Thursday, July 27
7:00 AM
The harsh ringing of her cell phone brought Vivian out of her dreamless sleep so suddenly that she had an immediate headache before she answered the phone. Checking the Caller ID she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it wasn’t her mother, but Melinda. Wondering why the woman was calling so early, Vivian opened her phone and brought it to her ear.
“Melinda, how are you?”
“Fine, how are things holding out up there?” the woman questioned and Vivian could hear the fatigue in her voice.
“Doing great. It’s a day off for the guys so they’re sleeping in. I was just going to make some calls to confirm tonight and make sure we’re on track for the rest of the weekend. Why the guys decided to have the Charity Event this weekend is beyond me…”
“Tell me about it, but they’re our bosses so we can’t do anything about it,” Melinda said with a small laugh and Vivian joined her before she rolled out of bed and stumbled into her bathroom.
“So are you joining us this weekend?” Vivian asked as she inspected the dark circles that had appeared underneath her eyes. Of course she would have raccoon eyes the day she would see her parents. Just another imperfection that her mother would point out…
“I’ll be in Saturday morning. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done this week. I haven’t had to deal with any calls so far and it really helped with the ceremony and such. Remind me to give you a big Christmas bonus,” Melinda added.
“Oh I won’t forget that,” Vivian said with a laugh, “Thank God WEG is paying for my phone bills because I’m sure I could feed an entire African village with my phone bill for this week alone,” she added. Why she was in such good spirits this morning she didn’t know, especially since she had only gotten three hours of sleep.
“Don’t I know it. Well I was just calling to check up on you and to let you know that I’m flying in on Saturday morning before the game. So you can take it easy on Saturday seeing as there’ll be two of us.” Vivian breathed a sigh of relief at this revelation, glad to know that she would be able to sleep in that morning.
“I’ll arrange a car to come pick you up and take you to the hotel,” Vivian explained as she turned on her shower and prepared to get ready for the long day ahead.
“Sounds like you’re busy. I’ll let you go and we’ll talk later. Good luck with tonight and tomorrow, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Mel,” Vivian said with a smile before the two women said their goodbyes. Vivian took a deep breath and started to prepare for her shower, hoping the day would go off without a hitch.
But seeing as it is my mother, I don’t see why it would go perfect.
*112 E. Madison Avenue*
10:45 AM
“Holy shit, you lived here?” Chris exclaimed loudly as the black car pulled up in front of a high end apartment building. Justin clapped his hands over his ears and shot Chris a nasty look. He had the worst headache he had ever encountered in his nineteen years of living and being out of bed and running around New York City wasn’t helping matters.
But Vivian had helped him out last night and he wanted to return the favor. Besides, he was naturally interested in what her parents were like and he had promised her that he would go. He only wished she would lighten up about the situation.
Close to their departure time, Vivian had grown distant and very terse. Her hair was pulled back into the bun she had frequently worn during her first few months of work with the guys and she was back to wearing her neatly pressed business suits instead of her familiar jeans and blouse combination. Her makeup was immaculate and it seemed like she had walked out of an Ann Taylor advertisement instead of her hotel room.
Her attitude had changed as well. She was tense and short with everyone that conversed with her and Justin couldn’t help but realize that her seeing her parents had something to do with it. Not only that, but he knew she was running on few hours of sleep and she was always on the phone trying to get things finalized for their performance tonight and to make sure the Challenge for the Children basketball game went on smoothly. She was running herself into the ground but she turned a deaf ear whenever someone tried to tell her to slow down.
But now they were stepping out onto the street and Vivian approached the front of the building, her movements tight and stoic. The rest of the guys followed her reluctantly as she stopped in front of the doorman who smiled at her warmly.
“Why is that little Miss Vivi Aldridge come back to visit me?” the old man said and the corners of Vivian’s mouth tugged up into a small smile.
“Hello, Peter. Here to visit the parents, and I brought my clients with me,” she explained in a hollowed voice that was all business and hardly personal at all. Justin exchanged a worried glance with JC who was watching the scene before him with a watchful eye. Justin had never heard her refer to him or any of the guys as her clients, seeing as they were her bosses. But he decided to not say anything as they quietly passed by Peter and into the lush lobby of the apartment complex, Chris walking around and inspecting everything closely.
“Jeez, Vivian, we should have stayed here this week! This place is better than the Carlton!”
