| Chapter 49 Brian and Aleisha came downstairs. It was mid morning and they had slept late. As they bottomed the stairs, Brian noticed Nick asleep on one of the couches. He was on his back with the Bible he'd been reading laying on his stomach, his arm over it. Brian stood there looking at him for a moment, "Leish, has he been down here all night?" "I'm not sure," she said, "I got up at two and he was in the kitchen." Brian walked over and gently pulled the book out from under his arm, laying it on the coffee table. Aleisha took the afghan off the back of the couch and covered Nick with it. "Let's let him sleep. He needs all the rest he can get right now," Brian whispered. Aleisha nodded her agreement, and they both headed into the kitchen for a late breakfast. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne was in the kitchen helping Lyn and Kira cook breakfast. She was mulling over in her head how to get Howie to do dinner that night. "Lee, have you talked to Gary lately?" Kira asked. "Yeah, he called yesterday. Said that Tara Gail missed her momma and was wondering when I was going to come home," she said. "I'm sure you miss her too," Lyn said, smiling. "I do, very much," Leighanne said, "But I'm still worried about Nick. He seems to be doing better, but I don't know." Lyn looked down at the mention of his name, and Leighanne wished she could tell her what was going on. But that was for Nick to explain, to everyone. "Oh, say Howie," Leighanne said. He looked up from the morning paper, "Yes?" "I'm kinda in the mood for a get together. I'm thinking it might help, with morale and all. What do ya say?" she said. "Yeah sure. You know we can't go to long without everyone getting together anyway. When do you want to do it?" he asked. "Is tonight to soon?" she asked. He looked at her a little startled, "Um, well...I guess not." She smiled, "Thanks, this is just what I need." "Your welcome, I think," Howie said, eyeing her. A.J. smiled at Leighanne, and she winked back at him. "I guess I'll call everyone after breakfast and invite them," Kira said. "Good," Leighanne said, going back to her task in the kitchen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick opened his eyes and looked around. He was a little confused as to why he was on the couch, then he remembered sitting down and reading the night before. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning," Aleisha said, "Or should I say afternoon." Nick looked over at her, "It's afternoon?" "Almost. Bri and I thought you should sleep as long as you needed to, but I saved you something to eat," she said. Nick looked around, "Where is Brian?" "In his office, doing some paperwork management faxed over," she answered. "Oh," Nick said, swinging his feet over the couch and pulling the afghan off him. He felt a little wosey, but shrugged it off. It was probably because he hadn't eaten anything yet, and he needed to take his medicine. "Nick, you want me bring your food in here?" Aleisha asked, seeing his hesitation to get up. He looked at her, "You don't mind?" Aleisha got up, "Of course not. I'll be back in a minute." Nick watched as she left the room. He got comfortable on the couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Today was the day, he had to tell everyone what was going on tonight. That thought weighed heavy on him. He was afraid of their reactions, afraid that they would be angry with him for lying to them all this time, afraid they wouldn't believe him. I can't think like this, I just have to do it and take what comes next, he told himself. He had today to work on Aleisha, this was his last chance to end it peacefully. He could tell last night that she was almost willing to talk to him, tell him what she was, but she was holding back. He wondered what she was waiting for. "Nick," Aleisha said. He opened his eyes, seeing her standing in front of him with a tray of food. "Thanks," Nick said, taking it from her, and placing it on his lap. He dove into the eggs and bacon. Aleisha had even thought to put his medicine bottle on the tray. "Leish, have you thought anymore about what we talked about last night?" Nick asked, between bites. She looked down, "Some." He stopped eating and looked at her, "Why won't you look at me?" She glanced over, "Nick, you would never understand, no matter how much I explained it." He set the tray aside and moved closer to her, "Leish, how do you know unless you tell me?" She closed her eyes, not able to stand seeing him stare at her. She felt so guilty for what she had done to him, and she loved him so much. He would never understand if she told him. She blinked a tear from her eyes, "I can't Nick." "Aww, Leisha, surely it's not that bad," he said, reaching over and wiping the tear from her cheek. She looked up at him, seeing compassion in his eyes. "It is, it's awful," she whispered. Nick looked at her concerned, "What