| Chapter 43 Leighanne was pacing the floor. A.J. had gone to meet with Aleisha more than three hours ago and he hadn't returned yet. She kept telling herself that everything was fine, and to just wait until he returned. But the butterflies in the pit of her stomach were telling her something else. A.J.'d never been gone this long when he met with her, and Leighanne was wondering what was different this time. Her cell phone rang, and she jumped, almost dropping it as she answered. "Hello?" "Lee it's me," Nick said. "Nick, man, I have a lot I need to talk with you about," she said. "Yeah, so do I," Nick commented, "You go first though." "Well, A.J. came to me the other day and confessed everything. He knows what he's been doing is wrong, but he can't stop it. He wanted me to help him," Leighanne said. Nick was in shock, "He told you everything?" "Yes, I told him to keep meeting with her, and to come and talk with me afterwards," she said. "Lee, do you think that's a good idea? I mean what if she put him up to doing that. To gain our trust?" Nick said. "You didn't see him Nick. There's no way he's doing that because she told him to," Leighanne said. "You're sure?" Nick asked. "I'm positive," she said. "A.J. doesn't know anything about what we're doing does he?" asked Nick. "No, he doesn't," Leighanne confirmed. "Well that's good. Is he with her now?" Nick asked. "Yeah, I'm starting to get a little worried. He's been gone to long," Leighanne said. "Well, don't worry to much, she just came back a few minutes ago," Nick said. Leighanne breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, then he should be here soon." "Lee be careful with him. He may not be himself for a while after he gets back," Nick warned. "I know. What was it you called about?" she said. "Oh, things have kinda taken an odd turn over here," he said. "And what do you mean by that?" she asked. "Well, she's starting to like me. Tracy and Jade filled me in on some things that happened when I was asleep. Seems that our siren has the hots for yours truly," he said. Leighanne laughed. "Hey!" Nick said, feigning hurt. "Sorry, it's just that's funny. So what are you doing with this information?" she asked. "Milking it for all I can get. I just wanted to warn you, in case you noticed it or something," Nick said. "What about Lyn?" she asked. "I'm hoping she doesn't, but if she does you know what I'm gonna have to do," Nick said, his voice the most serious she'd ever heard it. Leighanne sighed, "Well let's both pray it doesn't come to that." "Yeah, listen I need to go," Nick said. "Alright, I'll let you know about A.J." she said. "K, be careful," Nick said. "I will, bye," Leighanne said hanging up the phone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian was standing in the kitchen watching Aleisha unpack the bags of groceries. "You could help," she said, smiling at him. He walked over and grabbed a few things, putting them away. Aleisha noticed he was troubled about something. He hadn't said two words to her since she walked in the door. "Brian, are you mad at me?" she asked. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her, "It's not that I'm mad." "Then what is it?" she asked, not liking the look on his face. "Leisha, do you love me?" he asked, his eyes piercing into hers. She was shocked at his question. It hit her from out of the blue. "Of course I do Brian. Have I done something to make you doubt me?" she asked. Brian looked down at the floor, "No. I just feel like you aren't really here sometimes. Like your mind is somewhere else, with someone else." Aleisha crossed the kitchen floor and took his hand in hers, "Brian, you are the only guy I think about. I love you." He looked at her, his mood softening. Aleisha ran her hand through his hair and pulled him into a soft kiss. "There's no need to doubt me Brian, you are what I'm here for, no one else," she whispered in his ear. Brian nodded, "I'm sorry I doubted you." "Don't be," she said, kissing him again. Nick walked into the kitchen, seeing them kiss. He stared at Aleisha as she kissed Brian, all the while her eyes on him. Nick hoped the look on his face reflected one of hurt and confusion, and not one of disgust and anger. He cleared his throat to get Brian's attention. Brian turned around, "Hey man, what's up?" Nick smiled, "Howie asked me to come over tonight for another cooking lesson. You guys wanna go?" "Sure, I'm starting to like your lessons," Brian said, grabbing a few more of the groceries to put away. "Cool," Nick said, turning to leave the kitchen. But not before glancing at Aleisha. She caught it, and looked away from him. Nick walked down the hall, satisfied that he'd accomplished what he wanted. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A.J. walked into the house and went straight to his room. Leighanne gave him a few minutes then went upstairs, knocking on his door. "It's open," A.J. called. She walked in, shutting it after her, "You OK?" A.J. was sitting on the bed, looking at the floor, "I've been better." Leighanne walked over and sat down next to him, "You feel like talking?" He sighed heavily, "There's not much to say. She didn't ask me to do anything other than watch you." Leighanne raised her eyebrow, "It took her three hours for that?" A.J. shook his head, "No, I've been driving around for a while, trying to clear my head. I just feel so foggy after we meet, I didn't want to come back here like that." Leighanne put her hand on his shoulder, she felt him stiffen under her touch. "Alex, did you guys...um..." He nodded, knowing