Chapter 19
A few weeks passed before the ship docked in Orlando, Florida. The passengers would spend a week in Orlando, before catching a flight back to their homes. The world cruise had come to an end.
No one wanted to talk about the end, for somehow they knew that bringing the conversation up would only be as depressing as it sounds. Knowing that they only had one week more with each other, Nick and Riana spent every possible moment together. Wheather it was walks on deck late at night and talking until morning, or wheather it was movie night on Friday nights, Nick and Riana were always together. Leah and AJ were the same way - they knew that their relationship would stay strong despite the many miles that separated them from one another. No one could be able to tell if Nick and Riana were having a problem. Riana couldn't even tell, only Nick. He would hide the way he felt when they were together, but they would catch up to him when he was alone. He had tried to deny his feelings, but he couldn't. A feeling of unsureness and betrayal would always be within his heart when he was with Riana. He didn't want to admit that his old insecurities were coming back. Everynight he cursed Emily, the girl who had crossed the solid line in which Nick could no longer trust any woman. He didn't tell anyone his doubts, no one would understand. They would say, 'Riana? What could a beautiful girl like that possibly do to you?' Nick didn't know the answer himself, but something inside of him told him that she was planning something evil.
His insecurities had started when this guy named Dan had come aboard. He was obvious that he liked Riana, he followed her around like a lost puppy. He had even made a few passes at Riana, which made Nick think that Riana maybe wasn't faithful to him, maybe she was a liar. But then again Nick would remember the times that him and Riana would cuddle together, and just laugh at each others company, and his thoughts would temporarily vanish.
The poems that Riana had gotten kept pouring in on almost a daily basis. Riana had immediately thought it was Dan, but why him? No one knew who the mysterious poet was, but when Riana found out, Nick would be afraid that she would leave him for the poet.
Nick thought about these thoughts as he laid in bed at night. He couldn't get to sleep, these horrible thoughts struck him like a blow to the stomach. At night he would get these horrible nightmares where he would be so helpless as Riana laughed at him.
"Nick?" Brian said, interrupting Nick's thoughts. Nick rubbed his eyes and looked at Brian.
"Brian. Whats up?" he asked, trying to make it seem as it nothing was wrong, whereas his whole world was falling apart.
"It's late. Go to bed." Brian said.
"I am in bed," Nick argued.
"Then turn out the light, you're keeping everyone else up," Brian grumbled. Nick apologized and switched off his lamp, leaving him alone in darkness. His eyes drooped slowly, as he cursed himself for falling asleep. The dreams would come. He knew it......
_~_~_~_~_~_
Nick felt a chill suddenly appear on his arms, a chill that spread goosebumps across his entire body. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, but became baffled when his vision turned into a complete room of blinding white.
"Where am I?" Nick asked outloud. (AN: No, he's not in heaven, lol)
"Nickolas, you decided to join me," a voice spoke. Nick cringed at the voice and turned around to look at her. Her long, brown hair hung to the middle of her back. Her piercing green eyes bore a hole into Nick's heart and he turned to run away but her crackles of laughter brought him back to her.
"There's no more running, Nick. It's time to face the truth," she spoke.
"What do you want?"
"I want you back, Nick. I want you to see what Riana is doing to you. I want you to love me again."
"Forget it, Emily. Riana isn't doing anything to me! I love her!" he screamed. He loved her? Dating her for two and a half months really had an impact on him. It was the first time he had ever said it.
"My little Nicky is capable of being in love?" she asked incredulously. She laughed her shrill laugh and pulled him to her.
"Say you stay with Riana. She won't be faithful! You'll be living by yourself in Florida, and she'll be on another rendezvous with Dan!"
"No!" Nick protested. Emily drew a clear picture in Nick's mind for him.
"This is what will happen. You marry her, but she doesn't have time for you! **Your day breaks. Your mind aches. You find that all her words of kindness when she no longer needs you."
"That's not true!" He shouted. She silenced him.
**"She wakes up. She put her make up on, she takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry. She no longer needs you. And in her eyes you see nothing. No sign of love behind the tears. She cried for no one!" Emily screeched. Emily drew a picture of her and Nick together. "A love that should have lasted years," she said, pointing to the picture.
"You are crazy! You betrayed me! Riana will never do that!" Emily chuckled and continued with her monologue.
"You want her. You need her, and yet you don't believe her when she says her love is dead, you think she needs you. You stay home, she goes out. She meets a man and says that long ago she knew someone, but now he's gone, she doesn't need him."
Nick swallowed back the tears that hung behind his eyelids. It was true. Riana didn't love him. She was with him for no reason at all.
" Your day breaks and your mind aches. There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head, you won't forget her. I didn't want to make it hard on you, Nick. End it before you get hurt." Emily said before she disappeared
_~_~~_~_~_~_~
"No!!!!!!!!!!!" Nick screamed, sitting up in bed. A sweat poured down on his face like a waterfall.
"It's not true. It can't be true!!"
