When Paths Cross, Part 12 by Everybodycrys (everybodycrys@yahoo.com)

Okay here we go with the next part. Remember if you are under 18 or this is illegal in your area then you should not be here. Also this a work of fiction and does not mean to imply the actual sexual orientation of any of the characters real or imagined.

If you have any questions or comments about the story please email me at everybodycrys@yahoo.com. Thanks to all those people that have had such kind comments. Its a real morale booster when I’m writing.

and part 12....

Marian sat in her car contemplating what had just happened. She had know Matt’s family for a long time but when she had just gone to their door trying to get in to see Matt, his mother had been extremely cold and told her to go away. She sat there staring at the house trying to decide what to do next. She looked up to see a second story window open. That was Matt’s bedroom window! She got out and snuck around till she was standing below it. Suddenly a envelope was thrown out and came fluttering to the ground. She snatched it up quickly, and then glanced back up at the window. It was closed again and the curtains drawn. ‘Damn this is getting fucking ridiculous’ she thought. She open the envelope and read the letter inside, as she read her eyes grew wide and her face went pale. She had to get back and call Kevin.

She raced back to the hotel. Parking as quickly as she could she ran to the elevators. As soon s the doors opened she hopped in, unfortunately it already had some occupants and she crashed right into them. Muttering her apologies she got up and pushed for her floor.

“Marian?” she heard

she turned startled and was surprised to see Howie and Brian sitting on the floor.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I was in a hurry.” They hopped up.

“Its okay, we were on our way out to wait for you to get back.” She did a double take.

“Wait, what are you guys doing here?”

“We couldn’t wait, so we got a flight. We arrived about a hour ago. So what's the news? Where’s Matt?” Brian asked. Marian handed him the letter she had received.

“I didn’t even get to see him.” She said softly as Brian read it. His face went pale like hers had before.

“How can someone do this. He’s being held prisoner by his own parents.” He said handing the note over for Howie to read. They reached their floor and quickly went to the room. Kevin and A.J. were waiting on the couch and Nick was pacing the room. Everyone turned to look as they walked in. Marian filled them all in about her experience, then she handed the note around so they could read it.

Marian,

I knew you would come by so I took the small opportunity I had to write down this explanation for you since I will probably not be able to see you. I can’t return to the tour, I called Nick but didn’t have the chance to tell him why. My parents are making me move back home. They view my homosexuality as a sin and think they can fix me if they separate me from you and the guys. My father is using me and Nick as leverage to keep me here. I can’t destroy his career as much as I want to be with him. Please let him know that I still love him and am dying without him. Please don’t try to contact me, my father is insane and the minute you try he’ll call the press. I’m so sorry this has happened. So sorry...

Matt

By the time the letter had circulated the room, there wasn’t a dry eye. Kevin could feel the rage building within him. He wanted to rip those people apart. Nick was a wreck, he was crying uncontrollably, Brian had his arm around him, holding him for comfort. A.J. slammed his fist on the wall.

“What do we do?” Howie asked.

“We can’t do anything.” Kevin replied, his anger evident in his voice, “This guys using us against Matt and the minute we try anything, he outs Nick to the world.”

Nick was falling apart, every inch of him wanted to run to Matt and pull him out of that house forever, but he knew he would be ending his career if he did. If it was just him then he would have without question, he loved Matt that much, but there were four other people and he didn’t want to hurt them either. It was incredible that someones parents would be this intolerant.

Nobody noticed when Kenny walked out of the bedroom and joined them. He saw the note lying on the table and before anyone could say anything he grabbed it and read it.

“So when are we going?” he asked suddenly. everyone turned to look at him surprised.

“Go where?” A.J. asked.

“Go get Matt.” he said.

Kevin sighed, “We can’t, at least not yet.” Nick turned to Kevin when he said this. Did he have a plan? Kevin continued, “We need something to use against those assholes. Something that will make them let him go and stay quiet.” He turned to Marian, “your the only one that knows them, is there anything?”

