I heard the door shut behind Angie, not sure whether to be excited or run and hide.
�Are you going to kill me if I pick up your guitar?�
Oh shit. I left my guitar in the hallway.
Rushing back towards the front hall, I grabbed my guitar before he could touch it. Looking at me with an eyebrow raised, he laughed.
I�m paranoid about my guitar. Leave me alone.
It�s my security blanket. That and my CD player.
Why can�t I relax around him? I don�t think he�ll hit me or yell at me, but I�
He might kiss me. And that�d be worse. I don�t know how to handle that.
His laughter faded and his eyes filled with concern as my head spun from the headache that had built throughout the day.
�You�re exhausted baby.�
Another wall. With some support beams for added stability.
�Let�s go upstairs. You need to sleep.�
Brushing his hand against my back, he led me upstairs as I tried to look at each room.
�You have a beautiful house Nick.�
*
When did she get so shy?
I turned and looked at her, smiling in hopes she�d smile back. Having her around without her eyes lit up or her blindingly beautiful smile is just wrong.
And the nose scrunch� I need to see her nose scrunch up.
It was making my heart hurt.
�Thank my mom and sisters. They did most of it.�
She looked up innocently at me when I stopped on the stairs to turn back to her. It seemed almost too much and she turned away.
Would shaking her help in any way? Because right now I really want to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her.
But I didn�t. Instead I just turned back around and continued up the stairs, urging myself not to scream in frustration.
*
He�s trying.
I don�t know what he�s trying to do, but� he�s trying. Which is much more than I seem to be doing.
He stopped in front of a closed door, glancing back at me before pushing it opened and stepping inside. I followed hesitantly, fearing my fate would be decided as soon as I walked into the room.
I�m going to sleep in Nick�s house tonight.
I watched him sit my suitcase in the floor and scrutinize the room almost like he was making sure everything was perfect for me. As he looked around, I studied everything in the blue room while taking smaller steps towards him.
He turned to me and grinned.
�The bed is more comfortable than mine.�
When I didn�t give him whatever response he was looking for, he turned away and walked into the bathroom, flipping on the lights and looking around.
�I think you have everything you might need, but if not, my room is right next to this one.�
Please don�t tempt me. Knowing you�re lying in a bed with only a wall separating me from you isn�t something I need in my head.
He walked back out, flipping off the light. To avoid his eyes, I focused on setting my things in the floor. When I straightened back up, Nick stood dangerously close to me.
�I noticed you didn�t really eat tonight, so if you get hungry or whatever, there�s all sorts of stuff in the kitchen.�
I looked away, trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes staring down at me.
�Thank you.�
�Kara��
The tone of his voice was soft, but clearly irritated.
Please don�t Nick. Just go. I don�t think I can feel any guiltier than I already do.
His hand brushing against my cheek nearly made me jump out of my skin. The intimacy of his gesture scared me and I finally gave in and looked up into his crystal blue eyes that were filled with� worry?
�Are you ever going to say more to me than just a few words?�
I closed my eyes against my tears.
*
I sighed when she closed her eyes, breaking the moment of eye contact.
Still caressing her cheek, I watched her bite into her bottom lip as she fought off possible tears.
�You�re exhausted baby. Get some sleep.�
Leaning towards her, I pressed my lips against her forehead, feeling her shudder beneath me.
Then I pulled away.
Before she could and chip off another piece of my heart.
I walked past her to the door, stepping in the hallway. Glancing behind, I saw her still standing there with her back to me, shoulders slumped, head down.
�You know you�re going to have to talk to me eventually.�
And I closed the door.
�So here we are now
A sip of wine, a sip of water
Someday maybe
Maybe someday we�ll be smarter
And I�m sorry that I�m such a mess
I drank all my money could get,
I took everything you let me have
And then I never loved you back.�
Seven