I sat in my room, staring blankly at the framed wedding photograph of my parents. They looked so happy; so peaceful. It was still hard for me to believe they'd already been gone for two years. Two years.
A single tear rolled down my cheek as I reminisced on my once happy childhood; a childhood that had been brutally ripped away from me by their untimely deaths.
At the age of 18, I was burdened by a much heavier responsibility than most teenagers will ever face: raising a family. Although my baby sister, Emma, had also been killed in the car crash that took my parents lives, I still had three remaining siblings that needed taking care of: my brother Jason, who is 5 years younger than me; and my little twin sisters, Jena and Holly, who are 10 years my junior.
When my parents were killed, the last thing I wanted was to lose the rest of my family. I chose to fight a massive custody battle that I eventually won. Without the benefit of any form of inheritance, I was left with little alternative but to quit school. I took a job working at a mid-class hotel in New Hampshire that was owned by a friend of the family. Out of both convenience and necessity, my siblings and I ended up living in that very hotel. Our room was fully accommodated, and surprisingly warm and cozy. Although our living arrangements weren't exactly conducive to privacy, we all somehow managed to get along. The simple truth was that the course of our lives had changed forever, and we all matured faster because of it.
So there I was, now 20, never having felt more alone and isolated from the world. No friends left to speak of. No family to look after me. Independent, yes; but also painfully depended on.
Sighing, I stood up and pulled my curtains shut. Crawling into bed, I quietly snuggled under my sheets, relishing the sensation of the warm summer breeze caressing my face. I soon dozed off, forgetting about all my woes for the night.
**~~**
I awoke the next morning to the shrill beeping of my alarm clock. It was 6:00 AM. Reluctantly, I rolled out of bed and slipped on my bathrobe. When I finally opened my bedroom door, I was surprised to find that everyone was already up and about.
"Good morning" chimed Holly, greeting me with a smile as I joined them at the table.
“Morning” I replied, watching them curiously while they slurped up the last bit of their cereal "You’re all up awful early."
Jason stood up and headed to the sink to wash out his bowl "Jeremy is going to give us a lift to school this morning. He's coming by early cuz he has to deliver a package first"
I rolled my eyes. I never quite warmed up to the idea of them ridding a smelly old delivery truck to school; especially when there was a perfectly able yellow school bus at their disposal.
"I just don’t understand your whole obsession with Jeremy and his truck. Why on earth would you ask to ride in that thing?" I asked.
"I didn't But these two wanted to...." Jenna exclaimed, pulling a face and jabbing her thumb in Jason and Holly’s direction.
Jason opened his mouth to retort, but I stuck out my index finger warningly before he could utter a word.
"No arguing before I have my coffee."
One we’d all eaten, I proceeded to help the little ones prepare their lunch while Jason played a quick round on his PlayStation.
"We're going to have to find someone to beat you at those darn video games! Maybe that’ll finally turn you off em’…” I laughed, playfully kicking his foot.
Jason simply snorted in response.
Minutes later, I waved them out of the apartment, and as I turned back to face the now empty room, checked the time on the kitchen clock.
"Shit! I'm late!"
Darting to my wardrobe, I threw on my staff uniform and quickly tied my brown hair into a ponytail, allowing a few loose strands to fall casually around my face. Without bothering to glance at my reflection, I then bolted out the door. Deciding against waiting for the elevator, I dashed towards the exit and, taking the stairs two at a time, emerged in the lobby a few (breathless) moments later.
The exit door slam shut behind me with a loud metallic clang, prompting the women currently manning the front desk to raise her eyes from her novel. She did not look pleased. "Look who finally decided to show up for work” she drawled, eyeing me with great distaste.
“I’m so sorry, Mary” I panted, holding a stitch in my side “L-lost track of the time.”
Mary rolled her grey eyes exaggeratedly. “Oooh now there’s an excuse I haven’t heard a thousand times before.” Slamming her book shut, she walked out from around the desk and paused right in front of me. I tried to face her, but my heavy panting prevented me from being able to stand fully upright, so I just stood there breathing heavily as she stared down her upturned nose at me. “The central air-conditioning is down” she said briskly. Then, pursing her lips, she turned on her heal and marched out of sight.
