Nick's words on the day of her mothers funeral still ran fresh in her mind and she was thankful that at least for the past week he had obeyed her wishes. He hadn't stopped by or called, nor had any member of his family, and Zoey was happy for that. She was still angry and if she bumped into him again she might literally kill me.
Finally after moping around for a good deal of that first week Zoey decided she needed to do something constructive. Hanging around the apartment and staring at the four walls, crying was not going to bring her mother back. Maybe it would help bring some closure if I begin to pack away her things, she decided that next Saturday afternoon.
The job took almost all day. Her mother had definitely been a bit of a pack rat. It was very tough for Zoey to decide which items to throw out, which to give away, and which to keep for herself. She had been working at cleaning out her mothers closet for a couple of hours when her stomach growled loudly. Looking down at her watch she realized that it was already after 8pm. I better make myself some dinner, she told herself as she got up and stretched. She was just about to walk away when way back in the corner her eyes caught something big and silver. Curiosity getting the better of her, she momentarily forgot about her hunger and tugged at the object, trying to see what it was.
Whatever it was it was heavy. She grunted as she pulled harder but still it wouldn't budge. After a good five minutes of tugging she managed to drag it out of the closet. It was a safe. The kind that you'd out important documents or expensive keepsakes in. The kind that had a combination lock on it so that it couldn't be opened by anyone else.
"Now what the fuck am I going to do?" she mumbled to herself as she unsuccessfully spun the lock the few times. Her and her mother had always been close and they'd never hid anything from one another. Whatever her Mom had felt so important to lock away in a safe and hide it in the back of her closet had to have been awfully important. Zoey had this instinctive gut feeling that perhaps whatever laid in that safe had something to with her father.
Just then the doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. I hope it's not the landlady wanting this months rent, she thought a little angry that she'd actually expect the rent on time this month with everything that had just happened.
When she opened the door she was both surprised and angered to see not the landlady on the other side, but Nick Carter himself nervously standing in the hallway with his hands in his pockets, gazing down at his feet.
"What do YOU want?" she asked in her iciest tone, amazed that he even had the nerve to show up here after the shit he had pulled at her mothers funeral.
"I wanted to talk to you. Can I uhh, come in?" he asked as she tried to get a look inside.
"No, you cannot and I don't think he have anything to talk about. I told you that I never wanted to see your face again and I meant it, so have a nice life," she told him as she began to shut the door in his face.
Nick was quicker than she had expected and stuck his foot out just in time to prevent the door from closing. "I came by to apologize," he said sincerely.
"You said some really messed up things Nick. I'm sorry isn't going to cut it," she informed him.
"I know, but just hear me out," he pleaded with her. "Look, I know I said some pretty fucked up things last week. I shouldn't have bothered you when I knew your emotions were probably all screwed up and you were upset. I understand you for trying to blame my family for your mothers death and I know you didn't really mean it. I just want to tell you I take it all back."
"I wasn't trying to pin the blame on anyone," Zoey spoke up. "I don't regret what I said. Your family was a quite a contributor to my mother's death. Now thank you for your apology, but I'm not quite sure I can accept it."
Nick sighed, clearly getting frustrated by Zoey's stubbornness. "I came by to do the right thing and apologize and admit that I was wrong. That's not an easy thing for me to do. I know that deep down underneath that hardness you are trying to put up against my family that you are secretly grieving and I just thought I could maybe try to help you because I know how great a person your mother was."
"Whatever Nick. If I need your help I'll let you know, but if there's one thing I don't need it's your pity. Now if you'll just leave me alone and let me grieve in piece I'll be fine," she insisted slamming the door in his face.
"Bitch," Nick mumbled underneath his breath as he began to walk away. All he wanted was too be a nice guy and help her out. Ms. Lancaster really had been like his own mother, but Zoey refused to see that. whether it was pride or her own way of dealing with things it was no excuse to make him feel like his feelings weren't genuine.
Just then he heard the door creak open and he turned around to see Zoey stepping out. "Uhh Nick?" she tentatively asked. "There is a little something that you can help me with."
"Why should I help you now?" he asked her with a scowl. "After the way you just treated me I don't owe you anything."
