"Ugh! I can’t take it anymore!" Felicity Riley threw her pen down and stared in disgust at her psychology book. She had been studying for two hours with her roommate and best friend Holly Edmonds, and her final was tomorrow. Luckily that meant she was only one class away from spring break. It also meant that if she didn’t get her butt in gear she wouldn’t pass the final. Holly looked at her and shook her head.
"Okay, I think it’s time for a lunch break. What do you want?" Felicity thought for a moment.
"How about McDonald’s? Number 7, supersized, with root beer." She grinned, knowing Holly would dread going to McDonald’s.
"Girl, you eat there every day, don’t you get tired of it?"
"Nope, pleeeeease? I’ll clean the room while you’re gone and do the laundry."
"Oh all right, I can see the line at the drive-thru now… every student in line for study fuel." She grinned and grabbed her coat and headed out the door. Felicity was starting to gather up the laundry when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sissy, how are you?" Felicity froze, it was her father. Felicity’s mom and dad divorced over six years ago and she had a horrible relationship with her alcoholic father; he only called her when he was drunk or needed pity.
"Hi, Dad. How’s it going?" She immediately prepared herself for the usual my-life-is-horrible-and-I-blame-your-mother-for-everything speeches that he was famous for. And so it began, he rambled on in his usual slurred voice about how he was laid-off (again) and that he was going bankrupt (this usually happens when you spend your paycheck on beer). It was what he said next that sent her over the edge.
"Of course you probably don’t care, you have such a perfect life now. You and your b*tch of a mother sucked every last dime out of me. I hope you’re happy."
"I am happy, you wanna know why? It’s because I know that my mom loves me more than life itself and it’s because of her, not you, that I’m going to college and I’m going to succeed in life. Unlike you I plan to do something with my life, not drink it away and blame everybody else for my problems. I swear to God if you call here again I will get a restraining order, I don’t want you in my life." With that she slammed down the phone. Scrambling around the room she put on her running shoes and grabbed her windbreaker, she scribbled a note to Holly and was out the door. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, she began a steady jog; maybe if she ran hard enough her problems wouldn’t be there when she got back.
* * * * * * *
"Hey guys, have you seen Aaron?" A worried Nick Carter was met with blank stares.
"Did he disappear on you again, Chaos?" Kevin Richardson laughed; they were always losing Nick’s little brother Aaron, the kid would just wander off sometimes. It scared them all, but it always ended up being an outrageous wild goose chase.
"Yeah, think we should look for him?"
"Come on, Frick, let’s go find the little one." Brian Littrell put an arm around his best friend’s shoulders, he hated to see Nick upset, but it was funny how easily Aaron would just disappear without a trace and show up twenty minutes later, acting like he had never been gone.
* * * * * * *
Aaron Carter was standing outside the arena he and his brother’s friends would be playing at this week. It was a big place and they had two shows there, he was looking forward to it. However, right now he was busy watching a girl jog around the arena parking lot and the big pond in the back where the tour buses were parked. He didn’t know why, but he just kept watching her. Even though he was only ten years old, Aaron was often very interested in observing people, he liked to watch their reactions and facial expressions. As he watched the girl he observed that it didn’t look like she was running for exercise, she appeared to be running from something, something she was very afraid of. He sat down on the steps and continued to watch her, unaware that his brother and the guys were frantically searching for him.
* * * * * * *
Felicity’s feet ached, her stomach growled reminding her she hadn’t eaten in awhile, and her throat felt like she had swallowed sand; but she didn’t care she just kept on running. Every once in awhile she would pass the steps leading to the arena and she would see a little boy watching her, it was almost as if he was trying to figure out what she was doing. After passing him for the fifth time she stopped and sat down on the bottom step, she didn’t want to stop, but she decided to rest before heading back to her dorm. As she sat down the little boy came up to her.
"Why were you running?"
"I run here every day." She neglected to mention that she had already run her route today around the arena and that this was her second run in five hours. She was going to feel this tomorrow.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, why else would I do it?"
"Did you know you look kinda pale?"
"Sorry, I forgot my mirror." Sarcasm always made her feel better.
"Are you okay? Your voice sounds kind of wobbly."
