“Looks like Howie’s work finally paid off. He’s cruising on easy street with these chicks,” Nick mused with interest as he plucked one of the magazines from the center of the oblong business table. The boys had been scheduled for yet another Emergency meeting with their producers and other bigwigs, though they were slightly confused about the necessity. AJ had concluded that Howie had drawn official papers to dismiss himself from the band permanently, but Kevin had practically slapped him for such a stupid statement. Though Howie had parted from the group, Kevin was still convinced that he would come crawling back with his tail hidden deep between his legs as a sign of submission. Nevertheless, no one was prepared for the titles flashing across all the latest magazines.
“It wasn’t work. Howie actually cares about those girls,” Brian quickly scorned, frowning toward Nick’s obnoxious blurbs of stupid commentary.
“More than us, apparently,” Nick sighed, missing the second eldest member more than he realized. Tormenting the others with his childish behavior just didn’t hit the correct spot in his heart like when he tortured Howie.
“He doesn’t care about us any less, Nick… He’s just frustrated with us and I don’t blame him,” Brian concluded after several moments of silence between the three youngest members.
“Excuse me?” AJ laughed, reaching for another magazine.
“C’mon, you have to admit that we’ve been acting pretty asshole-ish since everything happened… Besides, Howie’s always been a great judge of character. He probably sees something in those girls that we didn’t care to see.”
“One in particular,” AJ snorted, tossing the last magazine toward Brian and Nick with a smirk. The largest headline read: Howie Dorough Smitten with Beautiful Victim. Immediately, the boys snapped open the magazine to pour over the photographs encasing Savannah’s personal words about how caring Howie had been through the ordeal. And the photographs seemed to explain everything about Howie’s obsessive behavior over the broken woman. Her entire hospital room was covered with various trinkets just sparkling in sheer delight underneath the lighting. It was amazing to see such a display for a woman they didn’t even know. “And here I thought I’d be starting the torrid love affair with her. She’s really hot. Or at least she was—”
“He’s not dating her,” Kevin snapped as he walked into the boardroom, overhearing the younger band member’s conversations. He was growing tired with all the rumors circulating, especially since Howie had betrayed them so harshly. And, Kevin meant business as he slammed his hands against the table before seating himself beside AJ. That seemed to draw the boys’ attention, causing a hush to quiet over the eerie boardroom. “The managers just got hold of some interesting news. Seems Miss Lorden wanted to make sure that the record was made straight. She told a reporter that Howie has been the only one visiting and showing any kindness out of the group and refused to have his pictures submitted to the magazines for publishing out of some moral high-ground. But, if the sleazy guy got paid enough, he’d lose a portion of the article and make sure to say that Howie’s pictures were somehow ‘recovered’ from the paparazzi. Needless to say, management is pissed.”
“So glad that you’re their official mood ring, Kev—”
“For once in your life, AJ, hold that smartass tongue of yours and just listen,” Kevin growled, causing Nick to actually stiffen in surprise. AJ seemed to control his temper for that moment, allowing Kevin to proceed with his plans. “Management is insisting that we see Miss Lorden when she’s discharged tomorrow afternoon. So, one of us has to go to see her discharged and the rest of us have to manage to throw some sort of get-well party or something.”
“Why?” Nick scowled.
”Because if we don’t make peace with Howie and the girls, then we’re going to be thrown off the label — Permanently.”
“What are you doing here?” Howie questioned boldly, unable to hide his frown as he watched AJ approach the hospital parking lot. Needless to say, AJ looked to have not a single care in the world, simply waving toward the paparazzi huddling across the street for a few sideways photographs. Only, that seemed to set Howie’s usually placid temper into overload. Savannah was just signing the necessary paperwork to officially release her from the month and a half long stay at the hospital. She had a long and agonizing rehabilitation ahead of her journey with more than four months of immobilization before being allowed to have the slightest stress of weight against her battered knee.
And, surprisingly, Savannah had actually personally called Howie to ask him to be there when she was released. But quickly she covered her emotions by saying that he’d have to drive all the beautiful ‘junk’ he had bought her back to her home since she had to fit her completely immobilized leg into Rhiannon’s already cramped car. Howie had quickly obliged, finding it sweet that Savannah was still acting tough despite her sweet inner core. It had hardly taken any time for Savannah to quickly warm to him and Howie was learning the unique quirks to her personality. She was an extremely bright woman with a quick tongue and bubbly personality. She always seemed to have a smile on her face despite the grave situation. But, Howie kept it simple, never denying nor confirming his belief in her golden heart, because he absolutely enjoyed spending time with her. If anything, his goal was to make her feel better and forget about the pain. She deserved that much, if not more.