Marian shook her head, “You have to realize, these people are nuts. They live their entire life right out of the bible...to the extreme. I couldn’t even visit Matt in high school if I was wearing pants. All proper girls were suppose to wear long skirts. It was insane.”

Nick heart dropped again when he heard this, there was no hope. Marian saw this and wished there was something she could do to help....wait...

“Wait...” she suddenly exclaimed. Everyone jumped in surprise at her outburst. “I don’t know anything, but maybe I know someone who does, or can at least help.” She jumped up and reached for the phone. “God I hope he still lives in the area.”

“I don’t care, if he can help, We’ll fly him in.” Brian said getting excited.

“When we graduated, I got to meet one of Matt’s uncles. He came to the graduation ceremony but didn’t sit with Matt’s parents. From what Matt’s told me, he’s sort of a family outcast. Matt wasn’t allowed to call him or visit, but Tom stopped by when ever he wanted. It was like Matt’s parents were afraid of him. They didn’t dare tell him no.” Marian explained as she dialed information. She talked to the 411 operator and yelped with joy as she scribbled down the number. Everyone else in the room was getting excited. She dialed the number...

“Hello?”

Matt sat at the dinner table with his parents. There was a stony silence as he did his best to ignore them. He had to stay, but he didn’t have pretend he was anything less then he was...a prisoner.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go to church, be up and ready to by six. I picked you up clothes to wear.” His father informed him. He nodded without replying. His mother just ate and ignored him, she hadn’t said a word since she first opened the door. His father glanced up and saw a single tear run down Matt’s face. He slammed his fist down on the table.

“Damn it!!! Stop thinking about him. I will not have it!” He screamed. Matt jumped and quickly wiped his face on his sleeve. “Get the hell out of here, go upstairs!!! your not eating again until I think your done with that faggot crap. Matt stood up, paused like he was going to say something, but then just left the room. He walked upstairs to his room. He went to the window and stared out at the sky. The stars were shining bright and the moon was low in the horizon. He went over to his bed and out his hand under the pillow, he pulled out the small brown pill bottle that he had discovered in the bathroom. It was one of his mother’s prescriptions. What had caught his attention was the instructions in case of an overdose on the side. He at on the floor crosslegged and place the bottle in front of him. He sat there rocking back and forth staring at the bottle....thinking...waiting....

The sun had gone down a while ago and the guys were nervously waiting. Marian had left almost two hours ago to meet with Tom, Matt’s uncle. Kevin knew he should call to make sure they were all set to go tomorrow, but he didn’t want to bring up that they had to leave with or without Matt. He hoping beyond all hope that Tom could help them. Nick had returned to pacing, Howie kept trying to get him to relax, with no success. Brian looked at his watch. It was starting to get pretty late and he was about to recommend that they hit the sack when the door opened and Marian walked in. Everyone turned, she had a huge smile on her face. “Hey guys, I want you to meet Tom, Matt’s uncle.” She said beaming. A man that looked to be in his late thirties walked into the hotel room. He had on a nice dark blue suit. He looked around the room at the boys in front of him. Inside he was still angry over what Marian had told him about his nephew, but he kept his cool in front of the guys. He walked over to Nick. Nick cringed a bit because even thou Tom wasn’t a huge man, he was very scary guy.

“So your Matt’s boyfriend huh?” he said, his face stony and showing no emotion. Nick felt he was going to fall over from the fear. Now he knew why Matt’s father was so scary. He wanted to back away to get some distance but felt like he would be giving up if he did. Tom looked Nick over, looking straight into his eyes without blinking. Then slowly a wide grin grew across his face and his eye’s brightened. He turned and put a arm around Nick leading him out of the room.

“Come on, lets go get your boyfriend back.” Nick smiled as a huge sense of relief washed over him. As they walked out Marian turned to Kevin, she smiled as she saw the looks of confusion on their faces.

