“Baby, wake up…” I was at my boyfriends house rather early today. I knew he had pulled another party scene without me around, so I knew I had to wake him up for his interview at three.
“What?” He said looking at me and trying to roll back over to ignore me. I took the blankets off him.
“You have an interview today dumbass, it’s at three and it’s almost ten already! You need to stop these parties baby.” He got out of bed and smiled at me.
“I will when you decide you want to join me.” He gave me a kiss on the lips.
“I will never join your stupid parties with random people I don’t know.” He put his arms around me and gave me another kiss.
“Alright then it’s your loss, they’re fun as hell.” He fixed his boxers and walked out to the kitchen as he ran his fingers through his now longer hair. “Did you make the coffee yet?”
“No, was I supposed to?” He looked behind him and just smiled at me.
“No, I was just asking beautiful.” I laughed.
“You’re so damn good with the charm thing.”
He and I have been seeing each other since I was 17, and he was 20. I was surprised my mom let me anywhere near him. He is in the group called The Backstreet Boys and recently they’ve taken the best turn for their lives…They’re now famous all across the planet. I’m now 19 and he’s 23.
“I try to be, you know that…” He leaned against the counter and opened his arms. I walked into them and he hugged me and took a deep breath in. “You smell so good baby-girl.”
“Why thank you sweetie. I like hearing that.”
“Good, then I’ll keep telling you.” I smiled as I let go of him.
He fixed the coffee and I sat at the kitchen table. I look around at it, covered with beer cans and bottles. I put my head in my hand and just thought. I loved this man, and he was throwing more than half his nights away to these parties with people he doesn’t even know…He could be hanging out with me or something, but no…He’s here.
“What are you thinking about baby-girl?” He said sitting at the table next to me with two cups of coffee.
“Your parties.”
“Uh-Oh, here we go…” He said laughing a little.
“Babe, it’s not funny. Something could really happen to you at these parties! I mean they’re people you don’t know…What if someone steals from you, or tries to hurt you?”
“Baby, I have Marcus and Raul around at them, he keeps a close eye on them for me.”
“That’s not good enough, I think you should stop partying so much. You could spend some time with me you know.” He took my hand and just looked at me.
“I would love to spend more time with you. All you had to do was ask me.” I smiled.
“Do you promise to at least limit how many parties you have in a week, like maybe two a week?”
“I can do that, two a week sounds fine.” He kissed my hand and then kissed my cheek. We drank our coffee and he got ready for the interview, then we took his car over to the hotel all the boys were supposed to meet at. As soon as Alex and I step out of the car, paparazzi swarm us. He put his hand out to back them up and away from me. I didn’t care for them half the time, but when they swarmed us like that it was hard to even know who was standing next to me. Marcus and Raul cut in (they are his own bodyguards) and then dispersed them from us. AJ clasped my hand and kissed the side of my head and we walked in to meet the other boys. I saw Howie and smiled at him. I gave him a big hug. He was probably my best friend of the group. We had a lot in common and we talk almost all the time. Sometimes AJ worried about it.
“Ok, now that all you boys are here, I have some things to say before we go across the street to the radio show.” Johnny their manager said to them. “No messing around like usual, this is one of those shows that just doesn’t like that.” AJ ripped me around from Howie.
“What was that?” He whispered to me as Johnny was speaking.
“What was what?” I asked him.
“You running to Howie? Like you never see him?”
“I didn’t run to him, and who are you to tell me who I can and can’t see?”
“Well I’d expect that you’d HONOR the guy who has been with you for 3 years a little better.” I looked at him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, damn good and well.” I faced him.
“You must be going crazy!” I yelled. Everyone looked at us.
“Is there a problem back there?” Johnny asked. I looked at him.
“Oh, no sorry.”
“Can I finish, Mary?” I nodded.
“Yeah, yeah go ahead.” I gave him one of my famous smiles and he just smiled and continued.
“I am NOT going crazy. I’m sick of you always running toward him whenever we’re in the same room as him. I mean it’s everytime.”
“I hardly get to see him, we’re really good friends Alex.”
“Well, that’s fine and all, but can you stop running toward him like that, it makes me look really bad.”
“I don’t care what makes you look bad, I am your girlfriend Alexander James. And I will do as I please!”
“Then I don’t think you and I should see each other anymore.” He looked at me with stern eyes, the harshest things I have ever seen in my life. My heart skipped a beat and I couldn’t catch a breath. I looked at him, to the ground, and then back at him, and then walked away towards the doors bawling.
