CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - AFTER THE SHOW

"What the hell was all that?" screamed Kevin at the top of his lungs, ripping off his ear set and hurling it viciously across the back stage. "What the fuck is going on?" He glanced angrily at each one the Backstreet Boys as they exited off stage, the concert over, the applause fading away as the arena began to empty. "Well?" He searched each face for an explanation and got none. He pointed a finger at Nick, livid. "Hey, hot-shot, next time you don’t come on cue with Brian, I’ll make you live to regret it. You’re lucky the crowd thought it was a joke." Nick opened his mouth for a smartass reply but saw Kevin’s glare and thought the better of it. Kevin turned on AJ. "And just what the hell do you think you were doing? This isn’t the Johnny-No-Name show where you hog all the stage. You better not cut in front of us tomorrow night, got it?" Kevin used his height to tower over AJ, making his presence felt.

AJ was braver than Nick. "Hey, someone had to look alive. Maybe you should wake up your cousin over there and tell him we were on stage." AJ smirked at Brian, who was leaning wearily against a wall.

Kevin looked over at Brian, his face in a frown. "You had better get some sleep, because I want to see some major improvement by tomorrow night, got it?"

Even tired as he was, Brian felt resentment stir within him. As he expected, Nick and AJ had made things difficult tonight, but he hadn’t counted on Kevin slamming him too. He pushed away from the wall, upset. "Okay, I’ll admit I nearly walked through the dance steps tonight, but at least I made sure I sang my heart out, unlike some others here," Brian said, glaring accusingly at Kevin, AJ and Nick.

Offended, Kevin grabbed Brian’s arm, not noticing the wince on his cousin’s face. "Don’t you ever..."

"Anything wrong here, guys?"

Xavier’s tone was innocent enough, but Brian tensed as he watched him cross his massive arms across his chest. Startled, Kevin dropped his hand, annoyed at the bodyguard’s intrusion. "Nothing that concerns you Xavier."

A cold smile enveloped his face, his eyes boring into Kevin’s. "Everything concerns me, Mr. Richardson. And right now, I need to see if Mr. Littrell is okay." He gave a quizzical look at Brian. "You alright?"

Brian nodded, embarrassed by Xavier’s exaggerated concern. "Fine," he said curtly, wanting the hell to be out of here. He gave Kevin a quiet look as if daring him to say anything further. Kevin stared right back at him. "Well, I guess everything’s been said," Brian stated quietly. He turned and left, walking down the hallway, feeling Xavier hurrying to catch up with him.

Howie sighed, shaking his head, Nick mumbled something vaguely sounding like a curse, Kevin stood silently watching Brian’s retreating back, and AJ watched Xavier, uneasy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - A NIGHT VISIT

Brian rested his head against the coolness of the SUV’s window, eyes heavy with fatigue. He watched as the streaks of car headlights flared then dimmed as they passed by, trying to not think about anything but the relief that sleep would soon provide him. He adjusted himself a little more comfortably in Xavier’s SUV, hoping they would arrive soon. To tired to argue when Xavier announced that he would drive them all back to the hotel, Brian passively obeyed, the rest of the guys too tense to disagree. The silence between all five was heavy, each lost in their own reservations and suspicions. Xavier peeked in his rear view mirror to glance at Nick, who was staring somberly out the side window, then back at Brian who finally had his eyes closed. Deciding to enliven things a bit, he rumbled his throat to get their attention. "Hey, where’s Aaron, Nick?" he questioned wickedly, knowing full well. Brian’s eyes popped wide open and he turned in his seat to look at Nick, then at Xavier.

"Why don’t you ask your little friend there," answered Nick, sourly.

Xavier turned his attention to Brian, and by the look of his face Brian realized that Xavier already knew. "He left, went back home," Brian stated simply.

Xavier nodded, not needing anymore explanation. "Not a bad idea, considering the threats and all. You just never know what could happened." He looked meaningfully at the young singer and Brian turned his head away, but not before noting Xavier’s grudging admiration at Brian’s skill and trickery in winning this round.

Nick listened intently, his mouth ajar. What was going on? Did Xavier seriously think that the threats to Brian could affect Aaron? Nick thought hard about the situation. It didn’t take a genius to know Brian was under some strain. Did Brian truly think Aaron was in some danger? In his exhaustion, could Brian’s cruel suggestions merely been his bizarre way of keeping Aaron away from danger? Nick realized that he never asked Brian about the nature of his threats. Nick studied Brian sitting up in front with Xavier, feeling confused, but not angry. He wanted to talk to Brian right now, to clear things up between them but he noticed Brian leaning wearily against the window. He smiled ruefully. It could wait until tomorrow.