“You guys get packed up and checked out, Meet us in the parking lot ready to go in about a half hour. This is going to work, but we’re not gonna want to spend anymore time up here. We’ll head back to LA and you guys can crash at my place.” She instructed them. They nodded as she headed out the door to join Nick and Tom, indicating to Kenny that he could come with her. Brian raced out after them wanting to be there to help. Marian agreed and together they all ran to the elevators. Kevin, Howie, and A.J. started grabbing everything packing as quickly as they could.

Matt’s parents were lounging in the living room, trying to decide how best to handle Matt the next day. They wanted to bring the local clergy in on this, but there had just recently been a new clergyman and they weren’t sure if he was to be trusted. They both looked up as the doorbell rang. They looked at each other as they weren’t expecting any company that evening. They went to door together to answer, opening the door it took a second before they recognized who was there.

“Tom?” Matt’s mother said uncertainly.Tom stepped past them leading Nick into the house. Neither one of Matt’s parents made a move to stop him. They didn’t even notice Nick as they stared at Tom in awe.

“ Pattie, Roger.” Tom said, greeting them both. They both glanced at each other nervously. Nick thought this was strange behavior but was glad to see that Tom had some pull.

“What are you doing here?” Roger (Matt’s dad) said, starting to get over his initial reaction, then he saw Nick and his eyes grew wide, “What the hell is he doing here?!?!?!.” He yelled causing Nick to jump back. Tom remained firm staring Roger down. He leaned over to Nick.

“Upstairs, end of the hall on the right. go get him.” he instructed. Nick turned to go upstairs but Roger ran around and blocked his path.

“Your not going up there. Matt doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore. Take another step and I will personally ruin your career.” He yelled directly in Nick’s face. Nick stepped back afraid of the rage that was pouring from this man.

“YOU WILL DO NOTHING!” Tom suddenly bellowed causing everyone to jump. “Roger, Pattie, in the kitchen. We need to talk about the past, and I know you know what I mean.” He said. Nick was incredibly scared right now, but he sidestepped Roger and headed upstairs trusting Tom to handle things down here. Roger made no move to stop him, instead a sudden look of terror spread across his face. Pattie had the same look and she bee lined for the kitchen. Nick ran upstairs and walked to the end of the hall. He opened the last door on the right. He couldn’t see anything at first but noticed someone sitting behind the bed on the floor.

“Matt?” he said.

Matt had been staring at the bottle for what seemed like forever, trying to build up the nerve to just do it. There was nothing left for him, he felt completely dead inside, that is until he heard that word.

“Matt?” Nick repeated stepping into the room. Matt’s head snapped over to see Nick standing there by the door. But unlike the smile or look of recognition that Nick was hoping for a look of terror swept across Matt’s face. Nick recoiled a bit as Matt jumped up and ran over to him. He slammed the door shut taking Nick’s arm and leading him towards the window.

“Nick, you can’t be here, if they see you, it’ll ruin everything. I wasn’t kidding before you have to leave.” He was hysterical in fear glancing at the door expecting his parents to come barging in any second. Nick grabbed him pulling him close and forcing him to look him in the face.

“Matt!!, Listen, We’re here to take you away. Tom, your uncle is here. We taking you home. You don’t have to be afraid of them anymore.” Matt looked into Nick’s eyes but he was still unable to grasp the situation. He kept glancing towards the door.

“Nick you have to go, quick...” Nick reached in and pulled Matt into a kiss. He struggled a bit, but then Nick felt the tension drain away. He pulled away smiling.

“Lets go.” Nick said leading him towards the door. Matt nodded, and they walked downstairs. Matt was still worried, he knew that Tom had something over his parents but he had this huge fear that he would never make it out of here. Tom was standing at the door waiting for them. His parents were standing in the entry way. He cringed as he passed them, expecting the worst. They didn’t move, just stood there watching them. They all stepped out in to the front lawn Nick glanced back and saw that Matt’s parent had followed them out. Roger motioned for them to stop. Nick hesitated as Matt’s dad walked up to them. Brian, Kenny, and Marian were waiting on the curb by the car. Kenny saw Matt’s dad.

