| Chapter 70 Over the next week everyone attended the lessons. They had gone from two hours to five hours, with Nick's persistence. Everyone seemed to be learning pretty fast. Nick and Lyn had advanced more than the others. They signed to each other as they were talking, which helped them learn new words. Nick was doing better, he was eating normally now, and Ted was considering releasing him soon. If Nick wasn't practicing sign language, he was on the computer. Everyone was curious as to what he was so involved in, but they didn't pry. They guessed that he'd tell them when he wanted to. The nurses had started making Nick walk down the halls, to help get his strength back. He hated pushing his IV and walking around in the hospital gown, but he did it. Anything to get him out of the hospital. It was getting late. The sun was setting and casting an orange glow into Nick's room. Everyone was getting ready to leave for the day. They were trying to decide who was going to stay the night with Nick. Everyone but Tara and Lyn had stayed. Tara really didn't feel comfortable staying without Brian being there. "I'll stay," Lyn said. "Are you sure?" Brian asked. "Yeah," Lyn said. Tara signed to Nick that Lyn was going to stay with him. He couldn't hide the smile on his face, and everyone laughed. "OK you two, don't do anything I wouldn't do," A.J. said on his way out the door. Lyn rolled her eyes and shook her head. They said their goodnights and everyone left. Lyn turned around and looked at Nick. He motioned for her to come sit on the bed. She walked over and sat down. "I can't believe we're finally alone," Nick signed. "Neither can I. We haven't been alone since Brian and Tara got here," Lyn signed. "When do you think your uncle is gonna let me out of here?" Nick asked. "I'm not sure, soon I think," Lyn said. "I hope so. I'm starting to go nuts in here," Nick said. Lyn laughed, "Aww, I thought you were to busy to go nuts." "Yeah, that's why I want to get out so bad. I can't finish what I'm doing in here," Nick said. "What exactly have you been doing?" Lyn asked. Nick smiled, "Working on a new foundation. I wanna set up a camp or something where kids with hearing problems can go and experience music." Lyn looked confused, "Nick honey, if they can't hear it, how are they gonna learn music?" "Not learn it, experience it. There's a difference," Nick said, "Like when you play the drums, of course you can hear them, but you can also feel them. It's that way with almost every instrument if you think about it. You may not be able to hear it, but you can feel the different vibrations each one gives off, and in a way, you are hearing it." Lyn smiled at him, "You've really been thinking about this haven't you?" "Yeah, what else am I gonna do in here?" Nick said smiling. They were both silent for a moment, then Nick got a serious look on his face. "Lyn, there's something that's been bothering me, I need to ask you about," he said. "OK, ask away," she said. "Well, I keep getting flashes of what I think are memories, but I'm not sure," Nick said. "Like what?" Lyn asked. "Well, um, there's one where I'm in the shower with my clothes on, and I think it's you, um, you're undressing me," Nick said, embarrassed. Lyn got a shocked look on her face, "Oh my God, I can't believe you remember that!" "So it really happened?" Nick asked. Lyn was turning red now, "Yeah. It was right after I pulled you out of the water. I was trying to get you warm, and um get you into some dry clothes. But I swear I had my eyes closed." Nick laughed, "Uh huh, OK." "No, I really did! I would never um well you know," Lyn said. Nick laughed even harder. "Are there any others?" Lyn asked, trying desperately to change the subject. Nick calmed himself a little, "Yeah, I remember singing, but I can't remember what song." Lyn smiled, "I sang several songs, just to lighten things for me. There was a time there that we weren't sure about how you were gonna be when you woke up." "We? You mean Ted?" Nick asked. "Yeah, he came over twice a day to check on you, sometimes more," Lyn answered. "I owe you guys so much," Nick said. Lyn put her hand on his knee, "You don't owe us anything. I actually owe you." "For what?" Nick asked. "For getting me and my uncle back on speaking terms. It took alot for me to call him for help," Lyn said. "Oh, because of what happened with your parents," Nick said. Lyn nodded her head, "Yeah. But he was there no questions asked when I needed him. And when we brought you here, and I saw how he did his job, I just, I dunno--found a new respect for him." "I'm glad I could help, but Lyn, I owe you my life," Nick said. "Nick, I don't want you feeling like you owe me anything. I'm sure if the tables were turned, you'd done the same thing I did," she said. Nick sat there thinking for a few minutes. "Lyn, um, do they know?" he asked. "Know what?" Lyn asked, not sure what he was talking about. "About what I did," he said. Lyn looked down and took a breath, then looked back up. "Brian and Tara do, but no one else," she said. Nick looked upset, "How did they find out?" "I told them," she said, "I thought they needed to know. And you know you can't lie to Tara, she knew I wasn't telling her everything." Nick just nodded his head. "Nick, there's something else," Lyn said. "What?" he asked. "Brian found one of your bags at the house, and found some letters in it," Lyn started. "Oh God," Nick said. "No, they didn't read them, but they were concerned," she finished. Nick looked somewhat relieved. "Are they what we think they are?" Lyn asked. "No," Nick said, "I wrote them on the plane. I was really thinking about leaving the group, and I wanted to explain to each one my reasons for doing so." Lyn breathed a sigh of relief, "Why were you wanting to leave the group?" "I dunno. We've been