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** BRIAN **

“I know that you want to come out and join us, but now is really not the best time.” I found myself holding my breath as I waited for my wife’s response. I knew that it wasn’t going to be positive.

“Why not?!” Leighanne was undeniably pissed off. “You told Baylee that he would be able to perform during the second leg of the North American tour. You’re now more than halfway through the American tour dates and we’re still sitting at home!”

“I know.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as I struggled to come up with the right words. “The timing’s just not right. None of the other guys have their wives and kids here at the moment …”

“Since when does that matter?” Leighanne demanded.

“It’s just – It’s nothing personal, honey.” I was stalling, tripping over my words as I tried to hide the fact that I was enjoying the solitude.

It had been a long time since the five of us had been alone on the road. For the first time in over a decade, I was free to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Aside from showing up to perform, I had virtually no other responsibilities, and I would have to lie in order to say that I wasn’t enjoying it.

“It seems pretty personal to me.” Leighanne huffed. “What am I supposed to tell Baylee?”

“Tell him – Tell him that Howie is sick and that he shouldn’t be on the road with us until he’s feeling better. I wouldn’t want either one of you to get sick.” I knew that the excuse was lame, but it was the best that I could come up with.

“That’s it? That’s your excuse!? You don’t want to see your family because Howie has a cold?” Leighanne was beginning to sound irate. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on, Brian?”

“It’s more than just a cold.” I continued on with my ridiculous excuse, dropping my hand from my nose and staring off into the vast amount of empty seats. “He’s really sick. He’s probably highly contagious.”

The arena lights were dimmed, casting a series of malformed shadows across the stage and over the folding chairs that had been set up along the floor. Even after twenty-one years of performing, I was still amazed at how quickly seemingly cavernous arenas could be transformed into brilliantly lit spaces holding mobs of shrieking fans.

“You’re pathetic.” Leighanne announced. “Do you hear me? You’re pa-the-tic.”

I walked over to the edge of the stage and peered down into the ‘fan pit’ space that would eventually hold approximately two hundred of our most insane – err dedicated – fans. I couldn’t help but shake my head as I half-listened to Leighanne continue to berate me for refusing to give in. Some of the stuff that went on in the pit was intense, and I always wondered why so many women were willing to put themselves through the experience.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Mmmmhmmm ...” I nodded needlessly and pulled my eyes back up to the rows of empty seats. “I’m listening.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t heard a word since she had called me pathetic. My mind was elsewhere; debating about whether or not the guys and I had time to escape for dinner before the show. With Leighanne’s voice nattering in my ear and my mind on dinner, I didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind me. The man’s hands were heavy on my shoulders and the gentle shove was enough to make me lose my balance and pitch forward towards the ground below.

“Shit!” AJ’s voice boomed in my ear as he wrapped an arm around my waist and yanked me backwards. “I didn’t think that I hit you that hard!”

I swayed unsteadily on my feet, twisting slightly and grabbing frantically for AJ’s arm. The phone slipped from my ear, but I miraculously managed to prevent it from crashing to the floor; my fingers pressing on the screen and creating a series of loud beeps. My heart was throbbing noisily in my chest as I struggled to regain my balance. AJ had legitimately scared the breath right out of me.

“Brian?” Leighanne’s voice continued to drift through the line. “What are you doing? What’s going on over there? We were in the middle of an important conversation!”

“Sorry, Leighanne!” AJ yelled, lowering his face towards the phone that I was still clutching in my right hand. “I didn’t mean to hit him so hard!”

“What?!” Leighanne screeched. “Brian, what is going on? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” I promised. Having finally regained my balance, I shoved AJ away from me and turned to give him a warning look before redirecting my attention to the phone. “I should get going ... we have sound-check in less than an hour.”

“So, the discussion is over?” Leighanne sounded beside herself with anger. Clearly, she had forgotten that she was supposed to be concerned for my wellbeing. “We’re not joining you on tour?”

I was trying desperately to keep my mind on the conversation, but AJ was busy cracking an imaginary whip and puckering his lips in my direction. Knowing that letting out a spiel of laughter would only make things worse; I bit my lip and dropped my eyes to the stage floor before delivering my answer.

