It was a hot, summer night and the orange sun slowly dipped beneath the low, gray clouds. Autumn sat upon her porch swing and slowly swung herself back and forth. She made herself comfortable on the blue and white striped cushions and pressed her cheek against her knee.

Sighing with disappointment, she waited. Nick was supposed to be home hours earlier; he was at the recording studio with the other Backstreet Boys. She wanted Nick to be home, she hadn't seen him all day. Normally, Autumn wouldn't be so selfish, but tonight she wanted to give Nick something of hers that she considered very valuable.

Nick had been very patient with her - he had decided to accept her rationalized decision of saving sex until marriage. Although she loved Nick very much, she wanted to make sure that she was completely ready when they both decided to take their relationship to the next level.

Autumn stood up from the swing and walked into her house and turned on the light in the living room. She turned on the TV and wrapped her sweatshirt more tightly around her body. After a few minutes of channel surfing, Autumn turned off the TV and crossed her arms across her chest from boredom. She was never usually home on a Saturday night - she was either with Nick or her friends.

Her eyes scanned the room and landed upon a filled photo album that was overflowing with pictures. A warm feeling surged through Autumn's veins and her heart flooded as she retrieved the book and brought it back with her to the couch. She rifled through the pages of pictures; laughing as she recalled each and every memory. There were pictures in the album from when her and Nick had started dating three years ago and there were pictures that were more recent.

The couple made a great contrast: Nick's short blonde hair balanced out Autumn's long brown hair that when down to the middle of her back. Nick's clear blue eyes and Autumn's bright green ones really proved that opposites attract.

Nick looked gorgeous in every picture and it reminded Autumn that she was one of the most luckiest girls alive. She was lucky to have someone to care about her so much and she loved Nick more than life itself, and she wanted to prove her undying love for him that night. She sighed and looked at the clock that was sitting on the end table. The bright red numbers read 12:00 at night, so she flipped off the light in the living room and turned on the outside light for Nick when he returned home.

She held the wall as she climbed up the stairs to their room and she lit the room with a tiny little candle that she placed next to her bedside. She hummed a happy tune as she undressed for bed and prepared herself for Nick.

The sheets felt good underneath her bare skin, and she got the goosebumps just thinking of the feeling of magic that Nick's hands would do to her body. She laid in bed for another hour before she leaned over and blew out the candle. Hurry home Nick, she said to herself before she drifted to sleep.

Autumn slowly sat up in bed around 3:30 when she heard the front door creak open. She smiled to herself and grabbed her satin bathrobe and tied it securely around her waist.

"Nick?" she called down the stairs. She couldn't hide her excitement, so she ran down the stairs to meet him. She called for him again but instead, she saw a shadow on the wall that was caused from the moonlight. The shadow got bigger and bigger as it approached her. Autumn's breath caught in her throat as she saw the sharp and shiny blade of the knife in the shadow. She slowly backed up the stairs, hoping to any God that the man would not know that she was downstairs.

She reeled back in surprise and fear when she felt a pair of hands clamp over her mouth. She was too shocked and scared to scream, so she just held her breath and waited for what he was going to do.

"Nick....please....help...me..." she choked out before disappearing into her room.

*~*

"Do you think Autumn will be mad when she finds out that you spent the night at my house last night?" Brian Littrell asked as he pulled into Nick's driveway. The house that Nick and Autumn shared together looked lifeless and empty.

"Nah, I doubt it." Nick Carter told his best friend as he walked up the driveway. He put his hands in his pocket to fish out his keys, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that the front door was ajar and the window was smashed.

"Autumn?" he called as he walked into the house. Stepping over broken glass, Nick and Brian surveyed the scene in disbelief.

"Holy shit..." Brian commented.

"Autumn?!" Nick screamed and ran up the stairs, not noticing the trails of blood that covered the walls and carpet. He ran straight into their bedroom. His world stopped when he saw his love in a puddle of her own blood.

"Brian! Call 911! Hurry! Oh my God, Autumn! Wake up!" Nick shouted. He knelt down next to her and rolled her onto her back, noticing that her lips were blue. The tears that poured from his eyes were equal to the amount of blood that oozed out of Autumn's limp body and onto the floor and Nick's hands and clothes.

"Oh, God. Please hurry!" He shouted again. He cradled her body in his arms and wept like there was no tomorrow. "Don't leave me. Don't leave me," he cried as he rocked them both back and forth.