He reaches for the lightly toasted pieces of bread and takes a bite as he examines the items I’ve just placed on our bedside table. “I take it you talked to Jamie.”
He speaks so matter-of-factly that I almost have to laugh. “Yes, I talked to the all-knowing Jamie Victor. He knows you well.”
Colin nods and continues to force himself to eat. He blinks up at me after a few moments. “So where’s the Harry Potter?” When I don’t reply, he sighs. “Lord of the Rings?” I only grin at him. “The Hobbit at least?” I remain silent and he groans. “Are you sure you didn’t talk to my brother? Because your lack of kick-ass, life-changing fantasy movies tells me Jamie wasn’t involved at all.”
I have to fight the urge to laugh, and, with much effort on my part, I do.
“Michie and Brody are on their way with both, you whiny fangirl.”
He chuckles lightly. I watch as he takes the Motrin I’ve given him, and I climb over his lap so that we’re lying side by side. He glances over at me and I know exactly what it is that he needs. He turns over and rests his head on my abdomen as he wraps his arms around my waist. He closes his eyes and I run my hands through his hair. His breathing relaxes and slows as I run the fingers of my free hand along his spine. It’s times like these when I’m reminded of the fact that when Colin saved me last year, I saved him right back.
I close my eyes and inhale, bracing myself for what I’m about to say. “Colin?” I ask.
“Mmm?” he replies without looking at me.
I pause, willing myself to speak. I almost decide not to, because this is the perfect moment, the most perfect one we’ve had since we got the news about his dad.
“Colin, I don’t want you to drink anymore.”
There. I said it.
He glances up at me and his expression tells me so much of what he’s feeling. Shame. Guilt. Grief. Just about every other emotion known to mankind. He’s absolutely horrorstruck.
I don’t know when it was that I gained the ability to read Colin’s every emotion without him actually saying anything, but that’s exactly what’s happening right now. We stare at each other unblinkingly, and there’s so much that passes through us in this moment. He’s afraid of how I’m going to react, and I’m afraid that he’s going to think I’m trying to tell him what to do—or worse, that I’m calling him an alcoholic. With his mental state right now, anything’s possible, and there’s nothing that I can do to sway the outcome in my favor.
He stares at me once again, and then nods curtly. I exhale with relief, and I force myself not to reach over and check him for a fever. He must be really sick if he’s giving in this quickly. I expected more of an argument, but I can let it go if he’s willing to concede so easily.
“Trust me, my relationship with alcohol is over as of this moment.”
I nod, am about to respond when I hear the sound of our door slamming closed, announcing Michele’s arrival at least. She’s the one who makes noise wherever the Hell she goes. She’s lucky we’re not sleeping right now.
“Wassup, bitches!” Michie yells. I roll my eyes, a bit annoyed with her announcement when I see Colin wincing. At the same time, though, I’m happy that she’s here. Maybe she can make Colin smile, even if it’s only for today.
I hear her banging pots and pans in the kitchen, laughing loudly with Suze. Of course, she has to make an entrance wherever she goes. Colin looks up at me with a smile in his eyes and we both sit up at the same time. I get out of the bed and turn to face him.
I can only hope that Madilyn has either made herself scarce or she’s left for the day already.
“Let me get out there before Michie kills your...friend,” I tell him. “Come join us, yeah?”
I don’t wait for his response because if I do, I’m sure he’ll come up with a reason not to hang out with us. I don’t want to give him an opportunity to do so.
I walk back into the living room, and my best friend is grinning at Suze. She turns her head and barrels toward me the minute that she lays eyes on me. “Kales! Hey!” She envelops me in a hug, and when she pulls away, she grins at the sight of what I’m wearing. “I didn’t know this was a slumber party. I would have worn my onesie.”
I laugh. “Well, I’ll make sure you get your invite next time.” I pause, looking around the apartment. “Where’s Brody?”
She shrugs, and it takes me a minute to interpret what that gesture means. Before our trip to Big Springs, that likely would have meant that she didn’t give two shits where Brody was. But now, it means that she honestly doesn’t know. And I don’t know if I like the latter better than the former.
