Tears ran down Alexa’s face as she stared into AJ’s icy glare. “I don’t know what you mean.” She responded, softly.

"Like hell you don’t know what I mean.” AJ replied, forcing her back against the blue steel door once again. “I heard everything Alexa. It’s stunning that I didn’t recognize you, because to be honest, when I saw you in Ben’s office that day, I was blown away. I knew you looked so damn familiar.”

 “If you heard the whole conversation, then you should know that it’s not like Ben made it out to be.” Alexa sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Listen, you have every right in the world to tell Brian whatever you want to tell him, but please just let me explain.”

AJ stepped back and shot a stone-cold look in her direction. “You’ve got about 30 seconds.”

Alexa sighed, attempting to regain her composure. “When you all came in for your meeting that day, Ben was rather shocked that after all this time Brian was still mourning his wife. So, he came up with this ridiculous scheme that since he and I had similar losses, although not really, that I should move in across the street from him and try to be his friend, talk to him, get him to open up—in all honesty, I don’t really know how he wanted me to do it, but he wanted Brian to sing again. I told him no originally, but you have to understand that I’m not as well-off as all of you are. I pretty much have the clothes on my back at this point-”

“This story had better be getting good, because at this point, it really just sounds like you’re telling me that you’re using Brian for money and in my book, that’s pretty shitty.” AJ argued.

“Would you just let me finish?” Alexa responded, though she knew that she was in no position to have an attitude with him.

AJ nodded, signaling for her to continue.

“The simple fact of the matter is that I never planned for this to happen. I didn’t come here expecting to even talk to Brian. My friend decided that we should try to take advantage of Ben’s offer—live for free in a nice house in Georgia, get paid without having to be Ben’s slave, but something happened, AJ.” Alexa paused as her lip began to tremble. “I did talk to him and I fell in love with him. I love everything about him and this Jive thing has been making me crazy with guilt. I wanted to tell him, but I don’t know how.”

AJ shook his head slowly and then punched the door inches from Alexa’s head. “You’ve put me in such a bad place, you know that? As a friend, I feel like I should tell Brian what I know, but then after the night that he just had, I don’t want to ruin it all for him. He loves you so much and now—I just don’t know.”

“AJ, you’ve seen us together. You know how we feel about each other. I couldn’t make those feelings up. Not to mention the fact that I quit Jive months ago, before Brian and I were even an official couple.” She wiped the fresh set of tears that were dripping down her face with the back of her hand. “If you need to tell him, I can understand that, but please just know that my feelings for him are real.”

AJ shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. “I do know that, which makes this harder. If he finds out, it’s going to kill him and it’s going to break you two apart and after everything that man has been through, I can’t be the one to do that to him.”

Alexa nodded understandingly. “You’re completely right. I’ll tell him tonight, when we get back to his house. I promise. This isn’t your burden.”

AJ grabbed Alexa’s arm as she turned to leave the room. He sighed as Alexa looked back at him sadly. He cleared his throat. “Keep your mouth shut for a while. I’m going to talk to Ben and get him to keep his mouth shut too, but I swear to God Alexa, you had better love that man with everything that you have inside of you and make him happier than he’s ever been. Don’t make me regret this.”

“But, why?” Alexa stammered. “I-I mean, what changed your mind?”

“Love.” AJ responded simply. “It’s hard to find and even though it was a shady way to get here, you and Brian have found it. You make him happy. I can’t take that away—as long as it’s really you that’s making him happy and not some fake version of you.”

Alexa threw her arms around AJ’s neck. “Thank you so much, AJ. You won’t regret this, I promise. I do love him so much.”

AJ nodded and looked down to his feet. “I know, now get out of here. He’s probably getting worried about you. I’ll hang back for a minute.”

Alexa slipped out the door and down the hall. Meanwhile, AJ stayed in the maintenance room and banged his head against the door lightly. Why did I have to smoke right at that very minute? He sighed as he slid down the door. He sat on the floor and placed his head in his hands. Don’t make me regret this Alexa.

