| Chapter 8: Skeletons in the Closet Later that night… Laura sat at the vanity, trying to cover up swollen cheeks and putting Visine into her red eyes. She threw the bottle against the mirror. How the hell could I forget! I can’t believe I got so wrapped in tonight that I could forget such an important day! Shit, you are so damn blind Laura! She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to let on she was upset. She was going to call Alex and cancel, but he would come over and find out what was wrong. And the last thing she needed tonight was to explain things, plus, she didn’t want to be alone. Just wait until midnight. The day will be over, and you can put it behind you. She started to apply her make-up. Alex picked her up promptly at 9. She smoothed her dress down and took a deep breath. Putting on a false smile, she answered the door. “Hi!” Alex looked her up and down. “You’re right, I do have a magic touch.” “Flirt, You don’t do so bad on yourself.” Alex was wearing a black jacket, white tank top and black baggy pants. He called it his “Backstreet Wear,” as in he really doesn’t wear this stuff when he was just hanging out. It was just for the show. He was also wearing sunglasses, black with silver rims; after all, who would wear sunglasses at night? “Ready to go?” “Yeah let’s.” They headed to Lou’s house where Lou and the other guys were waiting. Lou wasn’t going to come, but he wanted to go over some things with them. “Remember, mingle with the crowd, try to be a little risqué with the alcohol, and stay within sight of the bodyguards. They’ll stay at a safe distance to not overshadow you, but keep them at a glance,” Lou instructed. “Anything else, your dictatorship?” joked Brian. “Yeah, take it easy with the girls tonight OK? Don’t get too flirtatious with them, and don’t get too close if you know what I mean. There’s going to be photographers and TV crews, so let’s not have a tabloid frenzy.” Lou glanced at Laura and Alex. “OK with you?” “I understand perfectly fine. Alex is the crowd’s tonight. But I get him when he turns into a pumpkin at midnight.” Lou laughed. “Also, tonight he’s AJ. Got it?” Laura nodded. “OK, guys, there’s your limo. Have fun!” They all said goodbye to Lou and walked outside to the white stretch limo. Their bodyguards were in the car in front of them. On the ride over, Laura stared aimlessly through the window. “Lau?” Alex said. “Lau?” Nick cupped his hands around his mouth. “Earth to Laura! Come in please!” The others laughed. Laura was startled. Alex put his hand on her knee. “Baby, are you alright?” “Yeah,” Laura put on a false smile again. “Just admiring the view.” The searchlights blazed from a block away. Fans were lined to the end of the street, trying to catch a glimpse of a celebrity or two. As the limo pulled up and came to a stop, their bodyguards came out of their car and opened the door for them. “Ready for the show?” said Alex. “Ready Al- I mean AJ.” “That’s my girl,” he squeezed her hand. They all slid out of the car to the shrills of girls around. “NIIIIIIICK!” “HOWIE I LOVE YOU!” “OH MY GOD IT’S BRIAN!” “AHHHHH KEVIN!” “WE LOVE YOU AJ!” Laura was sliding out of the limo. Marcus, their head of security, helped her out of the car. “Just stay with me and I’ll lead you into the club. Keep your head down and away from the cameras. I’ll lead you to the boys once they’re inside, OK?” Laura nodded, a little frightened. He patted her hand. “Pretend you’re with me,” said Marcus. That made Laura smile. He led her past the cameras, with Laura keeping her head slightly tilted down. She couldn’t help but glance at Alex through her tilted face. He was graceful, smiling for the fans, answering questions from TV reporters about the new album, signing autographs and posing for fans to take pictures. He handled it with professionalism that Laura had seen when he saw a fan if they were out. It was like flipping a switch. She felt real proud at that moment. Marcus and Laura entered the club. It was amazing, a lot like the trendy clubs she had been to in New York City. The light show was very high-tech, the sound system was booming, and people were smiling and dancing on the floor. “Wow!” she yelled. “Like it?” Marcus yelled through the noise. “Yeah it’s awesome!” “They’ll turn down the music once the people have all come in. AJ told me to lead you to their booth. I’ll wait with you there.” He led Laura to the plush booth as he sat down also. About half an hour later, The boys with Alex/AJ had come in and slid into the booth. Marcus slid out. “Thanks for taking care of her, man,” said Alex. “It was a pleasure. She’s a good girl.” He turned to Laura. “If you and this guy don’t work out, give me a call.” “Will do. Thanks Marcus.” Marcus took his place with the other bodyguards. The music had died down and the people had started to mingle. The guys went out into the crowd and mingled-- the typical show business talk. Laura sat in the booth, being sure not to interfere. She really didn’t have to act distant; as the night wore on, she kept losing herself in her thoughts. Alex kept glancing at her, thinking how great she was for being just there. He was happy to just look at her when he was starting to get bored with the celebrity talk. Later on, Laura just needed a break. She went to Marcus and asked, “Is there anyplace that I can get some air?” Marcus furrowed his brow. “Everything OK?” “Yeah, just feeling a little warm.” “There’s a door to the right that leads to a back patio. Go on, I’ll tell him where you went.” “Thanks.” Marcus winked. “Anytime.” Laura made her way to the back patio. She took a deep breath of the night air. Laura felt so alone all of a sudden. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and she blinked them back again. “Damnit Laura! This is not the time nor the place!” She gripped the back of one of the chairs real tight. She regained her composure again as she heard the iron door open. Alex walked to the back patio. “Marcus told me where you were.” Laura turned her head around, but kept her back to him. He put his arms around Laura’s waist. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck. “I couldn’t stay away from you a minute longer.” “You might get in trouble.” “I’m the bad boy of the group, I’m supposed to get into trouble.” He started to plant little kisses on her shoulder. Laura closed her eyes, reveling in the pleasure of his lips, but the memories flooded in her mind. Her emotions overcame the pleasure and without warning, she pulled away. Alex was bewildered. “What’s wrong?’ Laura was taking deep breaths through clenched teeth. She had her hands to her forehead. Alex’s eyes grew wide with fear. “Baby?” Laura couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They flowed from her eyes. “I need to get out of here!” She started to walk with a fast pace towards the door. Alex ran and blocked the doorway. “Let me go!” “Laura! What’s wrong, please tell me! You’re really scaring me!” “Please, I need to go home!” “OK, I’ll take you home. Just don’t run out on me.” He took out a cell phone and dialed a number. “Marcus, AJ. Look, take the guards’ car, and meet me around the back patio entrance… one minute.” He quickly put his cell phone in his pocket and went to Laura. She rested her head on his shoulder and Alex put his hand on her hair. “Don’t say anything until we get back.” He pulled away, took off his jacket, and put it around her shoulders. Alex saw the car quickly round the turn and stopped. Marcus was in the driver’s seat. Alex opened the door, helped Laura inside, got in and closed the door. “Go!” he said to Marcus. “Head to 1229 Jackson Court.” Marcus drove away. Laura clung to Alex for all he was worth. Her head was buried in his shoulder. Marcus saw Alex through the rearview mirror, and raised his eyebrows as if to say “She OK?” Alex slightly shook his head in response. Marcus concentrated on his driving. Marcus arrived at Laura’s house in record time. Alex led Laura to the door. “Wait here,” he instructed. He went to the driver’s side of the car, where Marcus was waiting. “What’s wrong?” he asked, a look of concern on his face. “I don’t know, man.” “Do you need me to stay here?” “Nah, I think I’ll get a cab.” “If you need a ride, all you have to do is call. I can be here in two minutes. Listen, I called the guys and told them that Laura wasn’t feeling well, so we took her home.” “Thanks bro.” “She’s a sweet kid.” “Yeah she is. I’ll see ya later.” “Alright man, later.” Marcus drove away. Alex ran to Laura, got her keys, and opened the door. Laura went inside as Alex closed the door behind her. “Why don’t you go and change, and I’ll get something to drink?” “OK.” Laura went upstairs to her room. Alex sighed. He went to the kitchen. Laura put on her white tank top and blue pajama pants. She went to wash her face. Looking in the mirror, she had a flashback. My face—it was wet that night because it was raining. I heard the raindrops falling against the door and against the hat of the policeman standing there. His face was wet too, shaking his head and taking off his wet hat. Laura shook all thoughts out of her head. She dried off her face, put her hair in a high ponytail and headed downstairs. Alex was sitting on the couch with two glasses of soda sitting on the coffee table. He got up. “Hey.” “Hey.” “Feeling better?” “A little.” He let her sit down and joined her on the couch. He placed a soda in her hand. “Do you want some tea?” “No this will be fine. Thank you.” “No problem, it was in the…” “No, I mean thank you for getting me home. I’m sorry.” “You have nothing to be sorry about.” “I think I owe you an explanation.” “You don’t have to.” “No, I think I do.” She sat forward in the couch and looked straight ahead. “It was a year ago today.” “What was?” “My father. He died a year ago today.” Alex leaned forward and out his hand on the small of her back. “I’m so sorry.” She took a deep breath. “It was sudden.” She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. “It was a Friday night. I was getting ready to go out with my friends and my mother was watching TV. My dad was a little late. I didn’t worry about it too much, because he was a workaholic.” She let out a little laugh. “It started to rain. I was upset that it was raining because I was hoping that it wasn’t going to ruin my plans. We got a knock at the door. When I opened it, there were two policemen standing there on the porch.” Laura closed her eyes, and tears poured down her face. Alex looked at her intently. “They… asked if I was related to James Deverson, and I told him I was his daughter and his wife was here too. They asked to come inside. My mother gripped my hand, as if she knew what they were about to say. He… was hit head on by a drunk driver… who lost control of the car and flew over the guardrail to my father’s side of the street. He had died instantly in the crash. The other guy had cuts and bruises. He walked away.” Laura leaned back in the couch. “That’s kind of the reason that I came to Florida. I needed to get away from all the grief. My mom was devastated, my grandmother lost her son, and I had to be the rock for everyone. I didn’t want my family to fall apart.” Alex leaned back next to her. “That’s a lot for someone to handle, Lau. But you can’t escape feelings, they’ll eventually find you.” “I did for a while. I met you, and we had these good times together. I even forgot that today was the anniversary until Veronica called me to make sure I was OK. She thought I had remembered.” “It’s OK to forget.” “It isn’t!” A new stream of tears flowed from her eyes. “What kind of daughter am I? What would he think of me? I forgot about him Alex! I forgot!” Her voice escaped into sobs. Alex grabbed her and held her closely. “You didn’t forget! You’re moving on with your life. Time heals all wounds. Listen, when my grandfather died, I was so upset. He was like a father to me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. But one day, I was with my friends, and I found myself laughing. I couldn’t believe it. I realized that I didn’t forget about him, but what I was forgetting about was the pain of losing him.” He pulled Laura from his shoulder and looked at her. “So don’t think that you are a bad daughter. Your father would want you to be happy again.” Laura sniffled. “You’re right.” “Damn straight.” Laura smiled. “Hallelujah! She smiles!” Alex lifted his hands to the sky. Laura let out a little laugh. “You gonna be OK?” Alex asked. “Yeah I am. Are you gonna go back to the party?” “There’s nowhere I would rather be than here.” Chapter 9 Contents Chapter 7 |