“Just wanted to see how you were and since the media is about my only life line to you at the moment, I thought it’d be nice to come out and see you and the new girl in your life,” AJ called, holding his hands up slightly as if he were being ordered out of the car by police. He offered the sly smile that he was infamous for, but it never elicited a warm smile from Howie. So, AJ’s face quickly fell with hurt, just stepping to wait on the curb beside Howie and the two cars.
“Excuse me? New girl?”
“Savannah Lorden? Haven’t you been reading the magazines?”
“Not especially…”
“Howie, she polished your name until it was shining with gold, silver, and expensive gems. Now everyone’s saying that the infamous Sweet D finally has his Sweet Little Lady—”
“It’s not like that,” Howie found himself laughing, not that he was on any better terms with AJ, though. It just seemed typical that the media would look for another headline to attach to the boys’ names. If Howie wasn’t the scallywag they had originally thought, then of course he would have to be romantically linked with one of the victims. It just seemed typical for his lifestyle. “She’s just a really sweet kid, but definitely not my type.”
“That’s a damn shame, Howie,” AJ breathed after several moments of silence between them.
“Why’s that?”
“Because she’s fucking hot,” AJ spoke liberally, nodding toward the doors to the hospital sliding open for a wheelchair to exit. Sure enough, Rhiannon was carefully wheeling a gorgeous woman within the wheelchair, someone completely different from the disheveled woman Howie was used to seeing in the hospital bed. Most of the bruising along her face had disappeared, though the faint remnants of the laceration along her left temple remained. Rhiannon had allowed most of her blonde curls to fall against her face with a graceful layering of a golden halo to conceal the first scar. Her jade eyes were brighter than when she was in the hospital as a playful smile curved against her pale rosebud lips from whatever Rhiannon was saying. She then wore a light green baby t-shirt that revealed just the tiniest portion of her pierced belly button and abdomen, but Howie could already tell that she was perfected after years of dancing. Finally, the loudest signal was the baggy sweatpants clinging to her hips, doing their best to conceal the heavier scars below and the huge immobilizer that kept her leg completely straight. Though, that was harder to hide than anyone could anticipate and it would probably be months before Savannah would let anyone see the more private scars.
“AJ, you have no right to comment—”
“Because you were thinking the same thing?”
“Damnit, just get lost, alright—”
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!” Savannah cried emotionally when she reached the cars, not really paying attention to the two men waiting for her. Instead, she pretended to sob openly in her hands as if she had been cured from a horrible disease. Pathetically, she popped her crutches onto the ground, boosting herself as she were a lame beggar just recently touched by Jesus’ miraculous hands.
Rhiannon snorted with amusement at Savannah’s priceless antics, though she slightly feared Savannah using the crutches when her right shoulder was still extremely tender. “Alright, Moses, no need to be too cute for the paparazzi. Just get your ass into the car—”
“Alright, Mom, no need to ruin my Miracle Network Day,” Savannah pouted, attempting to shift on her crutches. Only, she wasn’t as quick to recover as when the nurses were behind her in the hospital. A sharp pain invaded her healing shoulder, causing the crutch to slip from beneath her armpit. With a violent snap she lost all footing and started to fall hard on her painful leg.
“Savvy!” Rhiannon yelped in horror.
“Woah! Easy there!” AJ blurted in surprise, reaching to grasp her underneath the arms to prevent any more serious complications with her condition. He held her entire body weight as if she were nothing but a simple feather floating from the sky, helping Rhiannon stabilize the crutches back beneath her armpits. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Savannah lied, though her confidence had been severely rattled. The nurses had insisted she stay at least another week to recuperate, but Savannah was tired of the hospital. She just wanted to get back home into a somewhat normal lifestyle. Besides, she had missed Rhiannon terribly. But, she wasn’t even half a mile away from the hospital doors when an accident threatened to shatter all the progress she had already made in such a painful month.
“Looks like you could use a good bodyguard, huh?” AJ chuckled.
“Yeah…” Savannah trailed, glancing toward AJ with a blank look. She acted as if she might fall for his seductive charms, but quickly glanced toward Howie. “And I couldn’t think of a better candidate. Can you give me a ride home, Howie?”
“Me?” Howie squeaked in surprise.
“No one else is worth their weight in gold here, besides Ann.”
“Then I’d be happy to take you home,” Howie approved, gently pressing his hand against the small of her back to lead her toward the car. Rhiannon seemed to have anticipated Savannah’s needs, already loading the expensive gifts into her car instead of Howie’s car. But, Rhiannon said nothing as she moved to help Savannah further, allowing Howie to glance back at AJ with a dark scowl. It was pitiful that AJ thought he could fix things in such a sharp snap.
“D—”
“It’s a little too late, J.”
