Legalities: It's just a story folks. It is not intended to imply anything about any of the Backstreet Boys or anyone else. If you're offended, please go away. If you're curious, read on, you might like it! If you're too young, don't get caught.
Notes: Thanks again to everyone who is reading and wrote to let me know they liked this story. I know it's been a little different but hopefully you'll like the rest of it too!
Any comments about any of my stories, please drop me a line at kenitra_canada@hotmail.com Please include the story title somewhere in your message so I know which story you like or hate ;(
BTW - If you haven't read the earlier parts - I'm a gal!
Hope you enjoy. Kenitra
_______________ I'll Set You Free -------------------------
(Previously)
Brian and Nick took the stairs the two floors to Kevin's place. Brian found the door unlocked and walked in. It was quiet.
They looked around and checked the other rooms. They pushed open Kevin's bedroom door and found Kevin stroking Jason's hair. It looked like Jason was sleeping; he was wearing Kevin's clothes.
"What the hell?" Brian demanded.
********* Part 6 ********
"What the hell?" Brian demanded. Kevin quickly rolled off the bed, putting his finger to his lips. He shoved Nick and Brian out the door, closing it behind him. They went back to the living room.
"Kev, what's going on?" Nick asked, completely confused.
Kevin sighed and sat down, indicating that they should do likewise. "I was getting on the elevator from the garage and Jason almost ran me down. He was completely oblivious; didn't know who I was at first. I grabbed him. I asked if he wanted to go back to your place but he said no. I didn't know what was going on except that he was scared and almost in shock. We came back here and he cried, cried for a very long time." Kevin stopped.
"Did he tell you what was wrong?" Brian asked.
"I found out. But he has to tell you himself," Kevin said.
"Can't you tell us anything?" Nick asked anxiously.
Kevin looked at him. "He's afraid you won't want him if you know the truth."
Brian sank onto the couch beside Nick. "Not want him? How could he ever think that?" Brian murmured.
"Because you don't know the whole story," Jason said softly from the doorway.
Nick's first instinct was to go to him, but Brian stopped him. Jason walked into the room and sat on a chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes. They waited.
"The car accident wasn't an accident. Cory purposely ran the red light to kill my parents." They stared at Jason in shock. Kevin hadn't even guessed that part.
Jason looked at Kevin then stood up, taking off his shirt before turning around.
"Oh God!" Brian whispered in horror.
"Jason!" Nick began to cry.
Jason slumped down into the chair and began to talk. "I was twelve when he first started coming to my room at night and touching me, thirteen when he started using things, fourteen when he first raped me. He used to say `that ass is mine'." Jason didn't hear Nick's gasp. "It was shortly after that he started with the whip. Fortunately, the whip stage didn't last long. He figured the scars would be too suspicious, but the damage was already done. He said he would kill me if I told. When he found out about Cory, he had added leverage. He didn't know that I'd told Cory or he would have had Cory killed. I couldn't fight him." Tears finally broke through as he looked at Nick and Brian. "You saw his picture, he was about six-four, two hundred and fifty pounds. How could I fight that? Cory knew he would never let me go. He'd kill me or worse, but he wouldn't let me leave. Cory loved me so much; he showed me how to love. He said he would set me free. I didn't realize what he meant until the police came to tell me about the accident. I received a letter a couple of days later from Cory. He'd mailed it the day of the crash." Jason couldn't say anything else. He leaned back and closed his eyes afraid to see disgust on the faces watching him.
Nick and Brian looked at each other; finally comprehending the torment Jason had endured. Tears ran down both faces. Simultaneously they rose and walked to Jason's chair, kneeling either side of him.
"Jason, I care about you more than you can know. This doesn't change how I feel about you, nothing can do that Jayce," Nick said softly.
"I want and need you in my life, Red. I'm so sorry you had to endure so much alone and didn't think you could tell us," Brian whispered.
Kevin noticed Howie and A.J. standing in the doorway, tears streaming down their faces. He quietly rose, and led them into the hall.
Jason opened his eyes and looked from one adored face to the other. "You still want me?" he asked in wonder.