Zoey swallowed before she began to speak again. "I found a safe in my mother's room. It's locked and I have the feeling that there's something inside that must've been really important to her. You know how she was such an open person. For her to lock something away like that ... well it has to be something private."
"If it's so private maybe it's not meant to be opened," Nick suggested, losing his patience with her.
"I think it has something to do with my father," she blurted out quickly.
Nick's face softened. He knew the whole story about how important it was to Zoey to find out the truth about whoever her father was. He couldn't turn her back on her for something this important. "What kind of lock's on it?"
"A combination lock. I have no clue what the combination could possibly be," she told him.
"Hmm... I could try picking at the lock, otherwise he may have to smash it open. Do you have any tools hanging around?"
Zoey opened her mouth and laughed. "Ha! You? Using tools? I think that's the first time I've laughed since my mothers funeral."
"Well, at least I'm good for something," he muttered. "Seriously though show me the safe and I'll see what I can do."
"Okay," she agreed as she led him inside and into her mother's bedroom. "I couldn't drag it out all the way because it's awfully heavy."
"It's okay. I got it," he told her as he finished dragging it out of the closet and into the middle of the room. "Can you get me those tools now?"
"Fine," Zoey answered as she disappeared for a few minutes returning with a tool kit. She was both surprised and amazed to find that Nick actually seemed to know what he was doing. She had to admit that she was actually quite glad that she had asked him for his help. Maybe he is more than just a spoiled rich kid, she thought to herself.
"Got it!" Nick proclaimed as he yanked off the lock sending the safe doors flying open.
"What's in it?" Zoey asked anxiously as she kneeled beside him on the floor and started to pull out its contents.
The first item inside was what appeared to be a high school yearbook. Flipping through the pages quickly, Zoey noticed that it wasn't from the year that her mother would've graduated, but the year before that when she was in 11th grade. There were several pictures of her mother though with a very good looking man with hearts drawn around the borders. It was obvious that her mother had been romantically involved with this guy. Could he have been her father?
The second item was a flat leather bound notebook that appeared to be a journal or diary of some sort. Quickly flipping through it Zoey realized that's what it was exactly. She felt sort of guilty flipping through something that was so personal to her mother, but she knew that if she wanted the truth she'd have to read through it. I'll start reading it later, she promised herself as she set it down on top of the yearbook.
The rest of the remains in the safe were more of the same. A pile of old letters held together with a rubber band. A few old photos of her mother with the same guy as in the yearbook. Some mementos from what Zoey assumed must've been from dates like an old movie ticket stub and a little matchbook from a restaurant.
"What is all this stuff?" Nick asked her a little confused by all the items that the safe held.
"I'm not sure, but I think they have something to do with my Dad," Zoey answered running her fingers lightly over the objects.
Nick leaned over her and grabbed one of the photographs of the man with her mother, studying it carefully and then looking back up at Zoey trying to find any similarities. "It's hard to tell in the picture, but I guess it's possible that he could be."
"I want to find out more about him," she said firmly as she grabbed the yearbook and began to flip through the pages. "Thank God my Mom lived in one of those really small towns. Otherwise it would take forever to find him."
"Not like she doesn't have every page he's on highlighted with bright pink hearts," he said sarcastically. "Here's the guy."
Zoey leaned over to study the picture of the guy that Nick was pointing to. Sure enough his image matched the one in the picture. "Marc D'Angelo," she read softly from the caption underneath his picture. "That's my fathers name..."
"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself here Zo?" Nick asked her. "Just because he's in a few pictures with your mother does not guarantee that this man is your real father."
"He is," she replied confidently. "I just have this feeling..."
"Whatever," Nick told her rolling his eyes as he got up. "I just think you need to take a closer look at all this stuff before you make any decisions."
"Fine," she agreed just to humor him. "I'll look all this over, but if you don't mind I would prefer some privacy."
"No problem," he told her in an understanding tone of voice. " I guess I'll be going now. Call me if you find anything interesting."
"If you insist," she muttered as she walked him to the door. "Yea ... right," she mumbled underneath her breath as she watched him walk down the hall. Why should she share something so personal with someone like him?