She ignored his comment completely and continued towards the gilded elevators, her heels clicking smartly against the marble floor. “This is going to be interesting,” Lance muttered to Justin as one of the elevator doors opened soundlessly.
They all shuffled in and Justin watched as Vivian pressed the top button. She let out a held breath as the doors closed and they continued on up to the fifty-first floor. Justin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and he saw her visibly tense before she shrugged his hand off of her.
A few minutes later, the elevator opened up and Vivian walked into a small foyer that the elevator revealed to the group and her wristwatch beeped eleven o’ clock exactly as she knocked on the door that was directly in front of her.
“Here we go,” Vivian muttered under her breath.
“One more time, everybody’s feeling fine,” Chris chanted and Joey automatically slapped him upside the head just as the door opened.
“Oh Miss Aldridge, welcome back,” a heavy accented voice stated. Justin looked up and saw a suited man standing at the front door; his eyes squinted together as he surveyed the group standing in the front foyer of the penthouse.
“Thank you Charles. I’m sure my parents are home?” Vivian asked cordially as Charles stepped aside to let the group in. Joey looked over towards Justin and mouthed the word ‘butler’ towards him. Justin merely shrugged his shoulders as they were admitted into the home.
“Yes of course, they’re waiting in the study. If you’ll follow me…” Vivian headed their group again as they walked into the depths of what was turning out to be the most lavish penthouse apartment Justin had ever seen. Everything was in its place and was spotless. He had a hard time imagining what it would be like for a young girl to grow up in such a place, where everything had to be perfect and in order. No wonder Vivian was the way she was…
“Here we are. I will return once lunch is ready,” Charles announced as he stopped at two heavy oak doors. He nodded his head in a small salute towards Vivian before he turned on his heels and walked through another doorway, leaving Justin and the rest of his friends in shock.
“It takes some getting used to,” Vivian said curtly before she opened the doors without so much as a knock.
“Vivian, darling you’re here!” a pompous voice filled with grandeur and the promise of glamour exclaimed from the depths of the room. Justin tore his eyes away from the lavishly decorated room just in time to see a tall, blonde haired woman stalk forward and kiss her daughter on the cheek, one of her hands occupied with a mid-morning martini. The two drew apart quickly and it was then that Justin got a good look at Vivian’s mother.
To say that Mrs. Aldridge was immaculate in appearance and personality was an understatement. She epitomized the word and all that it stood for as she quickly ushered the group into the room. She was dressed in black slacks and a very expensive looking grey sweater that contrasted sharply with her professionally dyed hair. Her makeup was flawless and Justin could tell by a simple look that she definitely had a few operations done on her face to evade the eventual aging process. She had Vivian’s bright brown eyes although they didn’t shine with determination or spunk like her daughter’s. They glowed with stubbornness and a hint of snobbery. Her hands were decorated with sparkling cocktail rings and she stood back and waited for her daughter to introduce her.
“This is my mother, Carolyn Wayne Aldridge and this is my father Walter James Aldridge, Esquire,” Vivian explained as her father came to join the group. His chestnut hair was peppered with white and grey; his blue eyes framed with thickly framed glasses. He was dressed in slacks and a royal purple smoking jacket that Justin assumed he had on loan from Hugh Heffner himself. He seemed a bit more lenient than Vivian’s mother in appearance but he still had the look of a professional even when he was relaxing in his home.
Vivian continued the introductions each of the guys stepping forward as their names were called and shaking both of their hands in turn. For some reason Justin couldn’t help but feel nervous as he shook Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge’s hands. He really wanted this to go well for Vivian who looked like she was ready to pass out at any moment due to sheer exhaustion and terror.
“Vivian, dear, do you know what would be simply ravishing right now?” Vivian’s mother exclaimed as she took another sip of her drink, the olive sloshing around dangerously in the glass. Vivian shook her head and her mother continued, “We should take these fine gentlemen on a tour of our home! We have about forty minutes to kill off before lunch is served…” Vivian sighed heavily and her mother frowned. “Do you not want to show them a tour? Is this house too good for you or them?”
Justin exchanged a worried glance at JC who was staring at Vivian. He could see her shoulders sag a bit and Justin wanted nothing more than to speak up against Mrs. Aldridge but he knew it wasn’t his place. Besides, it would probably upset her mother and he was sure the last thing any of them wanted was a peeved Carolyn Aldridge.
