She rolled back over and there she saw the most beautiful thing on Earth. There sat Nick, smiling slightly. His ocean blue eyes gleaming, matching his smile. And his hair. Oh God, she had to laugh. He noticed where she was looking at and immediately trued to brush his "I just stuck my finger in a light socket" hairdo down. "No!" she said quickly. "Don't touch it. It looks good on you."
He blushed slightly. He was apparently embarrassed by that. "It was about time you got up." He took her hand and pulled her out of bed and blindfolded her.
"Nick, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Oh, just you hush, and trust me," Nick replied and guided her outside to the patio. He led her to her chair and sat her down. "Surprise," he whispered in her ear. He placed a kiss on her cheek while stripping her of the blindfold.
Annie's hands quickly flew to her mouth in shock. Before her on the table was french toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, a carafe of orange juice and a fresh pot of coffee. "Oh my God Nick! What is all this for?" she asked in astonishment.
"All this is a thank you," he stated simply.
"A thank you for what? If anything, I should be thanking you."
"This is for giving me the first good night's sleep I've had in ages."
Now it was Annie's turn to blush from embarrassment. "Well, then you're welcome." They sat there on the patio in the early morning sunlight, ate their breakfast and talked about nothing in particular.
After breakfast, Nick and Annie relaxed for a bit on the deck. Out of nowhere, Nick sighed. Annie gave him a look as if saying "what's wrong?"
"I really should head back to the house. We all got together for this week and here I've been being with you most of the time. I feel like a horrible host," Nick explained.
Annie understood. "That's alright Nick. I really should straighten up the house a little bit and maybe start looking for work. Although I'm getting rather spoiled just laying out in the sun all day long. Work is the last thing I wanna do right now."
Nick laughed. "Well, how bout I give you a call later on tonight?"
Annie nodded. "Sure, that sounds great."
Nick cupped her face in his hand and gave her a sweet kiss. It wasn't overbearing or pushy, but just something to let Annie know that he cared. "Until then. Bye Annie." He headed out the front door and drove home.
Annie heard his car drive off. Oh dear God, what I have gotten myself in to, she softly asked herself, as she wandered back into the house, suddenly bored.
Annie spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up around the house. Around 4pm, the phone rang. "Hello?"
"Annie? It's Uncle Joe."
"Hey! How are you? It's good to hear from you!"
"Annie, this is a hard phone call to make. Mom died this morning," her uncle said sadly.
Luckily the couch was there, because Annie's knees gave out. "No, not grandma," Annie sobbed, tears flowing down her pink cheeks. "What happened?"
"She passed on in her sleep. She's with dad now."
"That's true. I haven't gotten a job yet, so I can come up in the morning."
"That's fine. Well, I'm gonna go now. I still have to call Alex."
Annie froze. The last person she wanted to see was her back-stabbing sister. "O-ok. I'll see you when I get there. B'bye Joe."
"B'bye Annie." She clicked off the phone, then immediately the flood gates opened. She cried and cried for everything she lost; her parents, grandma and grandpa, and even Cory and Alex. She was so distraught, she never heard the phone ring several times. Totally drained of energy, she fell into a fitful sleep.
Nick called Annie several times that evening. At around 9pm, he started getting worried. He walked down the beach to her house. He noticed the patio door was open, so he went into the dark house. Only the moon gave him enough light to see Annie sleeping on the couch. He turned the lamp on, only then did he notice her tear-stained face. "Annie. Annie, wake up," Nick said, gently shaking her. She woke up and saw Nick. "What happened? You look like you've been crying."
"Oh Nick." That was all she could get out before she broke down again in hysteric sobs. He immediately enveloped her in his arms, rubbing her back soothingly until she calmed down. After her sobs subsided, she began to speak. "My Uncle Joe called earlier. My grandma died in her sleep last night." She could feel the lump in her throat, but immediately got it under control. "What am I gonna do Nick? She was like my best friend. We talked and talked about everything and nothing in particular. She's the only one who knew where I went and why. And I just know that Alex is gonna be there, most likely with Cory. I don't know if I can deal with that on top of the funeral and everything." Annie sighed in defeat.
Nick didn't know what to do. He just kept his arms around her and dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I don't know what to say Annie, except that you shouldn't go up there alone."
"I know Nick. I don't think I can handle seeing them together. It still hurts so much. I've never felt that kind of betrayal before, and you have no idea how lonely I felt after that happened." She was so frustrated, angry, sad, and confused, all at once. All this talk about Alex and Cory brought back all the old memories that had begun to settle in her heart.
"Annie, you're not alone anymore. Take me with you. I don't have any commitments. I won't let you go up there alone to face them again," Nick explained.
"Nick, I couldn't possibly ask that of you. This is my mess and I have to deal with it myself."
"Annie, listen to me. It is my mess also." She gave him a quizzical look. "It became my mess once you became my friend. You need to realize that you don't have to walk through the rest of your life alone. It's ok to need a shoulder to lean on. I want to be there for you because I care about you Annie. I really do." Nick looked like he was close to tears himself.
Annie threw her arms around Nick's neck. "Oh Nick, I could never thank you enough." She rested her head on his shoulder and silently sobbed, sad tears from the passing of her grandmother mixing with the content tears coming from the knowledge that Nick was truely there for her, no matter what. Nick began to shift, and Annie noticed him getting off the couch. "Where are you going? You're not leaving, are you?"
"No sweetie. You just sit there, and I'll be right back," Nick said before disappearing down the hall. She heard water running, and then heard Nick's footsteps coming back down the hall. He pulled Annie up off the couch. "I'm running you a bubble bath. Tell me where we're going and I'll make the travel arrangements. Right now I want you to relax. Let me take care of everything."
Is this guy for real, Annie asked herself. She had always been the one who took charge and made sure everything was alright. It felt nice to be taken care of for a change. Brushing her hand along his arm, she smiled up at him. "Thank you Nick. You can't even begin to understand how much this means to me." She softly kissed him on the cheek, reiterating her thanks before heading down the hallway, looking forward to soaking away in her bubble bath.
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