Chapter 16
Life slowly dragged on. Though seemingly impossible, Nick managed to survive all the gossip magazines discussing every detail of Chelsea's engagement and soon to be wedding. He had expected it after all, as there's nothing more the world likes to see then a happy ending, a wedding. And yes, it was hard to see this whole fantasy engagement take place between Chelsea and John since he had after all wanted to be the only one for her. Yet, he supposed, it was just as well because she was happy and he was happy to see her smile the way she used to. Nick was happy to not see sadness in her eyes but instead that twinkle that was there long before he broke her down. He just wasn't sure he was happy to receive an invitation to the wedding.
Flopping down on the couch beside AJ, who was kindly assisting him on the production of Nick's latest track, he stared at the invitation.
"Oh she did invite you," AJ nodded, recognizing the envelope.
"You've discussed this with her?"
"No, well...yea. I mean, I had wondered if she would invite you but then when I called to RSVP she told me she was scared to."
"Why would she be scared to invite me?"
"Probably because she knew you'd stare at the invitation like that."
"Funny," Nick slightly chuckled as he threw down the envelope and opened a can of Coke. Taking a swig he sat back and stared out into the studio. "So what would you do?"
"I'd go, you are happy for her aren't you?"
"Yes, but I'll be honest...I'd be a lot happier if she wasn't marrying the guy."
"Well," AJ sighed apologetically, "She is, and you love her, which sucks...but at the same time that's why you should go. You should support her, you know?"
"She doesn't need my support, she'll marry him with or without me there, rest assured on that," Nick hastily concluded.
"Go Nick," AJ was now pleading with his friend, "What good have you done for her? Do this one thing; it'd be nice."
"Is that how you feel?" Nick turned to him, "Really? That I haven't done anything good for her?"
"Not entirely," AJ admitted, cautiously, "You did love her but you also cheated on her. Yes, you were going to propose, yes you did buy her that house, but you also took her for granted. You did a lot for her, but nothing that truly matters."
"Wow," Nick let AJ's words sink in. He kenw he'd treated Chelsea less then perfectly but he didn't expect his good friend to call him out on it. "I guess you would see it that way, and of course Chels does too. But what neither of you know is how much I loved her. She was my whole world, and my only regret is that I failed to let her know. That's why I moved back in, that's why I pushed hard to get back together...I wanted to make up for everything and let her see the truth. You say nothing I did for her mattered, but doesn't this? I let her go to John AJ, not cause I was giving up but because I realized that was the one thing I could do for her. The only thing I can do for her is let her go."
"So I guess you won't be at the wedding then?"
"No, I'm letting her go...but I don't think I can just sit there and watch it."
* * * *
"Let me go!" Chelsea laughed in hysterics as she tried to get away from Nick.
"No, give it back!" he begged, out of breath.
"Why so secretive?" she pushed against his arms to get loose, tightly clenching the envelope in her hand.
"Chels, I'm stronger then you. You might as well just hand it over!" Nick advised, still maneuvering around her body in an attempt to steal the letter.
"No way!" she refused with a naughty smile. "This is far too much fun."
"Please babe, give back the envelope," he begged.
"No, I want to see what had you so interested. It's addressed to both of us!" she giggled as he tickled her side.
Desperate, he drilled his fingers into her, making her laugh and twist uncontrollably, "I'm not going to stop..."he warned.
"Fine! Fine!" she relinquished but as soon as he let go darted into the bathroom and quickly locked the door, letter in hand. It was no use at that point to even bother chasing after her.
Nick's heart raced in a panic, unsure what he could even say when she came out...if she would even let him talk anyway. Truth was he hadn't expected any of his lies to ever find their way to the home Chelsea and him shared together. In his mind he figured he was safe from his countless mistakes when he was at home, and so receiving that letter, which was really written for Chelsea, tore at his conscience. Even though it had only been one girl and one night this time, it was still one girl and one night...which was one thousand too many.
The door opened and she walked out.
"Do you love me?" Chelsea asked, flatly.
"Yes," Nick answered.
"Is that why you don't want me to read this?" she held up the letter.
"Did you read it?" he asked impatiently.
"Answer the question," she walked towards him. "Do you not want me to read this letter out of love?"
"Yes," he nodded and bit fiercly on his lip. "Chels, did you read it?"
"Do you love me enough to tell me what it says?"
Nick's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he dipped his head down to the floor. It was a test, if she'd read the letter she'd know the truth and if he lied it'd be a lot worse. Yet, if he told the truth and she hadn't read the letter he would lose her. He would inevitably lose and break her heart either way.
Looking back up he stared into her eyes, "I love you more then enough not to tell you."