what she was trying to ask. "I can't tell her no. Even when I want to," he said, looking at her with tears in his eyes. Leighanne could see the pain and hurt there, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I didn't think about what that would do to you." A.J. got up shaking his head, "No, it's already done. We just need to keep things as they are." "A.J. I'm sorry your having to go through this," she said. "It's all for a good cause right? As long as we get her out of our lives, it's worth it," he said, "Now, I think I'm gonna take a shower before they get here." "They're coming over?" she asked. "Yeah, before I left, Howie called and asked if Nick wanted another cooking lesson," he explained. "Oh, OK," Leighanne said, getting up and walking over to A.J. "Whenever you need to talk about...that..you know where I am," she said, hugging him. "I know," he said, taking comfort in her concern for him. She smiled at him as she left the room. A.J. sighed going into the bathroom, hoping this would end soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick was in his room getting ready to go over to Howie's. He was looking at himself in the mirror. The bruises on his side were now a nice shade of green and yellow. He stared at them for a moment, then walked over to the purple duffel bag on his bed. He pulled out the small digital recorder that Leighanne had gotten him and looked at it. It was just the right size for him to hide under his shirt. He walked into the bathroom and came back with the roll of duct tape, tarring off a couple strips. Nick positioned the recorder over his ribs, knowing no one would touch him there, then taped it in place. He moved his arm around getting used to it, then put his shirt on. He turned around, looking at himself in the mirror. He couldn't tell the thing was there. Nick sighed, saying a small prayer. He knew if he was caught with it, the outcome wouldn't be pleasant. He looked one more time making sure it wasn't detectable. Then he put the bag away and left the room. Lyn met him in the hall coming out of her own room. "Hey, you look nice. Since when do you dress up to go to Howie's?" she asked, teasing. Nick smiled, "Who says that's who I'm dressing up for? Besides, he's not my type." Lyn laughed and shook her head. They walked down the stairs together meeting Brian and Aleisha in the living room. "Well, lets go. I'm already starving," Brian said, handing Aleisha her coat. "Yeah Nick, what are you two making tonight?" Aleisha asked. "Beats me," he said on the way out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two hours later everyone was sitting down for dinner. Nick and Leighanne had stolen a few glances at one another. Nick tapping his side to let her know he was wearing the recorder. Leighanne had glanced toward A.J. and shook her head, letting Nick know that nothing new had happened. "Well, since Nick is the cook tonight, why don't you say the blessing?" Kevin said. Nick looked at him a little shocked, "Oh, um, OK," he said, standing up. He waited for everyone to quiet down before he started, "God, thank you for the food, and for these great friends. They have gone out of their way to help me, even though I don't remember them, and I just want to thank you for them. Please help us rebuild our friendships, and make them stronger than before, Amen." Nick sat back down, trying not to look at anyone's faces. He knew the prayer had touched them all, mostly because no one was eating yet. They were all sitting there, trying to hold their emotions in check. Finally Brian cleared his throat, "Amen, to that. Kira can you pass the beans?" "Yeah, sure," she said, handing them over. Lyn squeezed Nick's hand under the table and he smiled at her. The meal passed by in a blur. Nick had recorded most of the table conversation, and some when they had all gone into the living room to hang out. He made it a point to stand or sit close to Aleisha. His aid had been buzzing all night, so he knew he was getting what he wanted on the recorder. Nick looked over and caught Leighanne's eye. She nodded, and after a few moments, Nick got up and headed toward the bathroom. When he got in there, he reached under his shirt and pulled the recorder from his side, wincing in pain as the tape was reluctant to come off. He then took the lid off the back of the toilet and taped it underneath. While he was in there he decided he really did have to go, so he lifted the lid, did his business, and flushed the toilet on his way out. Leighanne passed him in the hall. "Underneath," he whispered to her as they walked past each other. She nodded and entered the bathroom, going to the toilet and pulling the lid off. She took the recorder and placed it in her pants pocket, checking to make sure it wasn't noticeable before leaving the room. She returned to the living room, just as Nick was saying he was tired and wanted to go home. Aleisha glanced at Leighanne on her way out the door, wondering if she'd managed to miss something. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When they got back to Brian's, Nick headed up to his room for a few minutes, changing into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He then came back down, in time to see Brian and Lyn settling in for a movie. "Where's Leisha?" Nick asked. "Right here, you want something to drink?" she said, coming from the kitchen with everyone's glasses in her hands. Nick sat down on the couch, "Yeah sure." Aleisha gave Brian and Lyn there's and sat her's on the coffee table, returning to the kitchen for Nick's. "Nick, you are really getting good at the whole cooking thing," Brian said. "Yeah honey, I may never cook again," Lyn said, laughing. Nick blushed, "Thanks. It's really fun." "I thought you were tired, don't you want to lay down?" Lyn asked. "I'm tired of laying in bed, thought I'd lay down here for a while," Nick said. Lyn smiled, moving from the couch Nick was on to the one Brian was inhabiting. Nick stretched out, settling in and staring at the TV. Aleisha returned with his drink, and sat down in the recliner, waiting. After a little while Brian and Lyn were asleep, leaning on each other, and Nick was curled up, hugging one of the throw pillows, dead to the world. Aleisha got up and looked at them all, satisfied the drugs had done their work, she headed upstairs into Nick's room. She looked around, contemplating on where to start searching. She went into the bathroom and looked through everything. Not finding anything, she made her way into the bedroom. She searched through all the drawers of the dresser, and underneath all the furniture. "You are good at hiding things," she said, working her way into the closet. She searched through Nick's clothes that were hanging up, and the shelves. She had just started looking in the floor when Nick appeared in the room. "Leisha?" he said. She turned around and looked at him, shocked that he was awake. "Nick, you look awful," she said, walking over to him. "I feel awful," he said, turning to walk toward his bed, and stumbling. Aleisha grabbed him, "Here, let me help you," she said, walking him over to his bed. Nick crawled in bed, pulling the blankets over him, "I'm so cold." Aleisha felt of his forehead, "Nick you feel warm. Are you coming down with something?" He shook his head, "I don't know, I feel so drained." "How did you get up here all by yourself?" she asked. "I woke up and just wanted to come lay down," Nick answered, pulling the blankets closer around him. He hoped that her touch wouldn't affect him as much through the material. Aleisha stared at him, "Maybe we should call the doctor?" Nick shook his head, "No, I just want to sleep." "You sure? If you're coming down with something, that won't be good for your recovery," she said. He smiled at her weakly, "You sound like Lyn." He could see the flash of emotion in her eyes, was it jealousy? "Leish, what were you doing in here?" Nick asked, trying to keep his eyes open. "I lost something the other day. I just thought I'd look around and see if I could find it," she lied. "Oh," Nick said, losing the fight and closing his eyes. Aleisha sat with him until she was sure he was asleep. She really was concerned for him, he did feel warm, and she wondered if she'd hurt him by giving him the sleeping pills. She shook her head, "Stop it! Thinking like this is only distracting you from the ultimate goal here." She looked back at Nick, realizing this was one distraction she couldn't just ignore. Her feelings for him changed everything, and she knew it. She decided to ride it out and see where it led. She knew that for the most part she didn't affect him, so any feelings coming from him had to be genuine. Aleisha sighed, knowing her feelings for him where the most real she'd ever felt for anyone. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, "What are you doing to me?" She got up and left the room, heading to her and Brian's room. Suddenly she was tired too, and she wanted to sleep. Hoping that with sleep would also come an answer to her dilemma. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian stirred a little. His dreams of Tara bombarding him from every angle. He opened his eyes, realizing he was still in the living room. He was laying on his back, feeling the weight of someone laying on top of him. It was dark in the room, and his eyes hadn't adjusted yet. He assumed the person was Aleisha and ran his hand down her back, gently kissing the top of her head. She moaned and moved her hand underneath his shirt as she lifted her head. Brian pulled her into a soft kiss, breaking it seconds later, realizing something was different. They stared at each other for a moment, then it sank in. "Lyn?" "Brian?" They both sat straight up and headed for opposite ends of the couch. Brian flipped on a light, wondering if he looked as embarrassed as she did. They both looked around the room, realizing they were alone. "We fell asleep right?" Lyn asked, straightening her shirt. "Yeah, I think so. Last thing I remember was watching a movie," Brian said, running his hand through his hair nervously. Lyn looked over at the clock, "Man, three thirty? We've been down here most of the night." "Yeah, um, sorry," Brian said, turning red. "Me too. Guess it's a good thing we both woke up huh?" she said. "Yeah, let's not say anything about this to Nick and Aleisha," Brian said, getting up. "Well, we didn't do anything. It was innocent," Lyn said. "I know. But Nick being the way he is and I'm pretty sure Aleisha wouldn't see it that way, we should keep it between us," Brian explained. Lyn stood up, "OK, I won't say anything if you don't." Brian nodded his head, turning the light off and heading to the stairs. When they topped the stairs, Lyn stopped at her door, "Brian," she whispered. "Yeah?" She smiled at him, "The look on your face was priceless." Brian laughed, covering his mouth so he wouldn't wake Nick and Aleisha, "Well, so was yours." Lyn laughed, walking into her room and shutting the door. Brian shook his head and went to his own room, not able to keep the smile off his face. Chapter 44 |