The Story of Us (Book 1 of "The Story of Us" Series) [Completed]

Chapter 33 - That's The Way The World Goes 'Round

[Nick]

I was starting to spin out of control. At first, it was fine. I could work out my fears and nerves by drinking and partying when I was away from Harley and be the great best friend with her, but it was starting to mix. It all started when I missed the flight to Atlanta on what was one of the biggest days of Harley's life... finding out the sex of the baby. Who am I kidding? One of the biggest days for me too.

Sure, I was freaking out on the inside because of the pregnancy, but I wanted to know. It's like a kid on Christmas morning wondering what his present is going to be. I hate secrets so I wanted to know and I knew that it was going to be a girl. I had this feeling all along that it would be a girl and that I would be the next version of Jon Harper.

I ended up having a dream not long after finding out the baby's sex. I had that mustache, which looked weird with my blonde hair and my daughter, who was gorgeous by the way, came to me and said she was pregnant by someone. That someone, for some fucking reason, was AJ and I ended up shooting him in the head. That was a really fucked up dream by the way.

But once I found out it was a girl, I became a little more excited, especially for Harley. She wanted a girl. She's such a girly girl that having a little boy would have killed her. Before I left Atlanta for that visit, she was already planning turning the bedroom next to hers into a nursery, picking the different shades of pink to paint it. She was in heaven and even though I was excited, I was in my own personal hell.

I couldn't wait to get back to L.A. I needed a drink. I needed to get out and party, do some blow, anything. I didn't understand how I could be excited and freaked out at the same time and I couldn't talk to anybody about it but Harley and if she knew the things I were doing, she wouldn't talk to me anymore.

But things were really starting to spin out of control, in more ways than one.

[/Nick]

[May 2006]

Harley sat on the sofa in her living room, trying to relax as best as she could. It was the end of April and she was getting closer and closer to her due date in June. Her doctor had basically put her on bed rest because of her blood pressure. It had started acting up again and the medicine wasn't working. The doctor told her to take it easy, no stress, no sex, just relaxation.

She was doing everything she could to stay stress free, but her management was getting worried. They didn't understand why she wanted time off and they were getting too many inquirers wondering why she was nowhere to be seen. The public technically hadn't seen her since her tour ended. The gossip web sites were wondering why she hadn't even been seen in New York or L.A. or Nashville.

But one web site had figured out that Nick traveled to Atlanta frequently and even had photos of him at the airport. Thankfully they didn't have photos of Harley since she never left her house except to go to the doctor. And she was getting antsy to leave. She had done all of her shopping for the baby online. Her father's friends were worried because he was never home in Alabama and was always with Harley.

But the one bright side in Harley's life was Ella.

She and Nick had decided to name the baby Ella Brooklyn. They still didn't know if that would end up being Ella Brooklyn Carter or Ella Brooklyn Harper, but they both loved the name. Harley loved the movie "Ella Enchanted" and thought it was perfect since "Enchanted" was the name of her first number one song and the first song she wrote about Nick. To her, it was the perfect name.

She jumped out of her thoughts, thinking about the baby when she heard her cell phone ring. She reached over, looking at it to see that it was Kevin calling. Why the hell would Kevin Richardson be calling her?

"Hello?" she asked, answering the phone.

"Harley, hey, it's Kevin," he said as Harley told him hello. "Have you heard from Nick recently?"

"Talked to him yesterday evening but he said he was going into the studio to work on some of his solo stuff for a while," Harley sighed. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Have you been online today?"

"No... I just woke up a bit ago. Why? What's wrong Kevin? You never call me," she said, hearing Kevin sniff. She sat up on the sofa. Kevin was crying. Sure, Kevin Richardson cried at the drop of a hat, but this was about Nick and he was crying. "Kevin, what's going on?"

"Nick was arrested about four this morning," he said as Harley's mouth dropped. "I'm on my way to bail him out right now with AJ. It's already leaked out to the press."

"What was he arrested for? Making bad music?" Harley asked, not hearing Kevin laugh. Shit, this must be bad. "Kevin, what was he arrested for?"

"Driving under the influence and cocaine possession," Kevin said, not hearing Harley say anything. "Did you know this was going on, Harley? I know you two have problems when he's like this."

"AJ's friend saw him partying over a month ago but Nick promised me that it was just a birthday party for a friend," she said as tears starting rolling down her cheek. "He promised me..."

"Well, Brian and Howie are on their way out here now. Bob Carter is on his way also," Kevin said as Harley leaned back on the sofa, trying her best not to get upset. She didn't need to get upset, but this was about to kill her. She didn't know if she was pissed off or upset and scared. "I know you're taking time off right now, but this is Nick. You guys are so close now. Can you come out here? We're going to hold an intervention thing, I guess." Harley's face went pale. "Harley?"

"I can't," Harley whispered. "I can't fly, Kevin. I'm having blood pressure problems again and I just can't. The doctor told me not to fly."

"Because of blood pressure problems?" Kevin asked.

"Just tell him that I'm so fucking disappointed in him," Harley said as she told Kevin goodbye. She closed her phone and immediately burst into tears. She couldn't believe it. She stood up from the sofa and made her way to her office on the other side of the house. She always left her computer on for easy access and she sat down at her desk, opening up an internet browser.

She logged onto her favorite gossip site and put her hand over her mouth, seeing Nick's mug shot.

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested this morning at 4:22 a.m. in Huntington Beach for suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence. Carter was found with 2.6 grams of cocaine in his car after being pulled over for driving erratically. Details of the sobriety test were not released due to the ongoing investigation. His car was impounded and as of now, Carter is still in jail, waiting for a bond hearing.

Harley reached up, turning her computer monitor off and leaned back her desk chair. She rubbed her hands over her stomach. She knew Nick had lied to her. He had been acting a little weird lately, but she thought it was nerves because of the baby and he had promised on the baby that he wasn't doing that stuff again. He promised.

She just never thought it would come to this.