“What did you do to her AJ?” I heard Howie yell at him before I left the doors. The paparazzi flooded me with questions on what I was crying, but I ignored them.
“Mary! Mary!” I turned around and there was Howie. He ran to me and hugged me. “What did he do to you?” He grabbed my face and wiped away a couple of tears. I could hardly breathe to answer him.
“He…He…He broke up with me…” His eyes widened a little and pulled me into a hug. Paparazzi were feeding off this moment.
“Why?” He asked me.
“Because everytime I’d see you, I’d run to give you a hug…” Howie laughed.
“He’s such an idiot…You need to come back in and just chill with the other boys and I.”
“I don’t want to…I can’t face him.” I shook my head.
“Mary, you NEED to come back in, you have no where to go here.” I sighed and agreed and he walked me back inside.
“Didn’t take you long to fall into his arms huh Mary?” AJ said to me.
“AJ you need to shut up! You left her for the stupidest reason in America. How can you do that to her? Just because her and I are friends!”
“AJ did you really leave her because she’s friends with Howie?” Brian asked holding his girlfriend of 3 years as well, Leighanne.
“Brian, I don’t need you to get in this ok. All of you need to leave me alone!” AJ yelled. I walked away from Howie and up to AJ and slapped him across the face and took his arm and dragged him into the bathroom.
“You need a big dose of reality. These are your bandmates and you SHOULD never talk to them like that again!”
“Whatever, I don’t have to listen to you…”
“What is wrong with you?” My face just, I knew looked so sad. He sighed…
“I don’t know.” He leaned against the wall of the bathroom and slid down to the floor. I sat down next to him. “I’m afraid of losing you to him, so I’m trying to let you go now.” I stared at him.
“That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. If I haven’t left you by now, do you think I’m going to?” He smiled at me and put his arm around me.
“I guess not. I’m really sorry for everything I said out there… you know?” I gave him a kiss.
“It’s ok, I forgive you. I couldn’t be without you now. I’ve had you for way to long.”
“Thank you…” He held me for a little bit and kissed the top of my head. I wrapped my arms around him like it would have been the last time…If only the night told a better story…
LATER THAT NIGHT
“Where’s AJ?” I said almost yelling at my friend Sarah who came to a party with me and the boys.
“I don’t know.” She said back. The music was blasting and finally a space clears on the floor and I see AJ sitting at the bar. I smile a little and shove my way through the crowd to get to him. He was ordering another drink. He smiled at me.
“Hey baby…” He looked at me with his shades on and no smile. His face was empty.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m…fine.” He said with a little hiccup. The bartender came back and I told him to take them away, AJ went to reach for it and the bartender walked away with them in hand. “HEY!” He said. “I’M PAYING FOR THAT! BRING IT HERE!”
“Alex, you don’t need another one, you’re plenty drunk!”
“I just need another shot of JD.”
“No, no more…” He looked at me again.
“I’m sorry, I don’t tell you what to drink.” I sighed and walked away. I told Sarah I was going to catch a cab and head back to Alex’s place. She smiled and nodded, but she came with me.
“So where is he?” She asked me.
“He’s uh…Drinking.” I waved a cab with one hand and none stopped.
“Bad?” Sarah has been my best friend for a long time and I tell her just about anything…
“Worse. He’s getting worse that is.” I sat on the curb and put my head in my hands.
“Oh…Girl. You deserve better.”
“No, I deserve Alex. The man I fell in love with from the moment I laid eyes on him…Not AJ, the guy who gets a million girls screaming his name everywhere he goes.” I looked at Sarah and out the corner of my eye I see AJ walk out of the club, kind of stumbling but not bad. He was walking ok… I got up and walked to him.
“HEY!” He put his arm around me. “You look pretty hot tonight…Feel like fuckin’ tonight?” I just looked at him.
“Not really.”
“Party-pooper.” He let go of me and walked back into the club. I held my head down and just looked at my shoes. I scuffed the ground a little bit and looked up and hitched a cab back to AJ’s house.
I laid on the couch when I got there and just thought. I fell to that part of sleep where you are sleeping but you’re aware of what is around you…And I heard the front door open. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock on the table…It read 3:30am. I heard the door shut and the lights turned on. I twitched at the sudden scene change. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair and AJ just kind of stood there and looked at me.
“How did you…?” He slightly pointed at me and then waved it all away and continued to walk to his room. I got up and followed him.
