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The two days of freedom Nick gave to Emily were relieving in more ways than she could explain. He took her to see a movie, they ate at restaurants she hadn’t been to in years, they went sight seeing all over Detroit and for two days, they just had fun. Their friendship was seemingly reborn. Neither wanted it to end.

Unfortunately, though, Friday bared its ugly face all too soon, and Emily woke up not wanting to face the day. She was cranky and unfriendly, Nick being her number one target. Knowing she would be unpleasant on this particular day, he let her bitter remarks slide without contest. He hated knowing that she was petrified of the outcome she potentially faced, but he knew it had to be done. Nick was glad he could be there with Emily when she faced it, and he hoped that she saw his devotion to her through his actions.

Their flight was at three O’clock in the afternoon, so they decided to go to Emily’s parents’ house around ten. This way, they had plenty of time to talk out their issues before leaving, but if her parents weren’t home, it would also give them some time to wait.

As Emily attempted to get ready to leave, she found herself stressing in unmanageable ways. She felt like she was going to lose her mind, and at one point, she just wanted to scream.

She roared with frustration, “I’m gonna scream!”

Nick felt badly for her, and he tried his best to comfort her, “Emily, just calm down, okay? Things could go really well for all we know. Just relax and take things slowly.”

“It’s easy for you say, Nick,” she snapped, “It’s not you that has to deal with it.”

“Maybe not now, but it’s not like my family is perfect. I know what it’s like and you keep forgetting that. Why do you think I want you to fix things so badly? I don’t want you to have to deal with this kind of shit for the rest of your life. You don’t deserve it.”

She regretted her words immediately, knowing Nick’s family issues were much more serious than her own.

“I’m sorry, Nick.”

“Don’t be. I know it’s hard, but I’m here for you. You keep forgetting that.”

“No, I haven’t forgotten. I just keep ignoring it.”

He let a little giggle escape, “I think you’re entitled to. Things have been so hard for you lately. I’m just glad I could be there for you.”

“I am too, Nick. I really am. You’ve been so great to me these last few months. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay for it.”

He looked at her completely seriously, “You could forgive me.”

“Forgive you for what?”

“All the times I messed up and you said you wouldn’t forgive me but you wouldn’t hold it against me. Forgive me. It’s all I really want from you.”

“What about my love?” She asked, wondering if it was a safe topic to elicit.

“I already have that,” he mischievously smiled at her. “I just need your forgiveness.”

She did love him, but she’d never admit it. When she thought about it, though, Nick had done so much to make up for the times he hurt in the past that Emily really did feel he deserved her forgiveness. After little consideration, she quickly formulated her decision.

“Okay, Nick. I forgive you, totally and completely. But, if anything from the past ever happens again, there won’t be a next time. I just can’t deal with it.”

“You know what, neither can I. So don’t worry about it. You have my word. I’ll be a perfect angel from now on.”

“Ha! I wouldn’t go to that extreme, Nick. You’re far from an angel.”

He gave her a sad, puppy dog-faced look, “I’m not?”

“Oh, go away, Carter.”

They both laughed and happily continued getting ready for the day.


The side walk leading to the porch seemed endless. The sky was bright blue and the sun was shining proudly, but the world surrounding Emily seemed sullen and depressing. She held onto Nick’s hand tightly as she made her way to the front door of her parents’ house. She was terrified. For the first time in her life, Emily was terrified to see her own parents. Her expectations had reached an all time low, and she counted on leaving feeling hurt and angry, but some how, the man standing next to her seemed to make the aching feeling hovering around her body seem a lot less noticeable.

Apprehensively, she stepped onto the porch, and walked up to the door. Nick let go of her hand, but quickly stuck his finger through the back belt loop of her pants so she’d know he was still there. Immediately after doing so, Emily reached behind her and grabbed Nick’s hand again, afraid to let go. He left his finger in place, but still held on to Emily as tightly as he could. Nick was standing so close behind her she felt like she was going to pass out. He was instigating feelings and emotions within her body she’d never felt for him before. He made her feel so safe and so protected from the world that she questioned how she’d ever gotten along without him.

After procrastinating as long as she possibly could, she finally reached out and rang the doorbell. It was too late to run now, and Nick wouldn’t let her if she tried. She could feel her heart beating so loudly it made her wonder if Nick could hear it. Her mind was racing, and she didn’t know what to think. She didn’t even know what to say. If they answered, Emily had no idea what words to use to initiate the encounter. She was beginning to feel as though she should have thought this through more thoroughly before agreeing to Nick’s crazy idea.

As the anticipation rose, so did the apprehension. Emily wanted to run and never stop running. She knew Nick was right for making her do this, but she hated him for it anyway.

Just when Emily thought her heart was going to explode out of her chest, the front door opened, and there stood her mother. The older woman’s mouth immediately fell open.

