Chapter 19

Hayley sat in the hotel room thinking about everything. She laid back on the bed and cried.

Kevin walked into his house and saw Kristin. She smiled at him and came over to him. She saw his face.    

      “Honey, what’s going on,” Kristin said.

      “Hayley has a broken heart,” Kevin said.

      “What happened,” Kristin said.

      “Nick slept with someone else, the girl called and told Hayley about it, he confirmed it,” Kevin said.

      “Oh my god, where is she,” Kristin said.

      “In a hotel room, thinking of what she should do,” Kevin said.

      “Did you tell her about your feelings?” Kristin asked.

      “Yeah, she doesn’t feel the same way,” Kevin said.

      “Honey, you should go and not come back until those feelings are gone,” Kristin said.

      “Kris, I can’t leave you, we are married, you are my wife,” Kevin said. Kristin kissed him deeply.

      “Kevin, go, do what you must, we don’t have a marriage if you are in love with someone else,” Kristin said. Kevin looked at her. He shook his head.

      “Kris, no, I can’t do that!” Kevin said.

      “Kevin, go,” Kristin said. Kevin went out the door.  He went to Hayley’s hotel room. He knocked on the door. She opened it and he saw that she had been crying. He went in and closed the door and hugged her. She cried.

      “I can’t stop loving him, Kev, I can’t, I’m trying so hard but he still has my heart,” Hayley said.

      “Only you can decide what to do, I talked to Brian on the way over here, Nick refuses to move from the couch, Brian said he’s just sitting there staring at the blank screen of the TV, he won’t talk or move, his eyes are red and puffy, the living room is trashed,” Kevin said.

      “I can’t go back,” Hayley said.

      “I’m not asking you to, I’m not telling you to, I’m just telling you what Brian told me,” Kevin said.

      “Nick hurt me deeply,” Hayley said.

      “I know he did,” Kevin said.

      “But I still love him more than life itself, I can’t move on, my love for him is holding me back,” Hayley said.

      “Yeah, well, my feelings for you are holding me back from having the perfect marriage according to Kristin,” Kevin said. Hayley looked at him and went out the door and got into her car and drove to Kevin’s. She went in and looked at Kristin.

      “Since when is he suppose to get over his feelings for me to have the perfect marriage, he has that, Kristin, he has you, the one he loves more than anything in the world, so what if he has feelings for me, I don’t have feelings for him, seriously, I don’t, even though he hurt me, I can’t stop loving Nick,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, I can’t be with him knowing he has feelings for you,” Kristin said.

      “Who cares, Kristin, he loves you, he is married to you, he is committed to you!” Hayley said. They didn’t know that Nick was listening out of sight.

      “Hayley, he is in love with you!” Kristin said.

      “Who cares, Kris, I told you once and I told you again, I don’t have feelings for Kevin, I am NOT in love with Kevin, my heart belonged to Nick but he broke it but sleeping with someone else, if you push Kevin away, you will make a big mistake, you will be making the biggest mistake of your life, by pushing away your husband, who loves you more than anything and anyone!” Hayley said. Kristin looked at her and covered her face.

      “Hayley, I know that,” Kristin said.

      “Kristin, come on, how does it go, for better or for worse, til death do you part, I honestly think that Kevin would rather die than lose you,” Hayley said.

      “She’s right, Kris,” Nick said coming in. Kevin came in behind him.

      “Hayley is right, all of it,” Kevin said. Kevin went over and kissed Kristin.

      “I love you more than anyone and anything in the world, I would die without you,” Kevin said.

      “Oh god, Kevin, I love you, too, forget what I said, I know where your heart is, with me, and our marriage,” Kristin said. They kissed deeply. Hayley smiled and turned and saw Nick standing there. She went around him and went out the door. She walked to her car.

      “I know you still love me and you can’t move on,” Nick said as he came out and followed her. She turned and looked at him.

      “So what, nothing is going to change, Nickolas, we are still over, I can’t be with a cheater,” Hayley said. She started to get into her car.

      “Hayley, please, marry me!” Nick said holding out a ring. She looked at him.

      “You want me to marry you, after what you have done, you destroyed us, Nick, you destroyed what we had the moment you fucked someone else, I can’t be with you again, not after what you did,” Hayley said. She got into her car and drove off. Nick sank down to his knees and covered his face in his hands and cried.

