Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 10:03:56 +0000
From: James
Subject: Boy Bands - On The Streets - Part 23

Ok, I don't know the BSB nor do I make any suggestions about the way they
live their lives, for instance whether or not they prefer men or woman as
their sexual partners. Frankly, I really don't care if you don't like
reading my story, but if you are offended by the sort of relationship which
is implied by its appearance on a gay site, then please don't read on. Also,
you shouldn't read this if you are under 18, though I think that is a really
stupid rule as it's not like we can tell whether you're 18 or not can we?

I am English, so if you don't understand anything in this story, then tough,
we invented the language first and you nicked it, so it's not our fault,
lol. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm sorry if the
cliffhangers are getting boring, but once again, my story, so there.


On The Streets - Chapter 23

	There was a window broken in the dining room, and glass was scattered
across the floor. The entertainment system had been ripped out of its place,
as had some of Kevin's possessions. The televisions from the upstairs
bedrooms had all gone, so had the radio in the kitchen. I don't know why,
but that pissed me off the most. Something so small, so insignificant,
probably made me feel more at home in this place than anything else, but
they had taken it, whoever it was. Nothing else was missing really, there
were a couple of things broken, a lamp knocked over, a vase smashed, and a
couple of picture frames knocked over or the glass broken. They had gone out
by the back door, and there wasn't much to go on. Apparently while we'd been
in Europe, there had been a spate of break-ins around this neighbourhood:
Kevin's was just the next house on the list, there was no apparent motive
besides the expensive entertainment systems and such. There must have been a
lot of people doing the job to have gotten in and out before the police
arrived with all the stuff they were carrying. Kevin said he'd make a phone
call to sort it out, then he said he'd have to talk to me. I heard Kevin
talking: I was in the kitchen sitting at the table, and he had taken the
call in the living room. I heard him put down the phone and let out a long
sigh.

	"Ok, I've dealt with everything." He stated simply. "I've just got to write
down the stuff that's missing for Nick."

	"Why Nick? What's he doing?"

	"He's gonna stay here for a few days and sort out the window and the
insurance and stuff, and in exchange he gets to have a little get together
with his friends." Kevin said with a smirk.

	"But, I thought you weren't allowed to see Nick until next week sometime?"

	"That's why we're going away!" Kevin said, and grabbed my hand to pull me
up. I stood, but didn't let him drag me out the room.

	"Hold on! Where are we going?"

	"For...a little road trip!" Kevin said with a big grin.

	"But we only got here yesterday!" I said. I wasn't really in the mood to
head out again when we only just got here!


	"Come on, I promise you'll enjoy yourself." I didn't budge. "Do you trust
me?" I saw the questioning look in his eyes, and gave up. I followed him up
the stairs and he pulled out two holdalls.

	"Right, we need to pack for the rest of today, tomorrow and Thursday."

	"How am I supposed to know what to pack if you don't tell me where we're
going?" I said with a smug grin on my face.

	"OK Smart Aleck, I'll pack for you." I watched as he threw some of my
clothes into the bag. They were mostly casual, with some clothes that could
pass for smart, and a few shirts. Hmmmm, where were we going?

	We left almost as soon as we were packed, Kevin left a note for Nick about
there being food in the kitchen, and he left the list he made of stuff that
was missing, and we set out.

	"Oh yeah, apparently we're gonna have to break the rule about us not seeing
each other until the end of next week Jared." Kevin said.

	"Why's that?" I answered.

	"Um, there's an interview that MTV wants to do, kind of a wrap up interview
for the tour, how was it, where did we go, who did we see, that sort of
thing. It's on Saturday, but it should be quite short." I nodded and we
pulled into the airport.

	"Oh! Not another plane! Come on Kev!" I said with a note of trepidation in
my voice.

	"It's not a long trip Jared, probably only a couple of hours, we'll be back
on the ground in no time!" And so we were off - another plane, smaller than
the one we got to the US in, and hence worse for me. It seemed my fear of
going up in these things increased as the size of the craft went down.