-------

Every day, Alexa walked around Brian’s house in nervous anticipation. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop. AJ was going to come to his senses and tell Brian everything. She was always waiting for her cell phone to ring or for her to arrive home to all of her things being strewn about the yard.

Today, Brian had asked her to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things. It was a little bit random, but since the concert, he had been busy making plans to start recording. Sometime within the next few weeks, he would be traveling to New York to sign a new contract with Jive. Alexa had agreed to go with him, since it was her hometown, but only if he agreed to fly, which after some argument, he did. He said that he wanted to see where she lived and where she hung out and what her life in New York had been about. She had news for him though, it hadn’t been about much.

When Alexa had arrived back home, there was a black rental car sitting in the driveway. She didn’t remember Brian telling her that they were expecting anyone. A thousand scenarios began racing through her mind. Was it Ben? Had AJ flown in? Had someone else seen what had gone down behind the scenes at the concert venue weeks before?

Alexa grabbed her bags out of the backseat of the car and nervously made her way through the door. Brian, who had apparently seen her pull up, was waiting at the entrance to the foyer.

“Hey,” He greeted, grabbing the plastic bags from her hands. “You’re back.”

“Did you expect me to stay away?” Alexa joked, though she recognized that he was acting strangely.

“No, no.” Brian replied, and then cleared his throat. “I kind of have a surprise for you.”

Alexa knitted her eyebrows in confusion. “Ohh-kay, what kind of surprise?”

Brian set the grocery bags down at his feet and took her hands into his. “There’s someone waiting for you in the living room. I just want you to be open-minded.”

“Brian,” Alexa replied, trying to crack a smile. “You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

“I called your mom.” Brian replied blankly. “And she’s here.”

“You did what?!” Alexa yelled, unable to control herself. “You had no right, Brian.”

“Look,” Brian replied calmly. He had known that she was going to be upset. “We made a deal remember? I join the Backstreet Boys, you talk to your mother?”

“That was a joke.” Alexa scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“It was only a joke when you thought that there’d be no way in hell that I’d join the group again,” Brian remarked defensively. He then closed his eyes and inhaled, attempting to regain his composure. “Listen, I flew her in from Chicago. She really wants to see you. Can you just give her a chance? For me?”

Alexa sighed and shook her head. She glanced into his pleading eyes and sighed. “Fine, I’ll give her a chance, but you owe me.”

Brian smiled and kissed her softly. He took her hand gently in his and led her to the living room.

Caroline Kessler, Alexa’s mother, stood when she saw Alexa enter the room. The picture that Alexa had found on the Internet had to be of this woman from years before. Now, her skin was wrinkled, her hair was ragged and her nails were yellowing from years of smoking cigarettes. Alexa was glad to know that she didn’t resemble this woman that much after all.

When Alexa didn’t say anything, Caroline's hand flew to her mouth shakily.

Alexa rolled her eyes. This broad must have attended some low-budget acting classes before she got here, Alexa thought to herself.

“Oh, Alexa.” Caroline remarked, when all Alexa did was stand there, staring at her estranged mother. “You’re beautiful.”

Alexa attempted a tight smile, but stepped back when the woman reached in for a hug. “No.” She shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

Brian could feel how tense Alexa was. He rubbed her back gently and felt her loosen up slightly. He looked back and forth between the two women. Maybe this really was a bad idea?

“Alexa, I was so excited when Brian said that you had found my number. I want to get to know you. I’ve wasted so much time.” Caroline replied.

Alexa rolled her eyes. “That’s the understatement of the year considering that it’s been oh, almost 25 years.”

“I’m not expecting you to fall blindly into my arms, but just take a walk around the block with me. Let’s get to know each other.” Caroline suggested softly.

