Part 2

                                             

                                              5

                                  Past Love

     When Trinity’s alarm goes off she has a huge migraine and calls in sick.  The girls sound disappointed that she 

won’t be able to tell them about her night out with Seann.  She goes back to bed but ends up just lying there,    

absorbed in her thoughts yet not really thinking about anything.  She looks around her spacious and neat room.

    The huge window has a white sheer curtain with blinds behind it.  When the blinds are open she has a 

magnificent view of the city.  The table beside the window is modern style, and is fawn in color.  On top of it,

there is a light blue lamp with an off-white trim and shade; there is a fresh bouquet of light yellow daffodils.  She 

then looks to the huge armoire.  It stands alone on the wall opposite her bed, and is next to the bathroom 

door.  The doors are slightly ajar, and the whole thing is manila.  The walls of her room are a lavender with 

off-white wooden trim all around it.  She looks then to her bedside table, and study the grinning faces in her 

picture frames.  The people are college friends, her friends from work, and her family, all of whom she is 

occasionally pictured with.  Then one picture catches her eye.

    It is a picture of her and Seann, from about five months ago, when they were just beginning to be best 

friends.  The picture was taken by Shayna, and shows Trinity and Seann laughing with each other.  It looks really 

good because both of them look so happy.  Then  she notices that he is gazing at her out of the corner of his 

eye, while she is looking straight into the camera.  There is a familiar look of udder worship in his eyes, that she 

have become so familiar with from him yesterday.  She still feels trapped, not sure what to do about her situation 

with Nick and Seann.

    She gets up and washes her face and brushes her teeth, and sprays herself with lavender perfume before 

leaving the bathroom.  Quickly, she puts up her hair in a high ponytail, and throws on some red and green plaid 

sweat pants and a gray spaghetti-strapped shirt along with her bright blue fuzzy slippers.  She doesn’t feel up to

cooking, so she makes a bowl of cereal with milk and eat it while watching TV on her white Italian leather couch.

    Nick calls Trinity’s cell phone and is surprised when someone else picks up.  It is Lisa, who informs Nick that 

Trinity stayed home sick.  Nick hangs up the phone and has an idea.  He grabs his jacket and heads out the 

door.  He goes by Trinity’s restaurant, and then stops by the supermarket, and finally a little Mexican 

restaurant.  He grins as he takes out his own cell phone.

    Trinity goes over to the window and looks out over the city for half an hour and jumps when the telephone 

rings.  She rushes over and pick up her green see-through cordless phone, nearly tripping on her own feet.  

The clock reads 11:45 and she realizes it must be Nick.

    “Hello?”

    “Hey Trin.  How are you?  It’s Nick.”

    “Oh, hi.  I’m fine how are you?”

    “Pretty good.  Hey listen, I called your phone and they told me where you were.”

    “Oh, that’s right I left my  phone there, I’m sorry.  I thought I would get it when I went in today.”  She feels 

stupid and embarrassed.

    “No problem.  One of the girls gave me your number I think it was Sarah, but I’m not sure.  Anyways, since

 you’re not feeling so great, I thought you might like it if you took it easy today.”  He pauses, then talks again 

sounding rather excited.  “Open your door.”  

    Trinity smiles, wondering what he is up to, and walks quickly towards the door.  She opens it as fast as she 

can, only to see Nick standing there with a cell phone, roses, and a plastic take-out bag.  He is smiling broadly, 

and she can’t resist but beam right back at him.  He hangs up and she follows suit.  Trinity opens the door up all 

the way and lets him inside, closing it as he goes right over to the counter and puts the take-out bag down.  He 

looks back at her, and brings her the flowers.  She laughs, and thanks him while giving him a hug.  He smells like 

cologne, a very subtle yet good cologne.

    “Wow.  Thank you so much, this is so sweet.”  She looks at him and sees he has a look on his face, 

like he’s on top of the world.

    “Yeah well, I try.”  He says jokingly and then looks around her apartment.  “This place is great.”  He says 

as he nods his head as if approving of it.  He looks back at her.  “So, are you hungry?”  He says hopefully.

