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Chapter 38

Chapter 38

            As the elevator crept up to the fifth floor of the hotel, Nick stood silent in it while waves of raw emotion crashed down on him. He didn’t know what to say or what to do. He felt like kicking the ever-loving shit out of his best friend, he felt like confronting Andrea, he felt like jumping out of a window and he felt like crying.

            The elevator bell dinged as they reached their destination, bringing Nick out of his trance. He looked down at AJ passed out on the floor, numerous thoughts running through his head. Did he force her? Did she force him? What does he mean by kiss, friendly or passionate? Why would he do this? Why would she do this? The elevator doors started to shut and he stuck his hand between them to stop them from closing, his mind racing. He bent down and grabbed AJ under his arms and dragged him out of the elevator.

            “What happened?!?” a voice yelled from behind him as he and AJ emerged from the elevator. He turned around to see Annie coming down the hallway, obviously searching for her fiancé.

            “Just got get Andrea and meet me in your room. I want to get him out of the hallway before anyone sees him.” Nick dragged Alex down the hall to his room and Annie walked the other way down the hall to Andrea’s room.

            She knocked on the door and her cousin answered it, wrapped in a white silk robe. “Hey honey, what’s up?” Andrea asked as she made sure her robe was securely tied shut.

            “I’m not sure. I just ran into Nick and he was dragging Alex off the elevator. He told me to come get you and to meet him in our room.”

            Oh shit, Andrea thought, her stomach turning. “Let me get dressed. C’mon in,” she said, stepping aside so her cousin could enter the room. Andrea went into the bedroom and threw on her sweat pants, a tank top and her flip flops. I’m so sorry Annie, I never meant to hurt you, she repented internally as she walked back into the living room of her suite.

            Without uttering a word, the two girls walked out of Andrea’s suite and down the hall to Annie’s suite. As they approached the door Annie paused before she put her key into door. “I think Nick found out that Alex kissed you,” she said quietly, thrusting her key into the lock and opening the door.

            Andrea’s jaw dropped, and she felt as if the walls were closing in on her. “How did you--” Andrea’s began to utter, unable to breath or think properly.

            “Not now,” Annie said, interrupting her cousin, trying to bring focus back to her cousin. “Let me help you smooth things over with your husband and we will talk later.” She didn’t even look at her cousin when she said this; she just pushed the door open and pulled Andrea into the room with her.

            Andrea’s eyes searched the room as soon as she had cleared the doorway, looking for her husband and AJ. She heard movement in the bedroom and water running in the bathroom. Still finding it hard to breathe she quickly sat down on the couch and tried to calm herself down.

            “Nick, where are you?” Annie called out as she walked past her cousin and towards the bedroom. She pushed the door open but saw no one. She walked towards the bathroom and opened the door. “What are you doing?” she cried as she saw Alex in the shower and Nick standing over him.

            “I’m trying to sober him up,” Nick snapped back at her. “HE’S DRUNK!”

            Annie stuck her hand in the water and pulled it right back out. “It’s freezing,” she commented as she grabbed a towel from the rack. She looked down at her fiancé, who seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that cold water was cascading over his fully clothed body. “I don’t think this is working,” she criticized as she turned the shower off and began undressing her drunken fiancé.

            As she was buttoning his pants he grabbed her around the wrist so suddenly it caused her to scream out loud. “I’m sorry Annie,” he muttered before his hand slipped off of her wrist listlessly.

            “You’re right about that,” she shot back at him, the urge to wrap her hands around his throat and strangle him hit her so fast it almost knocked her over. “You are one sorry piece of shit.” She got him undressed down to his boxers and Nick helped her get him out of the shower and into the bedroom.

            Andrea was standing by the bed when they walked into the room. “This is all my fault,” she said as she walked over to AJ and helped Nick support him. She draped his arm across her shoulders and wrapped her arm around his waist so that Annie could find him some dry clothes to put on.

            “No it’s not,” AJ mumbled as he stumbled over to the bed under the guidance of Andrea and Nick. “It’s my fault, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Nick and Andrea let him go and he sank down onto the bed. Annie handed him a dry pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

            “When you’re dressed and sober, the four of us need to talk,” Annie said shortly as Alex grabbed the clothes from her. “Then the two of us need to talk.” She turned around before he could stop her and walked out of the bedroom, Andrea and Nick right behind her.