Chapter 17

Gwen had decided to take the week after she returned from Dallas off.  It had been so emotionally draining that she needed a break.  She hadn't called Nick yet because she wanted to make sure that she knew exactly what she wanted before she did.  She knew she had done the right thing about Collin by breaking the engagement, but she didn't know if she was ready to handle a relationship, especially one with the feelings that were involved with her and Nick.  She thought she was prepared to spend some time alone when her she got the call.

"What?  Is he OK?" she stated calmly into the phone.

"I think he will be.  Gwen, I know it is a lot to ask but I think it would help if you came out here.  He has been so upset about what happened between you guys and add that to trying to finish the new album, he has pretty much lost it.  He hasn't been to the studio since Friday, he has locked himself in his house, he won't take our calls or answer the door.  I have a key and I went over there last night and it wasn't good."

"I will be on the next flight out -" she hung up on Brian before he had a chance to respond.  She dumped out her suitcase from Dallas and began throwing things back into it, not paying attention to what she was grabbing.  She was out the door within 10 minutes and caught the next flight to Tampa, Florida.  She called Brian from the plane and gave him the flight info.

When she stepped off of the ramp she spotted Brian and ran over to him, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Take me to him."

Brian obliged and they quickly went out to his car.  She didn't know what to expect and she was ill-preared for the trip.  She had on a pair of khaki capri pants and a tight white t-shirt with no bra and a pair of chunky white tennis shoes.  She had a baseball cap on her head and she looked tired.  The two didn't say a word the whole way.  As they pulled up to Nick's house, she spoke, "Thanks for calling me Brian, I really appreciate it."

"Let me know how it is going," he said as he handed her the key to the house.

"I will," she promised as she stepped out of the car.  She was like a woman on a mission.  Gwen unlocked the door to Nick's house without a second thought.  She had never been there before so she wondered around looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.  She went upstairs, looked through the bedrooms, he wasn't there either.  She saw a dim light coming from underneath a door off one of the bedrooms.  She slowly approached it and opened the door.  She walked over to the shower and there he was, sitting in the standing shower knees to his chest, with the cold water running on his clothed body.  She walked over to the shower, opened the door and turned the water off.  He just sat there, not moving.  She knelt down in front of him and gently placed her hands on his cheeks as she lifted his face to hers, "Nick, I am here."

He just stared at her.  Finally, he pulled to him and hugged her.  Nick was actually sobbing in her arms.  She lifted him up and began removing his wet clothes.  She lead him into the bedroom and asked, "Is this your room?"

He nodded.  Gwen went over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of clean boxers and a t-shirt and helped him dress.  She pulled down the covers of his bed and tucked him in.  She picked up his wet clothes and turned on the TV before turning to head downstairs.  She found the laundry room and put his clothes in the wash, made him some homemade potato soup and a sandwich and headed back upstairs about 30 minutes later with a tray bearing the food.  He looked up and her a barely smiled.  She set the tray down on his lap and tossled his hair.  "I am going to change."

Gwen went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of his boxers and a long-sleeved t-shirt.  He watched her attentively, thinking to himself how beautiful she was.  After he had finished eating, she took the dishes down to the kitchen and switched out the laundry.  She came back up to the bedroom and climbed into bed with Nick.  She wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her.  She kissed his forehead and began playing with his hair.  He asked, "Why did you come here?"

"Brian called me and told me you needed me so here I am."

"I can't believe he told you."

"I am glad that he did"

"I wish you hadn't seen me like this."

"Are you embarrassed?  You shouldn't be - remember the first night you took me out?" Nick nodded "You told me that it was ok to need someone.  Nick, I want you to be able to depend on me."

"Its been kind of hard to depend on anything lately."

"Nick, just because I was going through some stuff on my own doesn't mean that I don't care about you.  I just needed some time to think and make sure I handled everything in a way I wouldn't regret.  But just know it didn't change anything with you."

Nick smiled a sleepy grip and gave her a soft kiss on the the lips before he fell asleep in her arms.

Chapter 18
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