Chapter 20

Three months went by. Kevin and Kristin helped Hayley move into her own house close to him and Kristin. Hayley sat down on her new couch. Kevin and Kristin sat down.

      “Thanks for helping, it’s time for me to start over,” Hayley said.

      “You are welcome, Hayley, what are friends for,” Kevin said.

      “Besides, I know that Kevin is over his feelings for you and everything is back to normal between us,” Kristin said. Hayley smiled.

      “That’s a good thing, I don’t need anyone being in love with me right now,” Hayley said.

      “Well, besides Nick, but I am completely in love with my wife,” Kevin said kissing Kristin’s forehead.

      “I can’t believe he’s still trying to win me back,” Hayley said.

      “I know he really loves you, he knows he made a mistake, but he has to learn from it,” Kevin said.

      “Are you guys going back to the studio?” Hayley asked.

      “Yeah, next week, we are heading in to start writing and recording for a new album,” Kevin said.

      “Cool,” Hayley said.

      “While the guys are at the studio, you, me, and Leighanne can do girl stuff,” Kristin said.

A week later, the guys were in the studio and the girls were hanging out.  Nick and Brian were talking. Kevin’s cell phone rang. He answered it and they watched him talk and saw his face go pale. They went over and helped him sit down as he hung up the phone.

      “Cuz, what happened,” Brian said.

      “The girls were in a car accident,” Kevin said.

      “Kris and Leigh?” Nick asked.

      “Hayley was with them,” Kevin said.

      “Oh god, how bad is it,” Nick said.

      “We better get to the hospital,” Kevin said. AJ and Howie came out and they all went to the hospital.

      “Excuse me, I’m Kevin Richardson, I got a call about my wife being in a car accident,” Kevin said.

      “Where’s my wife?” Brian asked.

      “You are?” the nurse asked.

      “Brian Littrell, my wife is Leighanne Littrell,” Brian said. The nurse nodded.

      “Mrs. Richardson has suffered only minor injuries, cuts and bruises and a broken arm, she is going to be fine, Mrs. Littrell has a broken leg and a mild concussion, but she’ll be fine, their friend, Ms. Hardin, is another story,” the nurse said.

      “How is she,” Nick said.

      “You are?” the nurse said.

      “Nick Carter, her boyfriend,” Nick said. Kevin and Brian looked at him.

      “Ms. Hardin is in a coma, the impact was on the passenger side where she was sitting, it’s possible she might not make it,” the nurse said.

      “Can I see her?” Nick asked.

      “As soon as the doctor says so,” the nurse said. Nick nodded and went and sat down and held his head in his hands. Brian sat down beside him.

      “Why did you say you were her boyfriend?” Brian asked quietly.

      “I didn’t think the nurse would tell us anything if I didn’t,” Nick said.

An hour later, Nick was sitting at Hayley’s bedside, holding her hand.

      “Hayley, it’s Nick, I know you probably don’t want me here, but I can’t leave you like this, I still love you more than anything and I care about you, there are a lot of people who care about you, me, Kev, Kris, Leigh, Brian, AJ, and Howie, we all want you to wake up and get better, you can’t leave us, but no one wants you to wake up more than I do,” Nick said kissing her hand.

Two days later, Nick hasn’t left Hayley’s bedside. Everyone tried to get him to go and rest but he wouldn’t budge. He wasn’t leaving until she was. He laid his cheek on Hayley’s hand on the bed. Her hand moved and he sat up and saw her looking at him.

      “Thank god you are awake, I’ll tell everyone,” Nick said getting up. She grabbed his hand.

      “How long were you here?” Hayley asked.

      “Ever since I got here which was an hour after you did which was two days ago, I haven’t left you side since, everyone kept telling me to go and rest but I didn’t want to leave you,” Nick said.

      “You still love me?” Hayley asked.

      “With all my heart and soul,” Nick said.

      “Same here, don’t hurt me again,” Hayley said.

      “Are we back together?” Nick asked.

      “Yes, if you want to be, and yes, I want to marry you,” Hayley said. Nick grinned and kissed her hungrily.

      “I want to be with you forever, I want to grow old with you, have lots of kids, and never be away from you,” Nick said. He got out the ring and slid it on her finger.

