Thoughtless Words
Story by Courtney C. and Jessica B.
~~*Chapter Eight- Part Two*~~
As I drove down the road, glancing at
every parking lot down town, I dialed Courtney’s cell number about
five times before she finally answered.
“Court, where the fuck are you?” I
didn’t know whether to be angry or sympathetic. She had left before Nick
had had a chance to explain.
“Jess, thank goodness it’s you,”
She sniffed.
“Are you in New York?” The idea
suddenly came across my mind. There was a brief pause.
“Yes.” My heart raced.
“Courtney, we have a show tomorrow.
Our final concert of the tour. Nick won’t be able to do the show without
you.”
“I messed up. I can’t speak to him
again. I couldn’t.” Her voice was shaking.
“Yeah you messed up. Courtney, how
could you think Nick would cheat on you? And with Tommi of all people?
Tommi and I are the one’s who spent all evening looking for that ring. We
searched for hours until we found
the perfect one Nick had described.”
“It was beautiful,” She managed to
choke out.
“And expensive. He loved you enough
to marry you Courtney. He wants you by his side, always, and you’ve
thrown that away.” There was silence and I could hear her trying to steady her
breathing.
“Jess, I don’t need to hear this
from my best friend. Not you. Not now.”
“Well, then I suggest you get your
ass back on that plane and get down here.”
“I can’t,” she pleaded. “I
can’t face him right now. Not after what I said to him.”
“You’re going to have to,
Courtney.” This time there was an even longer pause. “Courtney? You there?”
“Yes, and staying.” And then I
heard the long annoying sound of the dial tone.
~~~
I walked back into Nick’s house and
closed the door behind me. AJ and Tommi were sitting at the kitchen
table.
“Where’s Nick?” I asked grabbing
a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water.
“He’s in the bathroom. Any luck?”
AJ responded.
Well, yes and no. I talked to her on
the phone, but she’s in New York. At least we know where she is.”
“Yeah but...New York?!” AJ
screamed. “We have a concert. What’s Nick gonna do?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know, but
she said she’s not coming back anytime soon.”
Just then Nick walked out of the
bathroom, wiping his face against a towel. He sat down at the table and
laid his head down with a sigh. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around
his neck. I had no words. I just
wanted to hug him and comfort him. He was a brother to me and every pain that he
felt, made me want to cry. He
reached up and tightened his hand around mine.
“You’re going to be fine Nick.
You’re gonna be fine,” I reassured him. He kissed my hand and stood up.
“Get some rest okay? If you need anything just holler.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Nick said as he slowly dragged his tired body upstairs.