Nick ended the call with Intin and sighed. He hasn’t felt it in a long time until now. He is really in love. At first, he really likes her and he cares a lot for her but lately, he knew that he couldn’t live without her. He wanted her so bad that it hurt him to be this far away from her. He wanted to be there for her but there are boundaries to be crossed. He still have to gather more strength and good timing to be able to go back there and if possible, to get her. He doesn’t want to be away from her again. He knew that Anna kept on saying 'I love you' to him over the phone in which he didn’t reply with the same thing. But now, he regretted that he wasn’t able to let her know how much he truly feels, how deep his feelings are for her. Now, he doesn’t even know where she is, how she is doing and it worried him so much.
“Nick!”
He turned and saw Jean walking down the hall in the studio. “Hey, I thought you’re in Colorado and hiding from Greg,” he smirked and kissed his friend on the cheeks. “How are you?”
“I got rid of Greg. Mom made sure he’ll be counting his days in jail for the beating he’s done to me. Now, I’m back to work. I was told to manage your extra affairs so that we can plan on your tour. And since you’re the first Backstreet Boy I saw, tell me what keeps you busy nowadays.”
Nick smiled. “Haven’t you heard it yet? We’re out with a new album.” When Jean rolled her eyes, telling him that she obviously knows, he smirked. “Well, there’s Aaron. I’m helping him with his new album. BJ is in culinary school now. Leslie has her own world again while Angel is in Florida for her ‘career’. I’m helping my siblings and that makes me busy right now aside from this album. Aside from that, I’m okay with the other businesses that I had. My partners are taking care of it to keep the money flowing, so to speak.”
“But?”
“What do you mean?”
“I sensed there’s something more. Nick, I wouldn’t be your friend for ten years if I didn’t know you better and I know that there’s more.”
Nick stared at her. Even though he decided not to go public yet about his relationship with Anna, the other guys advised him to tell their managers. It will be okay to tell Jean the secret since he trusted her but it seems like a lot of people already know and he doesn’t want to further jeopardize Anna’s security. But still he had to tell Jean. He led her to one among the conference rooms in the studio.
“Oh, this is something big.”
Nick closed the door. “What do you mean?”
“I know you. You have a deep and dark secret that you don’t want anyone to know. Thanks for trusting me, Nick. Now spill it. I promise I won’t say a word to anyone.”
“I know. And actually, John and Kenneth already know about this. It’s been a secret in a long time that I have a girlfriend.” Nick said. They sat on the chairs.
“Why?”
“What do you mean?”
Jean rolled his eyes. “You’ve been asking me that several times today. Why are you keeping it a secret? Is she some high-profiled actress or another socialite? Or another newcomer as a singer?” She smiled. “An anorexic model?”
Nick frowned. “Are you making fun of my ex-girlfriends?”
“No, you just seemed uptight now, Nick. Smile. You’re too serious today. She seemed to be occupying a lot in your mind. How will she affect your tour schedule? She wants to come along? I can make some arrangements for that.” Jean started to take out her organizer.
Nick watched her arranged the post-its in one section of the planner. “She’s actually a daughter of a Philippine senator whose sister was the one who died in the exploded car when we arrived in the Philippines. Now, she’s being kept under the witness protection program because she filed a case against her father and uncle, two high-profiled politicians in their country, for the death of her sister.” His friend is now staring at him with wide eyes. “I’m not bluffing, Jean.”
“Oh, I mean, I know what happened when you arrived in Manila. The media here feasted on getting the full details and it was an instant promotion to your group. Many were curious about the event at the airport and who Faye is. We didn’t know that she has a sister.”
“Her name is Anna. I know that and that’s why I’ve been protecting her,” Nick started and continued with the details about Anna and how their relationship began. He drew a deep breath. Jean quietly listened to everything. “And right now, I’m so worried because I didn’t know where she is. It’s very frustrating that people, circumstances and geography were keeping us apart. I really want to go there and be there for her. I want to make her feel that I’m not going anywhere, that I’m always on her side.”
“Wow…” Jean quietly muttered.
Nick heard that and frowned. “Wow? You’re beginning to annoy me.”
“Huh? I just mean, I’m so happy to see you feeling and caring so deeply towards someone and not just anyone but a woman who’s far from what you’re used to, of a different culture and very far away from you. And listen,” Jean cleared her throat, “screw the people here. If you like her –“
“I love her,” Nick cut in.
Jean nodded. “If you love her, go for what you desired to do. I’ll help you with this schedule we’ll have and we’ll plan things on how to handle the situation so that you can go there and be with her. Let’s plan something that won’t affect your career. Let’s measure up the pros and cons and we’ll protect about you and Anna. And Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“You need to tell this to everyone,” she said. When she saw the surprised look from her friend, she sighed. “Tell to the world how much you love Anna and the people that surround her, even those who are threatening her, will think twice about hurting her because everybody will know her. Contrary to what others tell you, I think the media will protect her in a way.”
Nick thought for a moment. He saw Jean bit her lower lip, waiting in anticipation for his reply. “You know, Jean, I care more about protecting her than myself. In the first place, I kept this a secret because I don’t want anyone to invade my girlfriend’s privacy. I value her anonymity so much, most especially that I wasn’t around to protect her there. But now that she’s being protected because of what happened to her sister and that her whereabouts are unknown, I don’t know what to do anymore. John and Kenneth are more concerned of my safety and my career that’s why they advised not to go public on this. But they said that if only circumstances were different, it would never be a problem if I announce it. They can take care of my career. Safety is another matter though,” he saw Jean’s face becomes frustrated. “I understand what you want, Jean. I want to announce it to the world too, on how I got a wonderful woman but I can’t. All the plans are just in my head,” he pointed a finger to his temple, “but I can’t do anything about it. Right now, I’m waiting. Before you came, I had a call with her friend to contact Anna’s lawyer and tell her how worried I am, to try contacting me to know how she is doing and that I love her.”
Jean didn’t say anything but only looked at her.
“Now that I tell you the most important thing that keeps me occupied for these past few weeks, you can already plan our tour schedule.”
“I’ll be having a meeting tomorrow with the marketing director and reuniting with your manager. Don’t worry, Nick. I’ll consider what you said and it will be our top secret.” Jean gave him an assuring smile and closed her planner.
“Thank you, Jean. That’s why I love you,” Nick grinned and leaned closer to tease her.
“Oh, please,” Jean laughed and stood up. “You’ve had enough drama. But remember,” she faced him, “when you need to fly out from here to go there, you know the drill. I’m here.” She winked and went out of the room.
Nick sighed and turned to stare at his phone. He stared at the screensaver of him and Anna. He looked down to the tribal bracelet in his wrist, the one that is identical to Anna’s. He missed her so much. It seems like a nightmare that he couldn’t be with his girlfriend when she needs him the most.
