Chapter 14

Nick didn’t know what to do, but judging by the way Andrea was acting, whatever she had to tell him was pretty serious. He tried to stay calm, remembering what AJ told him about her not being a psycho and that it’s not something he shouldn’t be scared of, but he had a hard time believing that. Here she was, the woman he felt he was falling in love with, which for him was not something that happened this quickly, and she didn’t even trust him enough to let him into her life.

You’ve only known her for less than a day Nick, give her time, he convinced himself, trying not to think the worst. What do I do? Do I go after her? Do I leave and let her be by herself? After much deliberation and uncertainty, he did the only thing he could, he called the one person who could help him and help Andrea.

“Hello,” a groggy voice answered the phone.

“It’s me, I need your help. Andrea and I started getting close and then she freaked out! I don’t know what to do,” he screeched into the phone, knowing that he sounded hysterical but not caring in the least.

“Calm down, we’ll be right there,” a reassuring voice said on the other end, and then the line went dead. Nick paced back and forth until he heard a knock at the door. He ran to it and flung it open so fast, it almost sucked Annie and AJ right into the room with it.

“Where is she?” Annie asked, as she gave Nick a hug. He pointed to the closed bathroom door. “It’s okay Nick. I know you don’t think so, but you have to trust me. It will be okay.” Annie knocked on the bathroom door. “Andi, it’s me, can I come in?” They all heard the click of the door being unlocked and Annie knew that was her cue to go in. “Trust me,” she said one last time to Nick, and then she turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“AJ, you said this is nothing to be scared about, but she scared me shitless!” Nick exclaimed as they walked away from the bathroom to give the girls some added privacy. “I don’t even know what I did! I have never kissed a girl and had her freak out before!” Nick was visibly shaken up, and AJ was glad Nick had called him.

“What happened?” AJ asked, trying to get his friend to calm down. “You said you kissed her, but how did that come about?”

“She came out of the bathroom in a towel to get a pair of underwear, and she stubbed her toe on the nightstand. She fell onto the bed and I caught her, and her towel came down when she fell and part of her ta-ta was showing. So I made my move, and she didn’t pull back, so I kissed her and then she flipped out!”

“Okay, wait, her ‘ta-ta’? What are we, in the second grade?” AJ joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Shut up man, I didn’t know what else to say!” Nick punched AJ in the arm, and AJ punched him back. “Okay, her breast, is that better? Now will you stop focusing on my choice of words and help me!”

“Here’s thing, and I’m only telling you this so that you understand a little bit about why she acted the way she acted. You are the first guy she’s been close to in almost a year.”

“What?” Nick interrupted him. “So what? Why would that make her freak out? Wouldn’t that make her want to do it that much more?”

“It does,” a meager voice said from behind him. “I want to be with you just as badly as you want to be with me, but it’s getting to a place where I don’t feel like I am betraying the man I loved that’s the hard part.” Nick turned around and saw Andrea standing there, her eyes red and swollen, her arms folded across her chest. Annie was standing next to her with her arm around her best friend’s shoulder, rubbing it as if to comfort her.

“Oh baby, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Nick said compassionately as he walked over and wrapped Andrea in his arms.

“You don’t have to apologize, but I should. It was not fair of me to do this, to come here with you, and flirt with you, and let you flirt with me when it wasn’t something I was sure I really wanted. I have feelings for you, very strong feelings, which is kind of daunting for only knowing you less than a day, but I was not able to surrender to those feelings without feeling like a betrayer.”

Nick looked into her eyes deeply, trying to make sense of what she was saying. “Betrayer huh? So you have a boyfriend?”

“No,” Andrea interjected, knowing he was not understanding where she was going with her statement.

“Or worse then, a husband? Yeah, that would make you a betrayer. I can’t believe you would lie to me!” Nick started yelling, his face getting red. “Why are all the girls I like, or in this case love, two-timing hookers? Why, just once, can’t I find someone who I love that loves me back and doesn’t hurt me?” Andrea just stared at him, tears running down her already soaked face.

“Nick, that’s enough!” AJ snarled, getting between Andrea and Nick and pushing Nick in the chest backwards. “She doesn’t have a husband, she HAD a husband, and he’s dead! So are her kids, you tactless asshole!”

Annie ran up to AJ and pulled him back. He looked like he was about to punch Nick in the face, but there was no way Nick could have known where Andrea was going when she was talking, and she didn’t blame him for reacting the way he did.

“What?” Nick whispered, barely able to speak. He stumbled over to Andrea, who was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. “What happened?” he managed to squeak out, as he himself started to cry. He was so ashamed of the way he had reacted and the horrible things he had said. He knew he would do whatever he could to make it up to her though.

Andrea looked up into his moist blue eyes. His eyes, that before had caused her to freeze, caused her to be unable to think or speak, unable to do anything but be pulled in like a weathered ship with no sails, now gave her strength and focus. “Car accident,” was all she said. Annie walked up to Andrea and handed her a box of tissues.

“Why don’t you guys sit down and talk. AJ and I are going to go get some food and bring it back here. We can help with anything you need when we get back,” Annie offered. Andrea gave her cousin a hug, then turned to AJ. He looked horrible.

“Andrea, I’m sor….” She put her finger to his lips to stop him.

“I’m not,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. “Go get some food and we’ll talk more when you get back.” Andrea watched Annie and Alex walk out the door. She turned around and walked over the couch where Nick had already sat down. She knew he was waiting for an explanation, and she was finally ready to give it.