Chapter 32: An End To A Long Day
"Kate!" A loud voice called
behind me. I placed my hand on the knob and turned around. It was
A.J. again.
"A.J. didn't I just say I was going to bed?"
"Uh, yeah but, I, I have something for you, in my
room," he stuttered. Annoyed I turned around and followed
him.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"Get off me!" Nick yelled pushing Mandy away.
"Leave now, or I'll have security throw you out!" Anger
filled every vein in his body as he pointed towards the door.
"Fine!" Mandy gave in and stomped out into the hall.
She looked up and down the hall curiously, where was Kate? Nick
suddenly slammed the door behind her and huffed as he threw
himself onto the bed. She pulled the piece of paper out of her
pocket that she was sent to give him and slid it under the door.
From the bed he stared at the door. On the ground under it was a
piece of paper. Curious, he went to the door and reached down and
picked it up. He read it before slipping it into his back pocket,
his face pale.
~FIVE MINUTES LATER~
The door to our room was closed now. I opened it with my key and
went inside.
"What took you so long?" Nick asked.
"A.J. had to give me this, this key chain thing from some
country in, hell I dunno where. He's acting really strange
tonight," I replied as I slowly scratched my head.
"So are we gonna talk?" He asked as I put down the room
key and the memento A.J. had given me.
"*I* tried talking to you and you wouldn't, remember?"
I reminded him.
"Yeah, well I want to talk now," he stated. Ha, men!
~AT THE SAME TIME~
Felicia and Kaylee left the bar just as Mandy approached them.
"Well, did you do your job?" Kaylee asked.
"No, he wouldn't let me stay in his room, he kicked me out,
but I did leave the paper under the door," Mandy proudly
stated.
"Gawd, can you get any more stupider? Hopefully Kate won't
see that, she can't, not yet." Kaylee hissed.
Mandy looked down at the ground.
"Argh, well we've hit a dead end for now, we'll continue our
plan later. But don't fret, there's another surprise in store for
our beloved Kate. Now, Felicia, I believe we have a plane to
catch back to New York," she slyly said looking at Felicia.
Kaylee grabbed Mandy by the arm and dragged her back to the hotel
as Felicia followed.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"Okay, so what's going on here, will you please tell
me?" I begged.
"What do you mean what's going on?" He played dumb.
"Okay, what happened between me and Brian...why were you so
forgiving of it and now why are you acting so strange after
Felicia's big scene earlier in the evening?"
"I dunno," was his answer.
"You don't know, Nick you know. There's something more that
you're telling me, so please, tell me," I pleaded.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
His light brown hair was cut short as he stepped off the plane
and into the airport. His green eyes studied the map carefully as
he watched the passers by closely. His leave from the military
was a perfect chance to find her...and he would, he hoped, in
this city. Once he collected his luggage he headed outside and
waved for a cab. His long black trench coat was musty from the
gloomy weather he had just returned from.
"Where to sir?" The cab driver asked.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"Look I just got passed it, I trust you, okay?" He
sarcastically insisted.
"No it's not okay. You're not okay."
"Don't tell me how I feel." He sat against the
headboard and looked at the wall. I sat down next to him and
looked up at him.
"Do you want to just sleep on it and talk about it later
since you're so irritated now?" I offered.
"There's nothing to talk about, I'm fine."
Truth was, it wasn't about Kate and Brian or him and Kate. Yeah,
sure what Felicia said had got to him a bit, but if Kate wanted
to be with Brian she would be and she wasn't. She was sitting
beside him. He'd made a lot of mistakes in his life and he wasn't
going to condemn Kate for hers. What was getting to him was Mandy
showing up unexpectedly these past few days and what was written
on the paper that had been slid under the door.
I stared at him, my eyes filled with confusion. He looked at me
as our eyes locked onto to each other.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he leaned over and took
me into his arms. He pulled me into him and up on his lap and
held me there.
"It's just, it's been an emotional night and all I really
need is sleep, okay?"
"Yeah sure, that's fine," I quietly answered back,
confused at his mood swing.
~ONE HOUR LATER~
"Damn, she's not here, argh," the man complained as he
pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
A few seconds later he was speaking into the phone. "How
long? Where? Okay, yeah, bye," he angrily said as he slammed
his finger into the end key of the phone.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
I laid awake and listened to Nick breathe deeply in his sleep. No
matter the issue he could always fall asleep at the drop of a
hat. A thousand thoughts filled my head as I prepared for the
days ahead. After the scene with Felicia there was bound to be
more issues with her and not to mention Kaylee, who would never
stop. What about that Mandy girl? And Nick's parents, did they
even know he and I were on this trip together?