Chapter 11

AJ sat on the single bed in the small bedroom, the box Kevin had given him in his hands.  Getting up from the bed AJ walked over to the door and opened it.  He then walked down the hallway, to the room next to his and lightly knocked on Chelsea’s door.  He heard the light thumps of someone walking across a wooden floor and then the door opened.

“Hi.” Chelsea said as she pulled back the door.  She was wearing a pair of stone washed jeans and Kevin’s Kentucky WildCats sweater.

“Does he know you have that?” AJ said pointing to the sweater.

“Yes He gave it to me.” She lightly laughed.  “What’s that?”

“This” AJ said holding up the box.  “Is what Kevin gave to me.”

“My dolphin box.” She said with a smile as she took it from him and walked over to her bed.  He laughed to himself when she opened it and dumped it on the bed.  Remembering back to when he had finally brought himself to open it, taking the utmost care with it, taking piece by piece out and looking at it.  Yet here she was, everything sprawled out on her bed.  “Oh I remember when we took this picture; there were like 5 others with your face cut out.” She said as she started to laugh.

“Well things are much easier now.” AJ said as he sat down.  “They have little screens in the back.”

“Wow” Chelsea said as she looked at him.

“A lot has happened with technology and music’s taken a big hit from it.” AJ said.

“How come?” She asked.

“Online downloading.” AJ said.  “People get a computer program you upload songs that you burn to your computer, then you can share them with people, lots and lots of people.” AJ said nodding. “Many stopped buying cd’s all together; it’s all about MP3’s now.”  She looked at him confused and then shook her head.

“Sorry I’m over whelming you.” AJ said as she looked back down at the picture.

“No” She said shaking her head.  “Actually it’s nice; everyone else is treating me like I’m 16.”  She said as she raised her eyebrows lightly.  “And I know to them, I guess I kind of am, but I wasn’t dead, I didn’t forget, there’s still 13 years of my life.”  She put the picture down and looked at him.  “I’m not a teenager anymore; even if I was I wouldn’t think like a teenager, not after what I’ve been through.” 

“I went out front today, tried a cartwheel and fell.  I fell doing a cartwheel Alex, because I was cooped up in a stupid room, I can’t touch my toes anymore, not that it would matter, I’m 30 way beyond any kind of career in Gymnastics.”

“Doing Gymnastics yeah but you always said you would teach it, open your own studio.” AJ said.

“Yeah well that was before I missed the tournament, the trials, the Olympics, University.” She replied with a sigh.  AJ was about to say something when there was a knock at her bedroom door and she got up to answer it.

“Are you ready?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah” She said turning to AJ.  He stood up and walked over to the door and then they both followed Kevin down the hall.  They met up with Anne as she put her jacket on in the livingroom.

“If you need to go for a smoke go now man.” Kevin said as he grabbed his jacket.  AJ’s face squished up and he slowly turned his head to look at Chelsea. 

“Don’t look at me like that, like I couldn’t smell it on you in the hospital.” She said as she lightly rolled her eyes and walked to the closet.

“I’ll be outside.” AJ said looking at Kevin as his band mate giggled at him.

AJ walked outside and carefully closed the screen door behind him. He reached in and grabbed the smokes from his hoody and pulled a cigarette out.  As he lit it he thought about the last smoke he had, when he got off the plane here, and he was kind of proud he went so long without one.  When he took a drag and blew the smoke out his whole body relaxed and he sighed. 

When the screen door opened he looked behind him and saw Kevin coming out.  “What’s up?” AJ asked.

“Nothing, Chelsea said she needed to grab something.” Kevin said with a shrug.

“Is she mad?” AJ asked.

“About the smoking?” Kevin asked as AJ nodded.  “I think if she was really pissed about it she would have said something in the hospital.”

“Alright boys lets go.” Anne said as she walked out of the door.  AJ butted his smoke out on his shoe and then carried down to the end of the drive, throwing it out in the garbage pale.  He then got into the back of Kevin’s car, sitting beside Chelsea on the passenger side.

“When are Kris and the baby coming?” Chelsea asked as they pulled out of the drive way.

“Tomorrow.” Kevin said as he watched out the back window while he backed up.

“Have you seen him yet?” AJ asked.

“Just a picture.” Chelsea said with a shrug.

“Well that’s more than his loyal fans who paid for this car and his house and his kids college fund has.”  AJ said as he eyed Kevin.

“Dude shut up.” Kevin said rolling his eyes.

“Kevin.” Anne sighed.

“Sorry.” Kevin apologized as they turned off of their house street.

“You could post something on you’re My Space.”  AJ told him.

“What’s Your Space?” Chelsea asked him.  AJ and Kevin started laughing.

“It’s My Space darlin” AJ said still laughing a little.

“Well I know its yours but what is it exactly?” She asked.  AJ started laughing harder. 