“That's the son of a bitch.” he said and started across the yard. Brian moved quickly and pulled him back by his good arm. Together him and Marian held him back and shuffled him towards the car.

“Relax kid, this is not the time for it.” Brian whispered in his ear. Kenny struggled one last time, but then relented and let himself be lead to the car. Roger watched this all with no emotion. he turned to Matt looking him in the eye.

“Don’t you ever...ever return here. You are dead to us...”

Matt took one last look at his parents before Nick walked over to the car and helped him in. He watched from the car as Tom talked to his parents for a minute and then walked over to the car, getting in the passenger side. As soon as he was in Marian took off driving back towards the hotel. As soon as they were out of sight Matt broke down burying his head in Nick’s shoulder. The tears just started, there was a uncomfortable silence in the car as he cried.

(hours later at Marian’s place)

They sat in the living room is relative silence. This had to have been one of the longer days they’ve experienced. Too some of them this was ironic considering the previous two weeks, but they weren’t about to say that out loud. Marian walked in from the kitchen carrying a tray with mugs of hot chocolate. Handing them out to everyone she took a seat next to Kevin on the coach. They just finished hearing Matt’s side of what had happened when he went to his parents. His Uncle Tom sat in a chair silently, reflecting within on the entire situation.

Nick spoke up, “Uh, Tom I don’t want to drudge up bad things, but what exactly do you hold over them.” He could tell by the nods around the room that he wasn’t the only one wondering that including Matt.

Tom cleared his throat and grinned at the room, “sorry boys, the only reason I have that pull over them is because of how long I’ve been able to keep it a secret. Let’s just say you won’t need to worry about your own secrets getting out anytime soon. At least not from them, you still need to be very careful.” He turned to Marian and gave her a wink before standing up, “Well I need to get going, its still a bit of a drive for me and you guys look like you could use the rest.” Everyone shook hands and Matt gave his uncle a big hug.

“Thanks” he said

Uncle Tom hugged him back and said “No problem, just remember while their door may be closed, mine will always be open.” Matt smiled, he suddenly didn’t feel so alone anymore, he did have some family out there. They all said goodbye one last time before Tom head out to make for home. Relaxing back in the living room, there was a sense of relief as the tension of the day was released. Kevin sighed and pulled out his phone.

“I guess its time to face the music and call management, we have to head out as soon as possible, the faster we get back the less hell we’ll all catch.” He went in to one of the rooms to make the call. Everyone looked at each other knowing it wouldn’t go well. Marian looked at the clock and groaned.

“Okay everyone, I’m pulling out the sleeping bags. The way I see it you’’ll get about three hours of sleep before having to leave tomorrow, that is if you get a reasonable flight.” She puttered around making sure everyone was comfortable before going to her room. Matt told Nick he’d be right back and followed her in. She was in the bathroom connected to her room washing up for bed.

“Hey girl,” he said.

“Need something?” she asked turning to him.

“How about a hug?” he said holding out his arms smiling. She smiled and quickly embraced him. “Thank you so much for caring. Your the only friend I have that would have done this.”

“Honey, that is just because you stand no chance without me. and I think you have a few more friends that helped out” she said indicating the other room.

He smiled as they pulled apart, “You don’t know how close to being true that is. but thanks anyway.”

She pointed out towards the other room, “Well then get to bed, You need your sleep and I don’t care if your gay, your not seeing me naked.” she tried to say seriously.

Matt headed out, “Yes mommy” and quickly ducked from the projectile she threw at him. Smiling he walked back into the living room to lie next to Nick on the floor. Everyone else was on the floor with the exception of Kenny who was sleeping on the coach and Howie who was trying to sleep on the big recliner. Kevin was still in the back talking on his phone. Matt breathed deep, after everything that had happened he was looking forward to a little bit of down time, a break from reality.

