After shoving some clothes and other necessities in a bag, she woke Caitlin up, who immediately started crying. “Shhhh, shhhh, it’s okay, sweetie. Mommy needs you to be quiet right now,” Aimee begged in a whisper. She was gonna wake Nick up!
Caitlin kept wailing, and Aimee finally just picked up her and the bag and rushed down the stairs, just as Nick walked out of his room. “Aims? What are you doing here?”
She bolted out the back door, Nick following close behind her. There was no time to put Caitlin in her car-seat without letting Nick catch up. After strapping her into the front seat, she started the car, but Nick threw himself in front of it and wouldn’t let her pass. “What the hell are you doing, Nick?” she called out the window. “Do you honestly think that after last night, I would hesitate to run you over?”
“No, I don’t, but I don’t care. I’m already in more pain than I can handle, so what’s a little bit more gonna do?” he asked hypothetically. She studied him carefully, wondering if he even knew what the meaning of pain was compared to her after last night. His eyes were bloodshot and red, and he obviously hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before either. She didn’t care, though. He hurt her. He deserved it.
“Nickolas Gene Carter, get your ass out of the way! I don’t want to talk to you!”
“Absolutely not. I refuse to move until you listen to me!” he shouted stubbornly.
She groaned. “Fine, go ahead and talk.”
“Steph and I are NOT back together. Definitely not back together. She rang the doorbell last night while I was in the shower, so I pulled some boxers on and let her in. As for why she was wearing a sports bra and jogging shorts, she had been jogging earlier, and when she got home, she decided to come over and see if she could get me back. I told her no. Then I went upstairs to get dressed, and she followed me, all the while trying to convince me that we should get back together. I kept saying no. Then you came home, and you know what happened from there.”
“Gee, that’s a pretty convincing story, Nick. I actually almost believe it! Did you make that one up while you were sleeping with her last night?” she said bitingly.
“You have to believe me! Please! I love you!” he pleaded, leaning on the hood of her car.
“Well, I don’t love you, so too bad. Get off my car and get out of my way,” she snapped.
“How many times have I believed you, Aims? How many times have I believed you even though I should have known you weren’t telling the truth, and somewhere inside, I did know? You’ve even told me after that you were lying, but I still believed you. But just because I know you and I’m willing to trust you, I believed you. Like when you said you only slept with Steve that one time, and when you said Steve was paying you child support when he really wasn’t, and I still think you should take that to court, but now, when I’m actually telling the truth, you won’t believe me?”
He obligingly stepped aside and watched through sad eyes as she drove away.