      “I love you,” Hayley said.

      “I love you, too,” Nick said. They kissed and he went to find everyone.

Chapter 21

(Note: Nick was asleep in Hayley’s room at the hospital, it’s the day before she woke up so he was dreaming about her waking up and all so they aren’t engaged or back together yet.)

Nick woke up and saw Hayley lying there. He held her hand and hoped she woke up soon. Brian came in.

      “Hey, Frack, go rest, I’ll stay with her and I’ll call if she wakes up,” Brian said.

      “I don’t want to leave her,” Nick said.

      “Nick, you need to rest, go home, I’ll be here and I won’t leave until you come back, Leighanne is with her mother and Leigh wanted me to be here for Hayley so everything will be fine, go home and sleep and rest up, come back when you are fully rested, I mean it, Frack,” Brian said. Nick kissed Hayley’s hand and went out the door and went home and went to bed. He woke up to the phone ringing. He reached over and picked it up.

      “Hello,” Nick said.

      “Nick, it’s Brian, Hayley woke up, but don’t bother coming back, she doesn’t want you here,” Brian said.

      “Did she tell you to tell me or is that you telling me,” Nick said.

      “She told me to tell you,” Brian said.

      “Nick, I don’t want you here, don’t come back,” Hayley said. She hung up. Nick hung up and laid back on the bed and covered his face.

Three weeks later, Nick found out that Hayley was out of the hospital and recovering at Kevin’s. Kevin told Nick that if he needed to talk to him, Kevin would come over but Nick wasn’t allowed over at Kevin’s while Hayley is there.

Three months later, Leighanne, Kristin, and Hayley were fully recovered from their injuries in the accident and were back to normal. The guys were putting on a charity concert at the Orlando Arena. Leighanne, Kristin, and Hayley were in the VIP booth.  The guys were in the middle of the concert when they went below to change. Moments later, Nick appeared by himself in the center of the stage.

      “This next song was co-written by Kevin, it has special meaning to me tonight, a few months ago, I did something so stupid and dumb that it cost me the most important person in my life, yes, I had a girlfriend, whom I loved more than anything, I still love her more than anything, and I have been trying to win her back, but I hurt her too much, I don’t want to give up because I’m lost without her, I want to dedicate this song to her, I will do anything to find a way back to her heart,” Nick said looking at Hayley. He sat down at the drums while the other guys came up. Kevin went to the piano and they performed Back To Your Heart. Nick stared at Hayley during the entire song. She was crying and she smiled at him. After they were done with the song, Nick looked at Hayley.  She nodded and mouthed the words ‘I love you’ to him. He smiled and mouthed them back. The guys went on with their concert. After it was over, they were backstage. Nick was still in the showers. He stood there letting the water run down his body when he felt arms around him. He jumped.

      “It’s just me, Nicky,” Hayley said softly. He turned and hugged her. He felt her body against his and he smiled.

      “I won’t hurt you again, it’s been hell without you and I can’t go through that again,” Nick said. He looked at her and she smiled.

      “You better not because this is the last chance you will get, I can’t have my heart broken again,” Hayley said. 

      “Move back in with me?” Nick asked.

      “Okay, but I’m still keeping my house,” Hayley said. They went to her house and got her stuff and went to his house and went up to his room and collapsed on the bed. They removed each other’s clothes and he slid a condom on and they slowly made love. Afterwards, they laid there holding each other, not wanting to let go.

Chapter 22

Nick woke up the next morning and saw Hayley curled up in his arms. He smiled and held her close to him. She woke up and looked up at him and smiled. He smiled.

      “Morning,” Nick said kissing her forehead.

      “Morning,” Hayley said snuggling up to him.

      “I love you,” Nick said.

      “I love you, too,” Hayley said. The doorbell rang. Nick groaned.

      “I don’t want to move,” Nick said.

      “But you will have to,” Hayley said. Nick nodded and got up and got dressed and went downstairs and opened the door and saw Kevin and Kristin.

      “Hayley’s gone, we went to her house and her stuff was gone,” Kevin said. Nick smiled.

      “Really?” Nick asked.

      “He doesn’t care,” Kristin said.

      “Are you sure she’s gone?” Nick asked.

      “Yes, we went over there, I have a key, her stuff was gone, bed wasn’t slept in,” Kevin said. They were facing away from the stairs and didn’t see Hayley coming down the stairs.