The screaming started the instant they stepped in the arena around noon on Sunday. They were brought straight from the airport to the performance arena for the next concert. They would be here only until Tuesday and then they’d be on the road for the next site. Everyone hung back, Kevin was a little pissed about not being allowed to go to the hotel to settle in before coming here. according to his schedule, they didn’t need to be here until tomorrow morning when they were scheduled for rehearsal. Matt didn’t feel like listening to all of this and headed towards the back where the dressing rooms were found. He noticed instantly that their shadows had latched on again. He made a point to remember to ask Kevin how long this would be necessary. He found the dressing rooms and fell into one of the chairs. How long would he be able to keep this up. There was going to have to be a time when he slowed down and got his life back on track. Not saying that things weren’t going well, he actually thought that this weekend had turned out all right. Knowing how his family felt and where he stood, the uncertainty was gone and was a weight off his shoulders. He was thinking so hard he didn’t notice the door open until the person was already in the room. He glanced up to see Nick sit down beside him. He smiled and pulled Nick into a embrace.

“You okay?” Nick asked.

Matt smiled again, “I’m fine, but do me a favor?”

Nick nodded, “Okay what do you need?”

“Never ask me that again,” He continued when he saw Nick’s face fall, “I don’t mean that to be mean, please...The world tells us that this is how we’re suppose to act. You came in here and fell into the routine. We have been through too much these last few weeks to let others dictate our behavior.” he laughed, “You’d think after all this I’d be itching for some normalcy. But if anything its shown me how shallow being normal can be. Look around, the television, the movies, books, newspapers, even the internet are all filled with what people think others should behave like. I don’t want to be like that anymore. If I see something wrong I’ll be there for you. Like I said, your not getting away from me, but I’m not going to force you to blurt out anything before your ready.”

Nick looked confused, “So your just going to tell the whole world to go to hell just because it doesn’t act the way you want it to.”

Matt shook his head, “No, no... The world will continue being what is it, and like it or not I have to live in it. You might not think so, but it even has drawn the boundaries for you. The media second guesses every move you make, some even guessing those moves before you make them. I’ve decided that the world can do what ever it wants as long as it doesn’t expect me to follow their script.” He stood up and headed for the door. Nick sat there contemplating what he had just said. Just before Matt opened the door, Nick called out.

“What's the worlds plan for me?” he said.

Matt laughed and opened the door, “You should just look on the internet sometime. Its rather interesting all the different plans there are for you.” He left the room leaving Nick pretty confused.

As soon as Kevin was able to get things straightened out, they headed for the hotel. of course by this time it was pretty late and all anyone wanted to do was head for bed. Everyone headed for their floor except for Brian who stayed behind to arrange some things for their stay. He finished up and headed for the elevators. He pushed the buttons and waited for the doors to close. Just before they did a arm shot in and blocked the doors from closing. Brian tensed up, last thing he wanted to do was get trapped in the elevator with a obsessed fan. he relaxed when he saw it was just some man with flowers, probably heading up to meet his wife or girlfriend. The man nodded at him, probably sorry for holding him up, but then pretty much ignored him. Times like this made Brian glad that their audience catered to a much younger crowd. He got to his floor and headed room to room to fill everyone in on the next day. he managed to get some private time at the pool after their rehearsal and before the show. This worked out for everyone except Kenny, who had his appointment at the doctors the next day. Matt said he’d see what he could do about getting it done earlier.

