She made a right on Jordan Avenue, then a left on Spruce, pulling into the small parking lot. I climbed out of the car, walking inside the familiar bistro. Stellan, Caroline and Vitali Junior's son, greeted us immediately at the front.
"Evening ladies!" he said, handing us menus as he hugged us, flashing us a smile. "Dad says order whatever you want--I'm sure you'll love the fried ice cream."
I giggled as I slid into the well-lit booth across from Michele. The ambiance of the bistro was warm and welcoming, and it was no wonder that we'd spent so much time there over the years. I noted the simple, yet elegant décor of the place, smiling to myself as I realized that it kind of felt like a home away from home.
I glanced at the menu Stellan had given me only shortly, deciding that I wanted the Caesar salad and a small personal pizza with sausage.
"Michie, what are you getting?" I asked, peering at her over the menu.
She looked up at me over the top of her own menu, and then looked back down at it before she set it on the table.
"I'm gonna get the penne con salsiccia, and I thought maybe we could share a small sausage pizza," she said, smiling as she flipped the menu over. "And I really want to take some of this sorbetto home to Aly and Candace."
I looked up just in time to see Giovanna, Stellan's older sister, walking toward us, her order pad in hand. She wore a brilliant smile as though she were reuniting with old friends, even though we knew that she was only working at Little Sicily during her semester-long break from school.
"Michele! Nickayla!" she exclaimed. "What a surprise!" She leaned over and kissed each of us on the cheek, something that we'd come to expect every time that we ate there. "Dad finally adds the fried ice cream to the menu, and the minute that he does, you two don't show up for a year! You should be lucky you two are his favorites!" She giggled, clicking her pen. "What can I get you?"
I nodded toward Michele, giving her the permission to give Gio our order.
"I'll have the penne con salsiccia, Nic wants the Caesar salad--go light on the croutons--and we're gonna share a personal sausage pizza," she said, handing Giovanna our menus. "And to drink we'll have two Cherry cokes with lemonade."
I watched as Gio wrote down our order, then slipped our menus into the pocket on her apron.
"Sounds good," she said. "I'll be back with your drinks and some bread and butter soon."
We nodded, watching her walk away. I set my purse down beside me, sighing as I crossed my hands in front of me.
"So tell me how things are going with you and Brody," I told Michele.
Talking about Brody with Michele was like pulling teeth sometimes, but seeing as we hadn't spent time alone together in months, I couldn't help myself. I had to know how things were going and whether or not I needed to kick his ass.
Brody had a lot of things going on in his life that no 16 year old should ever have to deal with, from his mom passing away to his dad being a total asshole--for lack of a better fitting word--having to care for his younger brother and sister because no one else would, so I knew that he was dealing with some heavy shit. Even so, I wasn't the kind of person that liked to make excuses for him. Heavy shit or not, he had to treat my best friend right or we were going to have a serious problem.
"Things are great," Michie said, accepting her drink as Giovanna came back to our table and taking a sip. "For now. I try not to invest myself in the good things for too long because the minute that I do, that's when the other shoe drops. For now I'm just trying to be happy."
"I can understand that," I said.
And I honestly could. It'd been a nonstop cat and mouse game between the two of them. I didn't blame her for trying to accept her happiness while it lasted, because as much as Brody flip-flopped with her, there was no telling where things were going to go.
"But I don't want to talk about me, Nic," Michele said, rolling her eyes. "We've spent the past six years talking about me and Brody. Finally you've got someone I can talk to you about, so I want to hear all the deets. Spill, bitch!"
I laughed, getting comfortable and crossing my legs. I honestly didn't know where to begin.
"Well, before I called you tonight, I was on an impromptu date with Colin," I said. "But his dad was on his way home, and I already told you how he feels about me, so I left. But Michie, he sang to me!"
I watched in amusement as she feigned a fainting spell, then sat forward, intrigued. Her hair fell over her shoulders as she folded her hands in front of her.
