"This is such bullshit," Holly seethed, throwing his picture onto the floor. Glass shattered but she could have cared less as she walked to their dresser. Grabbing all her hands could hold, she threw clothes onto the large bed. His clothes. The scent of him made her stomach churn as she continued to clear through the heavy oak furniture until only her things were left. Then it was time for the closet. Soon the bed was overflowing with his clothes and miscellanious items. "No more lies, no more nights alone... no more smelling that... other girl..."

Holly's blood began to boil at the thought of the 'other girl' who had begun to take all his love and attention from her. She was the reason for the excuses and the lies. She could have him, now.

Everyone had warned her about him. His wild ways. How all the women seemed to love him. But Holly thought she could break that hurtful pattern. So she could be the first to tame the flirtatious man. Oh, how wrong she truly was. Now she was packing his things and throwing him out of the home they had created. It was for the best. At least that's what people kept telling her as she agnoized over the decision for weeks before making a final decision.

"Baby? I'm home!" His voice interrupted her tumble of thoughts. She stood up straight, her eyes wide at the inevitable confrontation. She could hear each footstep as he climbed the stairs. Her heart jumped up to her throat, nearly choking her as he reached their bedroom. "...Baby? What's going on?"

Holly couldn't seem to find her voice. Nothing could come out as she looked into his sapphire eyes. She turned away, hoping to buy some time as she continued to pack for him.

"What's going on?" He repeated, grasping her arm. She gasped as he spun her easily so their eyes locked.

"Y-You have to leave," She barely whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"You have to leave. I... I can't take this anymore. The lies, the excuses... the lipstick on your shirts. No more. I can't be with you, Nick."

"Holly, I--"

"Don't try to deny it. My friends have seen you with her. Do you know how embarassing that is? To know that I can't keep my fiancee satisfied at home, so he has to go and find it with random girls? Do you know how much that hurts?" Tears brimmed against her blue-gray eyes and fell down her pale cheeks.

"I--" Nick was about to defend himself when he realized they could break it off cleanly. He could date anyone he wanted to without having to worry about someone at home. Freedom. His eyes darkened and a cruel smirk curled to his lips. "I could care less how much it hurts."

"Wh-What? What are you saying?"

"Are you deaf? I don't give two shits about how you're feeling. Didn't anyone warn you about me?" Holly's mouth opened but he continued. "I'm sure they did. You knew what you were getting into. This ain't no one's fault but your own."

"Then why the Hell did you propose to me?!" She suddenly burst, ripping his ring off her left digit.

"Back-up," Nick shrugged. More tears seemed to fall down her face, yet he didn't even feel a pang of guilt. "You were just a fuck when my other girls were busy. You gave me attention I needed when I needed it."

"You fucking bastard!" Holly threw the ring in his face, her fist quickly following to land directly into his jaw. She actually grinned as she heard the crunch of teeth, knowing she hit home.

"My jaw!" Nick held both his hands over his mouth, blood pouring between his fingers and onto the carpet. "You broke my fucking JAW!"

"You know what hurts more? A fucking broken heart," Holly spat as he fell to his knees. She turned around and ran out of the room. Before she knew it, she was outside with carkeys in hand right next to Nick's precious baby. His 2007 Durango. She looked back at the house she had tried and failed to turn into their house. "Good-bye, Nick."

Where the Hell am I going? I just stole his car and I... Holly's thoughts trailed off as she gripped the steering wheel. She had indeed taken Nick's brand new Durango and now found herself driving aimlessly through the dark streets of Orlando. Rain began falling heavily, pelting the windshield. Thunder rumbled in the near distance and lightning quickly followed.

The confrontation with Nick had not gone the way she had anticipated and her throbbing hand was proof. Her knuckles were actually cut by his teeth and blood quickly filled in the deep wounds. Wrapping a bandana around her hand, she had staunched the blood for the time being. I hope he chokes on the teeth I broke... if I really broke them. She could almost hear his laughter. Laughing at her.


"Are you deaf? I don't give two shits about how you're feeling. Didn't anyone warn you about me? I'm sure they did. You knew what you were getting into. This ain't no one's fault but your own."

"You were just a fuck when my other girls were busy. You gave me attention I needed when I needed it."


"He never loved me. God, I was so fucking STUPID!" Holly shouted at herself, slamming her left fist into the steering wheel. Word of the break-up would spread faster than the plague and she could already hear all her friends saying 'I told you so'. Especially Brian. They had met at a press conference for the release of Never Gone and became fast friends. Then she met Nick and thought she had finally fallen in love. When Nick seemed to show the same feelings towards her, she claimed she could have died and gone to Heaven right there.