	"Are you gonna tell me where we're going yet?" I asked Kevin as we sat in
the plane seats shortly after take off. Kevin shook his head. He had managed
to make it so that I didn't see a single sign saying where we were going to.
I did notice the edge of the ticket as he handed it over to the person at
the gate though, but all I could see was the edges of words - rlines, KY and
so on. It was starting to get a little frustrating - you're probably
starting to guess that I don't like to give up control.

***

	We touched down in...oh that's right - Kevin still hasn't told me. I was
starting to get nervous, and was looking around for any sign of where we
were. Finally, I had an idea.

	"Kevin, I need to go to the toilet, I'll be right back." I said as I took
off at a run to the men's room. Once inside, I looked around for someone to
ask where I was. There was no one. The bathroom was empty - that's so
typical - the airport is really busy outside, but is there anyone in the
lavatory? No. Just then, the door opened, and Kevin followed me in and went
to one of the urinals, and relieved his bladder.

	"Didn't you need to go Jared?" Kevin asked sweetly.

	"I don't need to now." I said back sarcastically.

	"Look Jared, why don't you just trust me?"

	"Kevin, I do, but I just don't like this, why can't you just tell me where
we are? It's not like I'll be able to work out what you want to do just from
where we are!" I answered. Just then the airport speaker system shot into
life.

	"All flights from Lexington, Kentucky to Washington, Baltimore, and
Philadelphia have been delayed, sorry for any inconvenience to customers."
And it carried on about how the airlines still wanted their business, blah,
blah, blah.

	"We're in Lexington Kentucky?" I questioned Kevin. He nodded, with a gulp.
"What's in Lexington Kentucky?" I asked him. His smile came back to his
face.

	"You'll see." We left the toilet and headed out of the airport, baggage in
our hands, and into one of the waiting cabs. Kevin leant in and gave an
address to the taxi driver, and we were off, but I still had no clue about
where to. Lexington, Kentucky, what is there? I pondered it for several
minutes, and carried on looking around trying to work out what was here. I
had never heard of anything from Kentucky except for the Fried Chicken, and
I wasn't sure whether that actually came from Kentucky or not, so I racked
my brains for almost half an hour. Just then we pulled up to a large house
on the corner of two quiet suburban streets. The house was wooden fronted,
and had a wraparound front porch - we didn't get many of them in England.
There was a large double front door, and some seats were set out to the
right of the entrance. The garden was beautifully laid out, and the grass
neatly trimmed, even though it was December. Lexington, Kentucky? Something
Kevin knows? Shit. I remembered that Backstreet Boys book. It's where
Kevin's family lives. Shit. Shit. Shit.

	"NO!" I shouted as we pulled up in front of the house.

	"You worked out where we were going?" Kevin asked with a sigh.

	"Yes! And we're not coming here, why didn't you tell me? Kevin!" I shouted
at him. I think the cab driver was giving us funny looks. "What you looking
at?" I shouted at him. My London personality was coming out full throttle
and I was being incredibly rude to everyone, even Kevin. "You fucking
bastard! 'Ow couldya not'a tol me?" I questioned him. He just looked up at
me, and stared into my face. It was probably the most disarming effect I
think I've ever seen. I almost calmed down immediately, but I was still
angry and hurt inside, how could Kevin not have told me about something like
this? "We're here to meet your family aren't we?" I asked him. He hesitated,
then nodded. "You haven't even given me a chance to get ready Kev, that's
not fair."

	"What you mean is I haven't given you a chance to worry about it and get
nervous." I paused.

	"Maybe, but look at me, I look like shit, what are they gonna think?"

	"Hey! Are you two gonna get out some time today?" The cab driver turned and
asked.

	"SHUT UP!" We both responded simultaneously.

