Oreos for Breakfast: Nick BSB Fiction

Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 17
By The Paperbag Princess and The Pumpkin Coach

Corresponding Message Board Posts (Fictional!)

The TV was on for about five minutes before I even noticed it as anything other than background noise. Then I saw a plane fly directly into the World Trade Center and I fell into the nearest chair, half undressed.

The announcers didn't sound like they really knew what was happening. This is live, right? I glanced over to the clock - it was just before 9 in the morning. I couldn't believe I was still awake, too wired from being in the bus all night to just crawl into bed and sleep. I turned my attention back to the television, trying to figure out what was going on. Did a pilot take a wrong turn at JFK?

Before I could form another thought, I saw another plane slam into the other Tower, and chaos exploded everywhere - on the TV, in the hallway, in my mind. I caught the news person say something about this being an attack. That can't be right, can it? Were we under attack? Well, not 'we', not at the moment, I was in Toronto.

Where was Rachel? Chicago. Sears Tower. Financial center. Shit.

Where was my family? The girls were home, right? But Aaron was… Aaron was in New York, with Mom and Dad, that Michael Jackson tribute concert was last night, wasn't it?

Michael Jackson arranging a tribute to himself… man, was there no end to the man's ego? I could hear Rachel's voice in my head; we'd been laughing about that last night on the phone.

Was I ever going to laugh with her again? Hell, with anyone? I felt like the world might be ending.

I figured out someone was shouting my name, and I opened my door, finding AJ standing outside, Sarah holding his hand and looking as scared as I felt. I hated them for a second, because I wanted to be standing there with Rachel, knowing she was safe.

She was safe. She had to be safe. Nothing had happened in Chicago; I should not be panicking.

Doors were opening up and down the hallway at the panic in AJ's voice. "Leighanne was leaving for LA this morning!" he yelled, pushing past me and pointing at the television. "That's a fucking passenger plane. It has to be!"

None of us said a word, just looked at one another and the TV. Rachel was fine, I knew that. She was safely in Chicago flirting with the British press. We'd talked for hours last night during that boring bus ride from Boston. But Leighanne might be in the air. Who else was flying… who else should we be worried about?

My family. They were flying out this morning, weren't they? They didn't have the bus; they flew into New York just for the show. I couldn't remember if they were leaving today or if Aaron had press or something in the city.

All at once, I tried to find a shirt, call Rachel and my family, and find Aaron's itinerary in my bag. No. That wasn't going to work. Stop, Nick. Think. I tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in my throat.

Clothes first. Panic next.

I pulled a T-shirt over my head, just staring at everyone as they watched the television and talked over one another. Grabbing my cell phone, I hit Rachel's number on speed dial and got… nothing. Not even a busy signal, not an 'all circuits are busy' message, just nothing.

My heart leapt into my throat, and I just stood there shaking, staring at the phone. It was fine. She had a New York exchange. The lines were probably down. Magnetic forces or something. Shockwaves across the world.

I dialed Aaron, but I didn't even hear if it picked up or not, because AJ was yelling again. "God fucking damnit! Someone get Brian on the goddamned fucking phone! Or Kevin, Kevin will know!"

"What?" I asked, looking at Howie, who was calm. Hell, I think he was still half-asleep.

"They just said both flights were Boston bound for LA, Nick."

I couldn't move. Leighanne was going to LA, and she was leaving out of Boston sometime this morning.

"And Danny," Howie said quietly. "He was going home for the baby."

Oh, fuck. Danny, one of our crew, was leaving the tour to go home and be with his wife when she had their second baby. She had some procedure scheduled for tomorrow.

Howie and I just looked at one another. Suddenly it wasn't something bizarre happening on the television, it was real. We had just been in Boston. Hell, it could have been me on one of those planes. I was thinking about flying out to surprise Rachel in Chicago, but she was going to be too busy, so she told me not to come.

I searched for Brian's number next, scrolling through all the numbers in my phone… shit, why did I have so many numbers stored? After scrolling through twice, I found it. I held my breath as it rang and rang, but finally he answered. "Nicky? She's right here."

I collapsed into a chair in relief, nodding to the other fellas in the room. Howie's new guard and Frank had joined us, along with a couple of dancers. They were all eerily quiet, watching the television or me. "Wasn't she leaving this morning?"