    “Yea, actually I am.  What’d you bring?”

    He laughs.  “Well since you could eat, I went ahead and asked the girls at your restaurant what you liked 

best.”  He smiles.  “Tacos from your favorite place.”

    Trinity interrupts him, and they both say it at once.  “Rio Mexico!” 

    “Nick you’re the best.”

    “Oh, and I brought you your phone.”  He hands it to her and she places it into her purse.

    The telephone rings and she rushes over to get it.

    “Hello.”  She says calmly.

    “Hi, Trinity?  This is Andy.”  He sounds nervous yet hopeful.

    She nearly drops the phone at the sound of her ex-boyfriend’s voice.  ‘Was it really him?  Did he actually have 

the nerve to call her after our horrific breakup?’  She doesn’t have time to wonder because Nick sees the 

horrified look on her face and asks what’s wrong.

    “Who said that?”  Andy says angrily.  “Is someone there?  If there is so help me you’ll wish you were never 

born."

    Nick stares unbelievingly as Trinity’s head starts to shake slowly.  He rushes over to her as she sinks to the 

floor and begins to sob.  He takes the phone from her and yells at whoever it is.

    “Who is this?”  He says furiously, looking at her as she cries, holding her head in her hands, her shoulders 

shaking in fright.

    “Put her on the phone or you’ll never see her again.”

    Nick’s face contorts to a look of pure terror and concern.  “No, you leave her alone.  She doesn’t want to talk 

to you… look I don’t know who you are but if you come anywhere near her you’ll never see the light of day 

again.”

    “I swear to you if you get in my way, I’ll…”

    By now Nick is not listening, he just stares at her, wide-eyed.  She looks so frightened.  It scares him, he 

wants to hold her and tell her it will be ok, but he honestly is scared out of his mind.

    ‘Andy is after me again,  and knowing him he knows where I work and live.’  She thinks and sobs loudly.  Nick 

looks angry yet frightened as he hangs up the phone.  He holds her close for a few minutes before picking her 

up and taking her over to the couch.  They sit together, Trinity in his arms, and he reassures her it’ll be ok. 

    “Trinity, who was that?”  He is patient as she tries to gain control of herself.  “It’s ok you can tell me.”  He 

looks into her eyes, his face bearing a perturbed look. 

    His eyes roam over her face as she gathers the strength to tell him.  “That was an ex-boyfriend of mine.  

His name is Andy, and he is the reason I moved here from California.”  Nick’s breathe catches.  “He and I were 

high school sweethearts, and we’d dated from junior to senior year.  We went to prom together, and shortly 

after I told him I was thinking about moving to the east coast for college.  I told him while we were out at dinner 

a week before graduation.  He got all quiet and walked out of the restaurant.

    “I followed him out, and found him just sitting on the hood of his car.  He just kept asking me why I’d 

move.  He thought I just didn’t want to date him anymore, and I guess he couldn’t handle that.”  Nick holds her 

closer as she begins to cry once again.  “He drove me home, and dropped me off, and I thought things were 

ok.  Around midnight he broke into my house.  We didn’t hear him come in.  He came into my room and kneeled 

next to my bed.”

    Her voice again chokes up, but she keeps talking.  “When I woke up and saw him, I didn’t know what to 

think.  He gagged me, and took me out to his car.  My parents heard me fighting him and came out just as 

Andy’s car pulled away.  In the car he started yelling at me and crying that I was moving because I didn’t love 

him anymore.  He took off the gag, and started to ask me why.”  She started to really bawl now.  “I remember 

he was screaming so loudly.  He even hit me when I started to cry.  The police caught us about a mile from the 

state line.

    “I took him to court but he got off by pleading temporary insanity.  I moved to Florida for college, but before I 

could begin classes, he caught up with me.  He begged for another chance and when I refused, he slapped me 

and started to yell at me.  Why was I doing this to him, he asked.  He told me I was a heartless bitch who used 

him all through high school.”  Nick seemed to be utterly disgusted.  “The campus police escorted him away, 

but he ran before I could take him to court.  That’s why I came here.”