*******

Kevin knew something was wrong, he felt it, sensed it, and jerked awake with a start. His heart was pounding and he grabbed his pillow for some security, bringing himself up on one elbow trying to see clearly in what little light was there.

"Shit!" he yelled, panicking when he found two glittering eyes staring close to his. His heart raced even faster and he felt weak, collapsing into the softness of his bed as he gazed up at Xavier. "What in God’s name are you doing in here?" he hollered, angry. The bodyguard straightened up, cool and composed.

"Just checking on you," he answered calmly.

"In the middle of the night?" Kevin shouted, agitated.

"I found signs that the intruder was here again. I needed to check up…on all of you. I’m sorry if I startled you. Try and go back to sleep, okay?"

Kevin relaxed a bit, heaving a sigh of relief. "Sorry, X. It’s just that you scared the shit out of me." He noticed Xavier smiled at that but dismissed it as another thought came to mind. "How’s Brian? Is he alright?"

"Everything’s fine. He’s sleeping like a baby."

"Oh. Well. Okay." Kevin was at a loss for words, trying not to show how self-conscious he felt in Xavier’s looming presence. Xavier seemed aware of it though and chuckled, giving the dark-haired singer a goodbye as he exited.

Kevin heard the click of his door closing and lay back down in bed, disturbed. He had a strange feeling that Xavier had been in his room for a lot longer than just a check-up, that Xavier had been studying him for some unexplainable reason. Kevin wondered if Brian felt as uncomfortable with Xavier as he did and decided to talk to him about in the morning. Pulling the covers closely around his body, he wrapped himself tightly as a cocoon, hoping he could fall asleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – THE NEXT DAY

Brian slowly opened his eyes, aware that the shaft of sunlight was directly beaming onto his face, then squinted. Throwing a hand over his eyes to keep from being blinded, he rolled over to the middle of his bed and stretched, immediately sorry that he did. A spasm tightened around the calf of his right leg, causing him to gasp. It seemed like forever before the pain lessened enough for him to stagger up from bed, his whole body screaming from aches and pains. He glanced at the clock, his eyes widening in surprise. It was almost three in the afternoon; he had slept longer than he could ever remember and he still felt like shit. He hurriedly took a shower, then shaved quickly, ignoring the ever-changing colors of bruises on his face. Throwing on whatever looked and smelled clean enough Brian sat down on his bed, reaching for the phone and ordered room service, hoping they would hurry. He knew one of the reasons he felt so bad was because he was starving. While he waited for his food he called his mom to see how Harold was, then talked to his dad for a few moments. Satisfied that they were okay, he cut the conversation short when he heard the buzz of room service. Brian hurried to the door and was pleased when an older gentleman ushered in his meal. Usually room service consisted of a nervous, star-struck kid who wouldn’t leave Brian alone until he had signed enough autographs to make the kid rich on E-bay. He gave a generous tip to the grateful man then began to devour his food, trying to ease his hunger pains. As he finished the last bite he began to relax and eyed his phone, realizing he should check his voice messages. He punched in a few numbers then listened patiently as the recorded voice announced six new messages. Brian immediately deleted the first two, saved three, then frowned at the last one, cupping one ear to listen better. A woman was crying, talking almost incoherently, and it took a moment for him to finally recognized it as Kevin’s mom. His stomach started to twist into knots as he strained to follow what she was saying but he grasped the general idea and swore, slammed down the receiver and flew out of his room, racing towards Kevin’s room. Brian found the door ajar and fearful, carefully pushed it open to discover Kevin slumped over in a chair, face in hands.

"Kevin?" he questioned, not being able to keep the fear out of his voice.

The tall singer turned his head to look at Brian, his eyes rimmed with angry tears. Silently he held out a small picture to him, unable to speak. With a shaking hand, Brian came over and took it. He glanced at the picture a second then closed his eyes, trying not to gag. He finally forced himself to open his eyes, to examine the photo displaying the mutilated form of Kevin’s dog, Sam. The pet looked like it had been tortured and next to the dead dog was Sam’s name and the initials BSB scrawled into the blood-soaked earth.

"I listened to Aunt Ann’s message but I could hardly understand her," said Brian. "Did she get a picture too?" Brian’s heart sank as he watched his cousin nod his head.

"I loved that dog," Kevin spoke, his voice filled with agony. "What kind of sick bastard would do this?"