	"Jared, they're gonna think you're great no matter what, stop worrying so
much." Kevin leant over and apologised to the cab driver, and paid him and
pulled me out of there somehow. I did look a bit of a  mess: I was wearing
what I had worn all day today, a pair of black jeans, a grey t-shirt and a
black shirt thrown over the top. My hair was still up in cornrows, but it
wasn't gonna be long before it just fell apart, and I was gonna take it out
of them tomorrow, but I'll be here now, so there won't be much of a chance.
"You ok now?" I nodded, still feeling completely uncertain. Kevin wrapped
his arm around me and we walked up the path to his house. I was terrified -
meeting his mum had to be the most worrying experience I've ever had. I knew
Kevin held his family as being very important, and I wanted to make a good
impression on them, had he told them about me? Were they just going to be
incredibly shocked when Kevin walked through the door with his arm around
me? "Jared, relax!" Kevin said once he'd rung the door bell. I turned to
look at him, and I managed a shaky smile, but I felt like I was gonna be
sick.

	"Pumpkin!" The door swung open, and a woman in her late fifties shouted at
Kevin. She held out her arms, and Kevin leant down and hugged her softly.

	"Hey Mom!" He said with a big grin on his face. His mum walked back
slightly, allowing us to enter. "Mom, this is Jared. Jared, this is my Mom."

	"Nice to meet you, umm, Mrs. Richardson." I said as I held out my hand to
her. She took it.

	"Nice to meet you too Jared, please, call me Ann." I nodded, and we walked
into the living room which was to the left of the front door. "Tim, get out
here! Your brother's home! And he's bought company!" Kevin's mom shouted
loudly towards the door on the opposite side of the living room. Just then,
the door swung open and a man came out wiping his hands with a towel. It was
obvious he'd just come out of the kitchen. "Tim, your brother's here, come
and say hello. Is there enough in the pot for him and another?" She asked.

	"Sure Mom, if there isn't I'm sure Jer' can go without!" The man laughed.
Kevin and he both grinned at each other, then hugged one another. Tim was
about half an inch shorter than Kevin, but he had broader shoulders and a
slightly larger waistline. He was probably 2 or 3 years older than Kevin,
and it was obvious that if he lost a bit of weight, and was a couple of
years younger, they'd be very similar looking. "How's it goin' Kevy?"

	"Alright bro'. This is Jared. Jared, this is my brother Tim." I extended my
hand once again, but Tim pulled me into a hug. I have to say, I think people
in America do this a lot more - I'd never hug any of my friends back in
England. It felt weird being so close to someone I didn't know, but I wasn't
about to push him off - he is Kevin's brother after all.

	"Nice to meet you Jared." He said as we parted.

	"You too." I answered with a sideways glance to Kevin.

	"You're English?" Tim asked. I was a bit surprised Kevin's mother hadn't
said anything, but I guess I could hide my accent if I wanted to. I nodded
to Tim.

	"I met Jared when we were in England Tim." Kevin filled in. Tim smiled and
nodded. "Hey, when's Jerald coming? I want him to meet Jared too." Tim made
a confused face at Kevin, then answered.

	"Jer's coming about 8:30 - he's probably not joining us for dinner. Kevin
nodded and pulled me further into the living room, and we all sat down. I
could see Tim and Ann giving me and Kevin funny glances every now and then.
They started talking about the tour, what was different, how the travelling
was...

	"So, was the travelling as boring as it normally is?" Tim asked, rolling
his eyes. Kevin reached his arm around me and put his hand on the back of my
head.

	"No way! It was miles better! I had Jared to talk to the whole tour, and he
kept me busy most of the tour, he's great." Kevin said with a smile on his
lips, then he leant over and kissed me on the cheek. Then he kissed me again
on the lips. I could see Kevin's family over his head, and I saw their
expressions change from general conversation to expressions of shock. But
his family knew about him didn't they? When Kevin and I pulled apart, he saw
the look in my eyes and gave me a confused look. "What?" He mouthed to me,
asking what was wrong. I motioned with my eyes to look around, and he sat
back in the chair where he had been. He saw his brother's and mother's
expressions and asked them what the matter was.

	"We're sorry Kev, you didn't actually say that Jared was your boyfriend or
anything. We just weren't expecting it. Sorry." Tim said with a reassuring
smile on his face. "I should probably go check on dinner. Excuse me." He
stood and walked through the swing door into the kitchen.

	"Mom?" Kevin asked.