is? Leisha, just tell me, maybe I can help." She shook her head, looking at her feet. Nick moved even closer, lifting her head with his fingers, "Leish, whatever this is, you can tell me. I hate seeing what it's doing to you. Please, just tell me." She stared into his eyes, getting lost in them. Her own filling with tears, "I....I.." Just then the phone rang, scaring them both. Aleisha reached to answer it, only it didn't ring again. "Brian must have gotten it," she commented, getting control of her emotions. "Yeah," Nick said, realizing he had just lost probably the only opportunity he was going to have. A few seconds later Brian walked into the room, the phone in his hand. "Hey you're up," he said, seeing Nick. "D want's to know if we all want to come over tonight for dinner," Brian said. Nick looked at him, "D?" "Oh, Howie. We call him D sometimes," Brian explained. "Oh yeah, that sounds fun," Nick said. "You sure you're up to it?" Aleisha asked. "Yeah, I'm a little tired, but I guess I'm gonna be for a while. I can be tired over there, just as well as over here. Besides, I like getting together with everyone," Nick said, smiling. Brian laughed putting the phone up to his ear, "Yeah man, count us in. What time you want us there?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick was in his room getting ready to go to Howe's. He had tried a few more times during the day to get Aleisha to talk to him, but she wouldn't. She had backed off on her powers on him since he had been the one making the advances toward her. He could touch her, hold her hand, and not feel anything. That eased his mind somewhat, knowing that he wouldn't have to fight her to much when he first confronted her. Nick pulled his shirt on and buttoned it up, looking at himself in the mirror. The person looking back at him was someone he never thought he could be, and never wanted to be again. He had never lied to the guys as he had over the last few weeks, and he hated himself for doing it. The only thing that eased his mind was knowing that he did it for a good reason. He just hoped they understood that when the time came to tell them. He sighed and walked over to the side of the dresser, pulling it out. He retrieved the letter that had been taped to the back, pulling the tape off, and putting it in his pocket. Nick then replaced the dresser and smoothed out the carpet, throwing the tape away in the bathroom. He came back out into the room and looked at Angel. "Girl, I'm not coming back tonight, so you got the bed to yourself," he said. She looked at him and twitched her ears. "When I come back tomorrow, some things are gonna happen that I'm sure you won't understand. I just want you know now that I really am thankful for all the help you've given me. I know Tara sent you to help Brian, but you've helped me too," he said. Angel walked over to him and jumped on him. Nick ran his hands through her fur, bending down and kissing her on the top of the head, "I love you too." Brian knocked on the door as he walked in. "Aww, ain't that cute," he said. Nick looked up at him as Angel jumped down, wagging her tail. "Can't a guy have a moment with his friend?" Nick asked, smiling. "Yeah, it's just a little strange when that friend is a wolf," Brian said, laughing. Nick rolled his eyes, "So we ready to go?" "Yeah, I was coming to get you. You sure you feel like going, you look exhausted," Brian asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," Nick said, walking past him out into the hall. "OK, just checking. As much as I like you, I don't want to have to visit your sorry ass in the hospital again anytime soon," Brian said as they walked down the stairs. Aleisha was waiting in the living room, "You guys look nice." "Why thank you," Brian said, kissing her. Nick smiled at her, then walked over and grabbed his coat. "Well let's go," Brian said, leading the way out of the house. Nick was the last one out, and he looked back into the house for a moment, knowing the next time he came back, it would be as someone walking into a war zone, not as a friend coming to see another friend. "Come on Nick," Aleisha called from the car. Nick shut the door and headed to the car, wishing the night was already over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat at the table finishing his dinner. The evening was going pretty well. So far he and Lyn had managed to politely avoid one another. Their eyes met once, only for a second, but in that second Nick saw all the hurt and heartache he had caused. He made a point not to look at her for the rest of the night. Leighanne and A.J. had glanced at him a few times, confirming with their eyes that indeed tonight was the night. And he and Aleisha had exchanged a few glances of their own. Nick could see the conflict in her eyes, and also the love that shown when he smiled at her. This entire ordeal was going to be harder