Nick:
AJ, Dani, Brian, and Amanda left right after Felicia and Steph did. I didn’t want them to go, but Becca was in a bad mood, again!
I was cleaning up, while Becca was in the house. I finished and went inside. She was in the living room, sitting on the black leather couch, watching TV.
"Becca, you ok?" I asked, sitting next to him.
"I guess. I just wanted to spend the day with you."
"You could have if you stayed."
"No, I wanted to spend it with just you, and not your friends."
"Oh, well we can spend time together tomorrow. Just you and me."
"Ok." She smiled and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her and we watched TV together. Then went to bed.
The next morning I woke up and found a note on the pillow next to mine and not Becca. I picked up the pink paper, opened it and read it.
‘Nicky,
Hey babe! I got a cal from Holly and we went shopping. We’ll be gone most of the day. I borrowed one of your credit cards. I hope you don’t mind. Have a great day Luv ya! Bye.
Becca.’
Ok, what the hell?! She got all upset that I didn’t spend time with her yesterday, and we were going to today and she decides to go shopping instead. Man, I wonder sometimes if she is using me like the guys say. But she was so sweet and caring when I first met her and started dating her. Man, I’m just totally confused.
I got out of bed and took a shower. I then got dressed and went downstairs. I decided to call Brian and see if he wanted to do something.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hey B, you wanna do something today?"
"Sorry man, can’t. I’m spending the day with Amanda. Maybe tomorrow."
"Ok, that’s fine. I’ll see ya later."
"Ok. Bye."
I hung up and sighed. I knew I wouldn’t get a hold of AJ, because he and Dani were going to Cocoa Beach for the day. And Kevin was in Kentucky and Howie was with Laura in Australia.
I sat on my couch and sighed with boredom. I tried thinking of something to do, but couldn’t. I then decided to go to the mall and buy some stuff.
I drove to the mall and parked. I went inside and walked around. I went into ‘Lids’ and bought a new hat and continued to walk around. I went into Barnes and Noble and walked around there for a little bit. I was looking at the comic book section, when I heard a familiar voice.
"Hi, can I help you?" I heard the voice say.
"Um, maybe. I was looking for a book on dreams." The customer said.
"Is it a specific one?" She asked.
"Yeah, I just don’t remember the title or who wrote it."
"Ok, well the dream book section is right over here. And you can look through them and see if you can fins the one you want."
"Ok, thank you."
"You’re welcome." I turned around and saw the person the voice belonged to. It was Felicia. I put the comic book that was in my hand back in its place and started walking behind her.
I caught up to her and put my hands over her eyes, stopping her.
"Guess who?" I said, trying not to sound like myself.
"Um, I have no idea."
"Aw, c’mon! Guess!" That time I sounded like myself.
"Oh, wait. I know that voice! Um, would it be Nick?"
"Man, that was too easy." I let her go and she turned around, smiling.
"Aw, too bad. So, what are you doing here?"
"I was bored. Becca is out with her friends again and everyone else is doing something. So, I decided to come to the mall. I didn’t know you worked at this Barnes & Noble.
"Yep, I do. It’s close to my apartment and the campus."
"Cool. Didn’t you have classes this morning?"
"Yeah, but they were canceled. So, I came to work early."
"Cool."
"I have a break in 5 minutes. If you want, I can walk around with you."
"Ok, that’s fine with me."
"Alright, I’ll be back in 5 minutes."
"Ok."
She walked away and I just walked around the store some. I was looking through the magazines when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and saw Felicia standing there.
"Well, that was fast." I said.
"Yeah, 5 minutes can go by quickly."
"Yep. So, let’s go walk around. How long is your break?"
"15 minutes."
"Ok, cool."
We walked out of the store and walked through the mall. I saw a guy and a girl that looked familiar. The girl looked like Becca and I had to look twice to see if it was her or not, and I was right. It was Becca, flirting with that guy. I just stopped and stared at them.
"Nick? Are you ok?" I heard Felicia ask.
"No, I’m not. That’s my girlfriend!" I mumbled.
She turned to see what I was talking about and she looked as shocked as I did, or even more shocked.
"Oh my god!" She whispered, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Felicia, what’s wrong?" I asked, concerned.
"They’re coming this way." Was my answer. I looked up and saw them walking towards us.
"Nick, is that you?" Becca asked.
"Yeah, Bec it’s me. Where’s Holly?" I was beginning to get angry.
"She, um, she had to go."
"Who’s this?" I pointed to the guy.
"This is my friend Bret. Who’s this Nick?" She pointed to Felicia.
"Felicia, you met her last night, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Forgot."