“I talked to him earlier to see if he needed a ride, but he said no.” She shrugs again, and the second shrug makes me worry. She must see the alarm in my expression, because she smiles at me. “I’m sure he’s fine, Nic. He said he’d call when he was on his way.”
I nod, and at the same time that I do, the door to our bedroom swings open and Colin comes out, walking like a zombie. He sees Michele and smiles at her immediately, walking over to her and giving her a hug.
“Hey, buddy,” she says in a low voice. “Hayden sends his condolences.” Just as quickly as it came, the tender moment is gone. She pulls away from him and cocks an eyebrow. “I really like the hobo chic look you’ve got going on.”
Laughing, she hands Colin the stack of Harry Potter movies she borrowed from him last month, and walks into the kitchen. I watch with morbid curiosity as she reaches into a Seven Eleven bag and pulls out a giant pile of junk food.
“I brought snacks so we can pig out and ugly cry when it comes to Deathly Hallows part two.” She peeks over my head at Susanna. “You joining us, Susie Q?”
The door to the bathroom creaks open, and all of our heads turn as Madilyn emerges. Michele’s eyes widen and she turns on me immediately.
“Jesus Christ, Nickayla! You didn’t tell me you were running a brothel!” She storms over to Madilyn who looks scared, but shows no signs of backing down. “What the fuck are you doing here?” She turns on Colin. “What the fuck is she still doing here?” When neither of them answers her, she turns on me. “Please, please, tell me you’re not okay with this!”
I shrug. How can I tell her, right in front of Colin, who needs all the friends he can get right now, that no, I’m not okay with this? I honestly hope the shrug is enough to keep her at bay. If not, God help us all.
“You need to leave. Now.”
I glance nervously at Colin, unsure of what he’s thinking right now.
Madilyn thrusts her shoulders back, and glares at Michie. “I’m a guest here. And last I checked, you don’t live here.”
“Maybe I don’t. But I was invited. Last I checked, you weren’t.”
Jesus. Michele is relentless.
“Mich, it’s fine,” I say. “She’s Colin’s guest, and she’s not staying long. He needs her here. The last thing that he needs is for us all to be fighting right now.”
She whips around and faces my severely hung-over boyfriend. “Colin?”
He rakes his hand over his face as he closes his eyes. They snap open and he looks like he’s about to say something when suddenly, he clutches his stomach and takes off toward the bathroom. I’m immediately torn between breaking up the fight that seems to be brewing and tending to Colin.
Madilyn’s cell phone buzzes and she answers it, looking between Michie, me, and the bathroom door.
“Hello? Oh, hey. Yeah. Yeah. This is a hostile environment. I can’t take it. Yeah. Please? Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll wait for you outside. Yeah. Okay. See you soon. Bye.” She hangs up her phone and then looks at me. “That was Jamie. He and Addy are on their way to pick me up. I’ll be back sometime tomorrow.”
Michele rolls her eyes. “It’d be better for everyone if you didn’t come back at all.”
Madilyn turns her head and snaps, “Bitch, was I talking to you?”
Oh, shit. My best friend the pit bull is about to go off.
“Bitch, you bett
er watch your mouth. Clearly the ass-kicking you got in Big Springs wasn’t good enough.”
Madilyn stands straight and tall and glares, her mouth forming a thin line. “Nickayla fought me in Big Springs, not you.”
“Yeah. Pity, that. If it’d been me, you wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. Last summer you didn’t give me a reason. Go ahead, Madilyn. You think you’re bad enough? Give me a fucking reason. I dare you.”
They’re both toe to toe now, and I suddenly have a feeling of déjà vu, except this time I’m on the outside instead of the inside, and it feels like there’s nothing I can do to stop any of it. I don’t want a fight, not right now, not in my apartment.
“Get out of my face, Michele,” Madilyn says.
“And if I don’t? What’re you gonna do about it, little girl?” Michie asks, her teeth gritted.
“Enough!” I exclaim. I can’t take this anymore.
Susanna is standing behind Mads now, ready to jump in and separate them as soon as it’s needed.
Not a moment too soon, a knock sounds on the other side of the door. “Come in!” I yell.