“Emily!” She yelled out as she quickly stepped forward to embrace her daughter in a hug. Emily felt Nick let go of her hand, freeing himself from her belt loop, and she hated him for that, too. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged her mother back, awkwardly and insincerely.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Oh, Emily, I’m so glad you’re home!” She pulled away from the hug to look at her daughter. She quickly realized the overwhelming feeling of happiness was not mutual.

“Is Dad home?”

Thrown off by Emily’s lack of joy, she perplexedly replied, “Yes, he is. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you.”

“I’m sure he will,” Emily replied sarcastically.

“Em…” Nick said, hoping to calm her down.

Emily rolled her eyes at Nick's parental scorn and rolled her eyes, announcing, “We need to talk.”

The three entered the home with tension surrounding them. Emily’s mother lead them into the family room then called for her husband to meet her downstairs. As he entered the room, and his daughter became visible, his heart seemed to sink into the pit of his stomach.

“Emily?”

“Hi, Dad,” she said solemnly.

Emily didn’t know what to expect but she certainly didn’t expect things to turn sour as quickly as they did.

“What’s he doing here?”

Emily wanted to scream. She wanted to find a heavy object and introduce it to her father. How could he have the audacity to say such a thing to her? If it weren’t for Nick, she would have fallen apart weeks ago, but her parents couldn’t have known that because they shut her out of their lives.

Knowing Emily well enough, Nick, still standing behind her, nonchalantly rested his right hand on her hip, again using her belt loop for support.

“Just let it go, Em.”

She knew he was only trying to help, but this time, she wouldn’t reason with him.

“No, Nick. I’m gonna let it go. He has no right to say something like that to me or you.” She turned to address her father, “How dare you? Nick has been the best thing to ever happen to me, and you’ve resented me and him for it. Is it really that hard to let go? Are you that incapable of letting me grow up and live my own life?”

“When all you do is make mistakes, yes,” the man replied, feeling he was right.

“Andrew!” His wife yelled out attempting to stop the chaos before it erupted.

“It’s not my fault she attracts trash. He’s no good for her and you know it. All he does is hurt her, and I’m not gonna stand around and watch it happen without saying something,” he refocused his attention on Emily again, “You keep letting this guy walk in and out of your life as he pleases and you see nothing wrong with it. I’m sorry, but I don’t support it and I never will. It’s him or us.”

Nick suddenly regretted forcing Emily into this situation. He suspected it wouldn’t end happily, but he had no idea it would be so horrible. The words her own father was saying to her must have pierced her heart like a knife. All Nick wanted to do was hide her away and bear the torture for her, but he knew he couldn’t.
Emily wanted to cry and scream, but at this point, she was too angry to even consider either.

“You have to be kidding yourself. Last time I checked, Nick is the one that was in my hospital room every single day I was there, and Nick was the one that came to my house every single day after I left to make sure I was okay. Nick was the one that supported me when I felt like I had no one. Nick was the one I turned to, and he never let me down. And where were you? Hiding away because you know you were wrong, but you were too proud to admit it. Maybe Nick isn’t perfect, but neither are you. At least he admits it. If you want to play these games, that’s fine with me. I don’t need you,” she turned to her mother, “and if you’re just gonna stand there and let him say something like that, then I don’t need you either. Have a nice life. I choose Nick.”

She walked out of the door, Nick following behind her, and refused to look back. She opened the passenger side door of the rental car and took her seat, waiting for Nick. He wanted to talk to her and consol her, but he knew it would be best to leave Emily’s parents’ house first. He started the car and drove away, not knowing to what do or say. All he knew was that Emily just exiled her parents from her life, choosing him over them in the process. It wasn’t what he planned, but the feeling of love within his heart seemed to intensify as her words settled in. “I choose Nick.” And he chose her.


The ride to the airport was silent. Emily refused to show any emotion, and talking to Nick seemed close to impossible at this point. She was glad he was with her, but she didn’t have the courage to confront her emotions just then. The hurt she felt inside was worse than anything Nick had ever done, and knowing it was intentional made it worse. She was lucky to have him, and she knew it.

Emily was happy to be going home, and she hoped she’d never have to go back to Michigan ever again. Her and Nick were standing outside of their respective gate, waiting to bored the plane. They had arrived relatively early and both were feeling too antsy to sit. Nick kept staring at Emily, painfully aware of how damaged she was. Emily wanted to cry, but Nick was there, and she still hated crying in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Emily,” Nick softly said to her as she stared aimlessly at the ground beneath her.

“It’s not your fault, Nick.”

“It feels that way.”

“It’s not,” a tear escaped her eye.

“Em,” he said, then reached out and pulled her in, embracing her body close to his, never wanting to let go. He wanted to hold her until he died, relieving her of any tears she ever shed. Nick hated to see Emily cry, and it killed him inside knowing she felt so much pain. Yet beneath all the pain they were both feeling, they were happy, and neither would trade that feeling for anything in the world.