Destiny closed her eyes and picture her and AJ together. She felt as if something had bloomed within her and opened her eyes. For a second, she saw AJ, tears in his eyes. I love you, Destiny,he said. It was so faint, she almost didn’t hear it. Then he disappeared. A few minutes later, Brian came up the stairs.
“Destiny,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” she said, lost for a minute. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
“Okay. Well, it’s time to start. They’re lining up the wedding party down below.”
“Alright. Could you grab Lance while I get Hunter? He’s crawling your way.”
“Sure.” Brian bent down and picked up Lance. He made some funny faces at him while Lance laughed. “You have some great kids, Destiny. I hope I have some as cool as yours.”
“I’m sure you will,” Destiny said as she picked up Hunter. Together they walked down the stairs.
Destiny saw her parents and Denise McLean. Destiny handed Hunter over to Aerial Morningdove, while Brian handed Lance over to Denise. The two grandparents went inside the church and took their seats. Destiny and Brian were lined up side by side in the wedding party. Brian offered his arm which Destiny took. A few minutes later, the “Wedding March” was playing and the wedding party made its way down the aisle.
A few hours later....
“Isn’t this a great time or what?” Brian asked Destiny.
“It’s awesome,” Destiny said, smiling at Brian’s enthusiasm. “Does Autumn’s presence have anything to do with that smile on your face?”
Brian laughed. “Yeah, it does. Autumn is so different from any other woman I’ve ever met. A couple of those girls I went out with didn’t seem that interested in Brian Littrell as they were in Brian, Backstreet Boy. It didn’t matter how hard they tried to hide it, I could still tell. Then Autumn came along and it’s like she’s really trying to get to know me as a person.”
“I’m glad. Autumn seemed to be the only one of my friends to stop asking questions about Alex after I told her about us. She was never more interested in AJ, Backstreet Boy than Alex, my husband. She’s one of those people who looks deeper than what she sees.”
“Is that why you set her up with me?” Brian asked.
“One of the reasons,” Destiny admitted. “But I also thought she would be a good friend to you, something you really needed.”
“Thanks, Destiny,” said Brian. “Have you.... talked..... to Leighanne?”
“She called me a few days ago,” said Destiny. “She wanted to tell me about some big producer she met last week. Are you ready to talk about why you two broke off the engagement?”
“Not yet.” Brian spotted Autumn walking towards them. “I’ll see you later, Destiny.”
They gave each other a brief hug before Brian met Autumn half way. Autumn waved and smiled at Destiny, then led Brian onto the dance floor. All of a sudden the music stopped and Estella and Nick were standing in front of everyone in the reception hall.
“Everybody listen up,” Nick said. “Me and Estella were in another room, talking and listening to the radio when we heard something. Destiny, where are you?”
Destiny got up from her seat and walked towards the front of the crowd. “What is it?”
“There’s a dedication to you on the radio,” Estella said. “Everyone, please be quiet so we can all hear.”
Estella grabbed the radio and turned up the volume. Nick held the microphone up to one of the speakers. They could all hear a commercial being played, then the DJ came back on.
“Welcome back to the XL 106.7 request show,” said the DJ. “We have a couple requests for this next song. From Eric to Sarah, ‘You’re my heart, my soul and I love you forever’, from David to Monica, ‘Monica, you complete my life. Will you marry me?’. Monica, if you’re listening, please call the station with your answer. And last but not least, a very strange request. We got faxed this request just a few minutes before the break. From Alex to Destiny, ‘I love you and I miss you. Never give up hope’. We’ll have a little discussion about that one after the song, but until then, here’s Ricky Martin with ‘She’s All I Ever Had’.”
Every single person in the crowded reception hall didn’t make one sound during the song. Destiny was surrounded by her mom, dad, mother-in-law, brother, and sisters. Destiny listened closely to the song. She hadn’t heard it in a long time. Then she was taken back to the first time she heard it while AJ was still alive.
