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Brian sat in his hotel room looking at the phone, debating whether or not to call Kevin this early in the morning. He hadn’t been able to sleep and knew that no one had called Kevin to let him know what was going on. He has to know what Howie is going through… Picking up the receiver, he dialed Kevin’s new number and listened to it ring before someone picked up in the middle of the third ring.

“Hello?” Brianna’s voice sounded chipper.

“Hey, Brianna,” Brian greeted unenthusiastically. “How’s it goin’?”

“Brian? Hey!” he could hear her smiling on the other end. “Everything is okay. Merry Christmas.”

“Oh, yeah, Merry Christmas,” he forced a chuckle. “Is Kevin around?”

“Yeah, he’s in the kitchen. Let me get him,” Brianna replied and placed the phone on the table.

After a minute, Brian could hear Kevin’s voice as he asked Brianna who was calling this early. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Hey, Kev,” Brian’s voice saddened. “I have some bad news.”

“What is it?” Kevin’s voice immediately filled with worry. “Is everything okay?”

“Well,” Brian paused, “Howie and Ivy were involved in a shooting last night, and Ivy didn’t make it.”

“Oh God,” Kevin said quietly. “Is Howie okay? Please tell me he’s okay…”

“Yeah, he’s fine physically. He was hit in the shoulder and they have his arm in sling. But man, he’s messed up over Ivy, obviously. Nick tried calling you last night, but he didn’t have this number and I just got around to calling.”

“It’s fine, man, I’m just glad you called and let us know,” Kevin rubbed his eyes and shook his head sadly.

“Okay, cuz…I’ll let you go, but I wanted to tell you. Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah, Bri, Merry Christmas,” he said and replaced the receiver. “Damn.”

“What is it?” Brianna asked, concerned.

“Ivy and Howie were shot last night and Ivy was killed,” Kevin replied absently. He heard Brianna gasp.

“Was it a mugging or what?”

“I don’t know, Brian didn’t say. I have to go down there,” he mumbled to himself and headed upstairs to pack a small bag and call to make flight arrangements.

“You’re leaving now?” Brianna questioned as she followed him into their bedroom. Instinctively, she walked over to Kyra’s crib to check on her.

“I have to, Bree,” he said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Howie isn’t doing that great.”

Brianna nodded sadly. She knew Howie had to be upset, but this was their first Christmas as a family and she was suddenly feeling selfish. “Do what you have to.”

“I’ll be back by tomorrow morning,” Kevin said and pulled Brianna into a loving embrace. “I promise.”

“Okay,” she gave her best smile. Tomorrow isn’t Christmas…



Nick stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. He was just outside the Tampa city limits and he could not be happier. At least I can get a couple hours of sleep before everybody comes over. Looking out the window he saw that the rain clouds were beginning to disappear and he could see the first traces of the morning sun. Reaching down to the radio, he pressed the search button and it stopped on the local R&B station. Hmm…that sounds like pretty song, he thought to himself as a slow song began to drift through his speakers. After a second, he heard Aaliyah’s soft voice singing the heartbreaking lyrics.

How could the one I gave my heart to
break my heart so bad
How could the one who made me happy
make me feel so sad
Won't somebody tell me so I can understand
If you love me how could you hurt me like that
How could the one I gave my world to
throw my world away
How could the one who said I Love You
say the things you say
How could the one I was so true to
just tell me lies
How could the one I gave my heart to
break this heart of mine
tell me
How could you be so cold to me
when I gave you everything
All my love, All I had inside
How could you just walk out the door
How could you not love me anymore
I thought we had forever
I can't understand
How could the one I shared my dreams with
take my dreams from me
How could the love that brought such pleasure
bring such misery
Won't somebody tell me
somebody tell me
somebody tell me please
If you love me
How could you do that to me
tell me
How could you just walk out the door
How could you not love me anymore
I thought we had forever
I can't understand
How could the one I gave my heart to
break my heart so bad
How could the one who made me happy
make me feel so sad
Won’t somebody tell me
so I can understand
If you love me
How could you hurt me like that
How could the one I gave my world to
take my world away
How could the one who said I Love You
say the things you say
How could the one I was so true to
just tell me lies
How could the one I gave my heart to
How could the one I gave my heart to
How could the one I gave my heart to
break this heart of mine
tell me*

When the song ended, Nick laughed cynically to himself. “I should record this song and send it to Bianca. That would let her know exactly how I feel.”