    Nick does not know how to respond.  His eyes look clouded over in some private rage.  It seems forever until 

he speaks.  “Do you have someone to stay with?  You should probably stay at a friends house until this blows 

over.”

    A voice comes from the back of the room, it sounds enraged.  “Trinity is none of your concern.”

    Nick stands and faces Andy.  They look at each other, both of them wearing a look of pure hatred.  “Get 

out.”  Nick says forcefully.  He moves Trinity behind him so that he is between Andy and her.  “I said go now and 

never come back.”  He looks back at her briefly, his face clearly terrified.

    Andy pulls something shiny out of his black trench coat pocket.  Trinity realizes it is a knife.  “Trinity, baby.  

Why are you making me do this?  Huh?  Now this nice guy is going to die and it’s all your fault.”

    Nick clenches his fists.  Trinity whimpers then realizes she can’t run from him, it’s time to face Andy.  “No, 

Andy.  This is not my fault!  This is your choice; you don’t have to do this!  Its over between us.  There is no us, 

there hasn’t been for over two years.  Move on.”  He seems shocked that she said anything against him.

    “Shut up!  Stop talking you dirty bitch!”  He yells at her and then turns to Nick.  “What have you done to my 

sweet girlfriend?”  He demands of Nick, with a sadistic look on his face; the hand holding his knife begins to 

tremble.

    He runs and jumps over the couch, tackling Nick and they begin to fight.  Andy tries to stab Nick, but Nick is 

able to hold the knife back.  Thinking quickly, Trinity grabs a vase from a shelf and smashes it on Andy’s head, 

giving Nick time to punch him.  He flies off of Nick, arms flailing and drops the knife.  Nick runs over to Andy and 

begins to beat the daylights out of him.  The knife is less that a foot from the struggling two.  Andy punches Nick 

solidly on the nose, and grabs the knife.  They stand now, facing each other, as if to challenge one another to 

fight. 

    “Andy stop this now.”  Trinity yells.

    He ignores her and smiles.

    “Trinity, run for it!”  Nick yells.

    She rushes over to her phone and dials 911.  They still ignore her as she calls for the police.  The woman 

says they will be over as soon as possible, so Trinity hangs up and once again looks to them.  Then it happens; 

Andy yells frightfully and rushes at Nick, stabbing his side.  Nick whimpers slightly in pain, before he collapses 

into a heap on the floor.

    “No!”  Trinity screams and rushes over to Nick, who tells her to get away, to run for it.  She turns him on his 

back.  “I won’t leave.”  She says, and begins to apply pressure to his wound.

    He looks up at the ceiling as Andy says softly, “I’ll be back for you Trinity.”  He pulls the knife out of Nick, and 

laughs with pleasure as he groans loudly in pain before Andy runs out of the apartment.

    Nick looks back at her, and Trinity can see the pain on his face.  Their eyes tear up.  “You called the police?”  

Nick asks and Trinity nods.  “Good, that’s good.  Are they bringing an ambulance?”  She again nods.  He smiles 

weakly.  His voice becomes broken and strained.  “I’ll be ok, Trin.”

    She takes one of his hands into hers, while still keeping pressure on his injury.  She grasps his hand a little bit 

and he smiles weakly.  A lot of his blood is now on her clothes.  She hears sirens and soon the paramedics are in 

the apartment and loading him on a stretcher while bandaging him up.  She grabs her purse before they go.  She 

stays at his side until they load him into the ambulance.

    She is thankful they allow her to ride in the ambulance with him, and she sits on the built in bench next to him.  

Nick’s eyes never leave hers on the ride to the hospital.  When they arrive, Nick is in critical and is taken to the 

emergency room for a blood transfusion.  Trinity waits outside the emergency room for three hours, only getting 

up to get a cup of coffee.  The police come over several times to get statements from her about what happened.  

Then the doctor comes over.

    His face is hard to read.  “Trinity Green?”

    “That’s me.”  She says softly, praying for good news.