Brian was the first person to warn Holly about the man's wild ways and his habit of being unfaithful. She would just shrug it off and change the subject. Brian didn't stop his objections until Nick proposed and she begged him to stop and let her handle Nick on her own. He reluctantly agreed, seeing his best friend break so many hearts without a single thought. He didn't want to see that happen to Holly, but now it was inevitable.

He knew that she would be the next victim of Nick's cruel game.


~*~*~*~*~


"Nick! Where are you, man?" Brian walked into the dark house, closing the heavy oak door behind him. Nick had called him, his voice muffled. He made out words like 'damn jaw', 'stole my fucking BABY' and 'Holly'. He knew she had finally caught onto Nick and it hadn't been pretty.

"Rok, she's fucking psycho!" A voice announced from behind. Brian jumped, turning to see Nick lumber out of the kitchen with an ice pack pressed to the left side of his jaw.

"Why, because she caught on to your plan?" Brian crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the younger man. He would get no sympathy from him. Not anymore.

"What the fuck--"

"You never loved her. What kind of reaction did you expect? You're just pissed she got the upper hand. And apparently, it broke a couple of teeth..."

"What the fuck! You're my best friend!"

"Who's sick and tired of watching you destroy women. They're not like your psychotic mother. All they wanted was your love. Would that be so hard?"

"Don't bring that bitch into this conversation!" Nick growled, his eyes narrowed. Jane, his mother, was not a model parent and it was more than obvious that it had affected all her children.

"It all stems from her! Don't you see that? One day, there might be another confrontation like this and you might hit the woman back without thinking... and then you'll be in jail. How would that look for not only your reputation, but the Backstreet Boys as well? No one is going to listen to a band who has a women beater as one of their member. So think about that while the swelling goes down. And call your dentist tomorrow," Brian turned around and headed for the door.

"Like you're so perfect! Leigh left you alone with Baylee! Ran off with some cabana boy in Mexico! What kind of man are you?" Brian stopped, not looking back at the man who he had deemed his best friend so long ago.

"A man who tried to give her all the love he had. But it wasn't enough for her. I didn't fail, she did. And thank you for bringing that up." He opened the front door and slammed it shut behind him. Climbing into his car, a melodic chirp invaded his thoughts and he looked down to see his cell phone ringing. Holly! He immediately flipped it open.

"Holly? Sweetie, where are you?"

"I... I think I'm at your house, but it's locked!" Holly sobbed.

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Brian threw the phone onto the passenger's seat and gunned the engine, peeling down the street.


~*~*~*~*~


Holly stuck her phone back into her jean pocket and shivered. She refused to go wait in Nick's SUV, so she opted standing out in the rain. Anything to get her away from the painful memories the damned Durango dredged up in her mind. The heavy rain pelted her bare arms and drenched her already soaked clothes. Lightning struck and thunder crashed. It almost seemed to match the turmoil in her heart and soul. A light invaded her eyes and she saw a car pull into the driveway. "Brian?"

A man climbed out of the car. Sandy blonde curls. Azure eyes. It was him.

"Brian!"

"Holly!" Brian ran towards her, immediately pulling her into his embrace as she began to sob. "Shh... it's okay, I'm here. I'll make it better, I promise. Shh, sweetheart."

"I thought he loved me! I could die tomorrow and he would dance on my grave!" Holly burst, burying her face into the shoulder of his jean jacket.

"Holly, don't..." Brian gently pulled away and framed her face with his hands. "You made a mistake. Everyone does when it comes to love. I did. You're going to be okay."

"Why didn't he love me? I did everything for him! I cooked, I cleaned, I bought him things... even if I wasn't in the mood to make love and he was... I'd still do it, because I wanted to make him happy!"

"Nick's... well, Nick's fucked up in a lot of ways, to be honest. And a lot of it stems from his mother. So he hurts women to--"

"Get revenge. To hurt them like she hurt him growing up."

"Basically," Brian replied, wiping the tears and raindrops from her cheeks. "C'mon, I'll take you inside and clean you up."

"You're not going to say 'I told you so'? Everyone else will tomorrow."

"Holly, you're human. Like I said, we all make mistakes and saying 'I told you so' isn't going to change things. So no, I'm not going to."

"Thank you," she whispered as he wrapped an arm around her slim waist and kissed her forehead. He unlocked the door and ushered them inside the warm house.

"Where's Baylee?"

"At the sitter's. I dropped him off after Nick called me," Brian replied, sitting next to Holly on the couch with a First Aid kit in hand. He had ushered them inside to get out of the rain and gave her a pair of his basketball shorts and large t-shirt to change into. Her layered blonde locks hung over her slumped shoulders, still damp.

"He called you?"