"Yeah, I think so, I’m kind of tired. I think I’ll go home now." She stood up, but her legs crumpled under the sudden weight. She quickly sat back down and put her head in her hands. The little boy became frightened.
"Are you sure you’re okay?"
" Yeah kid, see?" She stood up again only to find out that she wasn’t okay. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground, as her head hit the cement stairs everything went black.
Aaron didn’t know what happened, she stood up, took a step, and fell. Only this time she didn’t get back up and her forehead was bleeding from where it had made contact with the step. He shook her by the shoulders but she just slumped over more. Uh-oh I think she’s dead. With that thought he raced back up the steps in search of his brother, Nick would know what to do.
As he burst through the door he collided with Kevin and fell to the ground. Kevin looked down and him and promptly began laughing.
"Aaron, you deserve that after what you’ve done. Where have you been for the last half an hour?" Kevin became concerned when he noticed that Aaron was pale and shaking. He knelt down beside him and gathered him in his arms.
"Hey, Buddy, what is it?"
"She’s dead, Kev!! She’s dead!" Aaron put his face into Kevin’s shoulder and began sobbing. At that time Nick and Brian came around the corner. The expression on Nick’s face was one of relief until he heard his brother’s sobs. Aaron was quickly quieted down and asked what had made him so upset. As he hiccuped his way through the story, Kevin became more worried.
"Aaron, where did this happen?"
"Right out front, out that door." Aaron shakily pointed to the door he had burst through a few moments earlier. Kevin quickly went to the door and stuck his head out. He didn’t like what he saw.
"Nick, you take Aaron to the dressing room, Brian you come with me." He had authority in his voice and no one was going to argue with him. Kevin and Brian ran out the door and down the steps to the girl lying in a heap at the bottom.
"Kevin, is she dead?"
Kevin immediately put his fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one, it was weak, but it was there.
"Brian, we’ve got to get her inside, out of the sun." Even though it was only April, it was unusually hot for Ohio.
"Okay, how?"
"That part is easy, she doesn’t look like she weighs that much. I’ll carry her and you run ahead and get some blankets and cool washcloths from the dressing room." Brian took off as Kevin reached down and scooped up the girl in one fluid motion. Her head laid against his shoulder and her breath tickled at his neck. As he climbed the steps towards the arena he tried not to notice how natural this stranger felt in his arms.
* * * * * * *
"Felicity, I thought you said were going to clean this place up?" Holly shouted as she walked in her dorm room. Her sister and roommate followed her into the room; they had run into each other at McDonald’s. There was no answer.
"That’s strange." She went over to her desk as her sister, Heather, checked the answering machine and the caller id. Holly saw a note on top of her psychology book; it was Felicity’s handwriting. As she scanned the note her face got very pale.
"What does it say?" Heather was now worried, Holly looked very upset.
"She went jogging."
"Then why are you upset?"
"She ran this morning at 9:00 and I know for a fact that she hasn’t eaten all day and she skipped dinner last night, too."
"What time is it now?"
"1:00."
"So she hasn’t eaten for 24 hours?!" Heather screeched this observation; Felicity was always doing stupid stuff like this. She put everything in front of what was important, like eating and sleeping, because she figured she would always have time for it later.
"What are we going to do?"
"She left at 12:00, if she’s not back by 2:00, one of us will go look for her and the other one will wait here in case she calls."
"And when we find her?"
"We’ll kill her." Holly had an evil grin on her face, unsuccessfully masking the worry in her eyes.
* * * * * * *
Kevin laid the girl down on the blankets Brian had brought. He racked his brain recalling everything Aaron had said.
"What are we gonna do Kev?" Brian was scared; this girl did not look good.
"Aaron said he had been watching her run, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Feel her skin." Brian put his hand on her forehead; it was hot and dry.
"Okay, now what?"
"She’s been running for at least 30 minutes and she’s not sweating."
"So…"
"So she’s probably dehydrated, which would explain why she fainted. Go get a bottled water."
"I already brought one." Brian handed his cousin the water and went to the rest room to wet the washcloths he brought. On the way there he ran into AJ.
"Hey, B-Rok, is it true?" Brian walked into the rest room and AJ followed him.