Once I’d finally regained my composure, I proceeded to take my place at the reception, muttering a few choice words about Mary as I went. Plopping down on the uncomfortable wooden stool, I heaved a heavy sigh and peered out the window. As unpleasant as my morning had just been, I couldn’t help but feel my spirits rise at the breathtaking view. No one could ask for a more serene setting; our hotel was nestled at the foot of the spectacular White Mountains. Having grown up in New York, I’d always considered myself quite the city slicker. But even I had never been able to resist the Mountains’ captivating lure. In fact, I’d rather learned to appreciate rural life… It certainly had its own charm.
As it was a hot and unusually humid day, it didn’t take long for me to start sweating in my polyester uniform. ‘What a day for the AC to breakdown’ I thought miserably, fanning myself with my hand, which, if anything, was only making me sweat more profusely. Thinking that a glass of cold water might help, I slid off my stool and hurried towards the water pitcher located in the storage room. Filling the paper cup to the brim, I eagerly brought the drink to my lips and was about to chug it down when I heard a distant bell chime. ‘Uh oh. Guests.’ Dropping my water-filled cup in the garbage bin, I rapidly straightened my skirt and swiftly walked back to the front desk, speaking my hostess greetings as stepped through the door: “Good morning, and welcome to the--- to the---” I’d suddenly lost the ability to speak. A blonde, blue eyed young man was standing in front of me, a massive, knee-buckling grin plastered across his kind face. I could feel my cheeks burn as he opened his mouth to speak. I
"Hi there!" he said, still smiling broadly.
Clearing my throat, I grinned as best I could in return. “How –How may I help you?” I finally croaked, trying, and failing miserably, not to blush.
Resting his elbows casually on the desk, the man leaned in towards me, which only caused me to feel more flustered than ever. "My friends and I are staying here…" he explained kindly “as you’ve probably guessed by now…”
He motioned over his shoulder, and finally tearing myself away from the strangers mesmerizing eyes, I noticed the enormous pile of luggage accumulating behind him.
Laughing, I looked down at the monitor. "Under what name?" I asked, avoiding further eye-contact whilst attempting to remain as professional as possible.
The man shifted uncomfortably. "I’m not entirely sure what name the bookings were made under. My name is Brian Littrell..."
I checked the screen. "Sorry."
Brian looked over his shoulder, before leaning even closer to me. “Eerrmm” he went awkwardly, speaking in barely above a whisper “Why don’t you give 'Backstreet Boys' I try”.
'Backstreet Boys'?... I thought to myself. I looked at him curiously; "Are you in some kind of a band?"
Brian smirked "Yeah, something like that..."
I pushed out my bottom lip, I checked the system once again. "I’m afraid that there isn’t anything under ‘Backstreet Boys’ either…” I looked up at him apologetically, and when our eyes met, I felt my stomach do a back flip. ‘You’re being an idiot’ I told myself firmly. ‘Snap out of it’
Right as Brian was about the speak up again, a voice called out from somewhere behind him. “It’s ‘Gwen Patterson’. We booked under ‘Gwen Patterson.’”
Without need for further prompting, I entered ‘Patterson, Gwen’ into the computer, and sure enough, there it was.
“Here we go” I smiled, “Gwen Patterson. 3 master suites.”
Looking up, I caught the man’s gaze yet again. He had the most beautiful eyes…
Just then, his hand reached out towards my face. Completely caught off guard by the gesture, I took an abrupt step back. Brian only smiled. "I was just going to brush the hair out of your eyes…”
I automatically swept the loose strand away from my face. Thanking him shyly, I glanced behind him at the four other men I had just spotted. They were all standing idly alongside their mountain of luggage while the bell boy frantically circled the trolley to make sure that all the items were secure. One of the boys noticed me watching him, and tipped his baseball cap at me.
Grinning at him in return, I placed my hands on my hips and sighed from the heat.
“It’s hotter than the blazes of hell in here” said the man in the baseball cap, as he and his friends walked towards me.