"Yeah, I went over to his house and--"

"You must think I'm a bitch just like he does," she interrupted, looking down at her swollen hand.

"Excuse me?"

"Nick's been your best friend for almost fifteen years. We became friends less than two years ago and I understand--"

"Please stop before you really start," Brian interrupted with a frown. He took her injured hand and made their eyes connect. "Just because he's been my friend longer than you does not mean I will immediately take his side in situations like this. He told me what happened. I am so proud of you, Hollster."

"Say what?"

"You stood up to him. You did something none of the other women would do and he's pissed about that. I warned that kid for years that all these games were going to bite him in the ass, but he never listened."

Holly was just silent for a moment, studying the man's clear blue eyes. They were bright, not dark like Nick's. He didn't blame her. She could feel a weight lifting off her broken heart and a rush of relief washed over. She had been so worried about losing Brian's friendship after her 'battle' with Nick.

"You don't blame me?"

"Not at all! That punch in the jaw and broken teeth is what he deserved and much more," Brian praised with a gentle smile. He opened up the First Aid kit and pulled out cotton balls, gauze, antibiotic cream, tape and peroxide.

"So I did break his teeth?" Holly squeaked in surprise as Brian began to clean the clotting cuts.

"At least two of them. I sure am glad I bought you those self-defense classes last Christmas," he chuckled, blowing gently as she winced from the bubbling liquid on her skin.

"For once, something came in handy, I guess..." Holly turned her gaze to the large bay window facing the ocean. She could see the waves crash violently against the rocks. Part of her wished she was in that water, drowning away her pain.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Brian brought her attention back to him.

"It's nothing. Just stupid thoughts girls think about when they break up with someone..."

"Holly--"

"I really don't want to talk about it. Can you please finish dressing my hand?" Holly handed him the antibacterial ointment.

"Fine..." Brian dabbed some on a cotton ball and carefully placed it on the cuts.

"Please don't be like that."

"I want to help you."

"I just want to go to sleep and forget about tonight until tomorrow. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"Do you promise we'll talk about it then?"

"I promise," Holly nodded, kissing his cheek as he wrapped gauze around her hand, taping it securely.

"Okay."

"Brian?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you sing to me?"

"Of course. What song?"

"Anything... I just want to fall asleep to your voice," Holly snuggled into his chest as they laid back on the couch.

"Okay," Brian nodded, pulling the blanket that draped over the back of the couch and covering them with it as he began to sing a song he wrote for her called Angels and Heroes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't believe that bitch stole my fucking car! She's going to pay..." Nick trailed off as he paced through his lavish master bedroom with an ice pack pressed against his swollen jaw. He hated to admit it, but Brian was right; his teeth were killing him and he ended up leaving a voicemail at the dentist's office.

Revenge. That was one thing he retained from his mother. He could still remember her saying You hurt me, I'll hurt you worse and he lived by that philosophy. But how could he hurt Holly the most... a police call was his first thought, but quickly realized that wasn't enough. Nowhere near enough. What could he go after that would cause the most damage? The most pain and suffering?

"PRIDE!" Nick exclaimed, ignoring the throb in his jaw. He had always remarked how defensive Holly was when it came to her pride.

She claimed that it stemmed from her upbringing. Nick always thought of it as being a stuck-up goody two-shoes like he had known in high school. She abided by every law, even down to going a mile under the speed limit to avoid getting pulled over. The only time she loosened up was at parties, and most of the time Nick had to slip something in her drink to get her going even further. She was more slutty when she was drunk, and always made it better in bed, though she rarely remembered it. He had a back-up story just in case she asked questions.

"I'll damage her fucking pride... Carter, you're a genius."

The only question was how. What could he possibly do to destroy the woman who dared cross him in a game where HE made the rules? Nick sat down on his bed, actually deep in thought as a storm raged on outside. In the music business, a singer always had battle with rumors printed in tabloids with incriminating pictures. Those made or broke careers along with the individual--

He interrupted his own brainstorm and stood up. He walked into his closet and pulled a shoebox off the shelf. Dumping the contents onto the silk sheets of his large bed, he began rooting through pictures. Ones that Holly didn't know he took during those parties she wasn't able to remember much. He pulled out a few and grinned. "Absolutely perfect. A few calls to tabloids and magazines... she'll be destroyed within weeks along with a visitor tomorrow..."

Pleased with himself, he picked up the cordless phone and began dialing, his ice pack laying forgotten on the floor. He had connections everywhere and knew exactly who to call for such a special project. Images of Holly reading the articles and falling apart made him grin almost sadistically.

"Jason? Nick. Yeah, I know. Want to make some extra money? Trust me. It's the story of a century."

Payback was such a bitch.