	"Hmmm? Oh I'm sorry Kevin, as Tim said you caught us by surprise. You
didn't mention you had a boyfriend to us, and we just presumed Jared was a
friend from the tour, sorry we misunderstood."

	"It's ok mom, but didn't you speak to Jerald?" He asked.

	"No, why what's wrong?"

	"No, it's nothing, it's just I told Jerald I'd met someone who I really
loved, and I guessed that he'd tell you. But I guess he didn't!" Kevin said
with a giggle.

	"No...but now we know, I guess we can get on with the normal stuff." Ann
started. She was rubbing her hands together.

	"Oh mom!" Kevin started.

	"Hush! You know we always go through this with everyone that you boys bring
home!" Ann stated. "I got to quiz your brothers' girlfriends - I'm not
making any exceptions just cos you swing the other way!" Kevin and I both
looked up - I don't think either of us were expecting her to word it quite
like that! "Ok, let's begin. Jared you're from England - which part?" She
started...

	"Err.. North London." I answered. I guessed what she was doing, but I
guessed that I wasn't going to enjoy much of this.

	"Right, how old are you?"

	"27." I answered.

	"What do you do for a living?"

	"Well I work for the guys actually - I'm their fitness instructor." I
wasn't gonna tell her about my previous profession.

	"Really? I thought Kevin looked like he'd lost weight - have you been
looking after him properly?" She asked. I wasn't quite sure how to answer
this.

	"Kevin, stand up." He looked over confused for a second, then stood. I
reached up and lifted the bottom of his t-shirt, revealing his newly
re-discovered six pack. She raised her eyebrows, then looked back at me.

	"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

	"I have one brother."

	"Your parents?"

	"Still living in England." I answered. I didn't like where this was going.

	"I see. And how often do you talk to them?" She asked. Perfectly innocent
question, unfortunately not an easy one for me. I looked over at Kevin, who
gave me a sympathetic gaze, then motioned for me to answer.

	"I don't."

	"Is there some reason for that?" She asked in a semi-sympathetic voice. I
looked over at Kevin again, and he rubbed a hand up and down my back.

	"I've forgotten what you call it, ummm." I scratched my head. "Kevin what
was that word that you used to describe what happened with my parents?" I
asked. I know, cheap way to get out of saying it myself, but I don't think I
could say it myself.

	"Disown. They disowned you." Kevin filled in. I heard a sharp intake of
breath from Ann. She got up from her chair, and sat down beside me. She
wrapped her arms around me, and hugged me tight.

	"I'm sorry I shouldn't have been so intrusive, I'm really sorry Jared." She
whispered to me.

	"It's ok Ann, I've been over it for quite a while now. We were never that
close - I always stuck out in my family, and I didn't like it. Being kicked
out I guess was just the last straw in the hat." I gave her a weak smile,
and she smiled back. God I felt so uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, may I use your
bathroom?" I asked with a weak smile.

	"Kevin show Jared where the bathroom is." He stood up after me and he led
me up the stairs. Once we were at the top, I felt so weak I didn't want to
go on. But we were at the door to the bathroom. Kevin turned around and
looked at me and saw the helpless expression on my face.

	"You don't feel very comfortable here do you Jared?" I looked up at Kevin
and I could feel the tears coming to my eyes. I shook my head, and Kevin
looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry I made you come Jared, I should have
given you the choice. We could be at home now instead, you could've got a
chance to settle in rather than me dragging you up here to meet people who I
didn't think you would be very comfortable with." I reached over and took
his hand in mine.

	"No Kevin. You don't understand." I said to him, and he looked up at me
confused. "Is there somewhere we can talk?" I asked him. He nodded and we
moved down two doors and inside was what I presumed was Kevin's bedroom. I
didn't get much of a chance to look around before Kevin pulled me over and
we sat on the white-sheeted bed. "Kevin, I don't feel uncomfortable because
of who those people downstairs are, and I don't feel uncomfortable because
you brought me up here without asking me first. I feel uncomfortable because
I'm seeing you with your family, and you're obviously very happy with them.
I'm jealous." I felt sick. This was disgusting, how could I envy Kevin for
having a family? I would never want him to go through what I have - heck, I
would swap places with him if he was stuck in my old life. And now I was
telling him I was jealous of him. Kevin didn't have an answer - how do you
answer somebody who tells you that they're jealous of you? It's not like he
could say, here have some of what I've got - he couldn't give me his family,
and it's not like he could say anything that would really make it better.

