Nick sat in his lawyers' office, unable to believe what he was hearing. He was a Backstreet Boy, the number one selling boy band in the world, this shouldn’t be happening to him.

                Bankruptcy.

                It was a hard word to swallow.

                “It’s not that you’ve been spending frivolously, Mr. Carter, just a lot of your investments haven’t paid off. With the economy in a downward spiral, you lost a lot of money in stocks the last couple of years. If I were you, I would fire your accountant and investment team since they neglected to tell you how to save your capital,” the lawyer explained.

                “Bottom line, Richard,” Nick whispered, staring down at his hands.

                “You have enough money in savings to pay the mortgage on one house for the next year. If you choose your house in Nashville, you also have enough money for one car payment on top of that. Filing bankruptcy allows you to make sure your creditors can’t take everything,” Richard explained. “However, selling your other properties and cars, among other things, the money will go straight to your creditors.”

                Nick looked up at him, “How long will this last?”

                “Once you file, they can not touch your future earnings so long as you get back on track and don’t file bankruptcy again. So, how long do you think it would take for you to get back on your feet?” Richard asked him gently.

                Nick sighed, realizing he could be back to the life he was used to within the year, if that was the case. He nodded softly, “Do what you need to do.”

                Bankrupt.

                He would have expected this from Aaron, and he had thought since Howie had helped him with his finances so much in the early years that he could have avoided it.

                Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

                “One favor?” Nick asked softly, looking back at his lawyer. When he received an affirmative nod, Nick continued, “No matter what, do not let the press find out about this.”

                “I will do what I can, Mr. Carter,” Richard said, closing the file on his desk.

                Nick stood and shook his lawyers' hand, “Thanks for calling the meeting.” He turned to leave, knowing he needed to get home.

                “Laur?” he called out, once he got there. He figured he needed to tell her that there would be some temporary changes coming to their lifestyle, and didn’t want to pussy foot around the issue. There was no answer, so Nick went to the kitchen, grabbing a much needed beer. As he popped the top off, he headed outside, sitting by the pool.

                Nick lost track of the time. When he heard his name, he blinked several times, looking around the pool area. When had the sunset? He didn’t have a clue, but stood up, heading inside towards the voice.

                “Oh, there you are,” Lauren smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. “Here’s your card back,” she grinned, handing him his credit card.

                Nick looked at it, confused for a minute before he glanced around and saw all the bags. “What is all this?” he finally managed to ask.

                “Oh, my mom called and said she missed me, so we had a girls day. Nick, it was wonderful seeing her again, really. We started with lunch, spent the afternoon at a day spa, then finished up on Rodeo Drive. Oh Nick, you should have been there, the spa was amazing! Even you would have loved it! They do this massage with oils infused with twenty four karat gold, look! My skin is still shimmering!” Lauren exclaimed happily, holding an arm up so Nick could see the gold flecks in the light.

                Nick’s jaw dropped as he shook his head no, “Lauren! That’s insane! Whatever you bought, you’re taking back.” He drew a deep breath, looking at his girlfriend. He looked defeated as Lauren just stood there pouting.

                “Why? You’ve never cared if I went on shopping sprees before…” Lauren said, crossing her arms over her chest.

                “You’ve also never taken my credit card before,” Nick countered. “What in the world were you thinking?”

                “People treat me better when they see your name on the card,” she explained.

                “My name is not for you to use like that, Lauren. Just what I need now is press reporting how much of a bitch my girlfriend is,” he said, rubbing his forehead.

                “They won’t, Nick. I tipped them well enough to make sure that wouldn’t happen,” Lauren said,  sounding proud of herself.

                Nick leaned against the counter, looking at Lauren. “Laur, I need you to return everything. Then you need to go back and explain to the restaurant and spa that you wish to pay for it on your card and put the money back on mine. You need to take care of this with your own money,” he said, trying to stay calm.

                “I can’t do that, Nicky, I-“

                “I’m going bankrupt,” Nick interrupted. He hoped telling her would stop the argument.

                Instead, he heard laughter bubbling from his girlfriend. “That’s funny. Listen, Nick, if you don’t want me going on shopping sprees, just say so. You don’t have to lie about it.”

                Nick sighed again, “Lauren, I’m not joking. I spent four hours with my lawyer today going over every detail. I’m going to have to sell everything just to be able to keep one house and one car,” he explained, looking at her.

                Lauren stood where she was, “Wait, you’re serious?” she shrieked. “Oh my God, you’re a fucking Backstreet Boy! How the hell are you bankrupt?”

                Nick shook his head no, “I don’t want to get into it.”

                Lauren shook her head no, “I have to go,” she finally whispered before heading upstairs, packing some clothes.

                Nick followed after her, “What are you doing?” he asked softly from the doorway.

                “I can’t be here right now,” she said, doing her best to avoid eye contact.

                “Oh, so when the going gets tough, Lauren Kitt gets going? Is that it?” Nick asked spitefully.

                She finally turned to look at him. “I have dealt with some insane shit the last three years. I can’t do it anymore.”

                “So are you leaving because of it all, or are you leaving because I don’t have money for you to throw around?” he asked.

                “That’s not fair, Nick,” she said, her lower lip quivering.

                “It’s perfectly fair. I love you, Lauren. I love the life we were building together. Right now, that’s all I have to give. But, I promise you, it’s only temporary. I will get back up on top. Will you stay, let me love you? Get back to basics?” his eyes pleaded with her. He held a hand out to her, hoping she would take it.

                Lauren looked at him, then down at his hand. She slowly picked up her bag, walking silently past him.