Through their tears, they both smiled, lighting the room and chasing the nightmare from Jason's heart.
"Absolutely," Brian said, brushing some red hair off Jason's forehead.
Nick nodded, "Positively," he said. Then he lost his smile. "I'm so sorry about what I said earlier, I…"
Jason put a finger to Nick's lips and shook his head. "You didn't know, Nick." Jason cracked a smile. "Besides, I don't mind my ass belonging to you." Nick leaned forward and kissed Jason softly. The two blonde men wrapped their arms tightly around Jason in a three-way hug. Jason sighed.
When he finally looked up he realized that Kevin was gone. "Where'd Kevin go?" he asked.
Nick and Brian broke their embrace. "He probably wanted to give us time alone," Brian said. "I'll go check." Brian left and Nick sat back on the floor, staring at Jason.
"I have a question, Jayce," Nick said thoughtfully. "It's a little strange and I can't explain why I'm asking; not yet." Jason could see Nick was serious and nodded. "What was Cory's full name?"
It wasn't what Jason was expecting. "Michael Cory Reed," he said.
Nick's eyes widened slightly. "Thanks, Jayce."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kevin shut the door behind him then swung around violently kicking the wall. "Oh I wish he were still alive," Kevin muttered.
"Why?" Howie asked wiping the last of his tears away.
"So I could kill the bastard," Kevin spat. Howie and A.J. were shocked by the hatred in his voice. They knew he meant it. Kevin took a deep breath and looked at the others. "How much did you hear?" he asked.
"The beginning of Jason's story," A.J. said quietly, still trying to comprehend how a father could do that to his son.
"He has scars?" Howie asked softly.
Kevin nodded. "All across his back," he whispered.
"Poor kid."
"We can't treat him like that, though," Kevin said, looking at the others. "You can let him know that you know, but if we dwell on it, he'll never get past it. All we can do is be there if he wants, otherwise move on."
Howie and A.J. agreed. The door opened and Brian stuck his head out.
"Hey guys, y'all can come back in ya know," Brian said, smiling at his friends.
"Everything okay?" Howie asked.
Brian nodded. "It will be, now."
They all walked back into Kevin's living room. Nick was sitting on the floor beside Jason, who was just pulling his, or rather Kevin's, t-shirt on.
"Hi guys," Jayce said shyly, "sorry for worrying everyone. I promise I won't do it again."
"We're just happy you're alright, Jason," A.J. said.
In the momentary silence, they could all hear a rumbling sound. Automatically everyone turned to Nick. Jayce raised his hand. "Actually, that was my stomach," he said, grinning.
"But now that you mention food…" Nick spoke up.
"God, why two of them?" Howie asked jokingly, looking up at the ceiling.
Everyone laughed. It was late afternoon, so they decided to go for an early dinner. They separated, everyone going back to their apartments, agreeing to meet in half an hour. Jason stopped at the door.
"I'll be there in a few minutes B, Nick. I just want to talk to Kevin for a minute, okay?"
Both nodded and smiled. "Sure Red," Brian said.
Jason walked back to the living room and Kevin. "Kevin," Jason said softly.
Kevin looked up, startled, then walked over to Jason. Neither knew what it was, but there was a connection between them. It wasn't the heated passion Jason had with Nick and Brian, but it was real and it was strong. Kevin looked intently at Jason then took him into his arms, hugging the younger man. "I know Jason. Just let it alone for a while. But any time you want to talk, about anything, my door is always open for you, okay?" Kevin blinked back tears and looked into Jason's bright green eyes.
Jason touched Kevin's cheek with his hand, nodded, then turned and walked out. Kevin was right. He had enough to think about for now. Let things calm down, then try and sort this thing out with Kevin.
Jason found Nick and Brian sitting in the kitchen, talking. Nick was snacking on an apple.
"Everything okay?" Nick asked casually.
Jason grinned. "Everything's great. I'm gonna go change. Do ya think the others would mind if I brought my camera along?" They shook their heads. "Okay, Back in five or so."