	"They're yours Jared." I looked up at him like he'd gone mad. "One day, we
will be joined together - I don't care how we do it, get married, or just
agree to be together forever. I am going to spend the rest of my life with
you Jared. Heck, we've already talked about this, we said we weren't ready,
but one day we will be. I love you Jared, that's not gonna change. My family
is your family. Call them what you like, in-laws, or related by association,
they are yours." I wondered whether he realised how close I was to just
breaking down then and there. He was so beautiful, his words were so
beautiful. I love him.

	"Thank you Kevin." I leant over and kissed him. I let out a sigh as we
broke apart. Kevin pulled me in again for another kiss and he leant back so
that his head was leaning against the headboard of his bed. As we leant back
though, we somehow knocked the shelf above his bed, and a ball came off and
hit me on the back of the head as I was leaning in to kiss Kevin. "Ow!" I
said, rubbing my head as we both sat up again. I turned to look at Kevin,
and saw his lips twitching up and down as he attempted not to laugh. "Oh, go
on laugh. I know you want to." He did. I picked up the ball and threw it at
him, but he caught it.

	"Hey! My old football. Cool."

	"That's not a football. It's a rugby ball." I said with a grin on my face.

	"Goofball." He said as I started out of the room. He threw the ball and I
ducked just in time to see the ball fly over my shoulder and fly out of the
room ahead of me to hit another person who was just about to come in.
"Jerald!" Kevin shouted as the ball hit the person who was coming in
straight in the chest. I guessed by the family resemblance, and by Kevin's
shouted greeting, that this was Kevin's eldest brother, Jerald. The ball
bounced off the Jerald's chest and landed on the floor.

	"Hey Kevin! How was the tour?" Jerald asked, with a big grin on his face as
he picked up the ball.

	"Oh, it was great!" Kevin said with a big grin. "Jer, I'd like you to
meet..." But he was cut off.

	"And this must be Jared!" Jerald was looking down on me - he must have been
three inches taller than Kevin or Tim. Jerald shook my hand while smiling
broadly. "You'll never guess where I've just been Kev." He looked over at
his younger brother with a grin on his face.

	"Where?"

	"Your place." Jerald smirked.

	"Why'd you go down there?"

	"Well, I was planning on coming to see you after you got back from your
tour, but instead of you, I found Nick there." Jerald shook his head. "So, I
wasted the better part of the day going down to Orlando, then back up."

	"Aw, sorry man, but we hadn't really expected to come up here - it was only
when the house got burgled, we left it in Nick's hands so that we could come
up here. I wanted to introduce Jared to you guys." I had successfully
managed to keep a low profile over to one side of the room, but now both men
turned to me. Jerald walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I
don't know why, but the position he had me in looked like one where he was
about to swing around and punch me, and it creeped me out, so as he put his
hand on my shoulder, I ducked under it and came out just behind him. Seeing
the look on Kevin's face of surprise I stopped and turned around.

	"Sorry, had my back against the wall there, felt a bit strange." I mumbled
out.

	"Got a weird one here Kev!" Jerald laughed out. "Bit of a change for you -
normally you go for the straight and narrow, well maybe not the straight,
but certainly the normal type of person." Jerald said with a big grin on his
face. I have to admit now that I didn't like Jerald. He was loud, brash and
just a little bit full of himself. I started to wonder why Kevin had spoken
so highly of him when we had been on tour. "Oh well, either way, Mom sent me
up to call you down - Dinner'll be on the table in five minutes." He nodded
to me and then walked out the door.

