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"Where are you taking him?" I heard Shane demand. I rushed
out of Mark's
room, and saw Nicky in handcuffs
"Nicky!" I rushed towards him "You can't arrest him,
please let him go!" I
pleaded. I looked into Nicky's eyes, and I saw a look of fear. I knew I
couldn't let him go through this alone
"Excuse me Miss" The officer pushed me aside
"No. I'm going with him"
"You don't have to" Nicky said quietly
"Yes I do. You're my boyfriend, and I love you" I squeezed his
hand, the
look he gave me confused me. At first it was a look of disbelief that I still
loved him, which changed to a look of annoyance that I was tagging along.
"What are you charged with?"
"Break and entry" The officer informed me. I breathed a sigh of
relief.
"It'll be alright Nic"
He smiled nervously.
"You have to release him. There's no way he is capable of this"
I sighed,
knowing that in all honesty, he could do it "He, he....."
I tried to think
of a reason, an alibi for him "When did this take place?"
The officer took out her notepad "It was reported at 12:38 pm"
"Half twelve? Well there's no way he could have done it. He was at the
photo
shoot right?"
Nicky nodded, Shane knew different though, remembering how he left in a
hurry, and returned high as a kite
The officer tapped her pen against his notepad "Well that's all very
well,
but were you with him at the said time?"
"Well no, because I...."
"So, you can't vouch for Mr Byrne's whereabouts then?"
"Well not technically, but Shane was with him"
I heard Shane let out a low groan. I shot him a curious look. The officer
turned to Shane "Is this true? Were you with Mr Byrne?"
"Ahh...Yes, I was with him throughout the day"
"All of the time?"
"Well...." He looked over to Nicky for an indication that he
could go ahead.
Nicky silently pleaded with him to help him.
"Yes, all the time. We were together all day"
The officer looked at Shane suspiciously, Shane however didn't back down, he
held the accusing glare he received
"Okay then. We have no proof....Yet"
Shane couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he got when the officer said that.
She uncuffed Nicky "I'll be in touch"
"Phew. That was close" Nicky said after the officer had left
"I am never lying for you again" Shane said
"You didn't lie Shane" I said confused "You were at
the photo shoot with
the lads"
"I know that but I still lied"
"How did you lie?"
"Can we just drop this!" Nicky snapped. I instantly shut my
mouth, and
returned to Mark's room
"Nicky" Tonya asked "Can I have a word?"
He rolled his eyes "Depends what it's about"
"I think you know" She gave him a knowing look
"Want me to join you?" Shane asked. She sighed, she didn't want
to reveal to
Shane what she was about to reveal to Nicky
"Do you mind if I say no?" She asked. Shane was about to say
something when
Nicky let out a long sigh "Are we talking or what then!"
Shane curled his hand into a fist "You're going nowhere if you speak
to my
girlfriend like that again!"
"Shane, stop" She pushed him along
"Yeah, bye Shane" Nicky smirked
"In there now" She pointed to the room she shared with Shane. He
smiled
"Why, what would Shane say if he knew what you were really like?"
"What I'm really like is someone who's going to give you a second chance,
now
in!"
He swore and followed her in
Shane had a fair idea what Tonya was about to say to Nicky, but wished he
could have been there with her. He knew it was about Nicky's health and how
he was abusing it, he admired her for been so strong, he was glad he had her
with him, what with Nicky's drug use coming to light, he needed her more than
ever
"Shane, where the hell is Nicky!" Louis and Anto walked towards
him, Shane
sighed. Not now. He thought
"He's busy"
"Not too busy to tell me what the hell is going on!" Louis
shouted
"I said he's busy" Shane repeated calmly "He'll speak
to you in his own
time"
"He will talk to me now Shane! I know that he's on something!"