________________________________
Riana woke up the next day, bright and early. Today was the last day that Nick and her would spend together, so she wanted to be with him until her plane departed that night to go back to London. She knew that it was going to be hard to say good-bye to him. She had tried to put the thought in the back of her mind, but the closer that the day got, the more sad she became. Not only was she leaving Nick, she would be leaving Brian. Brian was probably one of her best friends. They had grown exceptionally close over the three months that they had spent together. The night of drunken passion that they had shared disappeared into thin air ; Riana and Brian never talked about it. There was no need to.
Riana walked over to her couch and picked up Nick's camera that he had left at her house the night before. The tapes that Nick had recorded on had everything imaginable on them: their day in the Philippines where they dressed as a chicken and a dragon, the night at the club, countless parties that their "group had, and one time, Nick was recording just the two of them. He had forgotten to turn the camera off and had accidentally shot a steamy make out session. He promised not to show anyone, but he still got a good laugh out of it.
Riana sighed as she sat down. It was probably the best summer that she had ever had. She had escaped her carreer. There were no photographers that harassed her about everything. There were no agents that were begging her to sign another contract. There was only a group of friends and a loving boyfriend, with whom she cringed at the thought of leaving all of them.
___________________________
Nick slowly walked up to Riana's floor. Doubts were swirling in his mind and he had no way to confront them. How should he tell her? Tell her that he was feeling used? No, that would sound crazy. Nick kept thinking and thinking until he stood in front of her room, a room that flooded him with so many wonderful memories. He was about to knock when he heard footsteps behind him.
"Hey Nick! What are you doing here!" Dan asked. He stood in front of the door next to Nick.
"Well, I was going to talk to Riana, but it looks like she's still sleeping. See ya later," Nick said. He rushed away and sprinted towards the elevator.
Dan shrugged and knocked on her door. She opened a few moments later with a smile on her face.
"Dan! Hey!" she said. She opened the door wider so he could walk in.
"Hey Riana. I just wanted to tell you that my flight leaves today, in about an hour."
"Oh! That's too bad. We only became friends a month ago, and now you have to go," Riana said. She hugged him.
"Yeah, it is. Well, I left you my number, just in case you want to talk. Oh, and there was something else I had to give to you, but I think I forgot it in my room. Oh well, it was nothing important. Good-bye." He said, smiling at her one last time before walking out of her room. She walked to the door and watched him go, wishing him the best of luck in the future. As she was closing the door, she noticed an envelope that was perched on a chair next to her room. She snatched it into her hands before anyone noticed. She walked back into her room and sat down on the chair as she read the envelope.
"Who can this be?" she pondered.
Written on the front of the envelope was "I'll Follow The Sun." The title sounded intriguing enough. She read with awe.
*One day
You'll look
To see I've gone
But tomorrow may rain so
I'll Follow The Sun
Some day
You'll know
I was the one
Yet tomorrow may rain so
I'll Follow The Sun
And now the time has come,
and so, my love, I must go.
And though I lose a friend
In the end
you will know
One day
you'll find
that I have gone
But tomorrow may rain so
I'll Follow The Sun*
The letter was also unsigned, yet Riana knew who it was. It was Dan! The letters came to her about a month ago, and that was when Dan had gotten onto the ship. He also had left something in his room, but he really had only dropped it outside. She wished that he hadn't had left, she wanted to thank him for his sincerity. He was so sweet. She wished that he would find someone that would love him as much as she loved Nick.
Nick. She was leaving in less than ten hours. Only ten hours before they were going to be torn apart! Without another thought, Riana rushed down to Nick's room.
______________________
Nick heard the knocks on his door and slowly got up off the couch. When he opened the door, he wanted to just close it right away. Riana stood with a huge smile on her face. The smile was that irresistible smile that made Nick's heart race and his stomach get butterflies.
"What's the matter?" Riana asked. She noticed Nick looked.....horrible. His hair was uncombed, his eyes were bloodshot, almost making it look like he had been crying for years.
"Riana, I have to tell you something," he said. He turned away from her so he couldn't see her face.
"You can tell me."
"I....I don't think we should see each other anymore." He whispered.
"What?" Riana whispered. He looked into the mirror that stood in front of him and he wanted to cry at Riana's hurt and shocked face.
"I want us to see other people. This whole long distance thing won't work," he said. He watched as she took deep breaths. She was on the verge of tears and she placed her head in her hands so Nick couldn't see her face. Nick knew she was crying when he heard a sob and he saw her shoulders shaking. Riana slowly lifted her head and nodded.
"If that's how you feel, then that's the way it has to be." She choked out. She pulled off the ocean blue ring that was on her finger and placed it on the table. "Nick, we could get through this. Whatever it is, we could do it. I'm not going to regret any of our relationship. I love you, Nick. This may be the first and the last time you will hear me say it, but it's the truth." She slowly turned away and walked to the door.
"Remember, Nick. I'm only an ocean away." With that, she turned on her heels and ran away from Nick.
He walked over to the table and picked up the ring. He was so stupid. He had lost someone he loved just because he was afraid to admit he loved her.
"I'm so sorry," he wailed. "Please forgive me."
___________________________