Silently she stared back at him with no expression as she filed the letter through her fingers. She knew he was in a panic and was letting him fester a little longer, though not just out of amusement. It was difficult, but she handed Nick the envelope back, "Ok, I didn't read it and I'll let you keep your secret...but only because I believe you do love me."
"I do," he nodded and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I always will."
* * * *
"How are the wedding plans coming?" John asked, walking into the hotel room to find Chelsea buried in wedding magazines. "You know? We can put off the whole big wedding thing..."
"I know," she nodded. "This is how I want it though." In reality though it wasn't clear why she wanted such a large wedding. It's a far cry from the low-key beach ceremony she had always invisioned for Nick and herself. Of course, everything was different about John so it's only fitting that every plan changed too. The death of one dream and the birth of another.
"I love you," he kissed her cheek and stroked her hair. "If you want to forget all this and elope all you gotta do is ask..."
It was odd to Chelsea that after so little time with John they were engaged. It was odd how easy it was for him to make a commitment, the same one she'd fought years for Nick to make.
"You look stressed," John commented as he sat down across the table.
"I am," she admitted. "With all the wedding details and keeping up with work...it's just a lot." She picked up another one of the returned invitations to continue the finalized head count. It was tedious work, even though it was all her idea to throw such a huge celebration. It wasn't supposed to feel like such a chore. "Oh! Leslie's coming!" she smiled as she checked her name off on the guest list.
"Of course she is, who wouldn't want to come?" John smiled. "I'm amazed that in under two months now this will all be over."
Two months ended up sounding more like a sentence then a countdown. Looking up at John, Chelsea smiled. It was endearing to see him so elated. "I really do love you," she sighed. "I guess you're the big pay off for all this work." Walking over to him she sat down on his lap, kissing his neck, "You better be worth it."
"Well, future Mrs.Mayer, I guess you'll just have to wait and see--" he teasingly brushed her away and stood up.
"What? No pre-show today?"
"Unfortunately not till later," he regretfully confessed. "I have a photoshoot for Guitar magazine. But," he kissed her, his lips soft and warm, "I will be looking forward to seeing you...and I mean all of you, later." He brushed her hair out of her face and sweetly kissed her forehead. "Wait," he leant down and picked up one of the returned invitations. "Nick Carter," he read aloud and spun around to face Chelsea. "You invited him?"
"Well, she averted her eyes, slightly embarassed by the situation. "Yea, what's wrong?"
"Why would you invite your ex-boyfriend, who you fought to get away from, to our wedding?"
"Nick and I are close, besides...he's ok with us getting married so I don't see what the problem is."
Frustrated John rubbed his temple, "Would you like me to invite all my ex-girlfriends?"
"If you still talk with them, sure."
"When did you talk to Nick?"
She bit her lip, slightly baffled at his reaction to the envelope, "In LA he helped me get away from the paparazzi. Then we went to his new house--"
"You went to his house?"
"Yea, to check it out. That's when he saw my ring and we talked. He's ok with it."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it's not a big deal--"
"Why didn't you tell me you were inviting him?" he urged.
"Because it's not a big deal! Besides, he won't come. It's merely a polite invitation. No way is he coming."
John opened the envelope to see the truth. Nick had in fact RSVPed 'No' but he also wrote Chelsea a little note that read, 'Sorry. I am happy for you, I just can't watch you marry him. I hope you understand.'
"Well, what does it say?" Chelsea asked, confused by John's silence and cold glare down at the paper.
"Read it for yourself..."
Chelsea read what Nick wrote and smiled, slightly in satisfaction. "I knew he'd say no."
"Then why'd you invite him?"
"Why does it bother you so much that I invited him? What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's our wedding and he shouldn't be there!"
"Ok, Mr. Territorial. Would you like to pee on me as well?" Chelsea sneered. It was hard dealing with John's contempt for Nick, although she completely understood how he felt.
"Why can't you just leave him in the past?" John asked patiently, almost out of desperation.
"Because we meant a lot to each other, and we still care. Isn't it good that he and I can remain friends?"
"But behind my back..."
Chelsea threw her hands up in the air, "We ran into each other in LA John. It's not like we sought each other out. He helped me get away from the photographers. It was a nice thing to do. I've moved on--he's starting to move on. You really have nothing to worry about!"
"Fine," he surrendered, "You're right, I don't have anything to worry about. I just don't like the guy."
Chelsea put her arms firmly around his neck, drawing him close to her. "Go to your photoshoot," she assured him, "And when you get back, I'll be here waiting."
Kissing her sweetly John agreed, "Ok, I'll be back later."
Watching him walk to the door she called after him, "You better be. After all, you're the one I choose. Love you."
He blew her a kiss before shutting the door. Glancing back down at the wedding plans Chelsea smiled, it was a lot of work, but it would be worth it.
Chapter 17
Cardboard Boxes Main
Homepage