Matt closed the door after talking to Brian. He made a note in his mind to remember to get up a bit earlier to handle that. He walked over and sat on the corner of the bed and started taking off his shoes. He felt Nick slide up behind him. He smiled as he felt Nick put his arms around him and start unbuttoning his shirt. So far they had still been going pretty slow but feeling Nick run his arm’s up and down his chest was making him hot. They finished getting undressed. Lying in the dark, Nick leaned over Matt. smiling he leaned down for kiss. Suddenly Matt rolled throwing Nick on his back and then straddling him. He held his arms captive above his head. Smiling he teased Nick, bringing his lips close and then pulling away quickly. Nick smiled and struggled a little. He liked this game. He could feel the heat rise in the room. Matt teased him a few more times before completing contact. The kiss was so intense a small moan escaped from them. Matt continued his kiss, letting his mouth move down to the nape of Nick’s neck and then down further along the center of his chest. Nick struggled a little harder now as the intensity took him. Matt brought one of his hands down and used his fingers to lightly brush Nick’s side, creating that tickling sensation that drove him wild. He could feel Nick getting harder under neath him. He continued to run his tongue over the surface of his chest, gently tugging at each nipple. He knew Nick wasn’t ready yet for the full experience and he wasn’t sure what to do when he was, but Matt was so worked up tonight he was going to bring Nick as close to the edge as he could without going over. They spent the last few hours of that night, making out in their bed. Thrashing back and forth, sometimes it was more like a wrestling match then love making. Later, exhausted, Matt dropped on top of Nick, breathing heavily. His let his head rest on Nick’s chest, content with feeling his chest rise with every breath as Nick rubbed his back. exhausted they both soon fell asleep, encircled with each other, part of each other...as one

Matt got up early the next day making sure to move quietly so Nick could get the sleep he needed. He got showered and dressed quickly. He pulled the phone into the bathroom to make his call. It was almost eight so he called the doctors office first. It turned out to be a problem for them but they agreed to move his appointment. Unfortunately the only time they had was in about a half hour. He agreed and quickly made a second call to the S.S. to tell them about the change. He came up with some bogus story about rehearsals and travel times. They bought it and agreed to meet him there. Quietly he jotted down a note to Nick to let him know where he was. He told him they’d meet at the arena. He went over to Kenny’s room to wake him up. A very groggy Kenny in a white t-shirt and sweats came to the door.

“Uh...Matt, what's up?”

“Come on kid, I got up early to change that appointment for you, and we have to get going.” Matt pushed into the room and directed Kenny to the bathroom to get ready.

“Is the sun even up yet? What kind of doctors working this early.” He said as he slowly grabbed his stuff.

“Its already eight, normal people are up. just us entertainment people are asleep. You need any help with the bandages?”

“Uh...yeah when I get out.” Matt smiled, he was starting to really like this kid. Kenny showered quickly and Matt helped him with the bandages afterwards. He grabbed Kenny’s jacket and got the door as Kenny struggled to get into his shirt. They walked down to the elevator and Matt talked to their shadows. soon they had a car waiting for them. They went down and hopped in. The doctors office was only about a ten minute drive so Matt figured they’d get there with about five minutes to spare. They rode in silence for a few minutes.

“You think that guy is still out there looking for us?” Kenny said suddenly.

Matt looked confused,”Whose that?”

“ That Russell guy, from the woods.”

Matt had almost forgotten about him, he suddenly remembered the warning they had received, but he didn’t want to worry Kenny, “Nahh, I don’t think so, we left him behind. Probably still crapping in the woods.”

Kenny didn’t look like he believed him but he let the subject drop. He looked out the window and watched the streets go by. They soon reached the doctors office and made their way to the reception room. The doctor was already waiting for them with the S.S. in one of the examination rooms. The two reps from social services turned out to be completely new. A middle age man in a suit stepped forward to introduce himself.

“Hello Kenny..and you must be Matt. I’m Damien Walker and this is Angie Simul” Matt nodded and shook their hands. He still didn’t trust these guys. The doctor had Kenny hop up onto the table and remove his shirt so he could get to the bandages. Mr. Walker took this opportunity to ask Matt some question while Miss Simul talked with Kenny.

“So, how have things been going?” He asked.

“Things go pretty good. He had a mishap with his shoulder on Saturday, but other then that he's fitting in pretty good.” Matt replied

Mr. Walker nodded, “You know Matt, this isn’t a usual situation but we’ve learned in our business that you take advantage of situations as they appear. He’s seems to be a very lucky kid.”