    “I’m Doctor Truman.  Nick lost a lot of blood but luckily for him you put pressure on the wound.  If he’d lost any 

more he would not have made it.  The transfusion was successful.  He’s been taken off the critical list and moved 

to  his own private room.  The knife barely missed his stomach so we’ll continue to monitor him but luckily it didn’t 

go in too deep and it missed his organs.  He’s asked me to send you in, and I’m giving my permission for you to 

stay as long as you want regardless of visiting hours.”  He smiles and tells her Nick’s room number.

    She runs to Nick’s room.  She opens the door softly to find him sleeping.  She looks at the white washed walls 

of the small room; they are bare and depressing.  Nick’s face is ashen.  His breathing is loud and raspy.  The 

bruise on his cheek looks worse, and Trinity cannot help but cry.  She pulls up a chair next to his bed and takes 

his hand in hers only to find that it is cold.  She leans her head down and practically cries in her lap for a minute 

before looking back at him.  She stares at his face, wondering how something like this could happen to someone 

as sweet and kind and gentile as Nick.

    He opens his eyes slowly, and looks around the room before turning to face her.  He smiles.  “Hey.”  His 

voice is weak.

    “Hi.”  They both look at each other in silence for a minute until a nurse comes in.

    She is a redhead, with bouncy curls and green eyes.  “Well look who’s up.  How are you doing?  Are you 

hungry?”  He nods as she looks at his charts.  “Well, you better be glad this girl was there.”  She looks at Trinity 

and then he turns to face her, smiling.  “The doctor said that if she hadn’t of applied pressure to your wound 

you’d be dead, you’re a lucky guy.”  She nods and smiles.

    “I sure am.”  He says and looks at her adoringly. 

     The nurse walks out of the room smiling, and closes the door behind her with the greatest of ease.  Nick 

looks at Trinity’s tear-stained face and the look of worry comes back over his face.

    "What are you going to do about Andy?”

    “Shush.  I’ll worry about that later.  You need to rest now.”  She smiles and stands up, squeezing his 

hand.  She feels she needs to keep herself together so that he can concentrate on getting better.

    He looks at it, then strains and moves his other hand to her side, and takes her hands in his.  Looking back at 

her he smiles sweetly.  Outside the room they hear a shrill shouting.  It is a woman, clearly very upset.

    “What do you mean I can’t see him?”  We can hear a nurse trying to calm the woman down, but can’t make 

out what she’s saying.  “I don’t care if it is past visiting hours…  No I will not calm down…  Let me see my 

boyfriend!”

    They can see the shadows outside the door, one is the redhead nurse and the other Trinity can only guess is 

Nick’s girlfriend.  The door opens and a young haughty woman steps in followed by the nurse who looks like her 

feathers have been ruffled.  The arrogant-looking woman is tall, due to her incredibly high heeled shoes.  She is 

wearing a cream-colored skirt suit.  Her hair is a faux looking blonde, but judging from her haute look, she’d 

swear it was natural.  Her gaze seems transfixed on Trin’s hands, still intertwined with Nick’s.  The nurse 

apologizes saying she couldn’t stop the woman, and she keeps glancing towards Trinity.

The haute woman speaks to the nurse and Trinity but she stares at Nick, her voice sounding hurt yet she seems 

to be trying to hide it.  “Leave us.”

    Trinity looks at Nick and he nods as if to say ‘its ok’, so the nurse and her leave.  They walk out and sit down 

on two chairs across the hall.  She looks at the door to his room, feeling stupid for forgetting he had a girlfriend, 

and wishing she hadn’t let the days events happen.  Now that she is back, Trinity is positive that Nick will forget 

the things he said to her, and she will no longer be a part of the picture.  She can hear Nick speaking softly and 

his girlfriend sobbing.

    Then she screams at him.  “ Its because of her, isn’t it?  You should’ve told me!”  She stomps out of the room 

and approaches Trinity, tears streaming down her face, causing her black eyeliner to run.  “Well, you should be 

proud of yourself.  Thanks to you, my Nicky is a little confused about what he wants.  You had better watch out 

because I am not willing to just walk away from him.  He’ll come to his senses and I will have him.”  She turns on '

her heel and storms away.