Brody strolls into the apartment, carrying two large boxes of pizza from Little Sicily, a box of their specialty wings, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He takes one look at me, then glances at Michele, who’s in her signature Michele Balboa stance.
“Did I show up at the wrong time?” he asks.
“Not at all. You’re actually just in time. Can you please escort Madilyn outside while she waits for Jamie and Addison to come get her?”
He nods, setting everything he’s picked up—I’m certain Michie called in a favor with Vitali—on the table. “Sure. I’ll wait outside with her.”
He opens the door and holds it that way until Mads walks through it. Just as he’s about to follow her outside and close the door behind him, Michie races over to it. “Don’t fuck her! You never know what that ho-bag is carrying.”
Brody stares at her warily before grabbing the doorknob and closing the door.
Michie plops down on the couch at the same time that Colin emerges from the bathroom, looking completely miserable.
“Mich, what the Hell?”
She raises an eyebrow and shrugs her shoulders. “I just did what you were too pussy to do.”
Ten.
Colin’s knocked out, his head in my lap as Mich, Brody, Suze, and I watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He fell asleep halfway through Prisoner of Azkaban, which I knew he would. He’s lightly snoring, and the rest of us are sitting here enjoying one another’s company.
“Nickayla, I swear to God if you say one more Harry Potter quote I’m going to cut you,” Michele says. “You can never just watch a movie, can you?”
I shake my head. “Not Harry Potter.”
“Or Lord of the Rings,” Brody chimes in.
I laugh.
“Or Shrek,” Michie counters.
“Or Hannah Montana: The Movie,” Suze says, and I can’t help but blush at that one.
“Or Les Mis.”
I narrow my eyes at them. “Hey, Les Mis doesn’t count! 80% of that movie is singing!”
Brody shakes his head as he gets up to pour himself a cup of soda. “Still counts, Nic.” He disappears behind the door of the refrigerator and I can hear the sound of the soda streaming into the cup. “Oh! Or any of the Shrek movies.”
He reemerges from the kitchen and plops down on the couch opposite Michele.
“Or Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”
“Or any Disney movie known to man.”
“Or the High School Musicals.”
“Or Twilight.”
At that, I almost leap off of the couch. I totally would if it weren’t for Colin’s sleeping figure. “Hey! Look! That is just not fair!” I exclaim, pointing at Michele. “I had a weak couple of years, okay? I’m not proud of my Twi-tard days, and it’s not fair of you to bring them up in the presence of a Harry Potter marathon!”
Mich blinks at me a bit, and then the three of them burst out laughing at my expense. Brody keels over with laughter, and Suze actually slides down the couch and onto the floor where she proceeds to cackle like a hyena. I have no choice but to cross my arms over my chest, because honestly, I don’t think what I said was that funny. They’re all laughing hysterically like I’m George Lopez or Kevin Hart.
“You can stop now,” I tell them.
Suze rolls over, laughing even harder at my annoyance. Their laughing gets louder, and Colin stirs in my lap. He stretches, and my friends continue to chortle. His eyes snap open and then soften when they meet mine. He sits up and looks around the room quickly, scores of questions lighting up his expression.
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I say, giving him a quick pop kiss. “How are you feeling?”
He closes his eyes and leans his head on my shoulder. “Disoriented? What’re they going on about?”
I flush, and I don’t know why, because my choice in books shouldn’t be embarrassing, but for some reason it is. “My Twi-tard fangirl days.”
He smiles, then kisses the side of my mouth softly. “It’s okay, baby. We all have lapses in judgment.”
It takes a few minutes for them to catch their breaths and quit laughing, and Susanna finally takes her place on the couch once more. When she does, she crosses her legs, and Colin gives her a curious expression. I watch as his face morphs into something I can’t quite put my finger on, and I decide to ask him about it later when we’re in bed.
“Hey, sleepy head,” Michele says to Colin, wiping her eyes.
Colin looks up at me. “How long was I asleep?”
“Oh, only about nine hours.” Susanna gives a perfect poker face. “No, but really, you’ve been sleep since Snape said, ‘turn to page three hundred and ninety…four.’ So, not long.”