Momentarily distracted by the sight of five sweaty, attractive men, I had to shake the fog out of my head before I had sense enough to grab the keys from under the counter.
"These are yours, Mr. Littrell" I said, handing Brian his room key.
Our hands brushed slightly as he took the keys from me, and I felt my flesh erupt in goose pimples. He smiled. “Thank you, Miss… Miss?...”
“Lawford” I replied, reaching to shake his hand as he extended it to me “But you can call me Felicity… Or Ellie. Most people call me Ellie.”
“Pretty name” said Brian, still holding on to my hand.
After a few long moments, someone courteously clearly their throat, and Brian and I finally let go of each other’s hands, both looking rather embarrassed.
“Well seeing as how Brian hasn’t volunteered to introduce us…” went the man in the baseball cap, as he in turn reached out to shake my hand. “The name’s A.J. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure” I repeated, giggling slightly.
Rotating a bit, he then proceeded to point out his companions one at a time. “The tall, dark and handsome one over there (‘Or so he thinks’ A.J whispered jokingly in my ear’) is Kevin. The petite brunette (‘Hey!’ the man objected) is Howie. And finally, that adorable blonde pouting in the corner is my little sister, Nick”
“Ha-ha-ha, very witty, Aje” went the blonde, rolling his eyes.
A.J winked, and let out a laugh, in spite of myself.
I finally led them to the elevator. The bell boy had already gone up with their belongings, so it was now only us. I felt very comfortable riding alone with them in the elevator, for even though I had just met them, I felt an indescribable closeness to the bunch. I suppose that was due in part to their friendly smiles... I started to stare at Brian, who was gazing out the glass window of the elevator at the scenery.
I slowly pried my eyes away. "So, how long are you guys planning on staying here?" I asked cordially, being the good hostess that I was.
The door opened and we all stepped out as Howie finally answered me "About 2, maybe 3 weeks. We have some work to do around here, so we decided to stay at this hotel because it seemed relaxing."
"Well it is" I answered grinning at all of them. I didn't want to probe any further, figuring I would have much more time to do so in the coming weeks. I told them to follow me as we headed down the hall to their rooms.
"605, 606, and 608 are yours" I informed them. I then glared at the bell boy, Cliff, who stood there looking pretty much clueless. "And if you would be so kind as to tell him who's in which room" I said, scolding Cliff for not asking before "He'll help you bring in your stuff."
Cliff blushed, but Nick nudged him letting him know that he could leave. He looked at me, and I nodded to okay his departure.
They stood around for a while deciding who would take what room and who would be with whom. They finally decided on Nick being with Brian; Howie with A.J, and that Kevin would be alone. Since I was somewhat partial to Brian, I offered to help him settle in.
"That's very kind of you" he said "But I wouldn't want to hold you up. I'm sure you have tones of work to do."
Right then I remembered that I had left the front desk unattended. "Oh my God!" I exclaimed, kicking the wall.
He simply smiled, told me that I could go, and then added that he'd see me later. Weezle
I ran to the elevator and dove in. I got out and thankfully, the entrance was just as I had left it: Empty. I sighed in relief and sat back down on my stool. It didn't take long before boredom started to settle in again, and my thumbs instinctively began to twirl. After a few minutes of doing this, I remembered that I hadn't finished reading the Teen People magazine I had bought earlier that week. I usually didn't buy those kinds of reads, but this time I was thankful I had. I started flipping through the pages, licking my finger every time the sheet turned. As I set my finger down on the next page, I froze. My eyes almost bulged out of my head as I looked down at the huge print which read:
"Backstreet Boys" underneath it a giant picture of, yup, you guessed it: Brian, Kevin, A.J, Howie and Nick! After I got over the initial shock of realizing that these guys were more than just some small band traveling through town, I started to read the article. It talked about how they were the biggest and most successful pop group in the world, and how truly talented they are. It was also written that they were planning on taking a few weeks off to start recording their new album. There was also a small quote in the bottom right corner of the page by Kevin; "We're going to be recording in a small town one of our producers lives in. We can't give away more detail because it's also going to be a small vacation for us, and we wouldn't want our loyal fan base tracking us down!" I put it down and realized that 'small town' was here! I still couldn't believe that we had a world famous music group staying in this insignificant hotel! I was beyond stunned.
