“Are you okay?” Nick broke her thoughts, concern written on his handsome face.
Bianca felt her cheeks being to warm and only nodded as she avoided meeting his eyes. She was weak when she did that, and right now she couldn’t afford to be weak.
Suddenly, the doctor came into the room and smiled. “How are you feeling?”
Bianca only smiled politely and nodded.
“Well, it looks like you don’t have any fractures in your ankle,” he said pointing to the x-ray, “but you do have a severe sprain. You’ll need to stay off your feet as much as possible and keep ice on the injury. I’ll have the nurse come to fit you for a brace and we’ll get you some crutches.” Another nod from Bianca and the doctor was on his way again.
Suppressing a sigh, Bianca tried to occupy her mind. She’d asked the nurse to call AJ as soon as they’d arrived at the hospital and again after she’d gotten stitches for the gash over her left eye. There was still no word from him. The room she was in didn’t have a telephone and they assured her that if they had any news from AJ or if he arrived, she would be the first to know. She was growing restless and jittery; she couldn’t even turn over in the hospital bed because her right ankle was propped up so high.
“Can I do anything for you?” Nick asked quietly, noticing Bianca’s agitation.
“No, thanks.”
Nick nodded and began twiddling his thumbs. Bianca’s silence spoke volumes and while he didn’t regret anything that they had done in the last few hours, he knew she did. She was worried about AJ, understandably, but he couldn’t shake the jealous feeling that had settled in his stomach. At the end of the day, nothing had really changed after all. They had shared their feelings and more, but as soon as that car stopped to see if they were okay and offered to bring them into town, everything that was happening between them came to a sudden stop. Bianca wouldn’t even look at him now and that broke his heart all over again. Rubbing his hands on his jeans, Nick stood up.
“Well, Bean, I’m gonna get going if you’re okay. AJ will probably be here any minute and then you’ll get to go home.”
Bianca bit her lip and willed the tears that were stinging her eyes to go away. With a short nod she whispered, “Okay. Sorry, again. For everything…”
Staring straight into her eyes, Nick shook his head, “I’m not.”
Bianca turned her head to the wall and tried to discreetly wipe away the tears that had escaped. She turned just as he was leaving the room, “Nick… I…”
He stopped but did not turn around to face her. He waited for a moment to see if she would say anything else, but she never did. “Goodbye, Bianca.”
Brian laughed and ducked out of the way of a french fry that Nicole had hurled at him from across the table. They were seated inside a nearly deserted, cozy little café enjoying each other’s company. Smiling, Brian picked up a fry from his plate and popped it into his mouth just as a comfortable silence settled between them.
“You know what’s really funny?” Nicole questioned as she took a sip from her glass, absently staring out the window.
“What’s that?”
“I was thinking about you this morning. How good it would be to see or hear from you.”
Brian’s smile grew wider. “Is it everything you’d hoped for?”
Nicole laughed and tossed another fry at him. “You’re so crazy… and yes, it’s really good to see you. I guess I didn’t realize it until today, but I’ve really missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Nikki.”
This time the silence that fell over them wasn’t quiet as comfortable and they both felt the tension. Taking a final sip from her glass, Nicole regretfully stood up. She straightened her denim skirt and pushed a strand of dark hair from her face. “Well,” she said slowly, letting Brian’s smile warm her, “I really should get going. I’ve got a ton of things I still need to do.”
Brian stood and nodded slowly. “Same here.” He pulled her into an embrace that seemed to last longer than it should have and they both seemed to linger in each other’s arms a little longer than normal. Brian took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent that was so familiar to him and closed his eyes. Nicole pressed her forehead against his cheek and felt herself sigh contentedly. Finally, Brian realized they’d been standing this way for quite some time and reluctantly pulled back to look at Nicole. They both chuckled slightly.
“We must be a sight.”
“Would you like to go get some dinner with me tomorrow night?” Brian asked, his eyes twinkling.
“I’d love that,” she grinned.
