The next day proved to be a difficult one for Abigail. The two days that her and Kevin spent together at his place proved to be a safe haven for Abigail, because she knew her surroundings and Kevin was never far away. Now they were on a plane that was on it’s way to Atlanta, the next stop on the Backstreet Boys Black & Blue North American tour. Kevin and Abigail had spent a great deal of time discussing what things would be like on the road. He explained that he would do his best to spend as much time as he could with her, but he had his commitments to the group that he couldn’t ignore. At the time they had the discussion, she understood and didn’t want to interfere with his work at all. She told him that she would be fine knowing that Kevin was never far away. At least that’s what she thought.

Abigail felt good as she sat in Kevin’s arms while they were on the plane. She honestly felt like she was improving. She was still having some problems sleeping at night and still had some issues to discuss with Dr. Steep, but she was feeling stronger with each passing day. She was looking forward to spending one month on tour with Kevin, because it would give them an opportunity to get to know each other better and she was genuinely interested in learning more about what went into such a large-scale tour.

“I have to go up and talk to Tim for a few minutes. Will you be ok here?” Kevin asked, sensing Abigail had relaxed considerably since the plane took off.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Abigail replied as she sat up. She wasn’t left alone for very long before Howie occupied Kevin’s seat. “Hey Howie.” Abigail said, pleased to have some company.

“Are you excited?” Howie asked as he tried to keep Abigail occupied. All the other guys had promised Kevin that they would try to help Abigail by keeping her busy or occupied. They all know Kevin couldn’t be there for Abigail 24-hours a day, but with their help she wouldn’t have to spend very much time alone.

“Very excited! I’ve never had the opportunity to travel in the past, so I’m really looking forward to seeing different parts of North America.” Abigail said, honestly excited about the prospect of traveling and even more excited that she was traveling with Kevin.

“We should have some time off in each city, so we’ll have to make sure you see more than just the hotels.” Howie said.

“Hey Howie. Tim wants to talk to you for a few minutes.” Kevin said as he returned to his seat. “What were you and Howie talking about?” Kevin asked once he took his seat beside Abigail again.

“I was just telling him how excited I was about traveling to all these new places.” Abigail said as she settled back into Kevin’s arms.

“I can’t believe you never made it out of New York State before moving down to Orlando. You’ll get to see more of the world with me than you ever imagined.” Kevin said.

“If I remember correctly, you said you will be traveling to Europe, Australia and Asia after this leg of the tour right.” Abigail said, envious of all the places Kevin would get to visit. There was no way she could leave her job to accompany Kevin to those places.

“Yep, they’re working on putting the dates together for the European tour as we speak. It’s been almost two years since we’ve been to Europe, so it will be cool to visit some of our favorite places again. We spent so much time there before we broke over here in the US, that it almost feels like home when we go back.” Kevin replied.

“So you’ve all ready had the opportunity to travel around the world with the group.” Abigail inquired.

“Yeah. But there are some places I would love to go back to on vacation. One of these days we’ll be able to take some serious time off.” Kevin said, longing for the day.

For the remainder of the flight, Kevin and Abigail talked casually about a variety of different things. They both laughed when Nick stopped by to proudly display his new high score in some video game. They also laughed as AJ started bugging Howie and Nick while they were trying to kill each other in a video game. Nick chased AJ around the plane when he lost due to the distractions. Meanwhile Howie thanked AJ for helping him win. He said it was fun kicking Nick’s butt. Abigail thrived when she was with the other guys. They were so easy going and were always making fun of someone. Today Nick was the victim, but most days Howie fell victim to their teasing. She could see the smirk on his face when he beat Nick; he was enjoying the fact that the tables were turned for a change. Some days she wondered how Kevin fit into the group with his stringent work ethic and need to be a perfectionist, but as time progressed, she figured out that he was integral part to the dynamics of the group. They expected him to pay attention to the small details and respected his opinion. It gave them the opportunity to slack off a little and goof off and meant they didn’t have to quite as serious.

******************

A few hours later, they finally arrived at the hotel after a mix up with their luggage. As Kevin and Abigail checked in to their room, Abigail tried to ignore the anxiety that she felt building. She tried to focus on the dinner and movie that the group and crew had planned for that night, but she the anxiety continued to grow.

Kevin put his arms around Abigail’s waist as they stood and waited for the elevator. They would have a few hours before dinner and he was looking forward to spending some time alone with Abigail. They hadn’t made love since the incident and Kevin needed to remind Abigail of how much he loved her. As the elevator doors opened, Kevin felt Abigail tense in his arms. “What’s wrong Abi?” Kevin asked.