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
She’s the air I breathe
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
It’s the way she makes me feel
It’s the only thing that’s real
It’s the way she understands
She’s my lover, she’s my friend
When I look into her eyes
It’s the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She’s all I’ll ever need
She much time
So much pain
But there’s one thing
That still remained. Is the
The way she cared
The love we shared
And through it all
She’s always been there
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
In a world so cold, so empty
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
It’s the way she makes me feel
It’s the only thing that’s real
It’s the way she understands
She’s my lover, she’s my friend
When I look into her eyes
It’s the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She’s all I’ll ever need
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
I have to make her see
She’s all
She’s all I ever had
It’s the way she makes me feel
It’s the only thing that’s real
It’s the way she understands
She’s my lover, she’s my friend
When I look into her eyes
It’s the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She’s all I’ll ever need
It’s the way she makes me feel
It’s the only thing that’s real
It’s the way she understands
She’s my lover, she’s my friend
When I look into her eyes
It’s the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She’s all I’ll ever need
Here I am
Still no one said anything when the DJ started talking again.
“Okay,” she went on. “We all know that there could be another Alex and Destiny out there, right?”
“Right,” said her co-worker.
“But the only one that comes to mind when I hear those names is AJ McLean and his wife Destiny.”
“That’s the only one I can think that you and I both know,” said the co-worker.
“Have we looked into this?” she asked. “Have we been able to find out where this fax came from?”
“We have looked while the song was playing,” he said. “And we were not able to tell where it came from. There is no return address, so to speak. It could’ve come from anywhere.”
“Well, I have a couple things to say,” said the DJ.
“We knew you would,” said the co-worker.
“No, I’m being serious,” she said. “As everyone well knows, AJ McLean was killed in a robbery at a jewelry store in Boston, Massachusetts. Now it’s been what? Five months since that tragic thing happened?”
“That’s right,” he said.
“Well, to all our listeners right now,” the DJ went on. “We don’t know where that fax came from. We could have it checked out, and we’re probably going to, but if this is what someone considers a practical joke, it’s not funny. I mean, that was a very terrible thing to have happen to the Backstreet Boys, their fans, and especially AJ’s wife, Destiny.”
“Let’s not forget their two sons, Lance and Hunter,” reminded the co-worker.
“Right, their seven-month-old twins. We know there were some people who didn’t think it was all that horrible, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to make a joke out of it. Destiny, if you’re listening, we’re really sorry. In fact, we probably shouldn’t have even read it. If someone is behind this, we will find them. Now on to our other requests.....”
Estella turned off the radio and looked at her sister. Destiny’s face had gone totally white and looked like she was about to faint at any moment. Everyone else was looking at her, too. Her parents walked her over to an empty table near the front of the dance floor. She sat down very slowly.
“Why would someone do that?” Aerial said, upset. “Who could be so cruel?”
“Just ignore it, sweetheart,” Justin said. “Come on, I’ll take you home. You’ve had enough excitement for tonight.”
Just then Nick and Estella walked over to them.
“We’re sorry about that, big sister,” Estella said, tears in her eyes. “We just thought considering what happened before, the same thing could happen with Alex. We thought you should hear it.”
Destiny smiled a little, fearing that any moment she would break to a million pieces like brittle glass. “That’s okay, little star. Really, it is.”
“Are you sure?” Nick asked. “We really sorry if it upset you.”
“No, I’m fine.” She turned to Justin. “Dad, I’d like to go home. Could Lance and Hunter stay the night with you and Mom? I just want to be alone at the house.”
“Of course, dear,” Aerial said.
Destiny went into the other room and kissed her sleeping sons goodnight. Aerial said she would say Destiny’s goodbyes to the others. She nodded and headed out to her father’s car with Justin. Fifteen minutes later, Destiny walked inside her house after saying goodnight to her father. She changed out of her bridesmaid’s dress and put on some sweats and a tank top. She made some hot tea, then walked outside to sit on a lounge chair by the pool.
Destiny had turned on the sound system, music coming out of the speakers installed outside in the pool area. After sitting outside for a while, just when Destiny was about to walk back inside, she heard “She’s All I Ever Had” playing on the radio. Destiny sat back down and cried.