“Not right now. Like I said, Howie’s sick.”

“Fine.” The line went dead with Leighanne’s final statement; the dial tone overly loud in my ear.

“I seriously wasn’t trying to kill you.” AJ stopped flapping his hands in the air and turned serious as soon as I disconnected the call. “I thought that you had heard me coming up behind you.”

I snorted. Any anger that I had initially felt towards the younger man was already gone. “I was too busy listening to my wife call me pathetic to hear anything else.”

AJ frowned. “Ro didn’t take the idea of staying home too well either. Although, she stopped short of calling me names.”

“It’s only for another couple of months.” I sighed. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

“She misses you?” AJ offered. “Or she’s worried that you’re gonna cheat on her.”

I snorted again. “How come you phrased the first suggestion as a question and the second as a statement?”

AJ grinned. “I know how your wife thinks.”

“Judging by our conversation, I still have no idea how she thinks.” I rolled my eyes and stuffed my phone into my back pocket before falling into step next to AJ. “What did you want?”

“Nothing.” AJ shrugged. “Justin and I came back from shopping and you just happened to be the first person that I saw.”

“So, you’re saying that you almost gave me severe head trauma because you were bored?” I shot AJ a sideways glance.

AJ’s grin widened as we made our way into the backstage lounge. “Pretty much.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes for the second time. It wasn’t as if AJ’s behaviour surprised me. “You’re an ass.”

“It’s nice to see you, too.”

“I was talking to AJ.” I addressed my cousin while crossing the room to pull a bottle of water out of the fridge. “He damn near killed me no less than five minutes ago.”

Kevin barely batted an eye as he dropped his gaze back to the parenting magazine in his lap. “Do you think that we should take Max’s blanket away from him? The thing is a living germ at this point.”

“Speaking of a living germ …” AJ nodded towards the far end of the room. “Howie looks like shit.”

Howie was practically passed out on one of the well-worn brown couches. He had propped himself up with three massive throw-pillows, a Kleenex box was perched precariously on his stomach, and an assortment of used tissues littered the floor around the sofa. His eyes were closed, and he was emitting a painful wheezing sound with every breath.

“I can hear you.” Howie’s sounded like he was speaking through a mouthful of cotton. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.” I twisted the cap off of my bottle of water and took a long swig. “I don’t think that I’ve ever seen you this sick.”

“I’m fine.” Howie winced as he forced the words out. “I just need some more green tea.”

“What you need is rest.” Kevin looked up from his magazine and turned to AJ and me for support. “Please tell him that he cannot and will not perform tonight.”

“You cannot and will not perform tonight.” AJ and I parroted Kevin’s words back at Howie in perfect unison, grinning wildly at each other as we watched Kevin shake his head in frustration.

“I can do it.” Howie protested before lapsing into a round of agonizing coughs. “I just need someone to bring me more tea.”

“You’re going back to the hotel.” I declared. “Room service will bring you all of the tea that you want while you’re in bed.”

Howie didn’t even bother to open his eyes. “I have to perform …”

“Stop fussing.” AJ stepped around me and pulled his own bottle of water from the fridge. “Nick will cover your parts, and we’ll apologize to the fans. Everything will be fine.”

“Where is Nick?” I quickly scanned the room at the mention of his name. “I haven’t seen him in at least an hour.”

“The last time that I saw him he was slinking around with his iPad.” Kevin had returned to reading his magazine, and he didn’t even make an attempt to pull his eyes away from the page as he spoke. “Someone should probably find him before sound-check starts.”

“I guess I’ll do that.” AJ downed the remainder of his water in one long chug and dropped the bottle in the recycling bin before nodding in my direction. “You make sure that sicko over there gets a ride back to the hotel.”

I looked over at Howie who was in the middle of blowing his nose. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was clearly on the verge of another coughing fit. All of the green tea in the world wasn’t going to be enough to cure him at this point. He needed to see a doctor.

“Let’s go, buddy.” I shot AJ a look that clearly said ‘thanks for nothing’ as I cautiously made my way towards the living germ that was once Howie. “Let’s get you back to the hotel.”