        Trinity looks at the nurse who is silently laughing.  “I didn’t know people like that actually existed.”  She says rather merrily.  She sees Trinity’s doubtful face.  “Don’t worry, she’s got nothing on you.  I see how he looks at you.  Let me tell you though she really looked funny crying black tears."

    She laughs with her, but inside she’s not sure she should be laughing.  She’s just caused the breakup of 

Nick and his girlfriend and although in some ways she feels she has done him a huge favor, she feels a little 

guilty.  She is not sure whether or not to go back into Nick’s room, but the nurse stands and goes in. 

    She comes back almost as soon as she goes in.  “He’s asking for you.  I’m about to go get dinner; I’ll bring 

you both back something.  The food here stinks.”  She laughs at her own joke.

    Trinity thanks her and gathers the courage to go in, still uncomfortable about the episode that she had just 

caused.  She walks over to the oak door, her shoes squeaking on the speckled gray tile.  She takes each step 

slowly, not knowing what to expect when she gets back into Nick’s room.

                                                             6

                                              Questions

    Nick stars out the window.  He feels guilty for breaking it off with Lane like that, but he is happy that he can 

finally pursue a relationship with Trinity.  He hears the door click behind Trinity, and he looks towards her, 

his face is troubled but smiling.

    “You don’t have to stay you know.”  He looks sad to say it.  “You can leave, don’t worry about me.”

    “I want to stay, this is partially my fault…”  She starts.

    He cuts her off.  “No, it’s not your fault.  You couldn’t have known.  It’s not your fault.”  He says with a strong 

conviction.

    “It is!  I should’ve never let you fight him!  He had a knife for God’s sake, what was I thinking?  I should’ve 

done whatever he wanted rather than let you risk your life for me.  I’ve been running and hiding from him for too 

long, you would think that I would’ve at least had the guts to try to stop him on my own!  I guess I’m just sick of 

having other people fight my battles.  I’m glad you protected me, but I feel as if its time for me to do that for 

myself.  You know what I mean?”  She speaks with a passion in her voice.

    Nick loves to hear her talk with such fervor.  “I know what you’re saying, but what could you have done?  I 

would’ve never let you do whatever he wanted you know that.  I’m glad I was there to stop him.  I don’t care that 

he stabbed me, I’m just glad it wasn’t you.  Think about it Trin, if I wasn’t there to take this,” he points to where 

his stitches are.  “He would’ve done much worse to you.  I can’t even imagine.”

    She walks over to his bed, and places her hand on his strong, broad shoulder and squeezes it affectionately.  

Her eyes redden and water up.  “Thank you for being there, thank you so much.”  She leans over and kisses him 

softly on the cheek.  When she stands back up he smiles.

    “It was worth it.”  He laughs, and so does she.  ‘I love her’, he realizes.

    There comes a knock at the door, a quick strong knock.  She takes her hand off of Nick and walks over to it, 

opening it cautiously.  It’s Seann, his face terrified, sweaty and he is breathing hard.

     The moment he sees she is ok he gives her a big tight hug.  “Are you ok?”  He says as he pulls away and 

puts his hand against her cheeks, then looks down at her bloodstained clothes.  “You’re hurt.”

    “No, I’m fine.”  She turns to face Nick, who is lying on the bed with a malcontent look on his face.  “Thanks to 

him.”  Nick looks over to her and smiles as Seann peers over her shoulder to him.  His face suddenly looks 

relieved. 

    He steps over to Nick, and shakes his hand.  “Thank you so much.”

    “My pleasure.”  Nick replies simply as he glances over to Trinity, with an impression of pure longing on his 

face.

    “How’d you know I was here?”  Trinity asks Seann as she walks around to the opposite side of Nick and sits 

down in the heavy wooden chair.

    “Well, I was on my way to work and when I walked past your building, I saw all the police.  I went inside and 

went straight to your room and the cops were everywhere inside, dusting for prints.  They started questioning 

me and when I told them I worked with you, they said I could find you here.  I went to the restaurant and told 

everyone where I’d be.  They’re all worried sick by the way you should really call them.  Anyway, I couldn’t get a 

cab so I ran the whole way.  When I got here they said I could find you in intensive care, so I ran here too.”  He 

looks directly into her eyes as he says the last part.

