It had been two hours since Kevin called and I hadn’t heard anything from Nick. I dialed Nick’s cell phone number and listened, waiting for him to answer.
"God bless it Nick." I said quietly as his voice mail picked up, again, "Nick, it’s Liz. Please call me back. I’m worried about you. Bye." I hung the phone back up.
As the day wore on my worry slowly began to turn to anger. Nick knew all the stress I was under, but he didn’t have the decency to call me back and alleviate my worries? I thought to myself angrily as I finished fixing Alex’s supper.
I stood as I heard Nick pull into the garage. I walked to the kitchen door and waited on him to enter.
"Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick."
"Sorry," he sat down heavily in the kitchen chair.
"Nick, what happened today?" I crossed the room and stood beside him at the table.
"I tried to hurt Aj."
"What?! Why?"
"I don’t know, the whole telling Alex he was going to live with him, it killed me. I’ve never been that angry before." His voice broke and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "I’m so scared I hurt him, Liz." He sobbed against my waist as he wrapped his arms around me.
"No Nick." It broke my heart to hear him cry like this, "Nick, everything is okay. I’m sure of it. Kevin called today, he would have said something was wrong if you had. Everything is fine." I ran my fingers through his hair and soothed him like I would have Alex.
"I’ve never been that angry before, especially toward the guys."
"It’s okay Nick, just call Kevin. Everything is fine."
"Okay." Nick sighed and pulled from me. I handed him the phone after retrieving it from the living room.
As he dialed Kevin’s number, I exited the room and went up stairs to check on Alex. I wanted to give Nick as much privacy as he needed.
A few minutes later I heard Nick call my name from downstairs. I kissed Alex on the cheek gently and descended the stairs. I joined Nick at the kitchen table.
"How is Aj?"
"He is fine, and so is Brian." I looked at Nick.
"Brian? Tell me what happened Nick." He looked at me and then back down at the table. With a sigh he retold me of the events of earlier in the day. As he finished up, I realized that I couldn’t do this to him anymore. "Nick, this isn’t right. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t see you like this- you torn up because all this."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nick, I’m going home. I will not be the reason the Backstreet Boys implode. I will not do it. I won’t take your career from you. I won’t ruin the one thing that makes you happy and helps you be the person that you are. Without music you aren’t Nick. It’s who YOU are and I won’t take that from you. If I don’t leave, you will loose that."
"You aren’t leaving. I have other things that make me happy."
"I’m leaving Nick. I’m not staying here and do this to you. This isn’t your fight." I stood from the table.
"Yes it is. I made it my fight and I’m not letting you leave. You still have a chance. I’m not letting you piss that away." Nick jumped up from his seat and pulled me back to him.
"I’m going to loose him, Nick. There is nothing else I can do. The only hope I have to get a kind hearted judge. It’s not going to happen." I said tears streaming down my face. I hadn’t realized that I had given up hope until that exact moment and it scared me to death.
"We have one other option." He turned me toward the table.
"No, we don’t. You heard the lawyer, there is nothing left."
"Look at this." Nick pulled something out of his notebook and laid it on the table.
"What is it?"
"It’s a marriage license."