"We overslept. She decided to come to Toronto after all. She would have been on that American Airlines flight. I'm holding the fucking ticket in my hand."

Brian never cursed. I could hear the panic in his voice.

"Man, Bri. Just… thank god. How is she?"

"She's talking to her mom right now. I think she's freaking out."

"Where are you?"

"We're on the bus, with Kevin. He got on about 15 minutes ago. He didn't want to watch this alone. Wait, he's got my mom on the phone."

"I'll let you go, bro. Give Leighanne a kiss from all of us. I've got all the fellas in my room."

"Talk to Rachel? Is she okay?" he asked quickly, and I heard all sorts of commotion on his end of the phone.

The panic rose into my chest again, and I shook my head. "Can't get through. She's got a New York exchange."

"She's okay, I'm sure. I'll say a prayer anyway."

He clicked off. Rachel didn't need prayers! Rachel was fine! I told the others everything Brian had said, and Frank shook his head. "They're not gonna get here. They're gonna close the borders."

That inspired a discussion of the show. I let them all talk as I hit Rachel's number again and got nothing.

Aaron, and my parents. They were there. Maybe they had an early flight, or maybe they'd left after the show last night? I dialed Aaron's cell phone again, getting up to find my backpack. His itinerary had to be in there somewhere. At least his phone rang. Three… four… it was probably off, he was probably on his flight home.

No. No, be asleep in a hotel room somewhere, not on a plane.

"Mom?" his voice said, sounding scared, and very, very young.

"No, it's me, bro. Where are you?"

He burst into tears, and my heart sank. Aaron didn't cry. Carter men didn't cry. He tried to say something about Mom and Dad, and a plane, and he saw it, and…

"Aaron!" I finally yelled, and everyone in the room turned to look at me. Why was my room panic central? "Stop it. What is going on?"

He was quiet for a second at the tone in my voice, gasping for breath, and I felt bad for yelling at him. But he was freaking me out. Mom was on a plane right now? Why wasn't Aaron with her? I started ripping through my backpack, Mom always sent me copies of Aaron's schedule. I'd probably doodled on the back of it while I was on the phone or something, but it had to be here.

"Tell me what happened, A. Okay? Stop crying. Where are you?"

Was he in the World Trade Center? Was he on another flight that was headed for god knows where, hijacked by god knows who?

"I saw it, Nick. The car was having trouble, and we pulled over, and I saw it. It was flying so low, and then it just crashed into one of the tall towers. It was Mom and Dad's plane, I just know it. They were leaving first."

"No, it wasn't!" I yelled before I could help myself. It wasn't… it couldn't be. It wasn't. No. I knew it wasn't. "Stop panicking. Those planes were coming out of Boston, okay? Not New York. They just said so on the news. Mom and Dad are fine. Do you have their flight number? Maybe they're not even in the air."

"Boston?" he asked, sounding hopeful for the first time.

"Boston. Where are you? Are you not watching the news?"

"I'm in a limo. On the Jersey turnpike, I think. I'm supposed to be on my way to the airport with Mike, but I'm never getting on another plane again."

Mike, his bodyguard and our friend. I'd known Mike since I was 13 or something. That was good, Aaron was with somebody I trusted.

He was just a kid, my brother. Only 13 years old. Why the fuck did Mom and Dad leave before him? He wasn't old enough to be left alone!

"Well, not today. They stopped flying anywhere, just heard that. Do you have their schedule? Damnit!" I yelled, emptying my backpack on the floor. It had to be in here somewhere!

Suddenly there were warm arms around me, and I let Sarah guide me back to the couch. I loved girls. The guys were just staring at me, but Sarah hugged me and I felt better.

"Nick?" Aaron asked carefully, and I wiped my eyes, trying to be calm. I had to be the calm one now. I was the big brother.

"It's okay, A. I can't find your schedule… I wanted to know…" His itinerary appeared in front of me, and I looked up at Frank's impassive face. Okay, bodyguards were good, too. Of course Frank had Aaron's schedule. He had Rachel's, too, in a nice little binder. He knew where everyone was because that was his job.