He nods, and I wrap my arms around him, feeling overly protective for some reason. “How’s your stomach?” I ask, looking down at him.
“I don’t feel the overwhelming need to puke all my insides out, if that’s what you’re asking. I feel much better in that regard.”
I run my fingers through his hair. “I made you some soup. Do you want to try and eat something?”
He nods and gives me a small smile. I let go of him and stand up. I walk to the kitchen and grab a small bowl. I serve him some of my mom’s homemade chicken soup—her recipe is the only one I’ll eat when I’m not feeling well—with the ladle, and grab a spoon. When I make my way back into the living room, I know for a fact that Colin feels like shit. Normally, he’d completely object to my serving him anything, or going out of my way to accommodate him. Instead, he’s sitting on the couch, looking miserable as ever, and he perks up completely when he sees me coming his way with soup. He sits up straight and I sit down next to him, hot soup in hand. I hand it over to him—he may be sick, but there’s no way in Hell he’s going to let me spoon-feed him—and sit back.
“Nurse Nic in the house,” Brody teases. I shoot him a glance.
Immediately, though, I soften my gaze. This is the first I’ve seen of the “normal” Brody since we got home from Big Springs last summer. His face has lit up a little bit, and I want to know why. Whoever put that light back in his eyes deserves a shit ton of gratitude from me, because no one’s been able to do it in almost a year. I make a point to corner him and talk to him about it later, once Colin’s asleep again, and Michie’s gone. I want to know how he’s been doing, especially after his semi-breakdown back at the lake house.
“So, Nic, you know we need to go prom dress shopping as soon as possible, right?” Mich asks. “I know Hayden won’t be able to go, but we discussed it and I’m going to take Nomi. So I figured you, me, Sarah, and Nomi could go scouting for dresses soon.”
At that, I’m a bit surprised. I haven’t really seen my sister since I started dating Colin, and I’ve seen even less of her since I moved in with him. But even so, I’m sure she would have told me if she were going to the prom with my best friend. Wouldn
’t she? I’m not so sure anymore. Now I feel incredibly guilty, because I don’t even know half of what’s going on in her life anymore.
“Yeah, maybe we can go next Saturday? I’m off of work and I’ll have just gotten paid on Friday. It works out perfectly,” I tell her. “I’ll text Naomi and set it up.”
“Awesome sauce!”
I turn to Colin, who’s just watching us wordlessly.
I look away from him for a moment and turn on Brody. “Who’re you taking, B?”
He glances nervously at Michele before he meets my gaze. He ducks his head and clears his throat. “Uh, I was thinking of asking Sabrina if she’d go with me.”
He says this directly to me, but that doesn’t stop Michie from turning her head in his direction.
“Who’s Sabrina?” she asks.
None of us says anything.
This is just like Michele. They break up and she moves on when we go to Big Springs for the summer. Now that he’s back home and mentioning another girl, it’s like Hayden doesn’t exist, and Sabrina doesn’t exist, and it’s Michele and Brody playing their cat and mouse game all over again. Quite frankly, I’m a bit tired of watching it.
“Mich, leave him alone. It doesn’t matter who Sabrina is. You’ve moved on, and you’ve got another guy’s promise ring on your finger. I don’t think you get to ask him about his potential prom date,” I snap.
She sits back, looking completely stunned by my biting tone. Even Susanna looks like she doesn’t know what to say right now. I don’t mean to be harsh or anything, but Michele and Brody have always felt like they….owned each other, even when they’re not together. Brody gave her a choice last summer, and she chose Hayden. Now she has to live with that choice and let him move on with his life.
“I was just…I was just wondering,” she stammers. “I’ve never heard that name before and I was curious.”
“Well, don’t be. Sabrina’s a good girl and he likes her. Let’s just leave it at that,” I reply.
Brody glances at me and he stares at me like he’s not sure whether he wants to hug me or slap me for what I’ve just said.
Michele turns in his direction and gives him a small smile. “Do you, Brody? Do you like her?”
Almost Everything (Nickayla Quinn Trilogy Book 2) Page 9