than he ever imagined it being. The hate he felt for her was more and more being replaced with compassion He found himself feeling sorry for her, and wondered why he couldn't raise the anger that had once been associated with her. Everyone got up from the table and went into the living room, sitting down. Nick sat on the couch with Aleisha and Brian, Leighanne on his other side. Kevin, Kristin, Howie and Kira were on the other couch, and Lyn and A.J. inhabited the recliners in the room. "I'm so glad we got together," Leighanne said, smiling. "Yeah, we all need to live closer together so we can do this more often," Kira said. "You'd think we be sick of each other by now," A.J. laughed. "Yeah, I guess ten years together is a long time," Brian said. Nick looked at them, "It's been ten years?" "Yeah, time flies don't it?" Kevin said. Nick looked down, and Kevin thought he saw something in his face. "Nick, you remember anything?" he asked. Nick looked over at him, "Not really. Just bits and pieces, but nothing that I can really put together and call a memory." "Oh," Kevin said, looking at him with compassion, "What kind of bits and pieces? Maybe we can help?" "Yeah, fill in some blanks for ya," Howie said. "Um, well....," Nick stalled, he hated being put on the spot like this. "Guys, we shouldn't force him," Leighanne said. Nick glanced over at her, and she smiled at him. "Well if it helps him, I don't see what it could hurt," Brian said. Nick sighed, "I remember being on a beach and drawing the sunset." "That could've been anywhere," A.J. said. "Yeah man, you got anything else?" Brian asked. Nick closed his eyes as his mind raced to find some memories he could bring up. He opened them and looked at Aleisha, a look of knowing in his eyes. She caught it and had to work hard not to show her emotions. "Guys, I really don't feel like talking about this," Nick said, looking over at them. "Sorry Nick, we don't mean to push you. It's just that we want you to get your memory back, just as much as you do," Kevin said. "Yeah man, it's not fun teasing you if you can't remember what we're teasing you about," A.J. said. They all laughed. Nick reached up and rubbed the side of his head, "Damn it." "You getting another headache?" Brian asked. Nick nodded his head, "Howie, do you have somewhere I can lay down for a little while?" "Nick, we could take you home," Aleisha said. "No, I'll be fine in a little while, you guys go ahead and visit," he said, getting up and following Howie into the den. "I could go get a room ready if you want," Howie offered. "No, this is fine. I'm sure I'll be OK in a few minutes," Nick said, laying down on the leather couch and pulling the blanket over him Howie had retrieved from the closet. "OK, if you need anything just holler," Howe said, turning off the lights and leaving the room. Nick lay there in the dark, thinking about what he wanted to say. He went over several scenarios in his mind, imagining the reactions of each person. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in there, when he heard the door open. Nick quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Howie turned on the small lamp in the corner of the room. Brian and Aleisha looked over to see Nick sleeping on the couch. "You sure you want to wake him up?" she asked. "Not really," Brian said, seeing his friend. "Why don't you guys leave him here, we can bring him back over in the morning," Howie suggested. Brian looked over at Howie, "You sure?" "Yeah man, give you two some time alone and all," Howie said, smiling. "What about Lyn though? I know she really doesn't want to be in the same house and all," Brian said. "It's fine Brian," Lyn said, walking into the room, "He'll probably sleep all night anyway. I don't mind." "Well, OK," Brian said, taking Aleisha's hand, "Guess we'll see you guys in the morning." Aleisha took one last look at Nick as she left the room. The look he gave her scared her to death. It was as if he knew, but the last look he gave her is the one that confused her. It was a look of forgiveness and compassion. What if he knew, but somehow forgave her? What if she could tell him, and things would be alright between them? She knew she would get no sleep tonight. She wouldn't rest until she could talk to Nick again. Nick waited until he heard the car pulling down the drive. He didn't know exactly how he was going to do this, deciding the best plan was to just spill everything and let the chips fall as they may. Leighanne came into the room and turned on the light. "They're gone," she said. "Yeah, I heard," Nick said, sitting up and running his hand through his hair. "You ready?" she asked. "Ready as I'm gonna be," he said, "You got the cd and all?" "Yeah, A.J. went up to get it. He told Kevin he had something to show him, so he and Kris would stay," she said. "Well," Nick said, standing up, "Let's do this." Chapter 50 |