“No I do. I’m sorry,” Vivian, mumbled to her mother before she turned to the rest of the guys, “Would you like a tour?”
“Sure, if you want to…” Joey started but Carolyn simply shook her head and placed her glass down on one of the tables positioned around the study.
“Of course she does! And if she doesn’t want to, then Walter and I will do it ourselves. Come along,” she announced before she started towards the front hall of the penthouse passing her daughter without a second glance. Walter walked beside her, linking arms with his wife and Justin turned around just in time to see Vivian down the remaining contents of her mother’s martini. He shot her a worried look but she evaded his gaze and rushed past him, her eyes hollow and void of any emotion. She was back to her emotionless gaze and he had a feeling she was going to stay like that for the entire time she was at the house.
The group walked around the penthouse, listening to Carolyn and Walter talk about the various pieces of furniture and decorations they had picked up during their travels around the world before Vivian was born and after she had gone off to college. Each room they viewed was more lavish and extravagant than the last and Justin had reason to believe that Vivian had a hefty trust fund to fall back on, should she ever be out of work.
While they were being shown the Master Suite, Charles appeared and announced that lunch was served. Carolyn quickly dismissed the butler and quietly led the tour into the enormous dining room that overlooked Madison Avenue, a small view of Central Park just peeking through some of the other buildings that surrounded their high rise.
Justin took a seat across from Vivian who was looking more miserable as their time at her old home wore on. Her face was gaunt and stretched out, her eyes avoiding any contact except with her parents when they asked her a direct question. It was rather strange to Justin seeing as not once during their tour or during lunch did Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge inquire about Vivian and how she was adjusting to her new life. They were more interested in the bands’ line of work and what they were doing in New York for the week. In fact, Vivian was practically ignored the entire time and it was irritating Justin more and more.
“So Justin, tell us about this charity event you’ll be holding this weekend,” Carolyn inquired as she leaned over her finished plate of chicken cordon bleu. Justin looked over at Vivian who was twirling her fork over her untouched chicken and he turned his face towards her mother.
“You should ask Vivian, she’s the one who helped organize it,” Justin stated and he looked back over at Vivian who was staring at him, her mouth opened in shock. He felt someone kick his leg and he turned to his left to see JC shooting him a look of warning. He didn’t care, her parents had to treat Vivian like a human being and not some figment of their imagination. She was their daughter for Christ’s sake.
“Well?” Carolyn said, completely unfazed by Justin’s sudden outburst. She had directed her question towards Vivian who was still looking at Justin with a mixture of abhorrence and gratitude.
“Erm…well,” Vivian stammered and her mother rolled her eyes, placing her napkin on her plate.
“Oh Vivian Louise, what am I going to do with you? You try so much to act like Lucy and it backfires in your face.” Justin saw Vivian’s face pale as her gaze fell to her lap, head hanging in shame.
“Who’s Lucy?” Lance questioned and Justin heard Walter sniffle before he wiped his eyes with the corner of his napkin. Carolyn merely sighed and pushed her chair back, touching her hair to make sure not a strand was out of place.
“Seems only natural that Vivian wouldn’t mention her older sister…she was ashamed of her…”
“I was not ashamed of her,” Vivian growled as she slammed her hands on the table in defiance. Mrs. Aldridge sniffed as she stood up and beckoned for the rest of them to follow her.
“Well, then you were horribly jealous of her. You have to understand,” Carolyn explained to Justin and the rest of the guys as they walked down a hallway they hadn’t traveled down yet, “Vivian tries so hard to be like her sister but she’s never able to be quite like her. Lucy is a one of a kind…”
“You mean was…” Vivian interjected and Carolyn stopped dead in her tracks before another heavy wooden door. It looked as if Carolyn was going to strike Vivian or say something degrading but she merely nodded her head and pushed the door open, admitting the group inside.
Justin’s mouth fell open when he saw what the room entailed. The space was bigger than the dining room and yet every single space on the wall was completely covered with plaques, frames, and medals. Various trophy cases were positioned around the room and all of them held some kind of award. The place was more decorated than *NSYNC’s wall back at the WEG complex and that was saying something.
“Feel free to look around,” Walter said from the doorway as the guys disbanded from their tight knit formation and walked around the room. Vivian stayed rooted to her spot in the center of the room, keeping her head down, line of sight on the floor.