	"Wow." Kevin said as he walked out. What do I say to Kevin. It's not like I
could just tell him that as far as first impressions go his brother gives a
shit one. "What a dick." Kevin carried on. I twisted my head around to see a
confused, but just a little bit angry expression on his face. "How dare he
say that about you? He just called you weird and not normal! I can't believe
he did that!" Kevin started shouting louder and louder. I heard his mum call
up the stairs to us.

	"Look Kev, don't do anything now. We'll talk about it tonight ok? I
promise, look it's ok I don't mind, and it's not worth the trouble, ok?"
Kevin looked up at me with anger in his eyes. Then calmed down slowly, and
he grabbed my hand as he stood up and yanked me out the door.

	We sat down in the dining room for dinner, Tim had bought out a big serving
bowl with some sort of meat and vegetables in which Kevin served out for me
and himself. "So..." Ann started. "How long are you staying up here for
Kevin?" She asked. Kevin's eyes flashed to his mother, then he looked down
to the other end of the table, and saw Jerald.

	"Till tomorrow." Kevin answered shortly.

	"Oh...can you not stay longer?" She asked back.

	"No, we should be getting back. We only got back to the US yesterday, it
would be nice to have a chance to settle in, and I'm not sure if I really
want Nick sorting out my insurance details and everything. Plus he's
probably already wrecked my house." Kevin said with a grin to his mum.

	"Well, if you need to get back..." Kevin's eyes flicked over to his eldest
brother.

	"Yes. We do." No one really said much after that. I'm pretty sure that Ann
and Tim knew something had happened to piss Kevin off, but they weren't sure
what. After dinner, Kevin and I returned to his bedroom. I sat on his bed
next to him and leant back with my hands over my eyes.

	"Jared? What's wrong?" Kevin asked and I removed my hands so I could see
him. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. "Jared? What is it?" Kevin
asked, shocked by the appearance of tears in my eyes.

	"I've done it again Kev."

	"Done what Jared? What are you talking about?"

	"I've fucked up your family the way I did mine. I mean look at dinner, you
hardly spoke to each other. And you're angry with your brother. And this all
from me just being here for a few hours." Kevin laughed. I pushed him on the
shoulder. "Hey! What's so funny?"

	"Jared. You have no idea. Jared, we never talk over dinner. My Mom said it
was always 'cos we were so busy eating, and in a house full of men, that
causes very little conversation." He grinned broadly at me. Well, at least I
hadn't mucked up most of his family, but what about his brother. "And, as
for Jerald, well it was him who was acting like a dick. Not you, don't blame
yourself for something he did. And we've always argued anyway, don't presume
that you coming into the house would cause that." Kevin smiled at me and
leant over me and kissed me. Trust me to muck up the mood though: I yawned
just as he was pulling apart from the kiss. "Oh! Am I that boring?" Kevin
asked with his wolfish grin plastered on his lips.

	"No! Sorry, I guess that TV marathon last night wasn't such a good idea." I
smiled at Kevin.

	"Do you want to go to bed?" I nodded, and he said he had to just go
downstairs to say goodnight to his Mom and brothers. I joined him, but when
we got down there, Jerald was gone. "Night Mom! Night Tim! We're going to
bed - we got back pretty late last night, and we're still tired." I echoed
Kevin's words.

	"Night you two, we'll see you in the morning." Ann said back.

	"Whoa! Hold up Kev!" Tim called after us as we went up the stairs. "Jerald
said something to you when he came to call you down for dinner didn't he?"

	"Yeah Tim, but it doesn't matter."

	"Yeah it does! Look I'm sick of him always doing that. He criticises
everyone and everything and thinks he can always get away with it. I swear
sometimes he acts so much like Dad." Tim looked up at Kevin, and they hugged
and said goodnight again. Kevin and I went into his bedroom and were asleep
about half an hour after. We really were still tired from the previous
night.

***

	Kevin and I actually left early the next morning. He promised his mum that
we'd come back to visit in a week or two, and we'd bring Brian with us. She
seemed placated, so we were off, and I was happy to be out. I know that
sounds really cold-hearted, and Tim and Ann had been really nice, but Jerald
just about ruined that visit, and my initial feelings of discomfort were
still there. The plane ride back was as nerve-wracking as the last one, but
we were in Orlando within a couple of hours, thank god for back winds. We
drove back to our house and found Nick sitting on the couch reading.