Brian knew. He dropped to the ground before Kevin’s feet, too weak to stand. Brian began rocking slowly back and forth, his arms wrapped around himself. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry, Kevin," he mumbled over and over.

Startled by Brian’s reaction, Kevin looked at his cousin confused, then placed his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Brian, it’s not your fault," he said gently. Brian covered his eyes and moaned when he heard this.

"I’m gonna get that asshole," he whispered and Kevin gazed at his cousin, now more confused than ever.

"Brian, what are you talking about? We’ll never know who did this. Look at the initials in the picture. BSB. Whatever sicko killed Sam did it because I’m a Backstreet Boy. To hurt me and my mom. Understand?" Kevin shook Brian’s arm to get his attention.

Brian pulled his hands away and looked miserably at Kevin. "Yeah, I understand," he said dully.

As distressed as he was over his dog, Kevin was more troubled by Brian’s odd behavior. "Brian, what’s wrong?" A sudden thought came to him and Kevin looked concerned. "Is it that intruder? Are you okay? You didn’t meet him again, did you?"

"Uh, no. I’m okay, thanks."

Kevin gave Brian a questioning look. "Come on. You don’t look that great. Is it about Xavier? Last night Xavier nearly scared the shit outta me when I found him in my room."

Brian immediately tensed up, forgetting about the emotional slip up he made in front of Kevin. "Xavier was in your room?" he questioned, trying to act casual but desperate for more information.

"Yeah. I woke up from a dead sleep and there X was, just staring at me. It was weird. Said he was checking up on everyone; that he thought the intruder was back."

Brian stood up from the floor, struggling not to show the alarm he felt but Kevin knew his cousin too well. "It’s Xavier, isn’t it," stated Kevin flatly. "He’s the problem, right?"

Brian shook his head quickly, feeling himself break into a sweat. He turned away from Kevin, praying he wouldn’t notice. "That’s it. Is Xavier bothering you? Does he intimidate you?"

Keeping his tone light, Brian forced himself to face Kevin. "Sure, all the time," he joked with a little laugh. "You’ve seen him, Kev. He’s huge."

Kevin waved Brian off. "No, not that. What I mean is sometimes..." Kevin was at a loss to explain and it irritated him. "Oh, I don’t know. I don’t like him that much. He makes me uneasy. How about you?"

"No, he doesn’t," said Brian firmly, relieved at the possibility of throwing Kevin off track. I understand what your talking about, but I think he’s just overly anal about his job. He really is a good bodyguard. Remember, he did save me from that intruder…" Brian had a hard time not choking on that, but kept a straight face, waiting to see if Kevin agreed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Still..."

Brian grabbed the opportunity and put on a convincing smile. "Hey, he’s my bodyguard Kevin. He’s just out to protect me and you guys too."

"Well if it isn’t Xavier, it must be that intruder. You’ve got to admit you haven’t been yourself these past few days."

Brian mentally sighed as he saw the way out. "You’re right. That intruder has upset me more than I’d like to think."

Kevin rubbed his face tiredly and shook his head. "God, I’ll be glad when this concert is over tonight. These last couple of days have really sucked." He looked at Brian, noticing his cousin’s angry bruises and felt bad for what had happened to him. "Uh, Brian," he began, "I just want to say I’m sorry about losing my cool last night and yelling. I know you meant to tell me about Harold and all. Guess we both have been under some stress."

Brian heaved a sigh of relief, which showed in his face. "Yeah." He slapped an affectionate hand to Kevin’s shoulder.

"Ah, a tender moment. Can I have a kiss?"

Brian and Kevin turned to see Nick poking his head into the door, his mouth puckered exaggeratedly. He grinned, then walked in, waving a new Nintendo game into the air. "About time you woke up, sleeping beauty," he growled. "Look what I just bought!" Nick smiled wickedly at his friend. "Ready to get your ass whipped?"

Brian deftly snatched the game from Nick’s hand, studied it for a second, before tossing it back. "You’re on. There’s no way you’re going to beat me." Brian looked at Nick and smiled, knowing from years of experience that this was Nick’s way of mending a rift.

"How’s Aaron?"

Nick shrugged. "Pissed off at you."

"And you?"

Nick smiled. "Pissed off at you. But I realized you did it because of the threats, Rok. I understand."

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt Aaron."

"I know. What about my kiss?" Nick held out his arms.

"Here, you can kiss this," wisecracked Brian, pointing to his ass.

"Girls, girls, take it outside," grinned Kevin, glad to see the tension gone as the two mock wrestled with each other.

Next
Mind Games Index
Michelle T's BSB Stories