"Is what true?"
"Did some girl die out front?"
"No, Bone, she fainted because she’s dehydrated. C’mon Kev’s got her in the main entrance."
Brian and AJ ran back to Kev and the girl. They quickly began putting the washcloths on the girl’s arms and legs. Kevin had bandaged the cut on her forehead, and assured the guys that it didn’t look that bad. He brushed her hair off her forehead and stared at her face, it had an angelic glow, like she was at peace.
* * * * * * *
Felicity heard the voices around her, they became clearer as she opened her eyes and tried to focus on the figures looming above her.
"Am I dead?" she croaked, her voice was barely a whisper and her throat felt like the Sahara desert. Fortunately the figures heard her and stopped talking to look at her.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, how was your trip?" The voice came from a guy with silver shades on and freshly bleached hair. He gave her a crazy grin as she tried to sit up.
"Whoa, not so fast, you’ve been out cold for ten minutes, maybe you should take it easy." This voice belonged to a guy with green eyes and black hair, not to mention a great tan. Felicity smiled, it was an odd combination. A pair of green eyes smiled back at her.
"Well, you’re smiling so I take it you feel better."
Felicity tried to use her voice, it was barely a whisper but she managed to get it out.
"I was smiling at your green eyes and dark complexion, it’s not a common combination." Green eyes actually began blushing!
"Oh well, it’s still an improvement." He continued to stare at her, his two friends were giving him odd looks, like he was acting out of character.
"How did I get here?" Felicity listened patiently as Green eyes told her the whole story. She began to remember, especially the little boy because he was so cute.
"Where’s the little boy? I must have scared him to death." Green eyes smiled and nodded at the boy with the bleached head and he got up and left.
"AJ is going to get the little boy, Aaron, and bring him here so he can see that you are okay. By the way my name is Kevin and this is my cousin Brian." Kevin nodded to the boy on the other side of her. He was just staring at her and he looked kind of pale.
She looked back at Kevin and whispered: "Do I look that bad?" Kevin started laughing and so did Brian. Felicity was obviously going to be fine. She sat up and Kevin gave her a drink of water. She tried to drink it slowly because she knew by now that she was dehydrated and drinking fast would only make her feel worse. As she handed the bottle back to Kevin, Aaron came flying around the corner and threw himself into her lap.
"Whoa, little guy! Are you excited to see me?" Felicity laughed, she loved little kids. He lifted his head and smiled.
"I thought you were dead!" he whispered dramatically.
"Well, thanks to you I’m okay. You saved me Aaron, you know what that means?"
"I’m a hero?"
"Yeah! How does it feel?"
"I dunno, not any different I guess." Everyone laughed and Felicity looked up at the people standing over her and Aaron. When she saw all of their faces she nearly fainted again.
"Hi, I’m Felicity Riley. Are you guys who you think you are or am I still out cold?"
The guys laughed nervously and Kevin knelt down next to her.
"As I said before, I’m Kevin, And you already know Brian and AJ, these other guys are Nick and Howie. But, I guess you already knew that."
"Yeah, it took me awhile, I guess it was seeing you all together that told me you guys were the Backstreet Boys. So does kind of thing happen to you all the time?"
"What kind of thing?" Before Felicity could answer Howie’s question her stomach let out a very unladylike growl. Everyone stared at her stomach with shocked expressions on their faces and Aaron began giggling uncontrollably. Soon they were all laughing, including Felicity. Brian was the first to attempt speaking.
"What was that?"
"My stomach, I haven’t eaten since yesterday."
Everyone stopped laughing. Kevin looked at her with concern in his eyes.
"Why?"
"I don’t know, I get so busy with school and work and sometimes I just forget to eat. I don’t meant to, it just kind of gets pushed aside until I have time."
"Well at least we know why you passed out." Kevin helped her to her feet and her head immediately began throbbing. She put her hand to her forehead feeling the bandage on her left temple. She looked at Kevin questioningly.
"When you passed out you scraped your head against the steps. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, nothing twenty aspirins won’t take care of." She smiled at the guys to let them know she was joking. They all smiled back. Suddenly something occurred to her.
"What time is it?"
"1:45, why?"
