[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Nick drove around Sunset Beach for the next hour doing nothing but mentally kicking himself in the ass for being such a “scared little pussy.” He had been standing on the doorstep looking at Elisabeth’s fiancé and when questioned about who he was, he backed out. Of course, he had been caught off guard, not expecting to meet Ben tonight. But he was still quite angry with himself.

Now, he was pulling into one of the parking lots for beach goers; at night they were fairly empty and being it was nearing the end of September, there were far more spaces to park.

“Why couldn’t I tell him who I was? ‘I’m Nick…Elisabeth’s…’” he trailed off unsure of what he would have said. “What am I? Not her boyfriend.”

Making sure his car was locked, Nick headed for the beach. It had been a long time since he had come to the beach at night to think; since Maddie had been born, he really hadn’t needed to. He rubbed his tired eyes and let out a weary sigh; it had been a long day.

Glancing out across the water, Nick couldn’t distinguish where the ocean ended and the sky began. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shivered a little as a slight chill crept into the air.

After a few minutes, he decided that he would turn around and head back. Gram will be worried if I don’t come home soon.

As he pulled off in the direction of his home, he saw that the flowers—looking old and wilted—were still lying in the passenger seat. Without a second though, Nick rolled down his window and tossed them out, watching as the car behind him crushed the already dying petals. So much for second chances, he thought unhappily.

***

“Who was that, Liz?” Ben asked for the hundredth time in 2 minutes. Ever since Nick had come by, Ben had been questioning her nonstop: Who is he? What does he want? Why would he bring you flowers? Is he crazy? She took a calming breath and ignored his question as she began to wash the dishes lying in the kitchen sink.

“He must have had the wrong house, dear,” Abigail reassured Ben as she waltzed into the kitchen. “Jacob is looking for you. I think he wants you to play a game on that fun station thingy.”

Ben laughed at Abigail’s video game illiteracy and left the room to find Jacob, leaving mother and daughter to finish cleaning up.

“What was he doing here?” Abigail questioned after a few minutes of silent dish washing.

Elisabeth rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and let out an impatient sigh. “I should have known your interrogation was coming.”

“Listen to me Elisabeth,” her mother began speaking in a softer tone. “Don’t mess this up. Benjamin is a wonderful man and you deserve to be happy, but that means you have to give him a chance.”

“I told you already,” Elisabeth began through clenched teeth, “I don’t know what he was doing here. Why is it you automatically assume that I’m going to go sleep with any man that shows up at my front door?”

Abigail stopped drying the bowl in her hands and looked at her daughter. “If he had been any other man, I wouldn’t be worried, but I know what happened between you two before. I’m just trying to look out for you, darling.”

“Look, Mother, I’m okay. I can handle this, all right? Just don’t worry about anything,” Elisabeth said as she rinsed the last dish and dropped it into Abigail’s hands.

Walking past the living room, Elisabeth saw that Ben and Jacob were engrossed in one of the many video games in Jacob’s vast library. For this she was quite thankful because that meant she could be alone for a little while. She would be able to think. To cry. To do whatever she wanted.

Quickly and quietly, she grabbed a jacket and ventured out onto the back deck. The temperature had dropped considerably since earlier that evening and it was fairly below normal for a September night in North Carolina. Falling into one of the wicker chairs, she leaned her head back and looked up at the cloudy sky. Big billowing clouds were rolling in from over the ocean and she could see distant flickers of lightening on the horizon.

There was no denying that Nick had come over to apologize to her.

God, she thought, please help me do the right thing this time.

Closing her eyes, she felt the first drops of rain splatter onto her cheeks and she heard the doors open. So much for alone time.

***

*Three Days Later*

“Hey Camden,” Nick greeted his neighbor as he entered the hardware store. “You okay? You look like something’s bothering you.”

“Just the in-laws,” Tyler Camden replied and leaned on the counter. “My batty old mother-in-law is driving me insane, but don’t tell Michelle I said that.”

Nick smirked and nodded. “So, what can I help you with?”

“Nothin’ really, I just had to get away from home for a little while. I didn’t tell anybody where I was going or when I’d be back; and this was just the first place I thought of.”

Nick was about to reply when the bell at the top of the door caught his attention and he turned to greet the customer. He stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth setting into a grim line.

Ben Hyatt smiled politely at Nick and nodded in greeting to Tyler as he waited for their conversation to end. Taking the hint rather quickly, Tyler slapped his hand on the counter and sighed.

“I guess I should get outta here; Michelle might call up here soon. If she does, you didn’t see me, okay?”

“Sure thing, Camden,” Nick laughed. “Can I help you?”

Ben noticed that Nick was acting as though he had never laid eyes on him in his life. “Actually, I just wanted to come by and talk to you about something.”

“Oh, okay,” Nick tried to sound nonchalant, but inwardly he groaned. He thought that by now he wasn’t gonna have to worry about another run-in with Benjamin Hyatt. My luck just ran out, he snorted bitterly to himself. “What about?”

“The other night when you showed up at my fiancée’s house,” Ben didn’t miss a beat.

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that, man,” Nick said casually. “I was at the wrong house.”

“Uh huh,” Ben said unconvinced. “Look, Abby has already filled me in on your little escapade with Liz a few years back. I just wanted to come remind you that our wedding is in a week and a half and I would appreciate it if you didn’t take to turning up on our doorstep whenever you feel the urge.”

Nick could feel his blood boiling in his veins and he took a breath to calm his surging temper. Clenching his fists on top of the counter, he cleared his throat and met Ben’s gaze. “I think you need to leave.” Be the bigger man, he kept chanting to himself.

Ben smirked and shrugged. “Just remember this talk, okay? You had your chance with Liz, and I would appreciate it if you left her alone.”

Before Nick could even think of anything to say to Ben, he had left the small store. “Dickhead.”

***

“You told him what!?” Elisabeth shrieked across the room at her mother. “What made you think you even had the right to bring that up? Even to Ben?”

“Elisabeth, darling, Benjamin has the right to know about this.”

“The hell he does. Not from you, anyway. It wasn’t your place to tell him about what happened between Nick and me; you would give your version. I’m sure it’s quite exaggerated by now.”

Abigail remained calm as Elisabeth continued to rant.

“Why do you always take it upon yourself to handle things that are none of your concern? I mean, do you even know what it means when something is private?”

“Were you ever going to tell him?”

“Why should Ben know about things that happened years ago? What happened with Nick happened when I was at my lowest, and whether you want to realize it or not, mother, Nick brought me back from that point. He saved me. But you just can’t fathom that someone like Nick could be such a Godsend, can you? Just because he isn’t wealthy doesn’t mean he’s not rich. God, you just think you’re better than everyone don’t you? You probably even think you’re better than Dad and me. I think the only person you like is YOU, and that’s just quite sad.”

“You know what I think you’re problem is?”

“What?” Elisabeth asked even though she didn’t want to hear it.

“I think you’re afraid to be happy,” Abigail said as Elisabeth rolled her brown eyes. “I’m serious. You’ve been unhappy for so long, I think you are scared that if you let something or someone make you happy something bad will happen.”

“No, Mom, I’m not scared of being happy, I’m just scared that I’m going to make the wrong decision like I did before.”

“You won’t.”

Elisabeth thought for a moment about that. Then, looking at her mother, she smiled. “You’re right; I won’t.”