Kevin smiled at Chris as they sat on the floor of his living room playing with Chris’ toys. It was amazing how quickly Chris had warmed up to him. As he rolled the little red fire truck in front of his son, Kevin couldn’t help but think how much he’d missed out on in Kyra’s life so far.
Shaking that thought from his mind, he tried to imitate the sound a truck would make and watched as Chris sat mesmerized. Finally, after a few more minutes, Chris looked up at him and stood up.
“I’m hungwee…” Chris said quietly as he placed a tiny finger on Kevin’s tanned cheek.
“Okay, sport, let’s go see what we can find to eat.”
“Daddy?”
Kevin never imagined that one simple word could catch him off guard so suddenly, but it did. And before he realized what was happening, his eyes had filled with tears. Realization hit him and he knew that Chris was staring at him expectantly. He cleared his throat, “Yeah, buddy?”
“Can we get a happy meal?”
Kevin laughed out loud and lifted Chris above his head before bringing the small child in for a tight embrace. “We can get whatever you want.”
“Can I get you anything?” AJ asked quietly as he carried Bianca’s things into their bedroom while she hobbled over to the bed.
“No,” she stated flatly, “I’m fine.”
AJ stood in the middle of the large master bedroom not knowing what to do with himself. He felt as though he should make himself useful, but Bianca had made it clear that she had not forgotten their fight earlier. He also couldn’t forget it; he couldn’t help but think that had they never started fighting she never would have been in an accident. But they did and she was, and the only thing he could do now was apologize and hope she would forgive him. Cautiously, AJ went over to the bed and helped Bianca get settled in. He made sure she had enough pillows behind her back and that her ankle was elevated. He was beginning to feel out of place once again.
“I’m fine, AJ,” she said quietly as she reached over and picked up the television remote. Her intention was to completely ignore him for now; it might make her feel less guilty about the day’s events if she remained angry with him.
“Okay,” he nodded. Taking her obvious hint, he headed for the door. Stopping for a moment he looked at her with sad brown eyes. He came back to the bedside and placed a tender kiss on her forehead, “Baby, I’m really sorry that this happened. I was a jerk today and I feel like it’s my fault. If you need me, I’ll be down the hall.”
Bianca watched AJ leave the room and suddenly felt everything closing in around her. She felt like the most horrible person in the world at that very moment. She had never been more confused in her entire life as she turned on her left side and cried herself to sleep.
Nick drove home in complete silence. He felt absolutely heartbroken yet again… not to mention confused as hell. Bianca hadn’t pushed him away earlier; she’d given in to their desires as easily and completely as he had. Yet, she wouldn’t own up to the fact that there was definitely still something between them. She’d even said herself that she still loved him…
“Nick…” her voice broke with emotion. She tried to deny it for so long… “I never stopped loving you, I just stopped letting it show…”
He raked a hand through his already disheveled hair and decided that he would never understand what was going on between them. All he knew was that she was the only thing that made perfect sense in his life, and she was gone. It didn’t seem quite fair. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. What right did she have to play these games?
As quickly as the anger flared up, he felt the hurt taking over. And as badly as he was hurting and hating Bianca at that very moment, the only question that clouded his mind was: When will I see her again? He knew he shouldn’t want to see her, but he only felt whole when they were together… Even if it only means being in the same room…
When does the pain ever end
When do the tears stop from running over
When does "you'll get over it" begin
I hear what you're saying
But I swear that it's not making sense
So when can I see you
When can I see you again
When can my heart beat again
When can I see you again
When can I breathe once again
And when can I see you
When does my "someday" begin
When I'll find someone again
And what if I still am not truly over
What am I supposed to do then, babe...
Do you see what I'm saying
Even if, if it's not making sense
So when can I see you
When can I see you again
When can my heart beat again
When can I see you again
When can I breathe once again
And when can I see you again
Yeah, baby
Do you see what I'm saying
Even if, if it's not making sense, baby
So when can I see you again
When can I see you again
When can my heart beat again
When can I see you again
When can I breathe once again
And when can I see you again*