"Oh sh*t, Holly’s going to kill me!"
"Who’s Holly?"
"My roommate and best friend, I’ve been gone for over an hour. Is there a phone I can use around here?" Kevin quickly pulled out his cell phone and asked Felicity the number. While he waited for someone to pick up he told her that he would take her home after he got some food in her. She smiled and mouthed ‘okay’ as he began talking to Holly.
* * * * * * *
Holly was nervously chewing on a pen when the phone rang. She looked at Heather before they both lunged for it. Holly got there first. Dammit Felicity, this better be you.
"Hello?" Relief washed over her as the voice on the other end of the line began talking; she gave Heather a thumbs up sign as she set down on her bed.
A few moments later she hung up the phone and began to tell Heather about Felicity’s crazy afternoon.
* * * * * * *
Felicity followed the guys into the green room, which was actually painted blue, and sat down at one of the many tables set up. She stared at the two buffet tables set up across the room, my Lord that’s a lot of food! Her stomach growled again, catching Kevin’s attention.
"How about I go get you some food while you wait here?" He wore a worried expression on his face. Felicity grinned.
"Okay, I’ll wait here."
"Is there anything you despise that I should know about before I prepare your meal?" He was hoping she would find this funny.
Felicity began giggling, then composed herself.
"Fish."
"Alrighty then." Kev made his way to the buffet as the other guys came over to sit with Felicity. Each was carrying heaping plates of food, except for Nick. He had two plates.
"Are you guys expecting company?"
"No, why?"
"I’ve never seen so much food." AJ began laughing.
"Honey, we eat like this all the time, we’re growing boys after all."
"Oh yeah, I forgot." She rolled her eyes as Kevin came toward them with two heaping plates; he set them in front of Felicity. Her eyes widened at the sight.
"Please tell me these are yours."
"No, they’re yours." Her mouth dropped open.
"I couldn’t eat all of that if I hadn’t eaten in a week!" He had to be joking.
"Well, I didn’t know what you would like so I just got a little bit of everything." He started blushing again causing the guys to begin laughing.
"Aww, Boo, you are so sweet." Nick said in a sing-song voice, causing the guys to laugh even harder. Felicity felt sorry for him, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the seat next to her. Reaching over she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. The guys stopped laughing and looked at them.
"What was that for?" Kevin was no longer blushing; he just had this silly grin on his face.
"You saved my life. It was your thank-you present." Brian and AJ jumped out of their seats and made their way over to her.
"Hey, we helped. We got the washcloths wet and put them on your arms and legs. Don’t we get a thank-you present?" Felicity looked at the plates Kevin had brought her and grabbed two chocolate-chip cookies and handed them to AJ and Brian. They looked at the cookies, then at each other, and finally at her.
"How come Kevin got a kiss and we didn’t?" AJ whined.
"Because Kevin brought me Reese’s peanut butter cups, my favorite."
"He got those for himself, they’re his favorite too."
"But I’m letting Felicity eat them." Kevin quickly proved this by unwrapping one and holding it up to her mouth. Felicity took a bite and looked back at Brian and AJ. They were munching on their cookies as they headed back to their seats, shaking their heads in disbelief.
Finally, everyone had eaten and Kevin went to get the keys to the rental car to take Felicity back to her dorm. As they climbed into the Honda Pathfinder, Kevin found himself asking Felicity a question that surprised him and her.
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Studying for a psychology final, why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering if you wanted to do something." Where was this coming from? he wondered.
"I would love to, but if I don’t study I’ll be in big trouble." There was a moment of silence until she spoke again.
"What are you doing tomorrow night?"
"We have a rehearsal at 5:00 then we’re free for the night."
"Want to go to a college party?"
"You know I’ve never been to one, sounds like fun. Is it okay if the guys come too?"
"Sure, it starts at 8:00 and goes until 1: 30. You guys can meet me at my dorm and then we’ll walk over to the quad where it’s being held. It’s sort of a kick off party for Spring Break, which starts tomorrow after finals."
"So you’re going home after tomorrow?" He hoped the answer was no.
"Actually, I’m staying here. My mom is out of town until next weekend so there’s no real reason for me to go home until then, and my roommates and I are moving into our new house Saturday. Why?"
