***RECAP: He sniffed loudly, and stood up. "Nick, buddy, where ya going?" asked Brian worriedly. "I’m going for a walk," Nick whimpered, as he spun around and walked briskly out the door.***
The four boys sat in complete silence in Howie’s living room, waiting for Nick to come back. He hadn’t told them where he was going, or when he’d be back, but somehow Kevin thought he probably wouldn’t be back that day.
"Where the fuck is he?!" Brian burst out suddenly, "this is bullshit!"
"Don’t worry, buddy, he’ll be okay....he probably walked home," reasoned Howie, furrowing his eyes in worry.
Brian shook his head. "This can not continue," he said softly, picking up the phone and dialing Nick’s number.
***********************
Nick wandered aimlessly around town, walking up and down familiar streets and past familiar buildings. He had stopped crying, but he was far from okay.
‘I-I just don’t know what to do,’ he thought to himself, ‘three weeks ago I didn’t even know this girl....and now she’s controlling my life! She probably hates me anyway...’
Nick glanced at his watch, which said it was five thirty in the afternoon. "Oh shit," he muttered to himself. He was supposed to meet the boys at their manager, Lou Perlman’s, office, but he didn’t feel like going. "Fuck it," he said to himself, as he turned down his street toward his house, "I don’t wanna go....I don’t wanna have to deal with AJ right now."
***********************
"Where’s Nicky today?" asked Lou, as the four other guys sat motionlessly in his office. They had left Howie’s house not knowing where he was at all, and didn’t have the slightest clue where he was now. He hadn’t picked up the phone at his house, so it was all up to him.
"He’s...uh....not feeling well today," Brian lied, looking at his hands, "he asked if he could just take the day off to rest."
"Oh, no problem," said Lou with a smile on his face, "it’s important that Nick always feel 100%....the whole hospital scare really threw us all off and if he needs time to recuperate, then he’s entitled."
The boys smiled wanly. They hated lying more than anything, but especially to their mentor.
The meeting continued, but it was shorter than expected. The minute they left Lou’s office, Kevin whipped out his cell phone. "I don’t know where that little son of a bitch is, but he knew we had a meeting today, and he can’t expect us to cover for him all the time," he said, dialing Nick’s number.
"Oh just let him go," AJ said with no expression whatsoever, "he’s pissed off, but just let him cool off......he’s too fickle to hold a grudge for too long."
"Fickle?" asked Brian, narrowing his eyes at AJ, "You’re calling HIM fickle?"
AJ didn’t answer, but kept walking. Brian had to bite his lip to refrain from saying anything else....the last thing he wanted was to start a disagreement.
***************************
Nick lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He kept imagining Lauren, earlier in the day when they saw her at the mall, and when she had walked away from AJ. "That bastard!" he said out loud, his voice quavering a bit, "it’s his fault she left.....it’s his fault I’m miserable!"
"Nick!" his mom called from downstairs, "Brian’s here!"
Nick blinked but didn’t move. "Nick!" his mom called again, "I’m sending him upstairs!"
Still, Nick didn’t move. He wasn’t really in the mood to see anyone right now, even his best friend. All of a sudden, the door opened slowly, and Brian poked his head in. "Hey buddy," he said softly, "how are ya doing?"
Nick sighed and sat up. "Not too well, B-rok," he said, not smiling, "I just can’t...."
"I know Frack, I know," Brian interrupted, sitting down beside him on the bed, "but you can’t let everything that’s happened bring you down. There are so many people out there, and there are some that are bound to break your heart......she pretty much hurt us all, Nicky, but she was in and out of all of our lives in a second."
Nick bit his lip to hold back the impending tears. "I’d like to move on.....really, I’m trying my hardest, but I can’t," he said tearily.
"You....you just hang in there, buddy, all right? Everything will be okay....I promise," Brian said, patting him on the shoulder. Nick nodded, as Brian explained he really had to go. Nick watched him walk out the door as another stray tear rolled silently down his cheek. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen....something really bad.
IF YOU KNEW WHAT I KNEW MAIN PAGE
Get your own Free Home Page