The spot was now covered with grass, but the silver plate still looked brand new. She took a seat Indian style and grinned widely. “Happy new years eve daddy. I did it…changed my life around and hopefully Alva’s too. Mom is pretty much a lost cause. We go see her every now and then, but she doesn’t know who we are. I hope that she’s forgotten about all the bad things…just like she forgot us.”

She took the bouquet of flowers and freed them from the plastic wrapping, then arranged them carefully into the empty and rusty container. Anita was pretty sure that no one else had bothered to visit her father. “I just wanted you to know that we are ok…that we are going to be fine. I mean, my heart is still mending, but I’ll be fine.”

Just for a moment she had memories of Nick flash through her mind. It happened here and there, no matter how much she told herself to forget him. It was impossible. Those three words he’d just blurted out that one night, the night she had decided to let him go. She didn’t regret her decision, but she wished it was possible to help her sister and keep the man she loved.

Anita gathered her things and said her goodbyes to her father and headed for home. Home, was no longer the mobile home. It was a nice two bedroom apartment in a nice community, where no one knew their past and people saw them as two decent young girls living on their own. Alva had a part time job at a local Starbucks, which she seemed to enjoy. She was still struggling to get cleaned up, but she was being a good sport about it all. Now she was happily working, and on her spare time she tried to keep herself busy.

Anita had landed an office job at an income tax service office and was trying to finish up her studies, while she tried to care for her mother who was placed in a facility for the mentally ill. She’d lost all recognition of herself, her life and her two daughters and although it was saddening when they visited, they were at ease that their mother couldn’t remember the type of person she’d been.

It had been a long day for Anita, tons of paperwork to fill and lots of numbers to crunch. Then the uncomfortable bus ride to the cemetery and the quick visit to a hell bent mother who was having a fit; reason unknown. Now, she couldn’t wait to step into her apartment and rest. She unlocked the door and spun around to stare out into the distance, where she could see the tip of the casinos on the strip. Today was new years eve and she wondered where the guys would be spending it. She pushed the door open, praying that she could just go to her bed and fall asleep.

“Hello there!” Alva greeted her with a wide smile.

“I have to admit that you smiling like that…seriously scares me.” Anita teased her sister as she headed towards her room. She dumped her bag and sweater on the floor and slipped off her heels. “What? What scam have you got me into now?”

“Get ready, I am not about to spend this evening cooped up in this house. While watching you mope. We are going for a night on the town!”

Anita wasn’t in the mood to go out tonight. She was tired and knew she’d have to get up early to go to work the next morning. “How the hell are we going out? When we don’t have money and we both have to work tomorrow.”

Alva rolled her eyes, now she knew exactly why Anita had always annoyed her. She was uptight and worst of all self righteous to the max. “You need to relax woman. I have it all under control…the money and even tickets to a club.”

Anita rolled her eyes back at her sister; crossing her arms over her chest she took a seat on the corner of her bed. “No Wonder Mr. Finney told me to have a great time tonight and not worry about coming in tomorrow. You are so sneaky.”

Her sister grinned from ear to ear which made her a bit uneasy. “We are going to have a blast tonight. You will see.” Alva let out a squeal and jumped onto her sister, sending them tumbling onto the bed. Anita let out a sigh, with all this going out talk she’d started thinking about Nick again. Wondering where he was or what he could be doing. It’d been a little over a month already and she was well aware that men; especially men like Nick, moved on quickly. He was probably somewhere embracing a beautiful blonde with the body of a goddess and the sex drive of a teen.

She turned to look at her sister who was now rummaging in the closet for something to wear. Picking Alva over Nick had been a very hard thing to do, mostly, because she hadn’t been sure that the outcome would be worth it. Now looking at her sister who was back to normal, gave her the reassurance that she’d made the right decision.

No matter how painful it had been.

Nick paced the room scratching his head; he’d been pacing for the past twenty minutes. He was wondering if he’d made the right move, after all, maybe everything had fallen in place already.

“You’re gonna make a hole in the floor if you don’t stop pacing.” AJ startled Nick who came to an abrupt stop.

“What if they don’t come? What if she…” he swallowed hard at the thought, it’d only been a month, but a lot could happen in a month. “…well…if she has somebody already? And I make a fool out of myself?”

AJ shrugged, he didn’t have an answer for that. He’d made an ass out of himself plenty of times and he seemed to be just fine. “You will be ok…look at me…I‘m ok.”

“Barely…” Nick joked, but didn’t even smile.

“Oh shut up!” AJ gave Nick a smack in the back of the head and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Stop tripping dude…we have this private show tonight to ring in the new year. We gotta concentrate on that. Come on…” The twosome were escorted by their bodyguards through the hotel and down to the club for rehearsals.

“Holy shit! Nick Carter look at the babe you’ve become.” The blonde grinned from ear to ear.

Nick smiled back and pulled her in for a hug, “Wow I’m happy to see you. I didn’t know if you would make it…but I’m so glad you did.”

“Well how could I turn down an invitation like this. I need a drink!” She took him by the arm and they took a seat at the bar.

“I haven’t seen you in a long while. Thought you forgot all about me.”

“You seriously think I could forget you…you’re…”

AJ interrupted the twosome by swooping the blonde into his arms and spinning her around. “Well look who is here…I hope you can cheer up this guy, cause he’s been a bag of emotions. I mean if he doesn’t cry at least…”

Nick scowled at his friend, “Shut up!” He wasn’t going to lie, he’d cried a couple of times, but it was in private. “I don’t cry!”

“Sure…sure…” AJ continued to tease.