He quickly changed into some of his own clothes, neatly folding Kevin's and setting them on a chair. He went to his camera bag and looked through it. He had five different cameras. He decided he would just go with snapshots tonight and grabbed his 35mm, checking for film and batteries. He grabbed an extra roll of film, just in case, then walked back to the kitchen.
"Okay, ready!" he announced, completely silencing the conversation. He looked at them. "What?" he asked, suddenly concerned and afraid.
Nick immediately saw the fear and jumped up. "Relax Jayce. I was talking to Brian about that thing, about the question I asked you earlier. Remember?" Jason nodded. "I'm not trying to make it a big secret but I just have to check something out before I let you know what its all about." Nick paused. "Did any of that make sense?"
Jason kissed Nick solidly on the mouth. "In a Nick-way it made perfect sense," he said with a grin. "Now can we go eat?"
The three of them went down to the parking garage and met up with Howie, Kevin and A.J. They all piled into Howie's new Explorer. Kevin chose the restaurant and they ended up at a small Greek place. Kevin was known and they were escorted to a very private booth near the back.
Jason found he was completely at ease with the five celebrities. He had no secrets to keep so he could relax. He realized how easy going and regular the guys really were. Something else he discovered was that they were all gay. Kevin he'd already figured. But he heard A.J. and Howie making plans to get together later that night.
He leaned over to Brian. "Are Howie and A.J. together?" he whispered.
Brian shook his head. "Not really. They're great friends, but they and Kevin sometimes … when they aren't in steady relationships its hard to find someone. A.J. is bi and broke up with his girlfriend a few week ago," Brian explained quietly.
Jason nodded. He felt a twinge for Kevin, who was all alone. They all feasted, eating until they were stuffed. Discussion inevitably turned to the new album. They were recording it in Orlando this time, wanting to stay close to home for a while. Each of them had at least one song they were writing. Jason pulled out his camera. It was fairly dark, but he didn't want to use the flash, it was too distracting. He adjusted the manual setting to allow more light and began snapping. "Hey, Jason, I'm sorry that we keep excluding you from the conversation," Kevin said, looking up to see Jason taking his picture.
Jason just smiled. "That's okay. I like to listen to you guys talk shop. You get so into it and it'll show in the pictures."
"When do we get to see them?" A.J. asked.
Jason leaned against the wall. "I was thinking," he looked at Nick and Brian. "If we can share two bathrooms, I could turn the third into a dark room."
"Never thought of that. Its okay with me!" Nick said enthusiastically. Brian nodded.
"So are we going to do a mini concert for July 4th?" Howie asked, turning the discussion back to the album. They were talking about putting on a small concert to test their new songs, at a small local venue. Everyone liked the idea.
"So Nick, how's I'll Set you Free coming along?" A.J. asked.
Nick looked up startled. "Um, okay. What about your song Bone?"
All present noticed the quick change Nick did to avoid talking about his song. No one said anything.
Jason had shot an entire roll of film when the six men finally left the restaurant. They all went back to the apartment building. It had been a draining day for everyone.
Back in the apartment, Jason decided to take a shower. He stood under the warm spray letting it wash away all the grime and guilt he'd felt for so long. It eased his aching muscles made tense by the need to keep his secret. Over half an hour later, he shut the water off. He dried and pulled on some boxers. He stopped his hand when he automatically reached for a t-shirt. He didn't need to hide anymore.
Walking back out, Jason discovered that Nick and Brian had already gone to bed. Jason stood for a moment before walking back down the hall. The door was ajar and he slowly pushed it open. A light was still on and Brian and Nick saw him. Brian pulled back the covers and patted the space on the bed between them. Jason crawled up the center of the bed and wiggled under the blankets. He rolled on his side and Nick spooned up behind him; the entire length of his body next to Jason's flesh. Brian moved in close and took Jason's hand, holding it to his heart. Jason sighed and closed his eyes, surrounded by safety and warmth.
*********************************** TBC
As always, any and all feedback is very much appreciated. Hope I didn't disappoint too many! Kenitra kenitra_canada@hotmail.com