Where the Hell am I going? I just stole his car and I... Holly's thoughts trailed off as she gripped the steering wheel. She had indeed taken Nick's brand new Durango and now found herself driving aimlessly through the dark streets of Orlando. Rain began falling heavily, pelting the windshield. Thunder rumbled in the near distance and lightning quickly followed.
The confrontation with Nick had not gone the way she had anticipated and her throbbing hand was proof. Her knuckles were actually cut by his teeth and blood quickly filled in the deep wounds. Wrapping a bandana around her hand, she had staunched the blood for the time being. I hope he chokes on the teeth I broke... if I really broke them. She could almost hear his laughter. Laughing at her.
"Are you deaf? I don't give two shits about how you're feeling. Didn't anyone warn you about me? I'm sure they did. You knew what you were getting into. This ain't no one's fault but your own."
"You were just a fuck when my other girls were busy. You gave me attention I needed when I needed it."
"He never loved me. God, I was so fucking STUPID!" Holly shouted at herself, slamming her left fist into the steering wheel. Word of the break-up would spread faster than the plague and she could already hear all her friends saying 'I told you so'. Especially Brian. They had met at a press conference for the release of Never Gone and became fast friends. Then she met Nick and thought she had finally fallen in love. When Nick seemed to show the same feelings towards her, she claimed she could have died and gone to Heaven right there.
Brian was the first person to warn Holly about the man's wild ways and his habit of being unfaithful. She would just shrug it off and change the subject. Brian didn't stop his objections until Nick proposed and she begged him to stop and let her handle Nick on her own. He reluctantly agreed, seeing his best friend break so many hearts without a single thought. He didn't want to see that happen to Holly, but now it was inevitable.
He knew that she would be the next victim of Nick's cruel game.
~*~*~*~*~
"Nick! Where are you, man?" Brian walked into the dark house, closing the heavy oak door behind him. Nick had called him, his voice muffled. He made out words like 'damn jaw', 'stole my fucking BABY' and 'Holly'. He knew she had finally caught onto Nick and it hadn't been pretty.
"Rok, she's fucking psycho!" A voice announced from behind. Brian jumped, turning to see Nick lumber out of the kitchen with an ice pack pressed to the left side of his jaw.
"Why, because she caught on to your plan?" Brian crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the younger man. He would get no sympathy from him. Not anymore.
"What the fuck--"
"You never loved her. What kind of reaction did you expect? You're just pissed she got the upper hand. And apparently, it broke a couple of teeth..."
"What the fuck! You're my best friend!"
"Who's sick and tired of watching you destroy women. They're not like your psychotic mother. All they wanted was your love. Would that be so hard?"
"Don't bring that bitch into this conversation!" Nick growled, his eyes narrowed. Jane, his mother, was not a model parent and it was more than obvious that it had affected all her children.
"It all stems from her! Don't you see that? One day, there might be another confrontation like this and you might hit the woman back without thinking... and then you'll be in jail. How would that look for not only your reputation, but the Backstreet Boys as well? No one is going to listen to a band who has a women beater as one of their member. So think about that while the swelling goes down. And call your dentist tomorrow," Brian turned around and headed for the door.
"Like you're so perfect! Leigh left you alone with Baylee! Ran off with some cabana boy in Mexico! What kind of man are you?" Brian stopped, not looking back at the man who he had deemed his best friend so long ago.
"A man who tried to give her all the love he had. But it wasn't enough for her. I didn't fail, she did. And thank you for bringing that up." He opened the front door and slammed it shut behind him. Climbing into his car, a melodic chirp invaded his thoughts and he looked down to see his cell phone ringing. Holly! He immediately flipped it open.
"Holly? Sweetie, where are you?"
"I... I think I'm at your house, but it's locked!" Holly sobbed.
"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Brian threw the phone onto the passenger's seat and gunned the engine, peeling down the street.
~*~*~*~*~
Holly stuck her phone back into her jean pocket and shivered. She refused to go wait in Nick's SUV, so she opted standing out in the rain. Anything to get her away from the painful memories the damned Durango dredged up in her mind. The heavy rain pelted her bare arms and drenched her already soaked clothes. Lightning struck and thunder crashed. It almost seemed to match the turmoil in her heart and soul. A light invaded her eyes and she saw a car pull into the driveway. "Brian?"
A man climbed out of the car. Sandy blonde curls. Azure eyes. It was him.
"Brian!"
"Holly!" Brian ran towards her, immediately pulling her into his embrace as she began to sob. "Shh... it's okay, I'm here. I'll make it better, I promise. Shh, sweetheart."
"I thought he loved me! I could die tomorrow and he would dance on my grave!" Holly burst, burying her face into the shoulder of his jean jacket.
"Holly, don't..." Brian gently pulled away and framed her face with his hands. "You made a mistake. Everyone does when it comes to love. I did. You're going to be okay."
"Why didn't he love me? I did everything for him! I cooked, I cleaned, I bought him things... even if I wasn't in the mood to make love and he was... I'd still do it, because I wanted to make him happy!"
"Nick's... well, Nick's fucked up in a lot of ways, to be honest. And a lot of it stems from his mother. So he hurts women to--"
"Get revenge. To hurt them like she hurt him growing up."
"Basically," Brian replied, wiping the tears and raindrops from her cheeks. "C'mon, I'll take you inside and clean you up."
"You're not going to say 'I told you so'? Everyone else will tomorrow."
"Holly, you're human. Like I said, we all make mistakes and saying 'I told you so' isn't going to change things. So no, I'm not going to."
"Thank you," she whispered as he wrapped an arm around her slim waist and kissed her forehead. He unlocked the door and ushered them inside the warm house.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay, sorry about the last chapter! I didn't mean to leave everyone hanging. I finished this time! =) Enjoy.