"On something?" Shane was shaking inside, yet showed a cool
exterior "He is
not on anything"
"You saw him Shane" Anto said "He was on something,
you can't deny it"
"He was just tired! Why can't you leave him alone!" Shane rushed
into Mark's
room
"I want a meeting tomorrow morning! Something is going on and I need to
know
what!" Louis growled before he left Anto stood alone in the corridor,
shaking his head at the absurdity of it all
"Nicky. I know you have a problem" Tonya began
"What the....I do not have a problem!" He hissed
"You do, I know you have, I see the signs that are so clear to me, yet
unclear to others. I've been through it once already Nicky. I can't go
through it again"
Nicky sat in silence as she continued "His name was Brett. He was my
best
friend. Ever since we were at kindergarten. we hung out practically every
day. But then when we went to senior school, things changed, he started
hanging out with the popular crowd, he had no time for me. I didn't recognise
the signs Nicky, he was slowly drifting away in front of my eyes. He started
smoking pot, then crack, then heroin. I found him one day injecting himself,
he was so scared that I'd tell his parents, he begged me not to. Pleaded with
me. I was only a kid myself, so I kept it secret. That was the worst mistake
of my life"
She stopped as memories came flooding back to her, happy memories tinged with
dark memories, ones that haunt her for the rest of her life. Nicky saw the
fear in her eyes as she was confronted with demons from her past, and he
didn't like it one little bit "What happened to him?" He
found himself
asking it out loud
She looked up at him, tear stained face a big giveaway to what she was about
to reveal "Brett died. He died and it was all my fault, I could have
stopped
him, but I didn't"
Nicky was stunned into silence, he forced away the lump in his throat
"I...I'm sorry" He mumbled
"Yeah, me too. Considering I was the one who discovered him"
"You mean?"
"Yes Nicky. I found him with a needle sticking in his arm, his eyes glazed
over, his eyes still haunt me now, my best friend died all because he had to
fit in"
"But I'm not on heroin, I won't die. I'm not that stupid" He
said quietly
"Nicky. You are an idiot. It's got nothing to do with brains. Brett was set
to graduate, become a doctor. He got into drugs so easily, it happened to
him, and it's happened to you"
"No!" He stood up and choked on a sob "I'm not on
drugs"
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you? Cos I'm not convinced"
She
walked up behind him, and placed her hand against his trembling shoulders. He
flinched to her touch "I couldn't save Brett" She
whispered "But I sure as
hell won't let anything happen to you. Let me help you Nicky"
"I don't need help"
"Not until you admit you have a problem, I can't help you" She
walked
towards the door, placed her hand on the door knob, and turned to face him
"But I want to Nicky, I don't want to lose another friend to drugs"
She left him alone, and tears streamed down her face, as images of Brett
filled her mind
I crept out into the corridor. Mark and Shane were too wrapped up in their
movie to notice me leave. Or so I thought.
"Where you going?" I heard Mark ask
"I won't be long. I just..."
"You're off to Nicky aren't you?"
"Yes"
He sighed "Don't let him hurt you again okay?"
"Mark. The only one who is hurting is Nicky"
"And so are you" He said softly, I stepped back as his hand
stroked my
cheek. I left the room quietly
Shane smiled "Don't make it too obvious will you"
"What are you talking about?" Mark blushed, while Shane shook
his head and
laughed softly
I came across Tonya outside "Hey, you okay?"
"Fine. I'll be fine" She said quietly. I could tell that she'd
been crying,
something had happened with Nicky, something she didn't want to discuss. I
stepped into Shane's room without another word
Nicky curled up into a ball on Shane's bed and sobbed softly. Her words had
hit home. I do need help. He thought. I'm just so scared
I approached the bed, seeing Nicky huddled up, all defenceless. It was an
image I wasn't expecting to see. Gone was the arrogant, angry Nicky, replaced
by a vulnerable, scared Nicky
I cautiously brushed my hand across his back. his eyes locked with mine and
he smiled. The smile was important to me, it gave me confidence to comfort
him, not knowing what was going through his mind, but wanting, no needing to
help him through whatever he was experiencing
I wrapped my arms around him, and he for once didn't reject me
"It's going to be okay Nicky. I promise"
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