The next thing I remembered was the sound of the elevator door opening.
Startled, my head shot up and I slammed my magazine shut. It was A.J.
"Hey" he said grinning as he got closer to me "I didn't mean to scare ya. I just wanted to ask you if there was a place where we could cool off around here."
I started to stutter "Ummm, ahh- um, well, th-there's a pool at our twin hotel right next to us. We share it."
His hands reached over the desk "Whatcha reading?" he asked playfully.
I rolled up my magazine and made to put it behind the desk when it slipped out of my hands and landed flat open on the desk. A.J grabbed it before I could and started browsing through it. His smile quickly faded as he found the page I had been looking at.
He glanced up at my embarrassed face. "Is this what you were trying to hide?" he asked, showing me their picture.
I started to timidly rub my hands together "I didn't want you to know that I found out who you were. I didn't want you to think I was..."
A.J broke out in laughter "It's Ok. I mean, we thought it was strange the way you acted so normal around us. It's sorta humbling to think that there are still people on this earth who don't know who we are."
I felt like a major idiot. I really didn't have any reason to hide it from him. I guess it was just that deep down inside, I didn't want to risk losing their potential friendship.
"I wouldn't have treated you differently, even if I knew" I reassured both him and myself.
"Well, that's nice to hear" he responded "Now that I know where to pool is could you let me know if there are any good restaurants around here?"
I thought for a second "Well, there are a bunch of fast food joints..."
A grin appeared on A.J's face as he blurted out "McDonald's?"
I shushed him "There is one, but it's a little far out."
He began to pout when I had a brain storm "Would you guys like to have supper at my place tonight? I'm assuming you haven't had a home cooked meal in while, judging from what I read in here."
He sprung up "That would be awesome! That's really nice of you. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
I shook my head "No, no problem. I'd love to have you guys over" I said thinking of how great it would really be to hang out with new people.
He drummed the desk joyfully "Well that's great. Do you live far from here?"
My good mood disappeared as I pondered up a way to respond with out being placed in an awkward situation. How was I going to say that I lived here? With my brother and sisters... without parents or any other family...
"Yellooow?" chirped A.J, bursting into my thoughts.
"Ummmm" I went, clutching my fist and squinting a bit. "I live here" I said, hoping that he wouldn't comment.
I was lucky, and all he did was smile "That's cool. What room?"
I gave him my number and told him to drop by around 7:30 PM. After all, I needed time to prepare. He thanked me for everything and went back upstairs. I guess it wasn't such a big deal to be living in a hotel. After all, these rooms were more luxurious, or at least, as big as most apartments. So really, there was nothing to it! I finally calmed down and decided it was high time for me to seriously start working. I returned to the back room, and opened up the drawer. 'Tax Time' I sighed depressively. I hated numbers. My mind kept on wandering, thinking about Brian and all his friends. I heard some noise, but by the time I ran out all I could catch were the boys' backs as they trooped out in their swim trunks, towels thrown over their shoulders. I stomped my foot and crossed my arms in frustration. "I can't believe I missed that!" I grumbled out loud.
"Missed what?"
I turned around and saw Mary, who was looking at me oddly.
"Um, nothing. Just thinking out loud." I said, placing one hand on my head and the other on my hip.
"Oh, that's just wonderful! Not only are you not working, but you're going crazy too" she snickered obnoxiously.
I grinded my teeth to keep myself back from saying anything I knew I would regret. I went back to the desk and sat down.
She walked over to me, swaying her hips from side to side like the sleaze she was. She leaned over me, silently staring. Within seconds I lost my patience and blew up at her.
"What? What do you want?" I demanded furiously.
Her eyes grew wide and she backed away. I knew she never expected me to say or do anything at her attempts to annoy me. She took another step back and opened her mouth "Nothing."
I bit my lower lip out of guilt. I know that what I did would normally not be considered mean, but I thought it was. I promised myself never to be rude.
"Look, I'm sorry" I mumbled apologetically.
She nodded, still a little flabbergasted.
