| Chapter 46 Nick lay awake staring at the ceiling. He couldn't take his mind away from the hurt he felt for Lyn, and what he had done. Never in his life did he ever think that he would do something like that, and the realization of it consumed him. He looked out the window, snow was starting to fall. He watched it for a while, getting lost in the flurry of snowflakes. But his mind pulled him back to his heartache. He tried desperately to find something to occupy his thoughts. He had grabbed the sketch pad and started doodling, but never could get fully into it. Nick finally turned the TV on, flipping through the channels. Late night TV usually was full of infomercials, and old reruns, but he stopped on the Discovery Channel when something peaked his interest. The station was having an all night marathon on mythology and legends. Nick watched as the next program was on Sirens. His mouth dropped open, he couldn't believe his luck. He grabbed the sketch pad and turned to a page in the back, just in case he wanted to take some notes. His mind focused in on the program, pushing his pain to the back of his mind. He had to know everything he could about sirens before he confronted Aleisha, and if that meant staying up all night, he'd do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn lay in bed wondering why she had let Brian convince her to stay. Somehow he thought that if she stayed, that Nick would realize his mistake. She didn't think so, but she couldn't make herself leave either. She loved him, and she was not going to leave while he was still sick, she couldn't. Lyn had told Brian that when Nick was released, that she would stay with Howie and Kira. She thought it best for them not to be staying in the same house. Lyn sighed and looked out the window. Huge snowflakes were falling. She got up and walked over to the window, watching. She usually loved the snow, but tonight it made her sad. It seemed like the entire world was cast in shadow, never to find the light. Lyn thought she had cried the last tears a few hours ago, but she felt the familiar wetness on her cheek. She sat down in the window seat and pulled a pillow over, hugging it, her tears falling with the snow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne watched out the window. She was worried. A.J. had gone to meet with Aleisha more than eight hours ago, and still no word. Several times she had picked up her phone to call him, only to put it down. If he was still with her, her call would put him in danger of being found out. So she waited, and paced her room. Leighanne had prayed several times for his safety, not knowing of anything else to do. A light coming through the window caught her attention, and Leighanne looked out to see A.J.'s car coming up the drive. She ran downstairs to meet him at the door. A.J. reached for the door knob, only to have the door pulled open, a relieved looking Leighanne on the other side. "Is anyone else up?" A.J. asked, walking in and taking off his coat. "No, they went to bed hours ago. A.J. what happened? Why were you gone so long?" she asked. "Let's go to my room, we'll talk there," he said, leading the way. Leighanne followed him, not liking the look on his face. They entered the room, and A.J. shut the door, turning to her. "What happened?" she asked. "She let me go," he said. Leighanne looked at him confused, "What does that mean?" "It means that she isn't going to be seeing me anymore," he said, collapsing onto the bed. "Lee, she's got something up her sleeve, I know it," he said. "A.J. what exactly did she say, does she suspect you?" Leighanne asked. "I don't know. We met and first thing out of her mouth was that this was the last time. That she didn't need me anymore," A.J. explained. "Why wouldn't she need you anymore, doesn't she still suspect me and Nick?" Leighanne asked. "Lee, I'm scared as hell. You didn't see the look in her eyes, it was like she was happy about something, planning something," he said. "Alex, you don't think she's gonna hurt someone do you?" she asked, worried. "I have no idea. I begged her, Lee, came out and fucking begged her not to leave me," A.J. said, trembling. "You couldn't help it," Leighanne said, putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I never want to lose that much control of my actions, ever again," A.J. whispered. "You won't. We're gonna get her, I promise," she said, "We need to warn Nick." "I thought of that, but visiting hours aren't until morning," A.J. said. "We can call his room," Leighanne said. "No we can't, I already tried," A.J. said. She looked at him, alarmed, "Why can't we?" "The nurse said he asked to have the phone taken out, and for no one to come into his room until morning," he said. "Why would he do that?" Leighanne asked. "I don't know, but there's no getting to him till then," A.J. commented. Leighanne looked at him, "Are you OK? I know this has taken a toll on you." "I'll live," he said, looking at the floor. "It might help if you talk about it," she offered. "What's there to say? We meet, she tells me what she wants me to do, and then seals it with what I crave from her," he said. "Every time?" Leighanne asked. A.J. nodded his head, "Except for