Abigail turned around and faced Kevin. She couldn’t get onto the elevator. It was the first time she would have to go back into a confined space that was similar in size to the closet Frank had pulled her into. “Can we take the stairs?” Abigail asked quietly.

“But we’re on the 14^th floor Abi. There’s nothing wrong with the elevator. I’ll be right there with you.” Kevin said, confused by Abigail’s request.

Abigail took a deep breath and entered the elevator with Kevin and Carlos. When they first entered the elevator Abigail thought that she would be ok. She needed to face her fear, that’s what Dr. Steep kept telling her.

Kevin took a terrified Abigail in his arms as the elevator started to move up to the 14^th floor. He had no idea why Abigail was so afraid, but he would insist that she call Dr. Steep that afternoon and talk to him about it.

Abigail watched as the slowly rose floor by floor. By the time they reached the 9^th floor, she felt like she had a heavy weight on her chest and she was having difficulties breathing. She started to panic. She needed to get out.

Kevin tried to calm Abigail down when she started hyperventilating and screaming, “Let me out.” Fortunately the elevator stopped a few seconds later and Abigail stumbled from the elevator and started gasping for air. “Carlos, call the hotel’s doctor.” Kevin said as she scooped a terrified Abigail into his arms and carried her to their room. By the time he put her down on the bed, she was crying uncontrollably. Kevin tried to calm her down by holding her in his arms and gently rocking her, but nothing seemed to be working. He was equally as terrified because he had no idea what triggered Abigail’s attack.

“What happened Mr. Richardson?” the doctor asked as Carlos let him into the room.

“She started to freak out while we were on the elevator. It was almost like she couldn’t breath. I think she started hyperventilating.” Kevin said as he gently placed Abigail on the bed so the doctor could examine her.

“Does she have any phobias that you know of?” the doctor asked.

“No, but she was kidnapped for a brief period of time a few days ago and she’s still having problems dealing with that.” Kevin explained.

“Has she talked to anyone about the kidnapping?” the doctor asked as he checked Abigail’s blood pressure, it was a tad on the high side.

“Yes. Her psychiatrists name is Dr. Steep. I have his telephone number if you need to talk to him.” Kevin said.

“She appears to be calming down and her blood pressure is dropping. Can I have Dr. Steep’s number? I’d like to consult with him before I proceed.” The doctor said. Kevin grabbed his organizer and jotted the number down on a piece of paper and handed it to the doctor.  ‘I’m just going to go down to my office for a few minutes. I’ll be back up once I have spoken to Dr. Steep. Keep an eye on her and try to keep her calm.” The doctor said as he left the room.

Kevin sat down on the bed beside Abigail and gently pushed hair off her face. “Abigail honey. It’s Kevin. What happened back there?” he asked.

“It reminded me of the closet. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it out alive.” Abigail said as she started to cry again. Now that it was over, it all seemed ridiculous. ‘He must think I’ve lost my mind.’ Abigail said to herself.

“It’s ok Abigail, calm down. You’re safe. Look around; we’re in the hotel room now. No one can harm you now.” Kevin said.

“I couldn’t help it Kevin. I knew I wasn’t in any danger when we got onto the elevator, but after a few seconds in the confined space I couldn’t control my thoughts anymore. It was like my fears had taken over and I just couldn’t breath anymore. It felt like there was a dead weight on my chest.” Abigail explained as she tried to calm herself down, but explaining it to Kevin only served to upset her further.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take you request to take the stairs more seriously.” Kevin said as he gently ran his fingers through Abigail’s hair, in hopes that it would help to calm her down.

“No, don’t be sorry. I’m supposed to be facing my fears not running away from them. I’m going to have to get over it.” Abigail said.

Carlos had just let the doctor back into the room. He quickly checked her blood pressure and pulse again and was satisfied that they had returned to a more normal level. “ I spoke to Dr. Steep. He’s asked me to prescribe a mild antidepressant for you, but he would like you to call him as soon as you feel up to talking.” The doctor said.

“Where can we get this prescription filled?” Kevin asked.

“There is a pharmacy just down the street. You should be able to call the order in and have it delivered.” The doctor replied.

“Thank-you for your quick response.” Kevin said as he walked the doctor to the door and extended his hand.

The doctor took Kevin’s hand and shook it. “Not a problem. I’m happy I could help. Please don’t hesitate to call me if she becomes upset again.” The doctor said.