      “Oh,” Nick said.

      “We are worried about her, Nick,” Kevin said.

      “Worried about who?” Hayley said from behind them. They turned and saw her.  She laughed at their expressions and went into Nick’s arms and they both laughed.

      “Thanks for writing that song, Kev, it helped Nick win me back,” Hayley said hugging Nick. They kissed softly.

      “It’s about time,” Kevin said.

      “Yeah,” Kristin said.

      “He found a way back to my heart,” Hayley said.

Two weeks later, Nick and Hayley were sitting on the couch, cuddling while watching a movie when the doorbell rang. Hayley got up and opened the door and saw Kevin standing there. He came in and fell into her arms.

      “Kev,” Hayley said. She tried to hold him up but he was too heavy for her.

      “Nick!” Hayley called. Nick came in and helped her get Kevin into the living room. They sat Kevin down and Nick sat beside him. Hayley knelt down in front of him. Kevin’s eyes were red and puffy.

      “Kev, man, what happened,” Nick said softly.

      “Kev, sweetie, tell us what’s got you so upset,” Hayley said. Kevin burst out crying.

      “Kev, come on, man, we are here for you, tell us what happened, bro,” Nick said gently. Hayley looked at Kevin.

      “It’s Kris, isn’t it,” Hayley said. Kevin nodded.

      “Kris left you, didn’t she,” Nick said.

      “Kev, sweetie,” Hayley said.

      “There was an accident, Kris was on her way to the store, she’s gone,” Kevin said crying.

      “Oh god no,” Hayley said. She covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. Nick pulled Hayley into his lap and held her as she began to cry. Brian, Leighanne, Howie, and AJ came in.

      “What’s going on, guys,” AJ said. Nick told them the news. Brian sat beside his cousin and hugged him. Kevin fell apart in Brian’s arms. Hayley ran upstairs and collapsed on the bed and cried. She felt hands on her shoulders and she looked and saw Nick. He laid beside her and pulled her close. She held onto him as she cried.

      “I love you, baby, cry all you want, I don’t care about how wet my shirt gets, I love you and I will not let you go again,” Nick said softly. She held onto him tightly and buried her face in his shirt and cried.

Chapter 23

Two months later, Kevin was still staying at Nick and Hayley’s. Hayley was in the laundry room when Kevin came in with his basket of clothes.

      “Let me know when you are done, I have my clothes here,” Kevin said.

      “I’ll take care of it, Kev, just put the basket by the washer,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, you and Nick are letting me stay here, it’s the least I could do, I can do my own laundry, you don’t have to,” Kevin said.

      “Kev, you are a guest, you don’t have to do your own laundry, I can handle it, okay,” Hayley said.

      “Fine,” Kevin said. He put it down and went back to his room. Hayley followed him and knocked on the door. He opened the door and she went in.

      “Kevin, I’m sorry if I made you mad, but Nick didn’t want you to do any work here, he wants you to rest and relax, I was just doing what Nick wanted,” Hayley said.

      “I understand, Hayley, but I just want to help out around here so you and Nick won’t have to do everything for me, I’m not crippled,” Kevin said.

      “We know that, Kev, but Nick cares about you and wants you to rest and relax and not have to do any work around here, it’s his house, it’s how he wants it done, he knows you don’t want to go back to yours yet, that’s why you have him over there with Brian, packing up everything, they don’t want you to go through the pain,” Hayley said. Kevin sat down on the bed. Hayley stood in front of him. He looked up at her. He covered his face in his hands and cried.

      “I didn’t tell the whole truth, she wasn’t going to the store, she was leaving me, Hayley,” Kevin said.

      “Leaving you?” Hayley asked.

      “My feelings for you, were never gone, like I told her, I told her that they were never gone, that I still had feelings for you, she called me a liar and other names and told me she was leaving and never coming back, she was so upset, it’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s my fault that she’s dead!” Kevin cried. Hayley sat next to him.

      “Why did you lie to all of us,” Hayley said.

      “I didn’t want anyone to know the truth, I didn’t want anyone to hate me,” Kevin said. Hayley helped him lay on the bed and laid beside him.

      “I could never hate you, Kev,” Hayley said.

