Bittersweet memories clouded Nick Carter’s mind as he sat down in front of the fireplace, a habit that he now practiced for quite a while. He had lost her forever; the only love in his life. Apparently, his wife Rachel had died in a fatal car crash but her body was never found. After two years there was nothing that could be done, or so he thought.
He cried himself to sleep every night, missing all the times that he spent with her. He tried to ponder about those great moments: their wedding, the arrival of their first son, Colin, but most importantly their growth of love for one another. But, although he tried to forget them as much as he could, the arguments that he had with her a couple of days before she disappeared kept troubling his mind. He even told her that he didn’t love her anymore and now he regretted everything, thinking that he wouldn’t have the chance to apologize to her. He couldn’t do anything about it. It was already too late…
His thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. Nick smiled weakly seeing his best friends, Brian and Leighanne standing on the doorway.
"Great timing" Nick thought.
"How are you holding up, man?" Brian asked, trying to get him out of the depression he has been in.
"Okay, I guess" he replied, sitting in his couch. Brian sighed loudly so that Nick would hear him.
"What?" Nick retorted.
"She’s gone, okay? There’s nothing you can do about it"
Brian didn’t want to be cruel at all. All he wanted was try and bring some sense into Nick.
"I know" Nick mumbled silently. "It’s hard"
"It’s been two years" Leighanne reminded.
"I understand that she’s been your whole life for the past four years… but you have a son to take care of. Besides, she wouldn’t want you to forget about him"
"I’m not forgetting about Colin, Brian. It’s just hard to be a single father all of a sudden, lose the love of your life in a matter of seconds and try to stay cool about it for the sake of your own child. It’s not easy" Nick finished, his eyes watering.
"You know you have us… you got your parents too and all your friends for that matter" Leighanne added, giving him a quick hug.
"Yeah, but I don’t have her… I don’t have Rachel" he nodded sadly.
Brian sighed. "Let’s go to Disney World with Colin tomorrow and try and forget about it for a second"
"Okay" was all Nick could say. He was even surprised that he agreed so quickly. But sooner or later he had to move on.
The next day, the group did as they had agreed the night before; they went to Disney World with Colin in order to have a good time but Nick kept thinking about his wife. Brian, Leighanne and Colin went for a ride and Nick stood there, alone, when all of the memories came flooding back.
"Isn’t this beautiful?" Nick asked Rachel, taking her hand and kissing it softly. They were on The Bahamas celebrating their 2nd anniversary, overlooking the ocean.
She nodded and pressed her lips against his. "It’s the best anniversary gift I’ve received, after the car of course"
Nick chuckled softly and put his head on her lap.
"I love you" he said all of a sudden.
"Me too, sweetie… it’s so great to be alone with you"
"Yeah, well, we haven’t had the time to be alone since Colin was born" he reminded.
"Yup, but I don’t regret a single thing"
"Me either…" he finished caressing her cheek.
There was a comfortable silence.
"I’m so grateful to have you… I mean, you truly are my knight in shining armor" she gushed.
"Baby, don’t be so cheesy"
She grinned "I sowwy… do you forgive me?" she said, giving Nick the puppy eyes.
"How could I deny?" he smiled and kissed her gently on the lips.
It was truly one of the best anniversaries they had, and the last one too. Nick tried to fight back tears but couldn’t anymore. Every time he thought about all of those memories, the fateful car crash came back. He could have prevented it, but didn’t do anything about it and that was the thing that tormented him the most.
When Brian and Leighanne found him, they took him home with Colin. After they got home, Nick put his son to sleep and then he flopped down on his bed thinking about the only person he truly loved and lost at the same time.