    “Well, then I should call them now.  I’ll be right back.”

    She walks outside of the room to call the restaurant, and she speaks to Alex  He promises to tell everyone 

she’s alright, but he also demands that Seann gets to work.  She hangs up and goes back into the room, and 

finds that they are talking quite civilly to each other.  She relays Alex’s message and Seann leaves somewhat 

disappointedly.  The nurse soon comes in with the promised food.  Nick refuses help eating, so they talk while 

they devour some delicious Chinese food.  Later that evening, the doctor comes in to check up on Nick and to 

asks if Trinity is planning on staying the night.

    “Yes.”  She answers quickly, ignoring the ‘you don’t need to’ look on Nick’s face.

    The doctor leaves and Trinity looks back to Nick.  “Don’t start.”  She says as she sees him about to 

speak.  “I’m going to stay here all night.  That’s twice you’ve saved my butt.  The least I can do is keep you 

company.”

    He smiles mischievously.  “It’s been my pleasure to save that butt.”  Trinity laughs in surprise.

    “Nick, if I didn’t know any better I’d say that you were hitting on me.”  She says teasingly.

    “It’s the morphine.”  He shrugs sarcastically and points to the tube in his arm.  They laugh and then he 

looks serious.  “But honestly, I have to ask you something.”  He looks her dead in the eyes and takes her 

silence as a ‘go ahead’.  “When you first saw me what did you think?”  He smiles and crosses his arms 

awkwardly to avoid hitting his stitches, but this makes him look very funny.

    Trinity laughs and tries to remember what she had thought.  “I thought you were incredible.”  He raises his 

eyebrows and smiles.  “I would’ve stayed longer if I didn’t have to work.  I couldn’t stop staring at you.  I kept 

having to remind myself to breathe.”  She feels herself blush as he laughs, and smiles at her happily.  “How 

about you?”

    He shifts as if wondering what to say.  “I’m going to be honest with you.  I was a little bit happy I got to be the 

one to save you.  I was just looking at you half the night waiting for you to wakeup.  It was like I was a little kid at 

Christmas, I was just so giddy.”  He sniggers.  “When you did wake up, I was so nervous that I’d sound stupid 

that I kept stuttering.  I still haven’t washed the shirt you slept in.”  Again he laughs at the look of amusement 

on her face.  “I admit that’s a little creepy.”

    “I was going to say funny but now that you mention it is a little weird.”  Trinity says causing a flustered look to 

come over his face.

    They talk a little bit more about their lives until it grows dark and the nurse comes in for a last check on Nick 

and to bring Trinity a blanket.  They both thank her and Nick soon falls asleep.  Trinity sits next to him, trying to 

get comfortable enough to sleep while sitting up.  She gives up after about half an hour, and contents herself to 

staring at Nick.

    The moon casts a gentle shadow onto the curves of his face, and if it is possible, he looks even better than 

ever before.  She studies the soft slope of his chin and cheeks, admiring his strong facial features.  She tries to 

concentrate on something else but it feels like he is the only other person in the world.  She feels miles away, 

free and light when she is with him.  He sets her soul free when she is with him, and it feels as if she has known 

him all her life.  She kisses his cheek softly and whispers goodnight.  Settling back into her chair, she takes his 

warm, soft hand into her own.  She holds it until drifting off into a deep and pleasant sleep.

    She awakens slowly, to the sound of a stifled laugh.  She opens her eyes lethargically, looking around the 

room as if she is in a dream.  She looks at Nick, who is looking straight ahead at the TV and laughing quietly.  She

 glimpses and sees he is watching Friday morning cartoons.  He looks her way and reaches for the remote, then 

turns off the TV.

    He smiles.  “Did I wake you up?”

    “Yes, but it’s ok.”  She sits straight up in her chair and looks around at the bright room.  “What time is it?”

    “Eleven.”  He smiles.  “I thought you were gonna sleep all day.”  She laughs as she stands up and he looks 

at her bloody clothes.  “One of your friends brought you some stuff from your apartment.  They put them over 

there.”  He points a shaky hand at the small dresser, witch holds the small TV.