Though Alexa was starting to let her guard down, there was something strange about the situation. Something didn’t feel right. She shrugged. “Yeah, let’s take a walk.” Alexa gestured for Caroline to lead the way, then fell into step behind her toward the door. She stopped when Brian grabbed her hand.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Brian asked softly, rubbing the back of her hand gently with his thumb.

She shook her head. “I should do this alone.”

Brian nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He watched helplessly as Alexa walked out the door behind Caroline.

The two women walked in silence for minutes, though to Alexa it felt like a lifetime. She hated to be put into such an awkward position. This woman had given up her rights to Alexa when she was a teenager. She had left Alexa alone in the world when her father had died and now, she expected some kind of a relationship? It just didn’t seem real. Alexa knew that Brian meant well, but this was almost too much to handle. Could this possibly be a form of punishment sent from the heavens?

“So,” Alexa finally broke the silence. “What are you really doing here? Why now? I mean, it’s been this long. You didn’t want me before. Why would you want me now?”

Caroline sighed and turned to her daughter. “Let’s not be a drama queen, Alexa. You’ve have a much better life because I wasn’t there. Look around you. I could never give you all of this.”

Alexa narrowed her eyes at the older version of herself. “Okay, so now at least I know that the doting mother thing was only an act for Brian. By the way, I don’t have any of this. It’s Brian’s. When daddy died, I never had a chance, especially when my mother signed me away to the state, not that she was ever much of a mother to begin with.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “When are you going to grow up, Alexa? When your father killed himself, you were already sixteen years old and capable of taking care of yourself. What did I know about raising a teenager, especially one that was going to have obvious emotional trauma after her father shot himself. What was I supposed to do?”

Alexa looked over at this strange woman. She was flabbergasted. What was this woman doing here? “You’re my mother. You were supposed to try. You were supposed to stick around. That’s not that hard to figure out.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Caroline responded. “Isn’t the saying that it’s better late than never?”

“See,” Alexa replied, shaking her head. “That’s what I’m still wondering. What are you doing here? Ever since we got out here, you’ve been nothing but a cold-hearted bitch. You surely don’t sound like you want to start any kind of a relationship.”

Caroline clenched her jaw and shook her head. “I’ve never been the warmest person, but I am who I am and I’m unapologetic in being so. I’m here. I’m willing to get to know you and that’s all that I can offer. I’ve been in some bad places in my life. You could learn from my experiences.”

“Then please, enlighten me.” Alexa mocked. She shoved her hands into her pockets, only wanting to go back home and leave this stranger here on the street.

“Do you even want to know my reasoning behind why I left your father with you girls in the first place?” Caroline asked, sounding exasperated herself.

“Sure, Mom,” Alexa responded bitterly. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Caroline sighed, “Although, you sound completely uninterested, I’m going to tell you anyway. I was in a bad place. I was raised in a world much like you were—as a rich girl, a socialite. Drugs, parties—it was all a way of life. It was a way of life that I was unable to give up.”

“First of all,” Alexa broke in. “I didn’t grow up in that world. I had a parent who cared enough to tell me ‘no.’ Secondly, I don’t see where you’re going with this. I don’t get how I’m supposed to be sympathetic to your cause.”

“Maybe you aren’t supposed to be sympathetic, but at least I’m being honest. We all make mistakes. I don’t think that they should be held over our heads for the rest of our lives. I’m trying to make up for my mistakes now.”

Alexa couldn’t argue with her there.  Would it be hypocritical of her not to forgive her mother for the things that she had done to her for her entire life, yet expect Brian to fall blindly into her arms after she came clean to him about her past indiscretions? Probably so.

Alexa shrugged. “You’re right. We all make mistakes, but Caroline, you didn’t even show up to Daddy’s funeral. You even left Brooke and I alone for that. I mean, Brooke was 18, I was 16, how could you justify that to yourself no matter how messed up you were?”

“That’s the thing, Alexa.” Caroline responded. “You don’t understand because you’ve never been there. To be in that place, where you are so dependent on physical substances—you lose control; you lose judgement.”