“I think you truly missed your calling, Savvy,” Rhiannon announced with amusement as she slowly walked back into the living room with their remaining box of pizza. Savannah was staring intently at the TV, watching Law & Order: SVU. It was one of Savannah’s favorite TV shows, so Rhiannon made no objection when it was turned on. If anything, Rhiannon was just grateful to have Savannah home. It had been so lonely those passing nights without Savannah to keep her company. She had done her best to keep in contact with their other friends, but no one compared to Savannah in the least.
“What calling?” Savannah murmured, not even bothering to glance away from the pixels emulating her favorite show.
“Your hardcore, gory self that could have made a seriously awesome Crime Investigator,” Rhiannon approved, slowly easing her body back against the couch. She made sure not to disturb a single entity, knowing that shuffling the pillows beneath Savannah’s outstretched leg could cause tremendous bouts of hot, throbbing pain for the younger woman.
“Yeah, I would have kicked ass.”
“No doubt and I might be looking into another career if—”
“Savvy…”
“I know, wait and see how the physical therapy goes in a few months. Nothing is definite,” Savannah exhaled a depressed breath, finally glancing away from the TV screen. She caught her bright jade eyes against Rhiannon’s light brown eyes, realizing that Rhiannon was fretful over the depression threatening to rear with the terrible accident. Every day Rhiannon continued to probe into Savannah’s thoughts, just waiting for the trigger signs that the physicians warned her about. Only, Savannah knew what Rhiannon was looking for and promised to make sure that everything would be okay. Rhiannon already blamed herself too much for the accident. “I’m fine, Ann. I promise.”
“I just worry about you, Savvy.”
“I know,” Savannah answered, offering a sly smile. “That’s why I live with you. So I can get pampered to my heart’s content while I’m officially crippled.”
“You’re horrible, y’know that?”
“Of course I do, but you love me anyway.”
“Not as much as a famous certain someone,” Rhiannon teased, tossing Savannah a fresh magazine that had been sent to their home. Savannah was already furious that the reporter hadn’t printed everything they had discussed during her interview. Instead, he chose to say that Howie was indeed a bright shining star and couldn’t imagine how the photographs had been misplaced in their offices. Then, of course, he had to take a spin on all the beautiful gifts in Savannah’s hospital room. It just seemed surreal that Savannah would get linked with Howie because of his good deeds.
“You know that’s a bunch of bullshit, Ann.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“Excuse me?”
“I got a few presents from Howie, but nothing that could possibly compare to the luggage we loaded into your room today!”
“Oh, please, you’re just too damn gullible and didn’t hold out long enough.”
“Just because you had a crush on him to begin with—”
“When we were teenagers!”
“You haven’t even been out of teenager range for a year yet, Savvy.”
“Just get the thank you cards out of my backpack would you?” Savannah sighed, knowing there was no way to really change Rhiannon’s mind over the situation.
“What for?”
“I wanted to end whatever the Hell it is that I started while I was in the hospital.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Backstreet Boys ended up paying for every single cent of our medical bills. We don’t have to worry about anything and they’re making sure that our bills are paid and all our physical therapy is taken care of—”
“Woah, where’s this coming from?!”
“Don’t even read anything into it,” Savannah grimaced. “I don’t forgive them for what they did or how they treated us. They acted like scum, but nothing is going to change how the media view’s them. And… Howie deserves something better when all this chaos stops. He has to have his friends and career to go back to. As much as he wants to do the right thing, I don’t want him to ruin everything he’s been working so hard for. After all, whatever he’s doing with us isn’t going to last long. Once we’re back to normal, there’s nothing left for him with us, so he’s going to have to go back to having his own life. I just don’t want to see him regretting what he did. Y’know?”
“And you keep denying there’s nothing to those magazines…” Rhiannon teased, delighted with Savannah’s sweet nature. It was hard for others to really get a glimpse into the inside of Savannah’s heart unless she was volunteering at the Children’s Hospital or dancing. But, Rhiannon knew that Savannah honestly cared about Howie, even if she refused to admit as much.
“Is there a method to your madness? Or do you just like killing me?”
“No, I just find it sweet.”
“Sweet, huh?”
“Oh, yes, because there’s no way that we’re getting rid of Howie that easily. I don’t care what you say.”
“You know something I don’t…”
“Of course!” Rhiannon giggled. “Howie knows that you’re pretty much flat on your back while your leg is healing. There’s no way that you’re going to be able to take care of yourself without a lot of help, especially with her shoulder being delicate, too. And, since I’m having my own troubles just walking, Howie volunteered to be our nurse… Well, more like your nurse… He’s starting tomorrow and even got Sun Kiss to purr for him.”
Savannah immediately made a playfully disgusted face at Rhiannon’s confession. “Dear Lord, don’t let him show up in one of those kinky nurse outfits from Spencer’s. He might set our house on fire if he stands to close to one of our lamps…”