“Are these all yours?” Chris asked Vivian as he came to stand by her. Justin watched as Vivian shook her head and whispered,
“They’re all Lucy’s. Mine are over there,” she added before she pointed towards a small section of the room. It contained one, small trophy case and a few plaques and medals hanging from hooks on the wall.
Justin started his browsing of the room by looking at all of the things that belonged to Vivian’s sister. The girl was absolutely astounding. Intelligent, judging by the inter-city and national spelling bee championships she had won as a child, certificates claiming her advancement in higher level courses in college, and various promotions in her work force. She was creative as well, pictures of Lucy playing several instruments were hung on one section of the wall, a shadowbox was set up as well, showcasing a violin he assumed had once been Lucy’s. Not only was she smart and artistic, but she was also a stunning humanitarian. There were many awards and plaques of recognition for her charitable works - pictures of the girl as a teenager in Africa with orphans, feeding homeless at a shelter, and leading a peace rally. It seemed as if the girl’s life had been dedicated to helping others and catapulting herself into the professional world with little or no difficulties at all, a feat which astounded Justin.
After another fifteen minutes of looking at Lucy’s accomplishments, Justin made it to Vivian’s wall. It was dwarfed in size to her sister’s. Instead of a first place ribbon, a sixth place certificate at the Inter-City Spelling Bee, only two instruments learned, and a small picture showcasing her visit to Oklahoma to help tornado victims. Her diploma from a top-notch private high school in New York hung on the wall, as did her degree from Colombia.
“I don’t know where I went wrong,” Carolyn said behind Justin with a heavy sigh. He turned around to see her standing behind him, watching him view her daughter’s wall. He allowed her to stand beside him and she looked at the wall with calculating blue eyes.
“I tried to instill in her a sense of pride and intelligence at a young age but she never caught on. It’s a terrible thing to realize you failed in raising one of your children,” she said sadly, shaking her head.
“Vivian is extraordinary, I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have her working for us,” Justin stated gratingly as Carolyn started to shake her head even harder.
“Ah but if you had Lucy working for you…you wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Lucy is amazing at everything. If only you could meet her…”
“I don’t worry about anything with Vivian working for us. She takes care of me, of all of us…” he added quickly.
“She tries so hard but she always manages to fall just below the line of standard that this family holds dear to its heart. Such a shame…”
“Your daughter goes above and beyond the call of duty for us and for you. She tries so hard, too hard to please you and us.”
“She obviously isn’t working hard enough…” Carolyn stated icily and Justin raised an eyebrow at her comment.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well she wouldn’t be an assistant. If she worked hard enough she wouldn’t be answering to this Melinda Bell and she’d be running the Special Events Programs…”
“She’s only twenty years old! She’s a year older than me, you can’t expect her to be the head of a program that young!” he exclaimed.
“Look at your success and you’re only nineteen! And Lucy was about your age when she graduated from Harvard Law and she was being considered for partner at her law firm shortly before…” Carolyn’s voice broke as her eyes clouded over with tears.
“What happened to her?”
“Vivian was sixteen and Lucy was home visiting for the weekend and they got in some sort of argument about whose turn it was to practice the piano. Lucy got angry at her sister’s selfishness and left the apartment in a cab. Next thing we knew, the NYPD was calling us to come down to the station to identify a body,” her voice was bitter but laced with sadness and even though Justin’s imminent dislike of the woman was simmering under the surface, he still felt sympathy rising in his chest.
“She had so much promise, she was going places and to have her life taken away by some greedy, uncontrollable driver was just…terrible.” He watched as Carolyn stepped forward towards the wall, letting her hand rest on a picture of Vivian riding a horse in Central Park, “Lucy deserved better, she didn’t deserve to go like that. It should have been her…” Justin watched as Carolyn covered her youngest daughter’s face in the picture, his mouth open in horror.
“Mother?” Carolyn and Justin whirled around to see Vivian standing behind them, her face pale save for the terrible flush of red in her cheeks. Her eyes were swimming with tears and her hands were clenched into fists by her side.
“Vivian,” her mother said with a curt head nod, “Couldn’t you see Mr. Timberlake and I were having a conversation?” She stifled a sob as she turned around and rushed out of the room, leaving everyone behind. Carolyn began to tsk in disproval before she invited her guests into yet another room to view home movies.
