Shayna was standing in the middle of the bedroom surrounded by boxes when Nick walked in and flopped on the bed with a bag of chips,
"What are you doing?" It was just like him to ask the obvious, she put her hands on her hips and sighed,
"Standing on my head." He rolled his eyes and turned on the TV,
"Shut up." She shrugged and looked back down at the boxes that were waiting for her attention. She hated moving, packing and unpacking was like torture. He convinced her that she no longer needed her things and she sold her furniture and whatever she didn't sell she gave to Goodwill,
"This is for good this time." he told her,
"You and me. No more living apart." She smiled as she drug a box of clothes into the closet. It took her nearly three days just to get the closet organized for his and her sides again, he had quite enjoyed having all that space, more room to make a bigger mess. As she bent over the box she heard him clear his throat, she didn't bother to turn around as she asked,
"You come in here to help me? That's sweet baby." She rolled her eyes when she heard his laughter,
"You know better than that." She stood up and turned around, readjusting the ponytail on the top of her head,
"Of course I do. So you just here to watch?" He nodded as leaned against the doorway,
"Yep, go back to doing what you were doing, I liked that position." She smiled and shook her head as he walked into the closet and wrapped his arms around her waist,
"I'm getting ready to hit the road for the tour soon. Why don't you come with me?" She nodded,
"When do you guys rehearse and where?" Nick sighed,
"Orlando. It was a big fight but since we would be on the road Howie and AJ wanted to spend as much time with their families as they could. And I live here, so Kevin and Brian lost out. They wanted LA. We start rehearsing in a couple of weeks." She nodded,
"Cool." He nodded,
"So? How about it? Go on the road with me." She smiled,
"Sure, I can go for about a week, maybe two." He shook his head,
"No, I want you to go on the whole tour with me, everyday." She frowned then smiled quickly,
"Ok, whatever Nick. And do what? Quit my job?" He nodded with a straight face,
"Yeah." She looked at him for a moment and realized that he was serious,
"Nick, I can't quit my job." He frowned,
"Why not? You're living here now, you don't have to pay for the apartment anymore." She rolled her eyes,
"Yeah, but I have a new car to pay for remember?" He shrugged again,
"So, how much is it? I'll pay for it." She removed herself from his arms,
"Not for all the money in the world. I'm not for sale Nick." Nick shook his head and sighed,
"What in the hell are you talking about? It's not even like that Shayna, I didn't say anything about you being for sale or owning you or anything like that so don't go there." She shook her head,
"Ok, whatever, but I'm not going on the road with you." The way Nick stared at her made her skin crawl,
"Fine Shayna, fine. Why did you come back?" Before she could answer he was out of the closet and back on the bed flipping through the channels. She went back to putting her clothes away as she thought about his request. He had never asked her to go on an entire tour with him before, maybe he was serious, maybe he was ready more than ever to settle down with her. If she was on the road with him he couldn't cheat on her like he did in the past. He had to have thought about that when the idea popped in his head. Her entire existence would be him, she would be following behind him for a year or more, waiting around for hours just so she could spend a few precious minutes of his free time with him. Sitting around watching him work, watching him do what he loved, live his life, and what would she have to fulfill her? She walked out and stood at the foot of the bed,
"What about me having my own life and you not wanting to be responsible for my happiness anymore? Remember all that stuff you said to me when we broke up?" He didn't bother to look up, he just shook his head,
"Nah, I don't remember all that, it was like a year ago. It doesn't matter, forget I asked. I don't want you on the road with me." The first thought that entered her mind was infidelity,
"Why? Because you remembered you could cheat easier with me sitting at home like the good housekeeper?" Nick nodded his head,
"Yep, exactly." She shook her head,
"Why did you bother to ask me to go? Really, I want to know." He rolled his eyes,
"Temporary insanity, I actually thought I loved you." She placed one hand on her hip,
"Oh, so you don't love me?" She knew she was being irrational, overly emotional but he just seemed to lead her to act certain ways and it was like she had no control over how she responded to him,
"Shayna, shut the fuck up." She saw red, that was one of the most disrespectful and nastiest things you could say to someone and he said it with such a venomous tone, before she knew it she threw the hanger she was holding in her hand and it hit him on the shoulder,
"Bitch." And before she could react, the remote he had in his hand flew and hit her on the arm,
"Damn, I don't believe this. I am not dealing with this shit." He walked past her, nearly knocking her down and once she heard the door slam she felt like she was right back where she started. In their bedroom alone, scared and crying as he walked out on her.
Stories
Full Circle
Chapter 112a