"Colin Westwick sang to you? Nic, that's only the most romantic thing I've ever heard. What song was it?" she asked.
"It's called Follow Through by Gavin DeGraw," I said. "It was really the most romantic thing, but Mich, those words...they were so heartbreaking! I swear that Madilyn girl really did a number on him."
"What d'you mean?"
Without saying another word, I reached into my purse and grabbed my cell phone. I had the song downloaded less than five minutes after he sang it to me, so I pulled it up and pressed play, allowing Michele to listen to the words. She closed her eyes, as was typical Michie fashion when listening to a new song, her lips pressing into a thin line. I didn't speak as the song played, as the words rang from my phone, but I could see that comprehension was clouding her face.
As the final notes rang out, loud and clear, Michie pressed stop on my media player and looked up at me.
"Well goddamn if that boy didn't place his entire heart in your hands tonight," she said. "I don't even know what to say to this. My question is, though, what did you say to this?"
I sighed, using a straw to play with the ice cubes that were floating in my glass.
"I told him that I would follow through," I said. "That doesn't mean that that song didn't break my heart. It does have me thinking though, that maybe Mads has a lot more influence on our relationship than he'd ever care to admit."
I sat back in my seat, unsure of how much more I wanted to explain. I wasn't going to lie, but the thought of Madilyn haunted me ever since the day that I found out about her. When Colin and I started dating, he didn't mention her, not even once, but she was there, a dark shadow looming over our heads and a gaping hole in Colin's heart that I was trying with all my might to fill. I was scared of her and what she might do, and I was scared of the fact that she'd hurt Colin and no matter who he tried to love beyond that point, she'd always be in the back of his mind.
I could see the wheels turning in Michie's head, and she cocked her head to the side, eyeing me.
"You wanna talk to her, don't you?" she asked.
I nodded, afraid that if I spoke aloud I'd give away the real emotions inside.
"Yeah," I admitted, finally. "Not ex-girlfriend to current girlfriend, but woman to woman. I want to talk to her, feel her out, find out what kind of person she really is, and I want to get to know her because even though I'll never understand why, she's important to Colin, just like you and Brody are important to me. I have to at least try, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it--or her."
Giovanna came to the table to serve us our food, and immediately, Michie began to dig into her penne con salsiccia as I reached for a slice of pizza. She held a hand up as she finished chewing the bite she'd just taken, as though she were about to say something. I waited patiently, taking a bite of my own food.
"Just be careful, Nic," she said, taking a sip of her soda. "Exes are tricky. You saw firsthand what I had to deal with when it came to Belinda Moreno, and I'm still dealing with the repercussions of not trusting him with that hoe bag." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons, and not because you're scared this Mads character is going to steal your boy."
I took another bite of my pizza, taking a moment to appreciate how good it tasted.
I remained silent for a moment, trying to straighten out my thoughts. I wasn't scared that Madilyn would take Colin from me--honestly, I didn't think she even could, because I know from experience that when you hurt someone t
hat badly, there was no going back. I just wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to try to come between us, because if that was her plan, I'd nip that shit in the bud immediately. I legitimately wanted to give her a chance, not just for Colin's sake, but also for my sanity, so that the mere thought of her could stop being a thorn in my side.
"She's not going to take Colin from me," I said, matter-of-factly. "That I know for sure. Colin loves me, and what we have is real. But I am going to talk to her, and it's going to be face to face." I stopped, giggling lightly. "Well, via Skype, which is as face to face as it's going to get right now."
Michie took another bite of her penne, and then raised her glass in a toast-like fashion.
"Team Nickayla!" she yelled.
Twenty.
"You want to Skype with Mads?" Colin asked, his voice heavy with skepticism.
I lay back on my bed, my knees bent as I held my cell phone up to my ear.
"That's what I said," I told him. "I've been saying it for the past hour, Colin."
