Nick awoke
slowly as the sun pierced through the windows. He’d
slept only a little during the night, something he was used to
now. He pulled himself up off the bed wondering why he even
bothered to carry on. His eyes were blinking open and
closed as he stumbled into the bathroom, closing the door behind
him. He yawned again as he reached over and turned the
shower on. The water pounded onto the shower floor below
it, as Nick slowly removed the tank top he was wearing. The
ceiling fan above him whirled effortlessly, dispersing the steam
that built up around the bathroom. He slipped down his
boxers, casting them to the side of the bathroom.
He placed his
hand into the water, testing its warmth before he stepped into
the gushing water. It powdered against his naked flesh,
torrents flowing down the curves of his body. He’d
once cared about how he looked, he would do weight training,
jogging whatever he wanted to, but now he’d lost the urge,
he didn’t care, why should he? He stood motionless for
a time, just allowing the water to cascade against him.
He fell gently
back onto the tiles along the wall, closing his eyes softly.
“Nickolas?”
a voice called softly
He wasn’t
sure if he was imagining the voice, or if someone was actually in
the room with him. His eyes remained closed as he waited
and listened.
“Nickolas?”
the female voice called again
This time his
eyes opened quickly, to catch the person calling his name. There
in front of him, stood a vision so faint and yet so clear.
“Lissa?”
Nick cried, recognizing the familiar dark hair the wrapped its
way around the shoulders of a body he’d long to touch for 2
years.
She smiled
softly, as if glad to be remembered.
He stepped
from the shower, his eyes wide with amazement.
“You came
back to me?” he smiled dropping down in front of her
She bent down,
her hand only barely touching the side of his face.
“Only for
a while” she whispered
Nick’s
eyes filled with familiar tears, as she stood back up, gesturing
for him to do the same.
“Do you
love me?” she questioned softly
“Yes, yes
I do” Nick stammered desperately
“Then let
me go Nickolas, let me go” she said, her figure fading into
the background
“No, no,
I don’t want you to” he called running toward her
“You have
to Nick, please” she cried, her figure becoming more pale
“NO!”
Nick screamed, his body bolting upright. He looked around
him, he was still in bed, the blankets sprawled around him.
He looked down, he was dressed in a white tank top and boxer
shorts, he’d gone nowhere.
~ LATER THAT
AFTERNOON ~
“You okay
man?” Brian questioned as he threw the basketball to Nick
“Na”
Nick shrugged, dribbling it across the court
“Okay,
then don’t go saying you let me score that easy basket on
purpose” Brian laughed stealing the ball with ease “See
this is too easy” he grinned spinning it around his finger
“So I’m
loosing my touch” Nick grumbled pulling the Yankee’s
hat further down his head
He wandered
over to the edge of the court where they had dumped their bags,
slumping down onto one of the benches he sucked back on the
bottle of water he picked up.
“Something
on your mind?” Brian inquired sympathetically as he sat down
beside Nick, grabbing a towel from the bag and slowly wiping his
face with it.
“Do you
think I'm crazy?” Nick inquired dropping his head into his
hands
“Eccentric
occasionally but not crazy” Brian laughed patting his back
“I'm
serious. Cause I think I'm loosing it” Nick sighed,
pulling the hat off his head “I keep seeing her” he
whispered, making sure his words were overheard by no one.
“Melissa?”
Brian questioned softly. He knew how much he loved Melissa,
her death effected him so greatly and so deeply. It was
like a love at first site, and they had been together ever since.
Melissa had
been friends with Zara since they were about 16, later that year
she was sent to a boarding school in London, England, where she
spent 4 years doing studies in everything from Physiology to Film
Studies. Zara and Mel had remained friends through that
time, and shortly before Zara and Brian’s wedding she flew
home. Brian smiled softly remembering the goofy look on
Nick’s face when she walked into the room, his mouth
practically fell helplessly to the floor, and even since that
time he was completely smitten with her.
“Yeah”
Nick whispered “Sometimes its like she’s there, its
like she’s really there talking to me. I swear I can
feel her sometimes”
“You
really miss her huh?” Brian sighed, he hated seeing Nick
like this.
“This
morning, I saw her again in my head” Nick started slowly
“she told me I had to move on, that I had to let go” he
cried “I'm loosing her Brian, I'm loosing her memory”
“Melissa
will always be a apart of you Nick, she’ll always have a
place in everyone’s hearts that knew her, but just because
you’re feeling its time to move on, to start building other
relationships doesn’t mean you’re going to forget her,
it doesn’t mean that you didn’t love her, no ones going
to doubt that Nick, but for your own sanity you need to let her
rest. She needs to rest in peace, and she would never want
to see you like this, I know that” Brian comforted
“I just
miss her so much” Nick whimpered
“We all
do, but its time to lay her to rest. Melissa would want you
to be happy”
Nick nodded
slowly, Brian was right. He stood up and placed the cap
back on his head.
“Thanks
man” he smiled shallowly
~ 10 MINUTES
LATER ~
“Order,
table 16” a tall casually dressed middle aged man announced
loudly through the kitchen.
Abby snapped
up the order and wandered back out through the bustling crowd.
Her mind was hardly on the job, it was miles away, thinking about
a face forged in her mind. She’d walked away 2 years
ago, with guilt and with hate for herself. She done
something she didn’t think she could ever forgive herself
for. Her punishment was this, a job at a diner whose main
plate was a greasy pile of chips and a sloppy burger with
fillings toppling out everywhere.
She placed the
plate on the table and backed away. She was well aware the
creep in the corner was watching her, he was in there most days.
It made her sick, but it was all part of the job, and all part of
her life.
~ AT THE SAME
TIME ~
Charisma
strolled over to the intercom that sat on the wall beside the
door.
“Hello?”
she questioned as her buzzer rung
“Charisma,
its Nick, can I come in?” Nick replied hesitantly
'