I continued to speak "Look Mary, I know this isn't exactly the right time to ask you this, but could you take over my shift at 5:00 PM? I'm having guests and..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back that train up! You're having guests?" she interrupted with a slight smirk on her face.
I shifted my eyes away from her and told her yes.
"Well then" she said, crossing her arms "I guess that I can do it this once. After all, I don't have any plans for this evening."
I couldn't believe it. She was actually going to do me a favour? I had always pictured her as some sort of evil step sister, therefore I expected her to blackmail me into doing the laundry, the dishes, and all those other Cinderella chores before she'd ever let me off the hook. But she didn't-
I broke into a huge smile and squealed "Thank you. Thank you so much"
She shrugged "Ya well, whatever". Mary then turned on her heals and left.
Great! I was now free to prepare a wonderful supper for, oh God, 9 people? My good whim faded right then and there. What was I going to make five starving men and 3 picky kids for a meal? My imagination went into overdrive from that moment on.
After a long day of work and hard thinking, 5 o'clock had finally arrived. Mary took over my shift, and the boys were still at the pool. Could I blame them? The heat was killer! When I opened the door to my room, I immediately ran over to turn on the air conditioner. "Boy is it ever hot" I sighed. I shook it off and went to check my messages. Of course, I rarely had any. Nevertheless I hit the button:
"Hey sis, it's me, Jase. I just wanted to let you know that I'd be having supper at Shirley's with the twins. We'll be back around 8:30 PM or so. See ya"
'What a relief', I thought. Not only did I have 3 less mouths to feed, but one less major explanation to give the guys.
I kicked off my shoes and entered the kitchen. After scouring the fridge and rummaging through all the cupboards, I still hadn't come up with any ideas for what to cook. Then came the revelation: Lasagna!
That was something I knew everyone would enjoy, and on top of it I had a killer recipe! I took out my utensils, and started boiling the water.
While the lasagna was in the oven, I set the table. I had also prepared a salad as well as dessert. It was a simple coffee cake that would be eaten with a side of ice cream. When I finished with the table, it was already 7 o'clock. So I went to change into some clean clothes.
As I entered my room, I removed my sweaty white tank top and threw it on the bed. I jiggled out of my shorts, and tossed them along side it. I opened my closet to reveal my wardrobe. After a few seconds of deliberation, I pulled out a simple wrap-around blue knee-length skirt along with a matching top. I sat down at my dresser and took out the elastic from my hair, only to replace it by a more stylish one. I arranged my hair nicely, applying the slightest bit of make up to compliment my outfit. I had to admit, I did look good in a not too over dressed kind of way.
The next thing I knew, there was a knock at the door loud enough be heard over the clamour of the air conditioner. I ran out of my room, spun into the kitchen to turn off the oven and flung open the front door to reveal 5 smiling faces.
"Hi Eli" Brian hailed.
They were all wearing shorts, and either had a polo on or a casual T-shirt, like Nick.
"Hey" I welcomed, letting them in.
They all entered and I closed the door behind them. For a few moments, all we did was smile awkwardly. That is, until Howie handed me a bouquet of flowers along with a bottle of red wine.
"These are for you" he said with those sparkling brown eyes of his.
"Oh, you really shouldn't have" I gushed as he placed them in my arms.
"It's nothing really" said Kevin modestly "It's a little token of our appreciation for having us over tonight. It was really nice of you."
"Oh, it's no problem" I said depositing the wine on the counter and scampering around the room in search of a vase.
"You can sit down on the couch and watch some T.V if you'd like" I offered, filling the new found vase with water "Supper will be ready in just a few."
They all did as I suggested and sat down comfortably, making themselves more than at home. A few minutes later, I called them to the table. They all sat down, Nick and I at both heads. When I set the plate of lasagna over the mat in the middle of the table, they all began to salivate. A.J couldn't help but blurt out, "That smells delicious."
I smiled shyly "Well I hope you like the taste as well."
I served them before helping myself to a slice. They didn't touch a piece till I sat down, which pleasantly surprised me.
"Eat up" I finally said "I didn't cook this to be gawked at."