The blonde grinned widely, “I know for a fact that you cry…I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“Anyways…are we going to sit around or are we going to order some drinks?” Nick waved down the bartender, relieved to have distracted the twosome.

“Now we’re talkin Carter…now we’re talkin.” The blonde grinned widely. The threesome sat at the bar and had their drinks.

Night had fallen, and quickly. Now that it was dark and the city lights were glowing around her, she was excited. She couldn’t wait to see what the club looked like or the amount of people that would be there. The taxi came to a halt in front of the Hard Rock hotel and even though she was excited, a feeling of worry came over her. Where had Alva gotten the money?

“Ok before you start tripping out. I didn’t steal…bust tricks or anything like that. Later tonight I will explain everything to you. Now…let’s just check this place out and relax.” Alva fluffed her hair, pulled down her tight dress and grabbed her sisters hand and they headed into the hotel.

The twosome pushed through the doors and then Anita froze. Her eyes were fixed on a poster of familiar faces. “Did you know about that?”

“Maybe. Alright…yes, I did. You sacrificed your happiness for me and that is not fair, although I greatly appreciate it. Nick is going to be here and I know that you still love him. Things could---”

Anita interrupted her sister, “No. I wont get my hopes up and then have them shattered by seeing him with some blonde bimbo. I just wont. We need to go home!”

Alva crossed her arms and huffed. “I will not go home. You can go home if you wish, but I’m staying to have a good time. You should do the same.”

Anita wanted to be mad at her sister, for putting her in such a situation, but she was happy and giddy to think that Nick was in the same place she was. Could there really be a glimmer of hope for her? “Fine, but I swear that if my heart breaks tonight. I’m killing you on the way home and I’ll dump your scrawny body in the desert.”

Her younger sister smiled, “That’s a deal.” Alva knew that nothing could go wrong. At least, she was hoping it wouldn’t. She was hoping that Nick wouldn’t have someone new, and he’d have the balls to speak up.

Nick was warm and feeling good. Spending time with any of his siblings was always fun, but Angel was the best. She always made him feel better. “So, it’s almost time. It’s already 11 o’clock, and we gotta get ready. I’ll see you front row.” He kissed his sister on the forehead and headed to his dressing room.

Howie and Brian were getting their makeup done, while AJ was struggling with the zipper of his pants. “Man it’s packed out there. It’s a full house. People still love us.”

Howie curled his lip, “Of course they do you moron.”

Brian sighed, “I do wish I was home though. I like spending time with you guys, but I’d really like a quiet time with my family.”

“We hear ya Bri.” Nick patted his band mate on the back. “Maybe next year.”

The host walked in and greeted the guys and then announced that they had 10 minutes before they had to be on stage. The guys hustled to get ready and practiced their vocals, before they knew it the ten minutes were up and they were being guided to the stage.

Nick’s heart always fluttered when he saw the amount of fans that still followed them. HE searched the place for a familiar face, and felt his heart sink when he didn’t see it. She wouldn’t come. She’d probably moved on already.

Anita hid in the back, there was no way she had the guts to sit in the front row, where her real seats were. She didn’t have the guts to face him. Her eyes lit up as she saw the guys on stage, and caught a glimpse of Nick’s smile. She could tell that he was looking for someone, most likely his new love interest.

“Stop being a dumbass and come to the front with me. I feel like such a tard just sitting there alone. Please.”

With a deep breath Anita gave into her sister and they both headed towards the front. The guys were already singing a song, one she couldn’t even make out at the time. She was too nervous to pay attention.

Nick was keeping up with the steps, chorusing with his band mates when his eyes landed on the familiar face. She looked nervous, which made him smile. Then their eyes locked and he smiled widely at her. His heart pounded with excitement. He would have given anything to be able to stop singing and hop off the stage. But, he contained himself and sang through most of the songs.

It was almost time to ring in the new year, Brian reminded everyone. As Brian began to sing, he saw her get up.

You are my fire…the one…desire. Believe when I say…that I want it that way.

Anita couldn’t ring in the year knowing that Nick would leave again. That she’d seen him and now all her feelings were back, and it was all in vain. Nothing would come of it. She was already standing, and headed for the door. Then stopped as she heard Nick sing her name.

Anita…but we are two worlds apart…I can’t reach to your heart…when you say…I want it that way…

Slowly she turned around to watch him sing directly at her. Most of the people had turned to find out who the lucky Anita, that Nick Carter had sang to was. She stood in the same place watching as they sang the last of the song and Brian once again began to talk. Announcing that there were only ten minutes before everyone rang in the new year. Nick quickly jumped off the stage and trotted over to Anita.

He came to a stop right in front of her, “I didn’t think you would come.”

“I didn’t know you invited me.”

He smirked. “I’m glad your sister is good at keeping secrets then. You look great.”

She smiled and felt a hot rush run through her body. “You too.”

The twosome could feel all eyes on them, but it didn't phase them. They were in a trance, staring into each others eyes, neither one daring to make the first move. Time stood still even thought they could hear everyone in the club counting down to one. Cheers erupted and the twosome broke from their trance.

“Happy new year!” Nick wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a hug.

She responded by throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him as tight as she could. “Happy new year!” She whispered into his ear. “I missed you so much.”

They parted and he traced her cheek with his finger. “Hell, I did too.”

“So, the question here is…do you still love me?” Anita bit her bottom lip waiting for his response.

“When you love somebody you do crazy things…right?” She nodded in agreement. “Then if I bought a house here in Vegas…does that make me crazy?” He didn’t wait for her response, “Of course I still love you. I always have.”

Then he kissed her.