tonight. She didn't touch me at all. No matter how much I pleaded with her." Leighanne looked down, imagining what A.J. must have gone through. "Lee, I asked for your help. Don't blame yourself for what happened," A.J. said. "I never thought there were people in this world that could be so heartless, so cold," she said. "Yeah, well, I guess the world is full of all kinds," he said. "A.J. what about Sarah?" she asked. He looked at her, determination in his eyes, "She will NEVER know anything about this, ever." Leighanne nodded, "I understand, but what if..." "No Lee, there are no what if's. Never in a million years would I be able to explain the power she has over me. Sarah would never believe that I was forced to do that, she would never understand," A.J. said, wiping away a tear. Leighanne looked at him, compassion in her eyes. A.J. looked away, not wanting to meet her stare. He was ashamed enough about what he'd done over the last few weeks, he didn't need her feeling sorry for him too. "Alex, you have to let it go," she said. "Let what go?" he asked, glancing over at her. "Your guilt. Otherwise you will never get past this," she said. A.J. closed his eyes, trying to take hold of his emotions. He failed miserably as the tears streamed down his cheeks. Leighanne reached out and pulled him to her, holding him as he cried. "I feel so used, so dirty," A.J. sobbed. "I know, what she forced you to do was awful," Leighanne said. "But I wanted it. Every time, I craved it. How could I do that?" he cried. "A.J. listen, she was controlling you. None of what you felt was your real feelings, you couldn't help what you did," she said. "I'm a grown man, not a child. I should have more control over my actions," he said. "A.J. there are things about her you don't know yet. I can't tell you until everything is in place, but please believe me when I tell you that absolutely none of this was your fault," Leighanne said. A.J. looked at her, "What don't I know?" "A lot," she answered, "Just know that I understand what you're going through. I know that what you did, you were made to do, and I know that you couldn't have refused, even if you wanted to." A.J. wiped his face, wondering how much she hadn't told him, and when she was going to. "Now, get some rest. We need to be at the hospital first thing in the morning," Leighanne said, getting up. A.J. watched as she left the room. He sighed, and lay down, not bothering to change out of his clothes. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting through what had happened to him over the past few weeks. Soon he was asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick had drifted to sleep after the fifth show had gone off. He had taken a lot of notes, and learned more than he ever wanted to know about sirens. His dreams were filled with what he should do now. During the course of the shows, Nick had pulled his oxygen mask off. He knew that he needed to stop relying on it to help him breathe. He was never going to get released if he didn't. That was his goal now, he had to get out of the hospital. He moved around in bed, his sleep full of torment. A nurse walked into the room, coming over to check on him. She smiled at Nick's sleeping form. Noticing the sketch pad still on the bed, she picked it up, closing it and laying it on the night stand. She then pulled the blankets over Nick, feeling his forehead for his ever present fever. She noticed that his skin felt normal, and was glad that his fever had finally broken. The nurse saw the oxygen mask laying on the pillow next to Nick. She watched him breathe for a while, before she turned it off, and hung it on its stand. He was getting better, and she was glad. The nurse reached down and touched Nick's shoulder. Nick's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up. His blue eyes staring into a familiar set of green ones. Nick blinked, not sure he was awake yet. He started to speak, but she put her finger on his lips, quieting him. Their eyes locked, neither of them saying a word, but understanding each other all the same. A tear left the corner of Nick's eye, and she reached down, wiping it away. She smiled at him, running her hand through his hair. Nick closed his eyes, sleep overtaking him. Tara watched him for a moment, knowing he had understood her, then she disappeared. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Aleisha sat in Nick's room. He was still sleeping, and they were the first ones to arrive that morning. Lyn had refused to come, instead she decided to go ahead and take her things to Howie's. Brian's heart ached for her, he knew what she must be going through, losing the one person in the world she loved with all her heart. Only it had to be worse for Lyn, Nick was still here. She could still see him, talk to him. Aleisha looked over, seeing Brian in his daydream. She nudged him, "You awake?" "Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about things," he said, taking her hand in his, and smiling at her. "He looks better," Aleisha said, looking over at Nick. "Yeah, maybe he's on the downhill slide now," Brian said. Leighanne and A.J. walked into the room, both shocked to see Brian and Aleisha already there. "Hey