Getting out of his SUV, he hadn’t ever felt so happy to know that his bed was just inside. Nick unlocked the front door and saw that everyone was still asleep. It was just before 6am so they would stay in bed for at least another hour or so.

Nick dropped his keys on the table and was about to head upstairs when something on the table caught his eye. A picture.

“How many times am I gonna have to put that damn thing away?” Without thinking twice about it, Nick picked it up and flung it to the floor. Maybe they’ll get the idea…



Brian smiled when his cell phone began to ring. Without looking at his caller id, he answered. “Hey Jules, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Brian. I see you definitely weren’t expecting to hear from me,” Nicole said softly.

“Nicole…” Brian’s smile fell with his voice. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better,” she admitted. “What about you?”

Brian didn’t understand why she was calling. It had been months since he had heard from her and now she decided to get in touch. As many times as I called her and she blew me off…now she has the nerve to call on Christmas… “I’ve been great, actually,” he answered honestly.

“That’s good to hear,” her voice was tinged with sadness.

“Why did you wait so long to call?”

Nicole thought for a moment. She could lie and say that she had been busy or she could be honest. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. “I was scared.”

“Of what?” he asked angrily. “What makes it okay to call now?”

“Brian…I was scared of losing you to someone else, so I thought that if I pushed you away first it wouldn’t hurt as bad,” she answered quickly as she tried to fight her tears. “I miss you.”

Brian’s voice softened as did his heart. “I miss you, too. You know, you had nothing to worry about, Nikki…I love you.”

“I’m so sorry. I love you, too,” Brian could hear her voice brighten. “Can I see you? Today?”

Brian thought about it for a second. “Well, I have plans for today; my family is in Florida. What about tonight?”

“Tonight is good,” she said. “I love you, Brian.”

“Love you, too,” he smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Ending the call, he dropped onto the bed, a huge smile plastered on his face. He would have Christmas dinner with his family and Julie and after that he would meet Nicole for dinner. Probably a romantic, candle-lit dinner. Sighing to himself, he could finally feel sleep tugging at him and he thankfully gave in.



Bianca sat at the table in the hotel room, scribbling something on a napkin. AJ was asleep in the large bed, but after trying for more than two hours, she finally gave up. There had been nothing on television and there was no radio so she resorted to writing on whatever she could find. Napkins. That was what she found.

Now, she sat, with her feet curled under her, writing whatever popped into her mind. Song lyrics, lines from poems, her favorite quotes. Suddenly, a new song lyric entered her mind and she quickly jotted it down. Then another came and another…until she had a verse.

When I sit back and remember
How my life used to be
Having never known the blessing
Of you lying next to me
I get this empty feeling
At the center of my soul
Realizing that your love's the
Only thing that ever made me whole

Now I have the same sad feeling
Every morning when I wake
And I don't know just how many more
Days like this that I can take **

Reading back over the song verse, she sighed and placed her head in her hands. This was a song she knew she would be working on again. She jumped when she felt AJ’s hand on her shoulder.

“Whatcha writin’?” he asked quietly while trying to escape from the fog of exhaustion.

Folding the napkin up quickly, Bianca smiled. “Nothing, just doodling. I couldn’t sleep.”

Leaning down, AJ placed a soft kiss on her forehead and smiled. “Well, we have a flight to catch so maybe you’ll get some sleep then.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she replied absently. Though, I doubt it.


* “The One I Gave My Heart To”—Aaliyah
** Lyrics by Brianna Chambers