    “Alright!  I can’t wait to get out of these clothes.” 

    He smiles alluringly.  “Go right ahead.”  He raises his eyebrows hopefully.

    She steps to his bedside and gives him a flirtatiously disapproving look.  “You, sir, are really reaching.” 

    She walks to the table where her stuff is, and finds that whoever brought it thought of everything.  She excuses 

herself, ignoring the sarcastically disappointed look on Nick’s face and his loud groan of disappointment.  She

goes down the long white hallway until she finds the women’s restroom.  She steps into the cramped stall and

changes her clothes, though it takes a lot of effort in the tiny little box of a stall.  She then stands over the sink

to wash her face, and then redoes her makeup.  She realizes it is unimportant at the time, but she pays special

attention to the way she looks as she finishes making up her face and brushes her hair.

    She walks back down the hall quickly, eager to get back to Nick’s side.  As she opens the door, her cell phone

rings.  She shifts her sack rather awkwardly in her arms and pulls her phone out of her shoulder bag.  She rushes

through the doorway into the hospital room and sees Nick watching her toss her stuff into the empty chair by the

wall before answering her phone.

    “Hello.”  She says cheerfully.

    “Trinity.”  A voice sings into her ear tauntingly.  “We need to talk.”

     It’s Andy.  “What do you want?”  Nick hears the terror in her voice despite her attempt to cover it up and he

looks irate.  He tells her to hang up several times.

    “Hang up and I swear you’ll never see Nick again.”  His voice sounds viciously wicked and numbingly

serious.  When Nick sees her eyes get enlarged and terrified, he shuts up.  “Much better.  Listen carefully I have

to ask you something and you’d better answer me truthfully, ok?”  When she doesn’t answer, he continues.  “Do

you love him?” 

    She is not sure how to respond, if she says she doesn’t love him he may not believe her, but if she tells him

she does love Nick then Nick would hear her say it.  “As a friend yes, I don’t know.”

    Andy seems to sense the candor in her voice.  “Then why do you insist on staying with him at that

hospital?  You didn’t go home last night, and I’m beginning to think you don’t want to see me.” 

    “What do you want from me?”

    “An explanation.”  He says bluntly.

    “For what?  Leaving?”

    “Exactly.”

    “Andy, I had a life.  I had to go, I told you long before I left that I was going to go.”

    “But why couldn’t you just stay?  Everything was perfect!”

    It is eerie to Trinity that he sounds normal for once.  “Maybe for you.  I was sick of living in a small town and

going nowhere in life.  I wanted to go somewhere where I didn’t know many people, where for once I could go out

and not know everyone I saw.”

    His voice goes devilishly nefarious once again.  “And what about me?  You leave me to go to some big city

and to find someone new.  You better watch your back bitch, or you just might get hurt.”

    He hangs up and she turns off her phone, lowering it from her ear ever so slowly.  She looks up at Nick and

seeing the blueness of his eyes she is strangely calmed.  She shakes off the feeling of impending doom and

smiles calmly at Nick, who seems to understand from the half afraid half happy expression on her face that she

does not want to talk about it.

    “So, how long are you in here for?”

    “I leave tomorrow, they said I’m recovering faster than they expected.  Hey, also they’ve arranged to have

undercover cops around the building just incase Andy shows.  Did you know they’ve put him on the FBI’s wanted

list?  I know you probably don’t want to talk about that but I thought you might feel better knowing they’re

looking for him.”

    “It does… so, did you sleep good last night?”

    Nick has an idea.  “Oh yeah.  I had the best dream too.”  He winks at her.

    “Yeah?  What about?”

    He motions for her to come closer, and she steps towards him slowly.  He puts a hand on the curve of her

hip when she reaches his bedside and he grins broadly.  “I dreamed that I was flying.”  He nods his head

sarcastically, while licking his bottom lip.  He laughs as she pulls away from him and gives him a disbelieving

look.  “You should’ve seen yourself, I got you all worked up.”