guys," Brian said. "Morning," Leighanne greeted. A.J. and Aleisha exchanged glances, neither of them saying a word. "So what brings you guys by so early?" Brian asked. Leighanne laughed, "That's funny. I was gonna ask you the same thing." "Leish wanted to go shopping, so we came by before we started out," Brian explained. "Oh," Leighanne said, "Well Alex and I were off to the insurance company. I've got to sign some waivers and all for the rental company. I guess they want to make sure I'm not gonna sue them or anything after the accident." "Yeah, they do tend to cover their backs on that kinda stuff," Brian said. "So he been awake yet this morning?" Leighanne asked. "Not since we got here," Brian answered. As if on cue, Nick moved around and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see everyone there this early. He casually looked around, not remembering what he had done with the sketch pad last night. He found it safe and secure on the night stand, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Morning Nick, how ya feeling?" Leighanne said, leaning down to hug him. "We have a problem," she whispered in his ear. "I'm actually feeling better," he answered, squeezing her hand to let her know he understood her. "Well that's great," Brian said. "Yeah, maybe they will let you out soon," Aleisha said. "I hope so, I'm getting tired of being here," Nick said, smiling at her. He could see her eyes light up when he did. "Hey man, you up for a game of cards?" A.J. asked. "Yeah, you know one of these days I'm gonna beat you," Nick said. "In your dreams," A.J. retorted, smiling. "Well, I guess me and Bri will see ya later," Aleisha said, dragging Brian towards the door. "Wait, where you going?" Nick asked. "Shopping," Brian said, with an amused look on his face. "Yeah, be good and we might bring you something back," Aleisha teased on her way out the door. Nick smiled, watching them pass the window, then his smile faded, "What kind of problem?" "A big one. She let A.J. go last night, said she didn't need him anymore," Leighanne said. Nick looked at him, worry etched on his face. "No reason?" Nick asked. "None," A.J. said. Nick sighed, "I have to get out of here. I'll be damned if I've gone this far, just to let her find out I know now." Leighanne put her hand on his shoulder, "I don't think she knows." "Wait, what do you know?" A.J. asked. Nick looked at A.J. then to Leighanne, "You didn't tell him?" "No, I thought it best not to, considering," she said. "Tell me what?" A.J. said, getting annoyed. Nick started to say something when he saw Aleisha coming back in, "Fuck," he said, glaring at Leighanne and A.J. to shut up. Aleisha walked in, "You guys still here?" "Yeah, we were just getting ready to leave," Leighanne said, eyeing A.J. to head to the door. "See ya later man," A.J. said, as they left. "Leish, where's Bri?" Nick asked. "Waiting in the car, I forgot my purse," she said, picking it up from the floor. "Oh," Nick said, feeling some sense of deja vu. "You sure you're OK?" she asked, "You got a funny look on your face." Nick smiled, "Just wondering what the kitchen will call breakfast this morning." She smiled, "Well, when we get you out of here, I'll cook whatever you want to eat, how's that?" "Sounds great," he said. Aleisha walked over and kissed him on the cheek, "See ya later." "Bye," Nick called, as she left the room. Nick took a couple deep breaths to calm down. The kiss took him by surprise, and he wasn't ready for it. Even though it was just on his cheek, he could feel the most intense pleasure course through his body. This worried him, up until now Aleisha hadn't used her powers on him, now all of a sudden she was. He knew what Tara had told him the night before, and he knew Aleisha was planning something. He had to get out of the hospital, today. He wasn't sure if he was ready, physically or mentally for what he had to do, but if he waited, something bad was going to happen. He knew it. Just then Dr. Spencer walked in, on his morning rounds. "Morning Nick, how you feeling?" he asked. "I'm ready to go home," Nick stated. "Well now, let's just see about that," Dr. Spencer said, beginning to examine him. Nick endured the exam, anxious for the doctor's answer. "Well, can I?" Nick asked, after the exam was done. "Today?" Dr. Spencer asked. "Yes, today," Nick said, determined. "Nick, I don't know about that. You are better, your fever is gone, and your breathing is much better, but I still think it's a little to early to release you," the doctor said. "Please doc, I'll do whatever you tell me to, but I need to leave today," Nick begged. "Nick, I..." "If I have to I'll check myself out," Nick said, staring at the man. "Lets make a deal. You stay until lunch, I'll come back and check you again. If everything is still looking good, I'll release you this afternoon, OK?" Dr. Spencer said. Nick thought for a moment. He needed a few hours to get his plan together, and try and get in touch with Leighanne anyway. "OK, deal," he said. "Alright, you rest until then. I'll be back to check on you," the doctor said, leaving the room. "Rest? What is that?" Nick said, pulling his sketch pad over. He had way to much to do to rest now. Chapter 47 |