Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:16:38 +0100 (BST)
From: Jezebel <eh_oh_po@yahoo.com>
Subject: In Another Life 2

Disclaimers: This story is fiction and it is not intended to imply anything
about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal
knowledge about their private lives.  If you are underage for your area, if
it is illegal for you to view such material or if you are opposed to two
men in a loving situation then this story is not for you either.

Note: I started this before recent events, I love Kevin and to me he is,
was, and always will be a Backstreet Boy - this is fiction so he's still
with the group :)


Part 2

***

It was almost a week since Kyle had come back into their lives, or at least
since Brian had seen him.  He had hoped that having the boy physically
removed from a venue and having his name blacklisted at events would stop
any further harassment.  So far it seemed to be working.

AJ had not mentioned seeing Kyle to Brian or to Kevin and no one else had
commented on his being at the signing.  Brian began to hope that it was
just a gutless attempt on Kyle's part to dredge up the past and rub salt
into an already painful wound.  It certainly wouldn't have done Kevin any
good to see Kyle again.

Kevin was happy right now, he had someone in his life that loved him, that
accepted him for who he was and wanted to be with him despite of the pain
that their life could cause.  The last thing that they needed was Kyle
coming in and stirring up trouble for them.

They were still in Florida, the promotional tour was over now but there was
more work to do.  There was a tour to plan and other things to deal with.
AJ was clean, Nick was sober and happy, Kevin was settled, Brian had
Leighanne and Howie - well, that was anyone's guess, but he seemed happy
too.  The last thing that they needed was anything upsetting the apple cart
now that it was finally settled.

Unfortunately no one had sent that particular memo to Kyle.

***

The call came in the middle of a session where they were arguing over
themes for the tour.  Kevin wanted a back to basics style, less effects,
less flashy and more instruments, something that would show that they had
grown up and moved on.  On the other hand AJ and Howie were all for a more
soulful based tour, bringing in their outside influences and adding a few
extra touches to it.  Nick just wanted fireworks, anything big and flashy
was always good for him, his inner child loved to make it a spectacular
show.

They weren't supposed to have their cell phones on but when Kevin's rang
there was a silent hush.

"Sorry guys, I was expecting a call from management." He apologised,
knowing that this would undermine his own authority in telling them off for
forgetting for a while.

"Hello?" Kevin asked politely expecting it to be someone from Jive or the
Firm.

"Mr. Kevin Richardson?" A voice asked solemnly.

"That's me." Kevin said, a puzzled look crossing his face as he did not
recognise the voice.  "Who am I speaking to?"

This got the attention of the others, they knew now that it wasn't someone
that Kevin was expecting and they wondered if some fan had gotten his
number from somewhere or something.

"My name is Anne Collins, I am a Nurse at Saint Christopher's hospital in
Orlando." She said tenderly.  "I hope you don't mind, I got your number
from a friend of mine who works at your record company..."

"I'm sorry Ma'am but if you're looking for a donation or for us to make an
appearance then you really should go through our management first." Kevin
said.

They all did their bit for charity but they could not go to every function,
the management tended to deal with what they would and would not do,
although usually they would not do it only if it was insecure.  Most of the
time they would do it, especially for their own foundations.

"...It's not that." Anne told him.  "We have a patient here who has you
listed on his contacts for next of kin.  I wouldn't have called only there
was no one else listed."

"I don't have any kin in Orlando other than my Cousin and he's here at my
side." Kevin said.

"What is it Kev?" Nick asked curiously.  He was never one to wait for
people to finish a conversation before butting in.  Brian tried to shush
Nick so that he could listen in again.

"He isn't listed as family as such, but you are the only contact that we
have left for him." She said and her tone sounded sad.  "His name is Kyle
Maddox, and it says here that he's your stepson."

And as Kevin heard the words the bottom fell from his world.  He had never
expected to hear that name again.

Brian reached for the phone that hung limply in Kevin's hand.  Whoever it
was that was on the end of the phone had caused Kevin to pale significantly
and Brian wanted to know what was wrong.

"Mr. Richardson?" Anne asked, the line had been silent for a long while and
she wondered if he was still there.

"I'm his friend." Brian said.  "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, as I was just telling Mr. Richardson, we have a young man in this
hospital who has him listed as a contact in case of emergencies.  He was
quite far down the list but Mr. Richardson was the only person that we can
get in contact with." She explained to Brian.  "We were wondering if Mr.
Richardson could come in and speak to the doctors about the case since
there are a few matters that need to be settled."

"What is the name of this boy?" Brian asked, not really thinking straight.

"His name is Kyle Maddox, he's nineteen years old, quite tall in
stature..." She said, beginning to give a description to him.  Brian
seethed with anger.  This was not how it was supposed to happen.

"I know who he is." Brian said curtly.  "But I'm sorry, we can't help you
with that matter."

Then he hung up.

"Who who is?" Nick asked.

"Kyle." Kevin said.  It was more of a ghost Kevin than the real thing
though, his mind was trapped in some far away place and his voice sounded
hollow and empty.  "Kyle came back."

"That was him?" Howie asked.  "I'm surprised that he got through all of the
security."

"It wasn't Kyle.  That was the hospital.  They say that Kyle is there."
Ghost Kevin said.  He was still white and still seemed to be far off.

No one spoke for a moment as they allowed the information to sink in, Brian
was busy thinking of a way to get his cousin away from this while AJ was
considering visiting all of the hospitals in the area until he found the
boy.  Yes, Kyle was part of the worst part of their lives but he didn't
deserve whatever it was that had happened, and if he was getting them to
call Kevin then it must be pretty desperate.

Suddenly Kevin broke the silence by jumping to his feet and heading out,
the only goodbye he had was a brief moment before he left.

"I have to go to Kyle." Kevin said before heading out like a bat out of
hell and leaving four confused Backstreet Boys in his wake.

None of them knew why Kyle would need Kevin or why Kevin would even care.

***

To be continued

Other boy-band stories at nifty:

Want - Ongoing
Star Encounter - on hiatus
Lost and Found - on hiatus
Designs on You - complete
Set Adrift - complete
Poor Howing - short story
Loving Bryan - Short Story