I noticed Felicia hadn’t said anything. I looked at her and she was looking down at the floor, almost as if she was afraid to look up.
"Felicia, are you ok?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just peachy." She still didn’t look up.
"Just peachy? Wait, I only know one person who says that, like that. And that’s Felicia Roberts." I heard the guy say. Felicia looked up.
"Yeah, that would be me, you asshole!"
Whoa, why did she just call him an asshole?
"Hey, don’t call Bret an asshole. You don’t know him!" Becca defended.
"Oh yes I do! He was my boyfriend, before he cheated one me."
"That’s only because you didn’t give him what he wanted."
"Yeah, like you know anything bitch!" She looked directly at Becca, and all her anger that was in her eyes turned to sadness and shock.
"Felicia, what’s wrong?" I asked again. She almost had tears in her eyes.
"You fucking asshole! Do you have a clue who’s girlfriend you’re fucking with?!" She yelled at Bret. I was totally confused.
"Felicia, don’t yell. We’re in public." Bret warned.
"Don’t tell me to be quiet, jackass!"
"Enough of the name-calling bitch." Becca yelled back. Felicia just glared at her.
"You know I don’t know you at all and I already hate you! Nick is a great guy and I’ve known him a total of 2 days, not even that. He’s a great friend and I bet a good boyfriend. But you haven’t even given him that chance."
"Um, what are you talking about?" I finally spoke up, still confused at what she was saying.
"Yeah, Felicia, please enlighten us." Bret said.
"Nick, Bret is my ex-boyfriend. He’s a cheating son of a bitch. I broke up with him when I found him in bed with another woman. And I’m so sorry to tell you this, because I don’t want you to be hurt. But that other woman was Becca."
I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. She didn’t cheat one me. She wouldn’t! NO! Felicia is lying! I looked at Becca and she didn’t say anything and she had a blank expression on her face.
"Bitch, that’s a lie! Nick, I didn’t sleep with him ever. She’s lying just to use you!" Becca protested, but it sounded so fake. I had heard enough for one day. I looked at Bret and he had a smirk on his face and I knew Becca was lying. I didn’t say anything; I just stood there looking back and forth, at both of them.
Felicia:
I kept looking at Nick. He had a blank, sad, and angry expression on his face. I couldn’t believe his girlfriend would do that. He seemed like a great guy, but I only knew him for not even 2 days. I wanted to slap Becca, for hurting him and hurting me. I wanted revenge. But I wasn’t like that. I just dwelled in my depression every time I got hurt. But Nick was my friend and he didn’t deserve to be caught in my depression. I looked at Becca and glared at her.
"Nick, say something." She walked closer to him and put her hand on his right arm, but he brushed it off and stepped back.
"Don’t touch me! I never want to see your face ever again!" He yelled, and then ran off. I wanted to go after him. I turned back to Bret and Becca.
"Happy now? You’ve not only hurt me, but you hurt him! He had so much faith in you and you just threw his emotions down the drain. You’re a bitch and you’re heartless." I smacked her and turned and ran out of the mall to find Nick.
I got outside and looked in both directions, but didn’t see him. Then I saw a green Durango, which I recognized as his, screeching out of a parking space and out of the mall parking lot. I ran back inside and to my store. Got my keys, clocked out, and ran back out to my car. I jumped in, started it, and drove out of the parking lot. I dialed Dani’s number as fast as I could on my cell phone and she answered on the 3rd ring.
"Dani, its Felicia. I need to know where Nick goes when he’s upset or angry." I said so fast that I barely understood myself.
"Whoa Felicia, what’s wrong?"
"Nick just found out Becca is cheating on him."
"What?!"
"I’ll explain later. But please tell me if you know where he goes to think."
"Oh, um the beach. He has a special spot where he goes to sort things out." She gave me directions.
"Ok, thanks. I’ll call you for updates."
"Ok, Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up and drove to the place Dani said he might be. I got there, parked my car and saw a green Durango parked there too.
"Please be here." I whispered as I walked on the sand. I took my shoes off and continued walking. I saw an isolated area that was completely surrounded by water, shallow though, and a figure was sitting in the middle. I had a skirt on, thankfully. I walked through the ankle deep water to the ‘island’ and walked behind him.
"Nick?" I said softly. He didn’t say anything. He had his knees up to his chest and his head was tucked between them and his arms. I sat next to him and looked at the sand between my toes.
"Go away, I don’t want to talk." Was my muffled response.
"Nick, I’m sorry for everything." I said.
"I don’t want to talk." He said.
"Ok, that’s fine. I’ll leave you alone." I got up and started walking away. But before I got too far, I felt him grab my hand. I looked down and saw his tear stained face. Seeing that made me want to cry.