"Well, we’re here for almost a week so I thought we might hang out with you. You know, sorta become normal college guys for awhile. And we could always help you move."
"I don’t want you guys to have to work on your day off, you guys have two concerts at the Arena this week, that’s work enough." As an afterthought Felicity mentioned: "I hope Alissa is still coming up for the concerts."
"We don’t mind helping. It would be fun, and you guys could repay us with a home-cooked meal. Who’s Alissa?"
"All right, one meal for five movers, you got a deal. Alissa grew up in the house next to mine; our families are like each other’s support system. We all rely on each other. It’s been kinda hard since I came here and my mom moved away. I think she’s going to stay at the ranch over the summer so we can spend time together. Anyway, she’s my baby, I practically raised her. She’s eleven." Felicity smiled as she thought of Alissa, it was almost as if Alissa was her daughter at times. She looked out the window in time to notice that they had just passed her dorm.
"Whoa! There’s my dorm. I guess I forgot where we were going. Sorry." Kevin smiled and turned around in a driveway.
"No problem, I wasn’t paying attention to where we were, either." He parked the Pathfinder and turned off the engine. He turned himself so he was facing her as she turned to face him.
"Kevin, I can’t begin to thank you for what you did."
"My earlier present was thanks enough." They both blushed at the memory.
"My pleasure," was all Felicity could utter. Before she could stop herself she leaned over and thanked him again.
"I like the way you thank people." Kevin was smiling, hoping to hide the butterflies in his stomach. How could one little peck on the cheek affect me like this?
"You wanna come in and meet Holly and Heather?"
"Sure, as long as you promise to thank me again." Kevin Richardson was ashamed of himself, he was openly flirting with a girl he had only known for a few hours, and he was enjoying it.
"I think I can handle one more time." I hope my knees don’t turn to Jell-O. Felicity was ashamed, she was openly flirting with Kevin Richardson, a mega-hot super-star, and she was enjoying it. They got out of the Pathfinder and made their way up the steps to Felicity’s dorm. They got halfway up the steps when Felicity’s head began pounding so she stopped walking. She reached for Kevin as she gingerly put her other hand on her head. Kevin paled when he saw how ashen she was.
"What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?" When she nodded weakly he helped her sit down on the steps. He pulled her close to him so her head rested on his shoulder; Felicity closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet smell of his cologne. She rested for a few moments before he spoke.
"It’s starting to drizzle, we should get you inside."
"Okay." He stood up and reached down for her. When he pulled her up she was off balance so she ended up bumping chests with him, which threw her off balance even more. He quickly pulled her into his arms; steadying her balance and making her heart beat erratically. She stared into his green eyes, finding that they were greenish-blue when you got up close. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, brushing her lips softly against his. It was barely a kiss, yet it sent Kevin’s mind reeling. When she spoke her voice was husky and barely a whisper.
"Thanks for catching me."
Kevin smiled. "Did I mention I like the way you thank me?"
Felicity laughed. "Yeah, I think we covered that."
As they turned to go to the dorm Kevin slipped his arm around her waist. It frightened Felicity; everything felt so strange. She desperately needed to talk to her friends; she couldn’t believe what she was feeling. They reached her dorm. As Kevin reached to open the door it was flung open by a very angry Holly.
"Your ass is grass, little missy! What the hell were you thinking? Running twice in one day without eating for over twenty-four hours! Do you have sh*t for brains? And why are you two laughing? This isn’t funny dammit!" Holly was on a rampage and she had forgotten to take a curler out of her hair!
"Holly, hon, you have a curler in your hair. And I wasn’t thinking when I left I just left." Felicity shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to go into details in front of Kevin. At that moment Heather came into the room.
"Hey girlie! Have a good run? By the way, your dad’s number was on caller id and your stepmother called five minutes ago and left you this number for you to call her back. She said it was urgent. Did you and your dad fight again?" It wasn’t until Heather said this that she noticed Kevin standing next to her sister.
"Oh, sorry, Felicity. Is this your knight in shining armor?"
