�And I�ve been acting so pathetic
Knocking around like a ball on a string
It�s taking time for me to get it
I�m ready and willing to do anything to make it up to you�
The moment I shut the door and punched in the code to the alarm, I heard Nick drive away.
No no no no no no no no no no! Don�t leave!
Oh god oh god oh god oh god. I fucked up. I fucked up badly.
Stumbling through the house half-aware of my surroundings, I found myself on the living room couch with my phone in my hand.
First my dad, then Matt� now Nick hates me?
Can I do more damage in one night?
Not conscious of my movements, I ended up curling on my side, lying down with the phone ringing in my ear.
�Hello?�
The moment I heard Toby�s voice, the tears began flowing down my eyes.
�Kara, what�s wrong? Calm down, angel. Are you okay?�
Why aren�t you here?
�He hates me. I� I didn�t mean� he just� left.�
Toby didn�t reply, but the crowd noise diminished in the background. He�s probably at the sports bar watching hockey or something. I shouldn�t have called him.
�Who hates you? Where are you?�
I didn�t tell him about Nick?
My chest tightened as I tried to get the words out.
�Nick� best man��
*
So the best man�s name is Nick? And why would this guy cause her to get this upset? Normally she�s good at taking people�s shit.
What the fuck is going on in Florida?
Everyone kept trying to wave me over as I attempted to push myself through the growing crowd at the concert I�d been playing roadie at.
�Hey dude, when does Rocket Summer go on?�
I waved Trevor away, mouthing �Kara� as I walked past him. Exiting the back door, I leaned up against the brick wall, listening to Kara bawling on the other end of the phone.
�Kara, are you okay? Did he do something to you?�
�Yes, I�m� I�m at his house. He left� told me� to get out. Mike and Matt� and dad.�
Fuck.
�Hold up a sec, baby. Matt? Matt�s there? Kara, calm down and tell me what�s going on.�
Her crying started in full force again.
�Hey baby, I�m going to call the airport and get the next flight out. I�ll be there in a few hours, okay?�
�No, don�t� do that.�
Uh, you�re falling apart in a stranger�s house and it sounds like no one is even around. You�re crying so hard you can�t even breathe much less tell me what�s going on. Saying �Matt� in the middle of the tears doesn�t calm my fears any.
I looked around at the various band members hanging outside in the cool night air before turning my back to them.
�You need someone and I can�t help hundreds of miles away.�
Plus you�re breaking my heart.
She tried to choke back her tears, hiccupping in the process, before she spoke again, carefully choosing her words.
�You�re coming tomorrow. I�ll be busy all day so� I�ll be okay. It�s nothing really. I�m being stupid.�
Yeah, that�s what you said before I came over to find you with a black eye and bloody nose.
�Can you tell me what�s going on?�
I nodded a silent greeting to Ryan as he walked by carrying an amp marked with the Blue October logo. He replied with a worried look, but continued inside.
�Matt wouldn�t stop� touching me and talking to me� so I left. Just walked out of dinner.�
Okay, that doesn�t sound too bad.
�Nick followed me. We were driving home and he wanted to know what happened, but� he�s their friend and I�d��
��have to tell him about Mike?�
I knew she was nodding, totally forgetting we were in two totally different states.
�I couldn�t� I just� they�re best friends, Toby!�
I rubbed my hand over my face, trying to wake myself up and rid myself of the slight sheen of tears that had come to my eyes at hearing how distraught Kara was.
�So� Nick left?�
Her sobs started again.
Aw, baby� please don�t.
Who the hell is this Nick guy? Why would him leaving her alone in his house make her so upset?
�He said� I was pushing him out� I told. .. I�d never let him in.�
Ooookay. Pushing him out�
Wait a second.
�Kara, is this Nick your Nick?�
When I was answered by another couple of sobs, I knew my guess was right.
How the hell did she run into him again? And why the hell would Nick be friends with a fucking idiot like Mike?
Or� no wonder she�s so upset. She kept trying to convince us she was so over him, but now she�s worse than before.
She said she�d never let him in?!
Oh no. If Nick is as emotionally driven as I think he is, that�s probably not the best thing to say to get him to stop his questioning and placate him at the same time.
�What did he do?�
�He yelled� to get out of the car� to go inside. He left.�
Her voice broke and I could hear her gasping for breath while hiccupping a few more times.
�He�ll come back sweetie. He probably just needed to calm down some. He�s probably just driving around. You know� you do that too after you get into an argument.�
She hiccupped and sighed.
�Yeah, I guess.�
�Baby, go take a shower and try to get some sleep. Lock up the house first.�
There was silence on the other end of the line.
�He�ll come back, baby. You�re in his house. He has to come back.