Not knowing what to do, the guys followed reluctantly except for Justin. He quietly excused himself from the group, claiming he had to use the bathroom before he started his search for Vivian.
A few twists and turns through the penthouse later and he was horribly lost. There was no hope in getting back to the viewing party and he was sure the rest of the guys were growing restless being in the company of the Aldridges.
“She’s on the roof,” a voice said behind him and he turned to see the butler standing in a doorway, the kitchen just beyond him.
“What?”
“Miss Vivian always goes up there when she’s had a nasty fight with her mother or needs to get away from the pressures of life. There’s a flight of steps just down the hall, you can’t miss it.” With a word of thanks, Justin took off down the corridor, stopping at the stairs that led towards the private rooftop garden that was also a part of the Aldridge Penthouse.
Steeling himself, Justin started his ascent, opening the door that would grant him access to the rooftop. The wind whipped him around as he stepped out onto the roof, his hair falling into his eyes as he scanned the roof for Vivian. He finally found her, sitting on the edge of the building, her legs dangling over the edge while her upper body leaned against the railing.
Justin approached her cautiously, not wanting to startle her by his appearance. He could hear her choked back cries and he instantly felt his heart go out towards the young woman. He finally managed to stand next to her and she turned to look at him, her face streaked with tears, the wind whipping pieces of her hair into her face.
“Imagine having your own mother wishing you were dead,” she murmured as she let her chin rest against the railing.
“You know she doesn’t mean that,” Justin said soothingly as he mimicked her position on the edge of the building.
“And you know that was a bunch of bullshit that came out of your mouth,” she snapped, “Its okay to see that she wished I was the one who left that night instead of my perfect sister. She had that tragic beauty thing down pat. I’m beautifully tragic,” Vivian muttered and Justin shook his head as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
“She had no right to say that to me and she has no right to make you feel inferior,” he explained.
“Too bad I’ve been inferior my entire life,” she said glumly and Justin shook his head in disapproval. “I have. My entire life my parents have given Lucy anything and everything she wanted. She was their perfect daughter and then I came along. I couldn’t do anything right and my whole family thought I was a failure. My mother and father were so dedicated in making sure my sister was set on her path they completely forgot about me. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to impress them with a new song I learned on the piano or a difficult word I could spell out at age six when most adults didn’t even know it existed. But no matter what I did, my sister had already accomplished it and I was just seen as a copycat and someone who worshipped my sister. Those Rules to being perfect, my mother and Lucy devised them so I could be more like her and not publicly humiliate my family when I went out.
“I was so consumed with impressing my family I didn’t make any time for friends. Lucy was so popular and friends over all the time but I was so hell bent in making my family notice me for something other than failure that I never ventured out to make any friends. I’ve never had a boyfriend, hell, I’ve never been kissed even. Not that I care, I never had the time for that and I still don’t,” she added. Justin opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off as she started her rant again.
“That night she was killed, I was so glad I won the argument. We always acted close around our parents but when they were gone, the claws came out. She made my life a living hell and I made sure that she was as uncomfortable as possible whenever she was around me. We weren’t arguing over the piano, which was one of our codes for having a big fight about mom, dad, and life in general. I said some things that I regret now, that I wish I could take back, but she left and the next thing I knew she was dead.
“Mother and father didn’t speak to me for months on end. I think they forgot I existed for a while but then I started to get better at my skills and talents and they started to take notice. I admit I was enjoying the attention for a bit, but then all they could do was compare me to Lucy and how Lucy would have done it differently and how Lucy wouldn’t have gone to Colombia, and how Lucy wouldn’t have settled for assistant to some woman for some ratty old boy band that was just a flash in the pan…Sorry,” she added when she realized she had gone over the edge. Justin merely patted her shoulder in sympathy and she sighed heavily.
“I guess you realize why I am the way I am. Sorry you had to meet my family,”
“Well if I said I enjoyed it I’m sure you would push me over the edge of this building…” he joked hoping making light of the situation would help things.
“I’m not stupid. You have a televised show tonight that you can’t miss. I’ll kill you once the show is over,” she added and he rolled his eyes as she untangled herself from her seat. He did the same and the two stood facing each other, Vivian looking up into his eyes.
“Thanks for listening,” she said sheepishly.