"Yeah, this is Kevin Richardson. Kevin this is Heather and the fuming girl with a curler still in her hair is her sister Holly. Kevin and his friends were kind enough to offer their help when we move Saturday, in exchange for a home cooked meal. And they are going with us to the party tomorrow night." Felicity went over to her desk where the paper with the phone number her stepmother had left laid. She picked it up; she didn’t recognize the number. Kevin came to stand beside her as she picked up the phone and dialed. After a few rings someone answered. Heather, Holly and Kevin began talking about the house and the party.
"Hello, St. Francis Hospital, how may I help you?" Felicity explained to the lady that her stepmother had called her and left this number, she gave the lady her father’s name and she was transferred to her father’s doctor.
"Miss Riley, I’m sorry. Your stepmother has gone home. My name is Dr. Smith. I was on duty when your father came in. Miss Riley, I’m sorry to tell you but your father is dead." Felicity’s heart thundered in her ears.
"How?"
"He apparently overdosed on sleeping pills, became delusional, and shot himself in the head. I’m sorry. There was nothing we could do." Felicity dropped the phone and ran out of the room. It was suddenly too small for her, she couldn’t breathe. Holly and Heather watched her leave and watched Kevin chase after her.
Since Felicity had exhausted herself already today, it wasn’t that hard for Kevin to catch up with her. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.
"Felicity, what happened, who was on the phone?" She couldn’t take it; her body had been through too much in one day. She crumpled against Kevin, sobbing uncontrollably. He tried to quiet her down, but nothing was working. Sitting on the ground, he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. After gently kissing her head he began to sing. A few notes into "Darlin’ " and she quieted down, finally she spoke.
"My father is dead." This single statement tore at Kevin’s heart. He knew that feeling. The loss, the pain, the anger, and the emptiness stayed with him to this day. He pulled her closer, kissing her forehead when she spoke again.
"I know you’re thinking about your dad, but it’s not the same. I lost my father a long time ago, the man left behind was just a shell of the man I loved. He was an alcoholic, my parents divorced six years ago, but he was gone long before that. The alcohol just ate away at his soul until there was nothing left. I’m not crying because my father took a shotgun and blew his head off, I’m crying because the father I once had left me with this monster and I never got to know who my dad really was, I was too little to remember much. The only father I knew woke me up at two in the morning screaming at me and telling me to go downstairs and clean up my toys. My mom would always come down and yell at him for yelling at me, then they would argue and I would sneak upstairs and sing myself back to sleep." Felicity’s voice held no emotion; she flatly stated the facts, like a teacher explaining a math problem. But Kevin watched her eyes and saw the pain in there. He pulled her closer and stood up with her in his arms. Felicity looked up, startled.
"I’m taking you back home, you need some rest. I’m sorry about your dad, but right now you’re more important. You were right, I was thinking about my dad. It still hurts to think about him, but not everyone had a relationship with his or her father like I had with mine. I was just lucky." He looked down at Felicity, she was smiling.
"What?"
"Are you always this nice?
"I guess so. My mama would have my head if I weren’t. I was born and raised in Kentucky, what do you expect? Besides, you’re kinda cute."
"Tell your mama she did a fine job on her son, he’s a real southern gentlemen."
"You know what that sounded like?"
"What?"
"That sounded like another thank you." By this time they were at the bottom of the steps to Felicity’s dorm, Kevin put her down and she smiled up at her new friend.
"Yeah, I guess it did." Suddenly shy, she reached up and brushed her lips across his cheek. She was blushing when he looked down at her.
"Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night."
"Yeah, let me give you my number, in case you need to call."
"Okay, I’ll give you the number of the hotel room I’m in and my cell phone number. You can call me on it anytime, even after we leave." Kevin wasn’t sure why he was doing this but he knew he had to. He didn’t want to lose her friendship, in case it turned into something more.
They exchanged numbers and Felicity watched him leave. She slowly walked back up the stairs and towards her room. She felt the dread and guilt weigh heavy in the pit of her stomach. Her last words to her father echoed in her ears: I want you out of my life. She walked into her room and Holly greeted her with a hug.
"Come on girlie, let it all out."
Felicity fell to her knees and sobbed, how could she ever forgive herself?
Remember to send your feedback to the author, Brandi