"They're flying, Nick," Aaron said, his voice quiet and terrified. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Toronto. I'm sitting here with the fellas, so don't worry about me. Frank just found the schedule. Mom and Pop's flight was supposed to take off at 9:01." I looked over at the clock, it was 9:25. When did the first plane hit? Nothing took off after that, right? "I bet they're just sitting on the runway and have no idea what's going on."

"You can't use cell phones when you're on the runway."

"Right," I told him. "So that's why we can't get through."

Rachel wasn't on a plane. Why didn't her phone work?

"Nick?"

His voice snapped me back, "Yeah, bro?"

"What should I do?"

I leaned back against the couch, covering my eyes with my hand. I had no idea what he should do. "Where are you, again?"

"On the Turnpike. No one's moving, everyone just pulled over. It's creepy. The sky is so blue, Nick, and then there's this black smoke just hovering over there." His voice broke, and I tried not to completely lose it, "Do you think there are more? Should I just stay here?"

"No, I…" I drifted off, unsure. More? No, this couldn't get worse. AJ tapped my shoulder, and I looked at him. "Hold on, AJ's asking me something."

"Where is he?" AJ wanted to know.

"He's on the New Jersey Turnpike, on his way to the airport. Mom and Dad are already there ahead of him. He saw the plane hit the Tower."

AJ's eyebrows went up, and he let out a low whistle. "Fuck."

"They're going to ground all flights soon, I think." Frank said, and I turned my head to look at him.

"Where should he go then?"

"The airport," he said definitively. "I know your mother, and once she figures out what is going on, she'll want him there. She'll walk into the city if she has to, so let's make it easier on her."

I had to laugh at the thought of my mother fighting with whoever stood in her way to get to Aaron. Frank was right. "A, tell the driver to take you to the airport."

"But…" he started, and I cut him off.

"Mom's there, right? Keep trying her cell. You know Mom, she'll have a plan. But go now. Don't sit there and watch." That had to be bad. I could barely look at the TV. I couldn't imagine being there and seeing it in person. "I'm gonna go. I bet she's trying to call both of us. Call me back if you get to the airport and you haven't heard from her, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed, his voice shaky. "Thanks."

"I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"Love you, Nicky."

I clicked off my phone and looked around at everyone. "He should leave, right?" Everyone agreed at once, and I just let their reassurances wash over me. My family was okay. They had to be. Rachel told me that she knew when her dad died, she'd just felt it.

Rachel. Where was Rachel? If I could talk to her, I'd feel better. My phone rang, and I jumped, looking down at it. Not Aaron, not Rachel, it was a number I knew… Rachel's mom. Why was her mom calling me? What did she know that I didn't? I answered the phone carefully. "Hello?"

"Nick? This is Kate Connor. Have you heard from her?"

The room spun, and I couldn't even think straight for a moment. "No."

Rachel would call her mom the second she heard this news, I was sure of it. That's the kind of family they were. She wouldn't call me, she'd call her mom and make sure everything was okay, then she'd call me.

Kate was going on, and I tried to pay attention and not panic. "Maybe she's not even awake yet. They had a show last night, didn't they?"

"Yeah… we were up late talking." And having phone sex and being silly. Giggling over nothing until she nearly fell asleep on me. My chest ached again, and I wanted to scream.

"Then I'm sure she's still asleep. I can't get calls in right now, and her cell isn't working."

"I know," I breathed.

"Called it a million times, have you?" she laughed. She laughed like Rachel. She wouldn't be laughing if she thought something had happened, right? "I called her hotel, but I must have her assumed name wrong, because they won't let me through."

"Which one are you using? Porn star or superhero?" Shit, did I just say 'porn' to Rachel's mom?

She laughed again. "I'm using Pumpkin Valley. She never mentioned that was a porn star name."

"Well, um, it is," I had to admit.

"And I thought she was just being sweet, remembering the name of her first pet!"

I laughed, the panic lessening in my chest. I loved Rachel's mom. I hoped that Rachel would be just like her in 25 years. "Nick Zephyr, try that one. Can you give me the number of their hotel?"

She did, and when I hung up, I could breathe again. Rachel was fine.

Chapter added: 1/11/03

Disclaimer | Sudden Silence Website
Feedback to Authors | Tragical Fiction (home)

Subscribe to receive an email when this site is updated!

Powered by groups.yahoo.com