He quickly got dressed and left a note to Meg and AJ telling them where he was going. Then he stepped outside, hailed a cab and then headed towards the hospital.
When he arrived he went to the gift shop and decided to buy Melissa some roses hopefully to make up for whatever he did. After doing that he headed up to her room.
Melissa was awake and sitting up in bed with the blue bandanna that Meg had brought from home wrapped around her head.
"Hey Babydoll, it's me," Nick announced as he stepped inside. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, I'm blind, I can't see a thing, I'm bald and I'm stuck in a hospital. How do you think I feel?"
"I brought you some roses," he told her as he handed them to her.
"You think you can fix everything with flowers," she told him coldly.
"I just thought you'd like them."
"Well, thanks for the thought."
"What's with you Babydoll?"
"What's with me? Can't you see that I'm blind? What am I supposed to be like? Incredibly happy?"
"I can see why you are mad but why are you acting like its all my fault?"
"It's not your fault. Look it might be a lot better if you just go back yo Florida and forget about me."
"Why?"
"Because can't you see, its never going to work out between us!"
"We can make it work!"
"Sure! That's what you say now but how long will it be before you change your mind. Face it you don't want to spend your whole life leading a blind girl around!"
Nick remembered how he, AJ, and Meg had agreed not to tell Melissa about the surgery that could restore her sight. It probably wouldn't work anyway and Meg said that her family would never be able to afford it anyway but just thinking about it made Nick feel slightly guilty.
"Are you trying to break up with me?" Nick asked.
"Very good! It's not because I hate you or anything its just the opposite, in fact I'm doing it because I love you and you don't deserve to be stuck with me when you can be with a normal girl."
"Maybe I don't want a normal girl."
"C'mon Nick, this isn't easy for me either so stop making it harder for me."
"I can't believe you want to break up. I thought things were going great between us."
"They were but that was before I found out that I'm going to be blind for the rest of my life. We can still be friends though but I don't want to tie you down."
"You're not tying me down Babydoll."
"Please don't call me that anymore!"
After she said that she could hear the pain in his voice. "Fine I guess I'll be going. If you want, I'll stay out of your life." Then she heard him disappear out the door and walk down the hall.
God, I am so stupid! Melissa told herself. I had the sweetest guy and I just let him walk away because I have to much pride. She closed her eyes and started to cry because she realized that she had probably made the biggest mistake of her life.
"How's Mel?" Meg asked the minute Nick walked in the door.
"OK I guess," he told her as he shrugged.
"You guess?"
"Look, me and Melissa broke up, rather she dumped me."
"Why?"
"Don't ask me, ask her. She's your sister," Nick told her angrily as he headed up the stairs.
"I'll go talk to him," AJ offered running after him.
Meg decided that maybe she'd try to talk to Melissa. Why on earth would Melissa dump Nick? Meg couldn't figure it out.
When she arrived at the hospital she found Melissa sitting in her bed crying.
"Hey Mel. It's me Meg. I heard that you and Nick broke up."
"Yea, well it was complicated."
"It didn't seem to complicated."
"Meg, I have to face reality. Nick tells me he loves me and will stick by me but soon enough he'll find some other girl who can actually see and then the choice will be easy."
"How do you know? You aren't even giving him a chance!"
"Yes, I am. I'm giving him the chance to be free. Why should he waste his time on a blind girl?"
"Because he loves you."
Melissa did not say a word and Meg exploded. "Are you the same girl who a little over a week ago would do anything for Nick? What happened to that girl who was just so happy to finally fall in love?"
"She grew up and started to face reality," Melissa answered back.
"God dammit Mel! Stop trying to get everyone to feel sorry for you because it's not working and you're just fucking up everything you have going for you. If you want to sit here and go 'OMG I'm blind! I can't do anything!' then fine, have fun wasting the rest of your life but you really should be trying to accept this and learn to live with it!"
"Oh yea! That's real easy for you to say Meg. You haven't just been told that you might never get to see again! I can't enjoy any of my favorite things like the mountains, or the beach, or the sunrise and sunset, but the worst thing is I can't see the faces of the people I love and that's what hurts the most," Melissa told her sobbing.
Just then AJ arrived. "Umm sorry to interrupt but I got to talk to you Meg."
"Sure no problem," Meg told him as she lead him outside. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't mean to cut this visit short, I wish I could stay longer but Nick wants to go back to Florida so I'm going with him."
"He's really taking this whole thing with Mel hard huh?"
"Well, you have to look at it from his point of view. In 2 weeks he's gotten his heart broken twice by two different girls. If that was me I'd seriously think I was doing something wrong."
"Yea I understand why you have to go but I still wish you didn't have to."
"Me too babe. I just stopped by here to say goodbye."
"Where's Nick?"
"In the waiting room."
"Isn't he going to say goodbye to Mel?"
"I guess he figures why bother. She's obviously not interested."
"I have no idea why she's acting like this."
"Yea, well I have to go to the airport now. Flight to catch."
"Let me come with you guys to the airport."
"No. Stay here with Mel. She needs you."
"But I need you."
"I know you do but she needs you more. Now give me a kiss goodbye."
Meg wiped a tear away from her eye and threw her arms around him, kissing him passionately. "I'll miss you."
"Me too babe. I'll call you OK?"
Meg nodded and watched him disappear down the hallway. Why did Melissa have to be such a bitch and ruin AJ and Nick's visit? Now who knew when they'd see each other again.