We had been talking for over an hour, and he still seemed skeptical about me talking to Madilyn. I gauged that that was going to be his reaction, but I had hoped that it wouldn't.
"Well, if you're sure, I'll text you her Skype screen name. Just make sure that you let me know how it goes, okay?" he said, sighing into the phone. "I'm gonna get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," I said. "I love you."
"I love you more."
I smiled at that.
"Never."
We hung up, and I rolled over on my bed so that I was lying on my stomach. I reached for my brother's laptop that sat on my bedside table, flipping it open while I waited for Colin to text me Madilyn's Skype name. I turned it on and signed on to Skype, wondering how the conversation was going to go. I had never had to deal with someone's ex, but I knew that it was something that had to be done.
My phone vibrated incessantly, and I picked it up to discover that there were four unread text messages.
Babe <3: MaddiPie16
Babe <3: Goodnight, beautiful.
Babe <3: I love you.
Babe <3: P.S.-Dream of me.
I silently swooned like a Southern woman as I typed out a quick response to him, my heart racing. He always sent me the sweetest texts late at night.
Me: Goodnight, handsome.
Me: I love you more than you will ever know.
Me: P.S.-I always do.
Me: P.P.S.-Dream of me, too.
I smiled as I logged into my Skype, typing in my screen name: NicAlicia42. I searched Mads' name, and when she popped up, I added her.
MaddiPie16 says... I'm guessing you're Nickayla?
NicAlicia42 says... The one and only. Ready to chat?
MaddiPie16 says... Give me ten. Putting baby sister to bed.
NicAlicia42 says... No problem.
I sat, staring unblinkingly at the window when a small ping came from the computer. I leaned forward, looking at the message.
MaddiPie16 says... Tell me about yourself. Colin seems to care for you, so I should, too.
NicAlicia42 says...16, junior in high school, mixed chick. I like to sing, write, and shop. I have three brothers, one sister, two best friends, and one amazing boyfriend. You?
MaddiPie16 says... I'm 17, a junior as well, but I'm white to the bone, haha. I like to shop, dance, talk on the phone. I have two sisters, one brother, three best friends, one almost-amazing boyfriend. What's your favorite color?
NicAlicia42 says...The color of the sky at twilight.
MaddiPie16 says... Turning on vid chat now. Please hold.
I sat back, waiting for a new window to pop up. It had been a while since I'd been on Skype. The last time was when Brody went up to San Francisco with his brother and sister last summer, and we Skyped nearly every day. Before I knew it, the window popped up.
MaddiPie16 wants to video chat with you. Accept?
I clicked accept, suddenly thinking that this wasn't such a good idea. I didn't know what to expect, and it had me afraid. Meeting a significant other's friends was a big step, huge even, and I wished that I had asked to talk to his friend Jamie first.
I sat up straight, crossing my legs as a tall, pale girl with long red hair--totally bottle red, because no one naturally had hair the color of Ariel's--appeared on my screen. I could see that she was tall because she was walking toward the computer from her doorway, and she was maybe 7 inches away from her head touching the top of the doorframe.
She sat down in front of the computer, watching me intently. Finally, she sighed.
"Hi, Nickayla," she said. "I'm Mads. You're much prettier than I expected you to be." She pursed her lips. "So how did you meet Colin?"
I sat there quietly, momentarily stunned by how her voice sounded. She had a slight twang to her voice, the one that Colin only got when he was singing, and her smile was damn intoxicating. It was no wonder she was Colin's first girlfriend.
"We were, er, out in a storm at the same time," I said. "We dated for about a month and finally made it official on February 2nd. We've been pretty much inseparable ever since."
"Oh, that's sweet," she said, her voice jumping high.
I tried to tell myself to be patient with her, because just from the way that she said his name, she was still nursing some feelings toward him. It wasn't too hard to deduce. It hurt me in a way, to know that she was hurting, and I didn't even know her. But I wasn't going to apologize for the fact that Colin was in love with me.