“Well, we’re glad to have Kenny. I really can’t imagine this summer without him now.”

“That's good, its great to hear things are going so well. I’ve been assigned this case now, our office heard about the problems you guys had with the other reps. I won’t be that way.” He said this with a tone of urgency like he need Matt to believe him. Matt did, and was happy to see that this wouldn’t be so bad, he was going to like working with Mr. Walker. He continued, “We’ll be checking in through out the summer just to make sure eveything is good...no worries. But I will need you let me know where your planning to be this fall as soon as possible so I can arrange things with social services in that area. Matt was taken back for a second, he hadn’t thought about this past the summer. He didn’t know what any of their plans were for after the tour. He didn’t want to leave Kenny behind, but he still had to figure out where things were going to go with school and his life. He looked over at Kenny who was chatting away with Miss Simul. Mr. Walker gave him a concerned look, “You okay? Matt” Matt gave him a tired smile remembering his conversation with Nick the other day, “I’m fine Mr. Walker, its just a little early.” He wanted to tell him what he was really thinking but he didn’t want to screw things up for Kenny this early into the tour. They talked for awhile longer, mostly about life in a music tour was like. Matt liked this guy and was glad they had gotten them. About a hour later the doctor released them with a warning that Kenny should take it easy with the shoulder. Kenny asked him about swimming, but the doctor vetoed that at least for a week or two. He told them to get it checked again but didn’t think he’d be in the bandages or sling for much longer then a few more weeks. They thanked him and headed out. From there they took the car to the arena to catch up with the guys. everyone was glad to hear things had gone so well with the S.S. Matt pulled Kevin aside alone as soon as he was able to. “Kevin, can we talk later about Kenny and what's gonna happen after the tour.” He could tell by his reaction that Kevin had thought about it much either. Kevin nodded and promised they’d talk about it later.

After the rehearsal they made it back to the hotel. The management of the place had arranged for some private time around the pool. They all raced up to their rooms to get their suits.

Matt and Nick came out of the elevator to gether to find A.J. and Howie already there, splashing around in the water. They put their towels on some lounge chairs before jumping in. soon there was a full out water war going on between the four of them.

A voice rang out “Jeez, you’d think you guys had never seen a pool before.” They all looked up to see Kevin, Brian, and Kenny standing by the side of the pool. Matt eyed Kenny in his swimsuit. “You remember what the doc said.” he said.

“I know, I know. but no one says I can’t tan by the pool.” he replied.

“ Yeah Matt, he’s already a skinny ass kid, don’t condemn him to be a pale skinny ass kid.” A.J. joked. Everyone laughed as Matt jumped on A.J. dunking him underwater.

About a half hour later pretty much everyone had retreated to the lounge chairs to catch some rays. Howie teased Kenny about the tan lines he was gonna get with those bandages on. Matt looked around, he was pretty impressed with this hotel. The pool had a series of television so visitors could watch sports while relaxing in the pool. Right now, Brian and Nick were fighting over which game to watch and it was amusing to see them flipping the channels all over the place as they argued. Suddenly something caught his eye.

“Hang on guys, go back a few channels.’ He called over. They looked over then at each other, shrugging they flip back to the channel Matt wanted. it was the news and a story about the plane crash was on. Everyone quickly hushed as Brian turned up the volume.

“Also related to this, we’ve recently learned that business tycoon Russell Nevile might have been involved in the tragedy in the woods.” The reporter stated, behind her a picture of a man with the name Russell Nevile under it. It occurred to Matt that this was the first time they had seen him.

Suddenly Brian stood up and screamed, “OH MY GOD!!”

Everyone jumped, “What is it?” Howie said

Brian turned from the television to face everyone. He had gone straight white like he’d seen a ghost.

“That's the guys from the elevator!!!”

Please feel free to send any questions or comments to everybodycrys@yahoo.com