      “Thanks, Hayley, and I’m sorry to having feelings for you,” Kevin said.

      “It’s okay, Kev, you can’t help it, but I love Nick more than anything in the world and I would die without him,” Hayley said.

      “I know, Hayley,” Kevin said. She looked up at him and looked into his green eyes. He looked into her eyes. She didn’t move as he leaned in and kissed her lips softly. He pulled back and looked at her.

      “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” Kevin said. Hayley looked at him and shook her head and pulled him back and kissed him deeply. They broke apart and looked at each other.

      “I have feelings for you, too,” Hayley said.

      “We are hurting Nick,” Kevin said.

      “I know,” Hayley said. They heard the front door open and close.

      “Hayley, baby!” Nick called. Hayley jumped up and straightened her clothes and hair and went out and ran upstairs. She ran into the bathroom and closed the door and locked it and looked in the mirror. Her lips were swollen and her face was flushed. There was a knock at the door.

      “Hayley, baby, are you in there?” Nick asked.

      “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute,” Hayley said. She looked in the mirror and tried to calm herself down. She went out and saw Nick sitting on the bed.

      “Nicky,” Hayley said.

      “I know why Kevin didn’t want to go back, just packing up the stuff was depressing, I can’t believe she’s gone,” Nick said. Hayley sat next to him.

      “I know, I can’t believe it either, Kevin wanted to do his own laundry,” Hayley said.

      “He wanted to do his own laundry, you didn’t let him, did you,” Nick said.

      “No, I told him that he’s a guest in this house and he shouldn’t do anything but rest and relax,” Hayley said.

      “To think of the pain he is going through, losing his wife, got me thinking, about you, I would die if I lost you, Hayley, it would kill me, I love you, more than anything,” Nick said. He got up and went to his dresser. Hayley saw Kevin peeking into the bedroom. Nick sat back down and held out a ring box. Hayley opened it and saw the most beautiful ring. She looked at Nick and back at the ring.

      “It’s beautiful, Nicky,” Hayley said.

      “Will you marry me,” Nick said.

      “I would marry you tomorrow if we could, yes, a million times, yes, I will, Nicky, I want to be with you forever,” Hayley said grinning. He slid the ring on her finger and kissed her hand. Kevin quietly went back downstairs.

Chapter 24

Hayley laid there in bed, looking at her ring. She looked at Nick, who was asleep next to her and she smiled. She wanted to be Nick’s wife more than anything. She got up quietly and went downstairs to Kevin’s room and went in and closed the door. Kevin looked at her.

      “Congratulations,” Kevin said.

      “Thanks,” Hayley said.

      “I’m going to go stay at Brian’s until I find a house,” Kevin said.

      “Okay,” Hayley said.

      “You belong with Nick,” Kevin said.

      “I know I do, that’s why I want to be with him forever,” Hayley said.

      “He loves you a lot, and I know you love him, I have to move on with my life,” Kevin said. He grabbed his bags and left Nick’s house. Hayley went upstairs and laid down next to Nick. He moaned and opened his eyes and saw her and smiled.

      “Hey baby,” Nick said stroking her cheek.

      “Kevin went to stay at Brian’s until he can find a place of his own, he said he’s imposed on us long enough,” Hayley said.

      “You let him go?” Nick asked.

      “What, you wanted him here?” Hayley asked.

      “Yeah, he took care of me when I was younger, now it’s my turn,” Nick said.

      “Nick, he said he needs to move on with his life, he’s been here for over two months now,” Hayley said. Nick looked at her.

      “I just wanted to help him,” Nick said.

      “I know, Nicky, but he needs to get on with his life,” Hayley said.

Two days later, Hayley came home from the grocery store and saw Nick sitting on the couch, kissing Mandy. She cleared her throat.

      “What the hell is going on here,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “Get out, Mandy!” Hayley said. She went into the kitchen and put the groceries away. She heard the front door open and close. Nick came into the kitchen and looked at her.

      “Hayley, it was just a kiss goodbye, a way of her leaving me alone for good,” Nick said.

      “Whatever,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, what is going on,” Nick said.

      “I think it’s time you know the truth, Kevin left because of me, he’s got feelings for me, the day he left, he and I kissed, I have no right to be mad at you for kissing Mandy, we are even now,” Hayley said. She went upstairs.