together for so long, I just wanted to do something different. I have for a long time, but when everything happened it just seemed like the opportune time," Nick said. "So it wasn't because of what happened with Tara and Brian?" Lyn asked. "Well, I can't lie to you, that had a part in it. But I'd really been thinking about it for a long time anyway," he answered. "How do you really feel about that now?" Lyn asked. "Brian and Tara?" he asked. Lyn nodded her head. "I'm glad they're together. It's just that for a while, I didn't know how to let go, so it was really hard to see them. That's why I came here, just to figure stuff out. But instead I made a royal mess out of everything," Nick said. "So do you regret coming here?" Lyn asked. "No, not at all," Nick said, "If I hadn't come here, I would've never met you." Lyn smiled. "Lyn, you have been my source of strength through this whole thing. If you weren't here I don't know what I'd do," Nick said. Lyn had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," Nick said, wiping away a tear from her face. Lyn smiled through her tears, "It's OK." "Lyn, I love you so much. I don't think there are enough words to say how much. You brighten my day just by being here, and you make me want to be a better person, someone worthy of your love," Nick said. "Nick," Lyn said, shocked at what he was telling her, "I'm the one that should be saying that, not you. All my life, I've walked around with this wall built up, not letting anyone in because I didn't want to get hurt. You broke that wall down with just one look. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I never will. I love you so much it scares me sometimes, and it hurts me so much to see you lose the ability to do what you love." Nick took her hand in his, "Don't worry about that. I'm OK with it. I'll find something else to do, there are lots of things I like to do that doesn't have to do with music." "Nick, I'm not sure that playing video games can be considered a job," Lyn said smiling. Nick laughed, "Is that what you think I do all day? I have you know that I'm licensed to teach scuba diving, and I'm a pretty good artist too. I could try illustrating some things." Lyn looked impressed, "Really? And I thought you were just a spoiled kid that played games all day," she teased. "Don't make me come over there," Nick said with a smile, "You won't like me if I come over there." "Oh really?" Lyn said grinning. "That's it," Nick said, reaching out and grabbing Lyn around the waist and pulling her to him. He started tickling her, and she tried desperately to get away. She tried signing to him to stop, but it was hard because she was laughing so hard. He stopped and looked at her, "Had enough?" "I give," she said. He let her up, and she straightened her clothes and started to get up off the bed. Nick grabbed her arm. She turned around to see him staring at her, a shocked look on his face. "What?" she signed. "I didn't know you had a tattoo," he said. "Oh, yeah. I got it several years ago," she said. "Show it to me," Nick said. Lyn turned around and pulled her shirt up enough to show it. It was in the small of her back. She turned back around, "Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" "Cause that's the same tattoo that Tara has," he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone was at the house. Tara and Leighanne were in the kitchen making supper, and the guys were watching TV. "Wonder what Nick and Lyn are doing," A.J. said with a smile. "God Bone, do you have to think about that all the time," Howie said. A.J. smiled, "Hey, Kira could've come, hell she still can. Don't gripe at me just cause you ain't gettin any." "Alex, what Nick and Lyn do is their business," Tara said from the kitchen. "Yes mama," A.J. said. "No, that would be me Alex, get it right," Leighanne said laughing. A.J stuck his head under one of the pillows on the couch. Brian looked over at Kevin and smiled, then they both jumped on A.J. "God damnit!" A.J. yelled from under the pillow. Howie was laughing so hard he fell off the end of the couch. Gary walked into the kitchen and up to Leighanne, "Can I help?" Tara raised her eyebrows, "And he cooks too? Lee you trained him right, how come that doesn't work on Brian?" Leighanne and Gary laughed. "Hey, I heard my name, what's up?" Brian asked walking into the kitchen. "Oh nothin," Tara said with a smile. Just then the phone rang. Leighanne was closest to it, so she answered it. She walked over to the counter and talked for a minute then hung up. "Who was that?" Gary asked. "It was my attorney," she said looking at Brian, "We should be getting a fax in a minute." "Ohh Ok," Brian said, walking over to the fax machine and making sure it was on. Leighanne and Tara went back to finishing supper and Brian and Gary made small talk. Pretty soon the fax rang, and started printing out page after page. When it was done, Brian retrieved it and walked back over to Leighanne, handing her the papers. Gary and Tara looked on. "It's our Divorce decree," Brian said. Leighanne thumbed through it, "It was filed today." "So is that it then?" Gary asked. "Yep, we are officially divorced as of today at 2:30 PM," Leighanne said. The rest of the guys came into the kitchen, catching what Leighanne had just said. No one really knew what to say though. It really wasn't something to celebrate, but then in a way it was. They all grabbed a plate and sat down. They were about to start eating, actually A.J. had already started, when Brian stood up. "Guys, I want to make a toast," he said. They all looked at him. Brian held up his glass, "To the memories we will always have, and to the new journey we're now on. May God bless us all." They all stood and clanked their glasses together, then sat back down to enjoy their meal. Chapter 71 |