"Hey," I said, wishing that I could touch her then. I honestly did feel badly for her. "Don't be nervous. I didn't ask to talk to you so that I could chew you out. I honestly do just want to get to know you."
"I know you know what I did to Colin," Madilyn said, averting her eyes. "And that may not make me the most trustworthy person around, but he's my best friend. I hope our history isn't going to be a problem for you."
I sighed, suddenly sad for her.
"Not unless you make it one," I said, honestly.
"Nickayla, I was young, and stupid, and it was my first time feeling something that was completely out of my control. He may not have loved me the way that he loves you--Hell, he may not have even loved me at all--but I know that he cared for me and I hurt him terribly." She paused, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. "When he told me that you wanted to talk to me, I didn't know if I wanted to. Colin was the first guy that I ever loved, and I hurt him. I don't know if I was hesitant because I hated you or if I was hesitant because I didn't want to see that when Colin Westwick finally fell in love, it's with someone who's more amazing than he ever thought I was. But I agreed because I wanted to make sure that you were exactly who he said you were: beautiful, kind, caring...amazing. And fuck me because you're even better than the person he said you are. But if you hurt him--"
"Like you did?" I said, before I could even stop myself.
She narrowed her eyes at me, fingering her hair again. She let out a frustrated sigh, and then looked down.
"Yes, Nickayla, like I did," she said. "If you hurt him, I will find you, and it's not going to be pretty."
I laughed, knowing that it would probably set her even more on edge. I had to admit that as crazy as it sounded, I liked that I was getting under her skin.
"I think you've got more to be worried about than I do," I said. "Let's not forget you're the one who already hurt him. I'm not the kind of person to stick the knife in further, Madilyn, but let me be frank. I think you're just threatening me because that hair dye has seeped so far into your brain that you can't fathom the fact that someone might actually love Colin enough not to hurt him." I paused. "I just want to prepare you, because I'm going to give you the same message that you've just given me. Except mine will not be an empty threat. Mine is a promise. I love Colin, and Colin loves me, and if you so much as put one toe over that friendship line that's drawn without his consent that fake hair of yours will be the only semi-attractive thing about you left."
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She nodded, but she looked slightly shaken. I wasn't sure what she expected from me but I could tell it wasn't that.
"Duly noted," Mads said, forcing a smile. "I guess neither of us wants Colin to get hurt." She nodded again. "Common goal."
"Sure," I said. "But that doesn't mean that we have to be friends. I love Colin and you care for him too, obviously. However, I'm going to be honest here, Madilyn. I'm not too keen on the fact that you decided to threaten me and you don't even know me. So let's just leave it this way...we don't have to like each other. We don't even have to talk to each other, but we make nice for Colin's sake. I think considering everything, he needs that."
I could see her nerves getting the best of her. She changed her position, leaning into the camera closer.
"Nickayla, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot," she said. "I think I'd like to at least try to be friends for Colin's sake. I think us being at odd ends would cause unnecessary stress for him, and I believe you're actually a nice person."
I nodded.
"Fine," I said, conceding her point. "But cross me again and we'll have a problem."
I closed the bathroom door behind me, walking silently to Nikkolas's room. I knocked softly on the door as I pressed my ear against it.
"Nikky, are you still awake?" I asked.
I didn't get a response, but Nikky came over to the door and pressed a finger to his lips as he let me inside. He was holding his cell phone to his ear, but he gestured for me to sit on the bed.
"I love you, too, baby girl," he said, sitting on the bed across from me. "Give Emmy a kiss for me. Goodnight."
He ended his call and placed his phone on his dresser. I watched as he walked toward me, looking tired and beat down, but despite that, I was thankful that he was at least wearing a shirt.
"It's gonna be a long week, Nic," he mused, lying down and staring up at the ceiling. "I broke up with Kayla and now she's talking about coming to the school to drop of my things. I swear to God, if she touches Sarah I'm going to--"
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