"Don’t go. I don’t want to be alone." Would he please make up his mind! I sat back down next to him.
"I’m really sorry. I didn’t want that to happen." I said.
"Why can’t I ever find someone who loves me for me?!" He cried.
"You will, Nick. Don’t worry, you will." I hugged him and he just cried on my shoulder. We were like that for 20 or more minutes. He loosened his grip on me and pulled away. I looked at him and he had stopped crying, but his face was all red, tearstained and puffy. He whipped away his tears. That’s the first time I’d ever seen a guy cry.
"Thanks" He whispered.
"For what? Ruining your relationship?" I felt like that I shouldn’t have told him. I was dragging him into my depressed life and I didn’t want that to happen.
"You didn’t ruin my relationship. You helped me realize everything was true. Becca’s the one who ruined the relationship."
"I guess, but I feel bad."
"Don’t, there is nothing to feel bad about. Becca didn’t only ruin my relationship, she ruined yours too. She stepped all over both our hearts. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s never to fall so hard for someone, when they don’t give a damn about you. I don’t think I believe in love much anymore."
"Nick; don’t give up on it. It hasn’t given up on you. Your family loves you, and your friends love you. Be grateful you have all that."
"I guess, but it’s done nothing but caused pain."
"I’m sure that’s not true. Just be thankful you have your family and friends."
"I am, very thankful. It’s just hard, because every girl I’ve dated had betrayed me and trusting is getting harder."
"I know. But think, what if your family gave you up when you were 12, because, oh they just couldn’t handle you anymore. Every boyfriend you’ve ever had cheated on you, and the friends you though were your ‘true’ friends dump you. So, if you think your life is bad, think again. Think of someone else out there that could have it worse."
I got up and walked to the edge of the ‘island’ thing, looking out to the horizon. I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. It was like I didn’t have tears anymore. I also wanted to take what I had said back, I didn’t mean for any of that to come out. I closed my eyes for a second, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and looked up at Nick.
"Felicia, I’m sorry." He whispered.
"You don’t have to be. It’s ok. You’re allowed to be hurt, I mean you cared about her a lot. I shouldn’t have said anything."
"It’s ok. You’re right, I should think of other people."
I cut him off.
"No, Nick. You just found out your girlfriend cheated on you. I shouldn’t have told you to think about other people."
"I guess. Felicia, were you talking about you?" He asked and I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know him that much and he didn’t need to be burdened with my life. He had his own to worry about.
"Felicia?" He asked.
I walked away and sat where we were sitting before. I patted the sand next to me for him to sit. He did so. We were silent for a while, but then I started.
"Nick, my life is very complicated and confusing. I don’t even understand it myself. And I don’t want to burden you with it."
"It’s ok, you won’t burden me. I want to be your friend and I want to help you. I’ll listen and I won’t judge you. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to."
"I guess I will. The only person I’ve told is Steph, and she says I need help and that I should let more people in. It’s just not that easy."
"It’s ok." He repeated.
"Ok, when I was 12, my parents decided that they couldn’t take care of my anymore. They said they couldn’t handle me, and they weren’t ready to be parents. You’d think they would have given me up 12 years earlier, but nope they didn’t. I figured I was a bad kid and that they couldn’t love me, I dunno. So, I was put in a foster home, and no one wants a 12 year old, so I lived there ‘til I was old enough to get a job and support myself, which was when I turned 16. I believed in having an education, so I enrolled myself into a high school. Every boyfriend I tried having during my life always ended up cheating on me, or leaving me. I thought Bret was different, but I was wrong. We were together for 2 years, and he just stepped all over my heart like it was nothing. So, from now on I’m never ever falling in love. I don’t believe in it anymore"
I finished telling him almost everything. I felt warm water droplets falling from my eyes, and realized that I was crying. I hadn’t cried in the longest time. It felt weird. Nick didn’t say anything, but just looked at me. He then engulfed me in a hug, and I just cried. I cried so hard, that I didn’t know if I was going to stop. I finally calmed down and pulled away from him, whipping my eyes.
"I’m so sorry, Felicia." Nick whispered.
"It wasn’t your fault and it’s in the past."
"But no one should have to go through all that."
"It happens, we deal with it and move on."
"I guess, but still. Can I be sorry for you?"
"I guess." He hugged me again and we just sat there in silence. It felt good telling someone else other than Steph. He’s now understand me and know why I was so depressed. I could tell that we would be really good friends and that made me happy.
We stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and then decided to head home at sunset. We walked back to our cars, said goodbye and went our separate ways. I promised I call him the next day to see how he was holding up, and he’d do the same....