Alexa shook her head slowly. “I guess that I can understand that. It doesn’t make it right, but at least I can understand.”

“So, then, let’s start over like adults. Let’s learn about each other. Tell me how you met Brian.” Caroline changed the subject, jumping right into the personal.

“Um,” Alexa started. Though she was becoming less guarded, she was still uncomfortable talking about her person life. “I lived across the street. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Are you going to get married?” Caroline prodded quickly.

“I-I don’t know.” Alexa stammered. “We haven’t been together that long.”

“And you’re already living with him?” Caroline responded, looking proud. “Good girl.”

“What?” Alexa exclaimed, not knowing how their conversation how gotten here. “I’m just staying with him for a while. We don’t live together.”

By this time, they had made their way around the block and were now standing in front of Brian’s house. “I need a smoke. Why don’t you go inside and get some cash from Brian and take your old mom out to dinner.”

Alexa narrowed her eyes at the woman in confusion. “Um, I’m pretty sure at Brian was going to offer to take you out to dinner already, but I don’t walk around with my hand out.”

“Well, you should.” Caroline responded, taking a puff off of her cigarette. “He’s got a good thing here, make him pay for it.”

“What?” Alexa exclaimed again. This woman was so up and down with the crazy that Alexa could no longer keep up.

“Listen, I need to ask you a favor.” She responded, ignoring the astonished look on Alexa’s face.  “I’m kind of down and out right now. I was telling Brian earlier that I really want to buy a house in this area, but the thing is—I kind of need a loan. I’m working my life out. I’ve got myself together, but I have no savings—no nothing. I need some help getting back on my feet.”

Alexa’s mouth hung open as she listened to this woman, supposedly her mother, asking her for loan. This was a woman that she hadn’t seen in over 24 years; a woman who had given her up with the click of a pen; a woman who had actually started to have Alexa feel sorry for her. “I cannot believe this.” Alexa finally replied, shaking her head. She held up a finger. “Just one minute, okay? Wait here.”

Alexa walked into Brian’s house and closed the door calmly. She walked into the living room with long strides. Brian was there pacing back and forth in front of the television. “Where is the bitch's shit, Brian?”

Brian was taken aback for a moment. It wasn’t like Alexa to speak that way, even when she was her angriest. “What happened?”

“Where is her stuff? Her purse? Her keys? Whatever she brought with her, show me.” Alexa demanded.

Brian leaned over the couch and picked up Caroline’s keys and black leather purse tentatively.

The purse was Chanel—and it was real. How dare this woman ask her for money? Alexa snatched the purse and keys from Brian and walked calmly over to the door. She took a deep breath before slinging the door opened and throwing Caroline’s things out onto the lawn. She didn’t care how she looked to her neighbors or to anyone else that was watching. She never wanted to see this woman ever again.

“Take your purse, take your keys and stay out of my life. You are a vile hag of a woman and I hate the fact that I was ever birthed from your loins.” Alexa screamed, forcing back the tears that were threatening to spill over her eyelids. “I never want to see you again.”

“You ungrateful little bitch.” Caroline spat back. “How dare you treat my things that way? I am your mother. I asked for your help! I-”

Alexa slammed the door, not letting her finish. She then turned to lean against the wooden door heavily. The tears that were brimming at her eyelids finally spilled over onto her cheeks.

Brian walked over to her slowly. He placed his hands around her arms and gently rubbed up and down her soft skin. “Baby,” He cooed softly. “What happened?”

Alexa shrugged away from his touch, irrationally furious at him for putting her in that position. “You never should have called that awful woman, Brian.”

“Alexa, I was trying to help.” Brian defended, though he felt horribly about the position that he had put her in.

“Yeah?” Alexa responded. “Well a lot of help it did. My family isn’t like yours, Brian. We aren’t the Huxtibles. We never will be. Once you accept that, you’ll be better off. Take that from someone who knows.”