    They laugh in merry peals and she tries to deny it, but soon gives up when she cannot find enough air to

speak.  When They stop, they both have tears running down their faces.  He stretches out for her hand, and

 takes it with the utmost of gentility.  His look of infatuation settles her down, but seems to make her heart beat

faster.  She pulls the chair that she slept on over to the bed with her leg and sits down, leaning closer to him.  He

does not smile at her, nor does he try to be funny.  He simply looks, studies the contours of her face.  From her

hair to her chin, he seems to search for something hidden in the features of her face.  His eyes stop moving and

he looks into her eyes thoughtfully.  He seems to be swallow her image into his eyes.

    He searches for a hint of what she is thinking in her face, and he can see a look of unadulterated adoration. 

Having Trinity around is like being on an emotional roller coaster.  He can never really tell what to think because

he has never known someone for so short a time and be so wholly attracted to them as he is now.  His lips part

slightly and his face bears an expression of unmitigated compassion.

    He turns away.  “Trinity, I need to know something.  Do you feel what I feel?”  He continues to stare at the

wall opposite her until the silence coaxes him into turning back.  He silently prays she does.

    “I...”  She begins, but just as she is about to tell him how she feels, the nurse comes in looking quite excited.

    “ Well, good news!  After the doctor comes in to clean those stitches, you get to go home!  I have to say

you’ve had the fastest recovery we’ve ever seen.”  She looks at him frankly and nods her head as to emphasize

what she’d said more.  She turns to Trinity.  “So am I to understand you will be taking care of him?”

    “Of course.”  She says and doesn’t even look at Nick, otherwise she would see his look of excitement.

    “Good, good.”  The nurse nods.  “The doctor will be here in a little bit.”

    She steps out in a rush and leaves them again in the little hospital room.  Finally she looks at Nick, who is

staring at her with his eyebrows raised.

    “What?”  She asks, a slight hint of amusement to be heard in her voice.

    “Nothing, nothing.  So you’re going to take care of me?  What is that all about?”  He grins broadly.

    “Nothing, but I just think it’d be better if you had someone to help you out that’s all.  Why do you not want

me to come?”

    His face quickly contorts to look sickly.  “Well I guess I could use some special attention.”  He grins again

before he winks sarcastically. 

    They laugh and the doctor comes in.  She excuses herself, and waits in the hallway while the doctor does

some last minute checks and cleans Nick’s 17 stitches.  Doctor Truman comes out into the hallway and comes

over to talk to her.  “So you will be watching over him?”  He waits until she nods to speak again.  “He’s a tough

guy, any one else would be in here for at least a week.  If he experiences any pain please call me right away, as

it could be a serious problem.  He is weak, despite how he is acting, so please take it easy on him.  I’ve just

given him an antibiotic to prevent infection, but you must clean his stitches twice a day.  You can leave anytime

you want”  He walks away before she can respond.

    Trinity stands and rushes back into the room, eager to leave the hospital.  She enters and sees Nick is pulling

a shirt over his head and the IVs  have been taken out of his hand.  He is sitting on the edge of his bed and

wearing the pants he wore yesterday.  He seems to have some trouble getting the shirt over his head.  She

walks over and gently helps him pull it down, studying his blond tousled hair as it emerges out of the neck of his

black ribbed shirt.  His eyes are sparkling and his lips are parted in a devilish grin as she leans over farther to

pull his shirt all the way down, careful not to hit his freshly bandaged wound.

    “Can you help change my pants?”  She raises an eyebrow at him.  “Kidding.”

    “I’m ready to leave.”  He says as she stands back up slowly.  Despite his attempts to hide it, she can see him

wince.  He stands up straight.  “Good as new!”  He says as a child might.

    She laughs and gathers up her stuff as he walks over to the door awkwardly.  She rushes over and opens up

the door, holding it open for him as he steps through quickly.  He holds out his arm and she takes it while they

walk down the hall.  They take the elevator down and walk out of the hospital to a beautifully sunny and warm

day.  Trinity hails a cab and they get in, Nick moving quickly, but at the same time slowly.  They don’t talk much

in the cab, instead taking in the New York scenery.

Phew, Nick is ok! *sigh* Watch out for Part 3, coming soon.  Things are gonna get spicy!