“You need to stop this excessive drinking, you know you’re getting worse Alex.” He laughed as he took his pants and shirt off, along with his sunglasses. His eyes were red and kind of puffy. He walked into the mirror and looked at himself.
“Nah, I kind of like how it makes me look.” I laughed.
“Sick? Ugly? You like looking like that?”
“I’m ugly to you?” He looked at me in the mirror. I folded my arms and leaned against the door frame.
“Right now, yes. You look awful.”
“I thought true love knew no looks.”
“Whatever, you need to quit drinking, you’re killing yourself!”
“Mary, what do you know? You’re not even allowed to drink!”
“I know what it does to people, and you’re not the same man I fell in love with…Lately you’re some guy to hang around and make sure he doesn’t kill himself.” He gazed into the mirror. Almost examining his whole body and outlook on himself.
“Why don’t I see it then?” He asked sounding with little remorse. I walked up behind him and put my arms around him.
“Because…You’re letting the alcohol speak for you now. You’re so beautiful…” I touched his abs and ran my fingers up his body. I kissed his neck and I looked in the mirror and he smiled at me and turned around and hugged me.
“Will you stay tonight? I don’t want to be without you right now.” I nodded.
“I will stay whenever you want me to…I love you and I’m here for you all the time. I just need you to talk to me about your problems, not try and drink them away…” He kissed me.
“God, I love you too.”
“Let’s go to sleep ok?” He nodded and crawled into bed. I went into his bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.
Why? Look at you. You’re running yourself in the ground for a man who just doesn’t want your help. Here you are staying up at all hours just to make sure he is ALIVE! This isn’t right.
While thinking to myself I looked at my bottle of perfume sitting on the counter that I had left here from last time I was here, the cap was off. I never left the cap off of it because it was my all-time favorite perfume. I changed into some boxers I had pulled from AJ’s drawer before entering the bathroom, and I walked out. He looked at me as he was curled under his covers.
“Why is the cap off my perfume?” I asked him pointing back to the bathroom smiling at him.
“I like to smell it when you aren’t around.” I grinned and crawled in bed next to him and hugged him.
“That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.” He turned around and turned the lamp off. Within the pitch black I could make out his face not far from mine. I ran my fingers through his hair and he drifted asleep. The moments like this made me love him all over again.
Now I know why…Because he was still Alex under all the pressure he has to be a rebel. You love him and you know it. He is everything you ever needed in a guy…
I kissed him as he was asleep and fell asleep myself.
THE NEXT MORNING
I felt an arm go over my side and felt him kiss the back of my neck.
“Baby…” He whispered. “I love you…” He said to me still whispering. “I’ll be back later.” I heard him leave and I jolted out of bed, but when I left the room and entered the hallway to the living room the front door shut. I ran to it and swung it open but he and his car was already out of the driveway. I stopped and put my hand on the door frame watching his car turn the corner…I knew he was going to go drink. He always did real early in the morning, or real late at night. My heart told me to trust him this time, and hope he really listened to me last night. So I did what I usually did alone at Alex’s house. I changed into my swimsuit and swam in his backyard with his dogs.
I hit the water as I dived in and all my problems seemed to vanish. Swimming was always a good outlet for me. His dog Daisy jumped in with me and I laughed as she swam up to me. I pet her and swam to the steps into the pool. I sat on the second one up. I tightened my draw string and looked around. Vegas walked into the water and I smiled at her. She was a cute little thing. I remember the day AJ got her, it was love at first sight. All of Alex’s dogs loved me, I was always here and I always took care of them for him when he was away.
I heard a car pull into the driveway and I walked to the big brown gate and opened it. I fixed the bottom of my bikini and looked in the car I didn’t recognize. But Brian and his girlfriend Leighanne got out. I laughed.
“I didn’t recognize this car, is it new?” I asked Brian as I gave him a little hug, along with Leighanne.
“Yeah just got it yesterday. Nice isn’t it?” He said touching the hood.
“He’s very proud of it…” Leighanne said smiling.
“I bet, it’s nice. Uhm, Alex isn’t here.”
“Where’d he go this early in the morning?” I shrugged my shoulders.
“He just kissed me good-bye and left.”
Story Notes:
I apologize for the mistakes in spelling or misplaced words, I check over the chapters, but I don't check everything.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Everything seems to be really go down rather fast with Mary and AJ. Maybe he'll change...Maybe he won't. Not even for her? The love of his life...