And sure enough, they all started digging in with content expressions on their faces. They all had seconds. Was I happy to have prepared such a big batch…
Swallowing heartily before taking a sip from his drink, Nick spoke up first "So, do you live with a room mate or something?" he asked.
I coughed uncomfortably. This was the moment I had been dreading since we'd met. I looked down at my plate and started pocking the food with my fork while they all waited in anticipation for my answer. "I live with my brother and two younger sisters." I mumbled quietly.
They all looked at me curiously. "What, you're parents are out of town and you're baby sitting or something?" Nick asked tactlessly.
I swallowed and bit my lip "My parents are dead. They were killed in a car crash two years ago. I'm their legal guardian."
An eerie silence fell over the room for what seemed like eternity, and I certainly wasn't the one about the break it. I didn't look at any of them, but could still feel their gaze over me.
"Look, I'm sorry..." Nick finally apologized sincerely.
I shook my head interrupting him "It's Ok, really. You didn't know, and now you do. End of story" I said impassively.
Neither of us knew what to say or how to act at this point, and I hated it. I didn't want them to pity me- I just wanted to set things back to the way they were before Nick opened his trap! Thank god, I soon heard the rattling of keys in the door. We all turned to watch it open as my brother and sisters stepped in.
"Eli" Holly shrieked running over to me. I got up and she jumped in to my arms.
"How was your day?" I asked laughing as I put her down.
She smiled revealing a missing tooth "I finally lost it" she declared proudly.
"Wow, that's great" I said patting her gently on the back. I glanced behind her at Jason and Jena who were still in the doorway. Jason glared at the unexpected guests, while Jena's jaw lay hanging on the floor. Before I could say anything, she squealed.
"OH-MY-GOD" she howled, nearly hyperventilating "You're... you're... The Backstreet Boys!!"
The guys loosened up a little, not knowing whether they should stand up or not. They smiled at her "Nice to meet you" they said in unison.
Jena grinned uncontrollably.
Jason just shrugged "Hey"
I shot him a dirty look for being rude and then asked if they had done their homework. They told me that they hadn't.
"Go to your room then. Jason, you can go in there too and use one of the desks. If any of you need help, I'll be right here."
They all obeyed and left us alone. As I sat back down, Kevin spoke.
"They seen like nice kids" he said warmly, trying to steer the conversation back on course.
I smiled proudly "Yeah, that they are."
We finished our meal in virtual silence, only letting a few passing comments escape here in there. The Boys helped me clear the table, after which I proposed for them to sit down.
"So" Howie began, sitting down with a grunt and rubbing his full stomach "What do we do now?"
I grinned slightly "Haven't you guys had enough excitement for one day?"
"The night is young" A.J commented playfully.
Kevin then stood up "No it isn't, A.J. We have to head to the studio early tomorrow morning, so it would be best for us to be on our way..." He then paused for a moment and turned to me and quietly added "And I'm sure we've already over stayed our welcome."
At those words, I leapt out of my seat, almost screaming "No you haven't!"
They all laughed at me. My face turned a bright shade of red while I feebly stammered out the rest of my sentence "I mean.... I, um, it…" When I finally noticed Nick almost falling out of his seat, I chuckled, "Oh shut up!"
Coming back to reality, Brian got up after Kevin and said "He's right, we'd better get going."
On cue, they all stood up and headed to the door. They hugged me, and thanked me for having them.
"My pleasure, really" I beamed, leaning against the door as they stood outside. They waved and headed down the hall. I was about the close the door when I heard hurried footsteps. When I looked up, Brian was standing in front of me, panting.
I was a little dumbfounded by his quick return. "Yes?"
"I, umm" he began, slowly rubbing his hands and looking to the ground "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
I smiled, exposing all my teeth "Yeah that would be great."
"Good! Thanks again for supper" he added before turning back to join the others.
After I made sure he wasn't coming back, I closed the door. Turning to face the now empty room, I sighed; "The dishes ..."
By the time I was done with them, the twins were already fast asleep, and Jason was brushing his teeth.
I went to my bedroom, got ready for the night, and thanked God for bringing these 5 men into my life.
