| � Dustin, he�s been gone for a month, and I�ve only talked to him twice. He�s still pissed at me and he has every right to be. He thinks I�ve given up on him,� � Then call him,� Dustin said. � I doubt he�ll hang up on you. And he�s a lot smarter than I think you give him credit for-� � I don�t think he�s stupid, Dusty. I just think we�ve still got some things o work through and he realizes that, but that doesn�t make me miss him any less,� ~ � Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?� nick asked standing in the kitchen doorway. � If you�re busy�� � No, no,� Jane said looking up from the cookbook she was reading. � I was just looking up some old recipes for dinner, but it�s not important. What did you want to talk to me about?� � Uh� it�s about Heather� and me. I just need someone to talk to, and you know a little about our situation.� � Well, okay honey just have a seat, you�re not 100% yet,� She smiled. Nick smiled faintly and carefully made his way over to the table and eased himself into the chair. � Do you want anything? Are you hungry?� Jane asked. � No� no thanks, mom,� Jane grabbed herself a soda from the fridge and sat down next to Nick. � Trouble in paradise?� � Trouble is an understatement. I haven�t been completely honest with you about my car accident,� � How so?� � I wasn�t on my way to pick Heather up from the studio; I was leaving in the middle of the night,� � Leaving?� � Yeah. I uh- had a bought a gun-� � Oh Nickolas, please don�t tell me what I think you�re going to-� � Mom, no. It�s not what you think. I bought the gun for protection. Heather�s well recognized and I�m not very comfortable with the idea of us-her living without some kind of protection. She doesn�t know I bought it. It�s not even loaded. Any way, We fought a lot. IT pretty much started the day we dropped you guys off a the airport-� � After the Grammy�s?� � Yeah. She stayed out late and I got angry and-� � Nickolas, please tell me you didn�t hit her,� � No, mom. I didn�t � I haven�t. But I�ve noticed myself slipping back into that overbearing, obsessed, violent guy I used to be with Emily and I don�t want that. Mom, the night of my accident, I had a gun pointed at Heather in her sleep and I didn�t want to be there. I couldn�t bring myself to shoot her, and so I ran. I got in my car and I left. And I was half way down the freeway when I lost control and I remember rolling once and I blacked out.� � Nick, honey I�m so sorry,� Jane said. � Well it�s a good thing you came home then-� � I didn�t come home. She asked me to leave. She said it was for my own good, but I think she just got tired of me and wanted out. And I don�t blame her. I�m hardly the best boyfriend,� � Well, did she say it was over?� � No, but-� � If she didn�t say that then don�t jump to conclusions. Because she loves you. I�ve seen the way she looks at you,� � But do you think she�d still love me if I told her everything about Emily and all we went through,� � Nick, I honestly don�t now. But I if you really love her you have to be honest with her. She deserves to know� You need to tell her,� � I can�t do that yet, Mom. I wouldn�t know what to say to her. And the conversations we�ve had since I�ve been here haven�t gone all that well, she�ll ask how I�m doing, I�ll ask how she�s doing and that�s it. She didn�t even say she loved me last time,� � The only thing I can tell you is to be honest with her. Better now than later, because if you do it later she may not be so understanding,� Next Page |