“It’s something that’s on the internet hun.” Anne told her as the guys continued to laugh.  “You put your information on it, talk to friends, post pictures and videos, it’s called My Space.”

Ooh.” Chelsea said nodding. 

“Wow mom.” Kevin said calming himself. “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah me too.” AJ nodded.

“Well Alex sweety I’m sure you know more about My Space than I do.” Anne replied as she quickly looked back at him.

“Oh.” Kevin said as he started laughing.

“Dude.” AJ said looking at Kevin knowing there was only one way she would know about his My Space antics. 

“You use it too?” Chelsea asked.

“Use too.” AJ said quickly.

“What about for your solo?” Kevin asked as he stopped at a light.

“Chris or Eric will do it.”  AJ said with a shrug.  “But it’ll be a music site.”

“Should have been one all along.” Kevin said eyeing him in the review mirror.  AJ shot Kevin a shut up look and then looked at Chelsea who was looking out her window.

“Your shows are this weekend correct?” Anne asked AJ.

“Yep.” AJ said with a smile.  “House of Blues on Sunday and Roxy’s on Monday.”

“Nice.” Kevin said with a nod.

“Are you nervous?” Chelsea asked.

“Terrified is more like it.” AJ said with a light laugh.

“I’m sure you’ll be great.” Chelsea said as she patted his leg.

AJ was looking out his window when they pulled up to the cemetery and when they drove through the gates, he looked over at Chelsea.  She was looking out the window, looking around the graveyard.  Kevin drove to the north east side and as they  pulled up the road along the bottom of a hill; they saw black cars and cop cars littering the road.

“What’s going on?” Anne asked.

“I dunno.” Kevin said as he undid his seat belt.  “Stay here I’ll go check.”

AJ watched as Kevin got out of the car and walked over to one of the men standing by a black car.  He shook the man’s hand and then proceeded to talk to him.  A couple of minutes later Kevin walked back over to the car.

“What are they doing?” She asked as Kevin got back into the car.

“There exhuming the gravesite.” Kevin said as he looked at him Mom and then to Chelsea.  “They want to run some new DNA tests see if they can figure out who was in the cabin.”

“Oh.” Chelsea said as AJ looked at her.

“We can come back tomorrow.” Kevin said as he turned around.

“No.” Chelsea said quickly.  “I want to go see, her.” Chelsea said.

“Chels, there not going to let you up there, they have everything blocked off.”  Kevin said as he turned back around.  “They don’t want us interfering with the investigation.”

“Screw the investigation I wanna see my Mom.” Chelsea said getting angry.

“Chels sweety you need to calm down.” Anne said as she turned around in her seat.  Chelsea said nothing as she looked out the window.

The ride home was pretty quiet only AJ and Kevin talking here and there about the guys tour and about the new album.  Chelsea was the first one out of the car and she didn’t even say Hello to Jerald as he stood on the porch holding the door open.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as AJ, Kevin and Anne walked up to the porch.

“I’ll go talk to her.” AJ said as he walked into the house and headed to the kitchen as the swinging doors whooshed back and forth.  Kevin began to tell Jerald about the road block at the cemetery.  When AJ walked through the kitchen door, he saw the back porch door slam close.  He stopped at the screen door and saw her heading across the back lawn, towards the trail to the blue grass fields.  Opening the door he took off down the porch stairs and ran across the backyard.

“Chels!” AJ shouted as she disappeared into the bushes.  He ran down the trail and stopped when he came out to the field.  “Chels?” He said as he walked up to her a little out of breath and sat down beside her.

“That’s what you get for smoking.” She said as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.

“You shouldn’t take off by yourself.” AJ said

“I needed some air.” Chelsea replied.

“Then stay in the backyard.”  AJ told her.

“Whatever Alex.” She snapped rolling her eyes.

“Hey I know your upset about not being able to see your Mom.”

“See your Mom.” She interrupted him as she laughed a little.  “That sounded so stupid when I said that back in the car, see my Mom, what is there to see, a piece of stone and grass?” AJ wanted to say something but he couldn’t.  “How are those going to tell me its ok, how are they going to make me feel safe?”  He looked at her as she wiped her eyes, she was crying but nothing in hysterics.  “I have all these people around me who are so happy to have me back in their lives but I still feel like I’m back in my room, chained and alone.”

She wiped her eyes again and then looked at AJ.  “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”  He looked at her, his heart felt like it was breaking; he didn’t want her to be alone.  He felt his body slowly moving forward, his hand moving upward towards her face as he leaned in ready to kiss her.

“Chels?” Kevin said from behind them and they both turned and looked.  “Are you ok?”

“Yes Kevin” She sighed as she stood up.  AJ got up as she walked past Kevin and disappeared into the bushes.  He looked at Kevin as Kevin turned his attention to AJ.

“Dinners ready.” Kevin said with a nod.  He looked at AJ as his friend stared at him.  “What?”  He asked confused.

“Nothing” AJ sighed as he started walking towards the path.