fault." He said, looking at me at the next red light. "I was the one who set him off when I kicked him out of the house."

"But you wouldn't have had to do that if I hadn't done what I did."

"And you wouldn't have done that if we hadn't kissed. We could play the blame game all night. The bottom line is its not your fault Jack and Tony did this, I don't care what anyone says differently: including you."

We drove around all night looking for Aaron. I sighed, "This is hopeless! We'll never find him at this rate!"

"Don't say that! That kind of attitude isn't gonna' save Aaron!!" he said.

We sat in silence for a minute and both jumped when my cellphone began to ring.

"Hello?" I answered maybe a little too quickly.

"What's taking you so long baby?" said Jack's cool, yet evil, voice.

"I have no fucking clue where you are! That's what's taking so long!!!"

He laughed and said, "I figured you'd need a hint. Tell you what... I'll give you a little riddle as to where we are...

With a color the same
As Aaron's crimson tears,
Come sunrise, the ceiling will come down
After 14 businessless years..."

CLICK.

I just sat there for a minute completely dumbfounded. If there was one thing Jack loved, it was to see people scramble for an answer to one of his stupid riddles.

"What'd he say..."

"He gave me a clue about where he's keeping Aaron. But I have no idea what it means."

"Well, what's the clue?" Nick asked a little frustratedly.

I repeated the riddle and we sat for a moment racking our brains. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

My eyes went wide and Nick knew I figured it out. I looked at the clock on the radio it read 11:47.

"Nick, isn't there a 'Red Roof Inn' that's getting torn down today...?"

Without another word Nick stepped on the gas and we went speeding to the construction site.

When we finally got there we had to crawl through a hole in the fence and sneek by a trailer where we could hear several men talking in spanish and laughing loudly. Figuring they'd be absolutely no help to us, Nick and I went on into the building.

We walked into the main lobby through a broken front door. The inside of the building was covered in spray paint from kids probably trying to act cool or completing dares.

Just in front of us where three shadows, two tall and skinny, and one shorter, but still slightly slender.

Two flashlights went on revealing Tony and Jack standing and Aaron tied to an old arm chair.

"Amy, Nick!" Aaron called. "Thank God you're here!!"

"Hey bro, glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Aww, what a great reunion, sorry to have to break it up, but we didn't just jump Aaron and make you two come here for nothing," Tony said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "You see after our little run in the other night, I admit, I believed you and was pretty pissed off."

"Until he saw me at the bus station reading that issue of US Weekly with you two on the cover." Tony finished, inquiring me and Aaron.

"I asked Tony, here, about the photos on the cover and we got to talking and eventually figured everything out."

"Don't even try it you assholes!" Aaron yelled. "Amy already told me about her and Nick's kiss, and I forgave her!"

Tony and Jack looked at eachother with matching grins. "Oh," said Tony. "They did, did they?"

Aaron paused for a second but said, "Yeah."

Now it was Jack's turn to speak, "And which kiss did you forgive her for...exactly."

My heart plumitted to my stomach... the second kiss.

"Wh-What do you mean which kiss? There was only one!" The last thing Aaron said was a little louder due to a bit of, what sounded like, desperation.

"Ohhh, no." Jack said. "Your sources are not the most reliable now are they?"

"There were, not one but, two kisses Aaron," Tony said. "The first was when Nick kissed Amy, in an attempt to get Jack away..."

"But the second," Jack finished. "Was when Amy kissed Nick because she couldn't get enough of her boyfriend's older brother!"

"LIARS!" Aaron screamed, his face red. "SHE'D NEVER DO THAT!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT AMY!!"

"Oh really?" Jack asked with a smug grin. "Then maybe this month's issue of Teen People is lying too. Read it and weep Carter," he tossed a magazine into Aaron's lap and Tony began to read from his own copy.

"The article is dated last night," Tony said. "The title of the article is 'CARTER CONTROVERSY'. 'On July 7th 2006 Nick Carter (of the Backstreet Boys) and little brother Aaron's girlfriend, Amy Sean, were spotted walking out of a popular pizza parlor when confronted by an anonymous teenage male. After a short exchange of conversation Carter took Sean into a passionate kiss that lasted seconds. When all seemed to be done and over with Sean went back for a second taste of her beau's bro's lips...' There are even pictures on the left side." he stopped reading and tears were openly flowing down my cheeks.

Aaron looked up at me with the pain that only betrayal brings in his eyes. "Please...just say it's not true..." he said desperatly. "Just say that they're lying, that everyone is lying and I'll believe you and we can just forget about everything..." a tear escaped one of his eyes.

All I could do was continue to cry and look down at my feet.

Tony pretended to look at an imaginary watch, "Well, look at the time. We have places to be," he untied Aaron and started backing up to where Jack was dissappearing to. "We'll catch you guys later."

The gesture that Tony made, made me remember that the building was to be torn down at sunrise. I looked up at the sky and noticed that it was getting lighter. I switched my glance from Nick to Aaron. Nick looked ashamed and Aaron looked depleated.

There was a huge BOOM that jolted us back to earth and we all ran for the door, making it out just in time for the east wing (opposite of where we were) to come crashing down.

We snuck out of the wreck sight and when we were a good distance away from the fence Aaron turned around and looked from me to Nick and back again.

The pain in his eyes and voice matched eachother, both close to unbearable, "How could you...both of you!" he yelled at us. "First you kiss my girlfriend," he said to Nick. "And you both said it was nothing. Then, I find out that there was a second kiss, where you kiss my brother!!" he said with the last sentence directed at me.

"I'm so sorry, I have nothing to say other than it was a spontaneous thing and that I didn't want it to mean anything," I said, not taking my eyes off the ground.

"'I didn't mean it' isn't going to cut it here Amy...I wish it could but it just won't." Tears kept coming and they wouldn't stop for anything. "I can't be with you anymore Amy... I just can't do it."

He walked to Nick's car and climbed into the passenger's seat.

"C'mon, I'll give you a lift home." Nick said taking a step towards the car.

"No. I need some fresh air," I said in a solemn tone and turned my back on Nick to begin my four mile walk home, alone, just like I was before...