“Thanks for letting me,” he replied. They stood there in silence for a moment, both reveling in the silence and the beauty of the day. Justin moved in closer to hug her but her cell phone suddenly went off. Picking off of her belt loop, she opened it up and pressed it to her ear.
“Oh shit,” she said after listening to the person on the other end of the phone. She fired off some information before she slammed the phone back into its holster and grabbed Justin’s hand, “You have sound check in half an hour…”
“Is it really that late?” he asked and he glanced at his watch, it was almost four o’clock. He cursed under his breath and he nearly fell over as Vivian started to run for the door, her hand still firmly clasped in his.
“And this was when we took a trip to Washington D.C. and Lucy gave a speech at…” Lucy began as she watched the paused picture on the screen with a loving gaze. Lance elbowed JC in the stomach who was nodding off in the small viewing room that the Aldridges used to view old home movies of their family. The guys tried to get into it but after the small display of unaffectionate outbursts in the trophy room, they found that all they wanted to do was find Vivian and Justin and get the hell out of the penthouse.
“Sorry to break up the pow wow,” a voice said from the doorway. Lance, Joey, JC, and Chris turned around so quickly in their seats their backs cracked. Chris groaned in protest and Joey laughed as he smacked his older friend on the back. Lance rolled his eyes as he got to his feet and walked towards Vivian and Justin.
“What’s up?”
“Sound check, half an hour. We need to get going,” Vivian explained simply. The rest of the guys bounded to their feet and made their way to the front of the penthouse, happy that they were finally leaving.
“Half an hour? Lucy would have realized the time and gotten them there at least an hour early. Really Vivian I don’t know why they keep you around if you keep losing track of time so often. Sometimes I wish…” Carolyn criticized as they stood at the front entrance of the penthouse. Lance was ready to slam Chris against the wall seeing as he was practically opening and closing the front door indicating that they should leave as soon as possible. But the rest of the group was watching the small confrontation that was taking place on the marble floor in front of them.
“Sometimes you wish I was dead instead of Lucy,” Vivian stated quietly. Lance’s heart immediately went out towards the girl and he wanted nothing more than to open the door and usher them out instead of listening to what her mother said next.
“Yes I do. How could I present a muddy rock to society when I had a gorgeous diamond but lost it?” A hushed silence came over the front hall and Lance saw Vivian’s eyes harden before she walked towards the door.
“Thank you for your hospitality mother, father,” she said hollowly before she opened the door and stormed out. The rest of the guys thanked Mr. and Mrs. Aldridge somberly before they joined Vivian in the waiting elevator.
She was standing in one of the corners, looking straight ahead at the control panel, her eyes unmoving. Lance wanted to go over and comfort her but he knew it was neither the time nor place.
They rode to the ground floor in silence, Vivian checking her watch every so often as they continued on their way. They finally reached the bottom and Vivian walked outside, making sure the vehicle was still there.
Once she had cleared everything, the guys filed out of the building and into the SUV, Vivian already sitting in the backseat. Lance took a seat in between JC and Joey; Chris was sitting next to Justin who was sitting next to Vivian. He had his arm around her shoulders and she was resting her head on his shoulder, her quiet sobs echoing through the silent cab.
They made small talk about the concert that night, being careful to avoid the subject of Vivian’s house and the encounter with her parents. Only Justin and Vivian remained silent during their fifteen-minute drive down to the venue.
Once they finally pulled into the backstage area, the guys piled out of the car, Vivian staying put.
“Aren’t you coming?” Lance inquired as Vivian stayed in her seat. She shook her head and waved at them sadly.
“I’m going back to the hotel,” she said simply, “I made the necessary calls regarding tonight this morning. All you have to do is do the sound check and the party, get suited up and give them one hell of a show. Remember to get back to the hotel early. You have the Today Show at five AM tomorrow. Break a leg.” And she quickly closed the car door, the black vehicle making it’s way back into New York traffic.
“That was a pretty shitty way to spend the day off,” Joey commented as they made their way to the head of the stage.
“You’re telling me. I swear if I ever act like that with my kids, please kill me,” JC muttered.
“Gladly,” Chris responded, “Next thing you know there’ll be wire hangers involved.”
“For all we know, there could have been,” Lance remarked and the group fell silent, “But we have to put that behind us and put on a killer show. If not for us then for Vivian. She deserves it.”
And for once they all agreed.
