He swiped the card quickly, watching for the green flashing light and turned the knob, making his way inside the room, running his palm over the wall for the light switch. Once finding it, he flipped it up and the room was flooded with light. Walking in, he let the door close slowly behind him. He set his bag and suitcases down and made a bee line straight for the bed, flopping down heavily, groaning softly. Damn he was tired, long and uncomfortable flight. He hadn’t gotten any decent sleep and in a few hours he’d have to get right back up and start all that promo shit.
Sitting up slowly, Nick rubbed at his eyes, stifling a yawn. He grabbed one of his suitcases, opening it and riffling through it for a change of clothes. Stumbling sleepily, he made his way into the bathroom and into the shower. Twenty minutes later he emerged feeling cleaner and slightly more awake. After stuffing his dirty clothes in a bag, Nick climbed onto the bed and flipped the TV on. After flipping through the stations a few times, he grew board and went to his other suitcase and pulled his Xbox out and hooked it up. After loading a game he started it up. He would really have liked to have gone out, but it was so early in the morning, nothing would be open and he really was too tired to go wandering around. Tomorrow night there’d be time for that he hoped.
Nick played mechanically, he wasn’t even doing well, it was just too hard to focus, but he knew if he tried to sleep, he wouldn’t be able to. His system was all thrown off and now he was just overtired. His mind wandered, he wondered what his family was doing right now. How were his Sisters? His Brother? Guilt poured over him, but he couldn’t bring himself to call. He wasn’t a bad person; he just didn’t want to have to deal. Sighing, he inwardly cursed himself. It’s not like they could really leave his parents, not really. He was lucky, he had the means to escape to anywhere he wanted, no questions asked. Granted his Sisters and Brother weren’t exactly young, but he knew for a fact his parents wouldn’t let them just leave whenever and wherever they wanted, his Mother in particular.
Nick had never had a hard of a time with his Dad as he did his Mom. Things with them in the beginning had been so great, normal even. It’d all changed over time, but he couldn’t seem to remember what triggered it all. One minute they were fine, the next there was this coldness between them. It was hard on him, his family was important to him, but so was his privacy, something that his Mother had never really respected. He couldn’t live that way, he wouldn’t. His Mom had never understood that though, Jane Carter wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. It wasn’t all the way everyone thought. Yes money was an issue and if he let himself admit it, always had been. It was more than that too though; it was the constant negative comments and the things he was “supposed” to do since “she’d sacrificed so much to get him here.” It was always about what he owed her, what he should be doing because he was her son. What was done, they did to each other, the hurtful words and harsh looks, and she hadn’t been the only one.
Everyone thought it was so easy though, to tell her no and stand up for himself, but it wasn’t, it never had been. She was his Mom, and she knew all the right things to say to make him feel guilty for not wanting to participate in that event, or to buy her that car she wanted. How could he tell her no? When he told her that he no longer wanted her to handle his affairs she had been hurt and angry, more angry than hurt he suspected. It’d been the right thing to do, everyone had told him and he knew it. Still, all these years later, she mentioned it, bringing it up when he’d visit or when he’d call. To make it worse, she’d do it in front of his friends or other family. He never liked to bring his friends or girlfriends home, it was just too risky. Since the separation it was even worse. While he didn’t talk to his Mom much anymore, she made up for it when they did speak. Nick wondered if it’d ever end.
He blinked vigorously, his eyes watering, he needed to sleep. One more game and he’d stop; then again he could pop online and see if Veronica was on. Nick glanced behind him at the clock, three in the morning, which meant it was around nine at night over there since he was now six hours ahead of her. He knew she’d be up, but he really didn’t feel like booting his laptop up, he’d try to email her later on if he had a moment and let her know that he’d arrived.
Yawning loudly, Nick tossed the controller away, the images where starting to get blurry. After turning everything off, he climbed into bed, flipping the light off. He was going to be dead in the morning. Sighing he closed his eyes and quickly drifted off.