Brian watched as Alexa tore away from him and stormed up the stairs. He knew that he needed to give her some time to cool down, but he couldn’t help wanting to chase after her. He hated that his actions had hurt her so badly. For a while, she had seemed to want to get in touch her mother.  It seemed like she wanted to reach out to her, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. He had been trying to help.

Brian ran his hands through his hair and sighed softly. Men should just know better than trying to read a woman’s thoughts, Brian, He thought to himself. You know that. He walked over to the couch and flopped down onto the cushions, hoping that Alexa would calm down soon.

-----

Hours had passed since Alexa’s mother had left Brian’s house. Alexa was over the anger she had felt, especially at Brian. It wasn’t his fault that her mother was an all-around terrible person. She was more disappointed that after all these years her mother still hadn’t come to gain any kind of affection for her daughters whatsoever. Caroline wanted Brian. Moreso, she wanted Brian’s money, although, Alexa assumed that she would probably take Brian, too.

A light tapping at the door stirred Alexa from her thoughts. She smiled as Brian peeked through a crack in the door, holding up his hands.

“I come in peace.” He said with a smirk. In one of his hands was a bag from McDonalds. Just then Alexa’s stomach grumbled loudly. “And I come baring gifts.”

Alexa smiled back softly. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you earlier. It’s just that, she was so crazy.”

“It’s okay.” Brian responded. “I get it. It was overwhelming. I really was trying to help; I guess I didn’t realize the hugeness of the situation.”

“This is my life, you know?” Alexa responded with a shrug. “I’ve never known that woman and now I know that I never want to.”

Brian handed her the food that he had ordered for her out of the McDonald’s bag and then patted his lips with his fingertips. “First, kiss me.”

Alexa leaned in and kissed him softly. The softness of his lips was enough to warm her immediately. Maybe she should have tried that hours ago?

“Next, tell me what exactly happened out there.” Brian continued after Alexa pulled away. He took a bite of his Big Mac and waited while she gathered her thoughts.

Alexa sighed softly. “Well, it started in here and she seemed pleasant, you know? Then we went for that walk and she started with this major attitude and then she got pleasant again until finally, she asked me for money for a down payment for a house—or something like that. It was crazy. I don’t know if I’d ever been on a rollercoaster like that one. I don’t know what my dad ever saw in her.”

Brian shrugged. “She seems pretty messed up, I guess?”

“She probably is.” Alexa licked her lips slowly. “I don’t know. I just don’t want anything to do with her. Even after all this time, she still didn’t come here wanting me. She came here wanting you. It’s so… anti-climactic.”

Brian laughed. “Are you staring in your own Lifetime movie these days?”

Alexa shook her head. Though she knew that he was kidding, that almost couldn’t be any closer to the truth. “Sometimes it feels like it.”

Brian smiled at her sympathetically. “Well, I’m here for you. At least you can take solace in knowing that I’m not going anywhere.”

Alexa nodded slowly, but she knew that especially now, that might not be so true. “You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know that you can keep.”

Brian frowned at how beautifully sad Alexa looked. He lifted his hand slowly and ran his fingers through her hair. “You know that I love you with all my heart, don’t you?”

Alexa wiped the fresh tears that were beginning to fall from her cheeks and nodded slowly. “I know and I love you, too.”

“Alexa, if anything in this world is true, it’s that I want nothing more than to be with you. You’re my everything. That woman is the stupidest woman in the world for letting someone as amazing as you slip through her fingers. You have to believe that.” Brian reached over and pulled Alexa into his lap as she sobbed.

Little did he know that she wasn’t sobbing for her mother. At that moment, she was sobbing for him. She was sobbing for the fact that someday, he was going to regret ever loving her. He was going to regret ever saying any of those words. Someday, he wasn’t going to think that she was so amazing. In fact, someday, he may come to believe that the apple doesn’t fall so far from the tree.