	"Hey Nick!" Both Kevin and I shouted at the same time. We noticed the
window in the dining room had been fixed: Nick must have got a glazier to
come over very early this morning. Wonder how much he had to tip him to get
him over this soon?

	"Whoa! What are you guys doing back so soon?" Nick asked, slight concern
showing on his face.

	"Never mind Nick." Kevin answered. "Get out."

	"Wha...What?" Nick stumbled out.

	"We're not supposed to see each other for another six days remember?" Kevin
filled in.

	"Oh... Oh yeah, let me just go upstairs and get my stuff ok?" Kevin nodded
and we watched Nick sprint up the stairs. Two minutes later, he came back
down with a hold all in his hand. "I'll see you soon ok Kev?" Kevin nodded.

	"See ya Nick."

	"Yeah Bye Kev. Bye Jared."

	"Bye Nick." Nick walked out the front door and it slammed behind him. "You
know you didn't have to be so nasty about him getting out. He could have
stayed to have a chat or something."

	"Jared, I want you to myself, just for a little while ok? I don't care if
it sounds like I'm being selfish, but looking back, I wish we'd never gone
to my Mom's house. That probably sounds really cold doesn't it?" I wasn't
sure then whether to admit to Kevin that I had felt the same way and that I
wished we'd never gone up there, but had stayed down here together. I
decided not to - he could be rude about his own family, me being rude would,
well just be rude.

	"No Kevin, it doesn't sound cold. Our visit wasn't exactly perfect, I'm
sure a couple of things coulda gone better, but it's over now. I'd love to
spend some time alone with you. Come to think of it, I haven't gone through
your cupboards yet, I've got to find some skeletons in one of the closets in
this house, I mean there's enough of them!" Kevin grinned at me, and we went
upstairs to get rid of our bags and change into something more comfortable.
We both came down in sweats. We had lunch and ate out in the conservatory
which was heated nicely.  "You know you haven't had a workout since the day
before the tour ended?" I asked him, I had a serious urge to get into a gym
somewhere.

	"Hmmm, yeah. Hey do you want to go to the gym?" I guess my eyes said it
all. As Kevin started laughing and was shaking his head.

	"What?"

	"It's so obvious that you do. I swear you're like reading a book!" He
continued laughing. I tutted, but followed him out to his car, after we
grabbed some towels and a change of sweats in case. About ten minutes later
we pulled up in front of a modern looking building, mostly glass, which
proclaimed itself quite simply to be, 'The Gym'. For some reason, I found
the shortness of this title to be amusing. Once inside, we basically went
through what we'd been doing all tour. I tried to keep my voice down, as
there were other people in here now, so instead of shouting across the room
for Kev to hurry up when he was on the rowers, I went across and told him
quietly that he wasn't going fast enough to reach his targets. We stayed
there for about an hour and a half. Kevin reached his targets from the end
of the tour: we would try to start improving again once work started again
in about a month, for now, I was happy to see him keep a steady level. Once
we were finished, Kevin and I walked out to his car. As we left the gym, I
noticed they were doing some building works over to one side of the gym, and
it looked like they were adding a pool to the side of the existing building.
I told Kevin I was just going over to have a look as there was a sign there
saying what they were doing. I jogged over, and read the sign quickly. It
was a pool, not full size, but the artist's impression which they'd added
made it look great.

	Suddenly I heard Kevin shout out. "You coming or what Jared?" He asked. I
started back, and just as I was, I looked back and saw a truck in the
construction site reversing towards me. There was a section of fencing in
the way that was about eight feet high. I figured it would be okay as they
would have to move the fence to get out. How wrong could I have been. I
don't remember much of what happened next, but the truck reversed straight
into the fencing, and the mesh-like fence fell onto me. The top horizontal
came right towards my face, and as I turned and tried to run and duck at the
same time, it came straight towards my head...

End of Chapter 23