FOUR YEARS LATER
AJ and I broke up a year after that fight at the club. He continued to drink. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him in three years. I do however keep in contact with Howie and Leighanne. I live out in California now. I run my own recording studio, and big names drop in there. I’ve dated a few guys here and there, but they all end up breaking up with me because they feel they can’t live up to what AJ had accomplished, or I break up with them because they really aren’t close to who AJ was before drinking. Last I heard the band broke up over TRL so AJ could enter a rehab facility. He dated a woman named Sarah Martin, they got engaged…but when he was drunk and on some drugs he cheated on her…She broke up with him. She and I are friends now. She’s a cool person, she lived with me for awhile when she first moved out here, but now she lives on the same street as me. We ran into each other at the grocery store on the block, and she recognized me before I did her. I hadn’t paid much attention the Backstreet Boy world except for when Howie would call or Leighanne would.
“Mary, I was so jealous of you though!” Sarah said walking into my house behind me.
“Why?”
“You dated him technically first and spent so much of his good years with him. I wish I had known more of the better AJ…” She said sitting down at a stool in my kitchen as I put our sodas in the fridge.
“I guess, he was a great guy…” I looked at a picture frame I had of him and I on the counter where we sat.
“Why do you keep this around?”
“Because it’s when he and I first met, when we were both 17.” I touched his face with my finger slowly. “He really was the love of my life Sarah…” She sighed.
“I don’t think I was ever really in love with him as much as I was living in the fact that he was famous, you know? I didn’t really know him. We both love animals, but who really doesn’t?” I laughed at her remark. “Tell me more about him, you know?”
“He was a great guy. When we first met, he followed me around the whole venue to just talk to me.” I got up and went to the sink to clean out a coffee cup from earlier this morning. “After that he told me he wanted to hangout, so I said yes. We all stayed up late on the bus, and went to Denny’s.” I looked up and smiled and looked back down to the sink and turned the water off still smiling. “After that night he told me he wanted to be with me…” I turned around and braced myself up against the sink and folded my arms in front of me. “Of course I’m not giving up an opportunity to be with someone as good looking as he was. We went back on tour the next day…When I first met his mom a few months later, she loved me instantly. She shared with me the whole Marissa story, which I’m sure you know.” She looked at me funny and I gasped and took a seat back at the stool. “He never told you about Marissa? Did he tell you anything?”
“No, he didn’t even mention you until a few months before we split…He’s really bottled up. He never let me see him upset, or anything.” I ran my hands through my hair and picked up my house phone and called Howie.
“Mary!” He said as he picked up. “You never call me! What’s up?”
“I know, I will call more, the studio is really busy lately…” He laughed.
“It’s ok, but what’s going on?”
“Nothing, sitting here with Sarah M, AJ’s ex you know?”
“Yeah, tell her I said hi.”
“Howie says hi.” I said to Sarah.
“Hi Howie!” She said back.
“She says hi…” I laughed into the phone. “What’s AJ’s number?”
“What?”
“You heard me mister…Where is he located?”
“Mar…”
“Howie, I know I told you to never let me talk about him and for 3 years I haven’t…tell me.”
“909-303-8472” He said to me. I wrote it down on my notepad.
“I’m not calling him, this is for further reference…” I said laughing.
“Sure, but hey do you have any available time in your studio? I’m thinking about going there to work some solo work.” I smiled wide.
“Howie, I will push any A-list celeb off the list to see you. Nick’s actually coming in, in like two weeks.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, he’s working on his solo CD…Didn’t you know?”
“Not really…” He said.
“Oh, well he is. I will pencil you in for the same time, I would love to get you guys together, you always cracked me up.”
“I bet, it’s been a few months since I’ve seen any of the guys.”
“That’s gay…” Sarah tapped her watch. “but hey, I need to get off here, Sarah and I are going out to eat.”
“Alright, call me tomorrow for times and stuff, I love you and miss you Mar.”
“I love you too D.” I hung up the phone.
Author's Chapter Notes:
In this chapter I give out a number...IT IS NOT REALLY AJ McLEAN'S! lol, I promise, or I would be calling it more.
