Brooke was in a daze for the rest of the afternoon, she sat silent at her kitchen table, forgetting almost everything she had planned to do today.  The only thing she still had intentions of doing was going to the airport to pick up Kevin, what is he going to think about this? she wondered.  The phone began ringing and Brooke barely seemed to notice, finally picking it up before the answering machine got it.

    "Hello?"

    "I was hoping you'd be home." An equally saddened Mark Crawford said on the other end.

    "You got my message."  he continued.

    "Uh huh." she muttered.  "Mark, tell me this isn't happening."

    "I wish I could Brooke, I can't even believe it."

    "What happened?" She cried, Brooke could hear him trying to stifle his tears.

    "You don't already know?" He wondered.  She assured him she didn't.

    "Do you really want to know?"

    "Yes."

    "We went out last night, went to play pool.  David was drunk, and they got into a fight about you..."

    "About me?" She interrupted.

    "Yeah, that's all he seemed to do Brooke, drink and talk about you, and I was so sick of it.  I didn't want to be around him anymore so we left him there.  We went over to Jenn's house, we thought he'd meet us when he finally sobered up a bit, but he never showed up.  I went home, and the door was open, I was so pissed he left the door open, and when I found him in the bathroom I thought he was just passed out, but then I saw the blood.  There was a lot,  it was coming from his head, I didn't know what to do Brooke, I tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't wake up."

They both were silent, Brooke could hear him crying on the other end,

    "We shouldn't have left him.  This is my fault, David shouldn't be dead."

    "Don't blame yourself Mark.  It was an accident, just an accident." She tried to reassure.

    "That's what Kevin told me." He sighed with a slight laugh, finding their identical statements fitting.

    "You were talking to Kevin?"

    "Yeah I called him just before I called you last night, I thought he should know.  All the stuff that happened between them last night, he must have told you?"

    "I haven't talked to him for a couple of days, I just got back from California.  I'm going to pick him up at the airport soon."  Brooke said.

    "Brooke, Kevin's home."  He said, Brooke's mind now swimming with confusion.  "He was there last night, he was the person David got into a fight with.   I thought you knew that."

    "No I didn't .............. Mark, can I call you later I have a few things to do."  She said suddenly.  He agreed and after she hung up on him she quickly dialed Kevin's cell phone.  No answer, she thought dialing the number at his place to see if maybe it was working.  No one answered there either, and his answering machine didn't pick up.  Brooke wondered what was going on as she dashed  to her bedroom. He knows David is dead and he didn't call me? Her mind was telling her.   She quickly found her address book and dialed the number of Kevin's mother, the only person she could think of who might know where he is.  The phone rang a few times before she picked up.

    "Hi Mrs. Richardson, this is Kevin's friend Brooke."

    "Hello dear.  What can I do for you?"  She didn't seem to know what had happened.

    "I was wondering if you knew where Kevin was.  I really have to find him." She implored to the sweet lady on the other end.

    "I haven't seen him since he came to see me on Monday."   That was two days ago, Brooke thought.  "I'd imagine he was at his house." She said with an almost worried tone in her voice.  "Is everything all right dear?  Did you make it home from Chicago?"

    "Yes I got in last night."

    "Last night?" She questioned.  "Very strange, he was so excited for you to come home, I figured he'd have met you at the airport."

    "I haven't heard from him."  She stated, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

    "Well if I hear from him I'll tell him you're looking for him."

    "Thank you Mrs. Richardson, and if I see him first I'll be sure to get him to call you."

    "Thank you too, and please call me Ann."

She hung up the phone with Kevin's mother, very worried about Kevin. What happened between them last night? I hope he's okay.  Why hasn't he called me?  She wondered, all her thoughts mixed and crazy in her mind.  After pulling on a pair of pants and a sweater she left her apartment and drove off in the direction of Kevin's house.  What is going on?  her mind was screaming.  She pulled into the driveway, immediately noticing Kevin's car sat there and she pulled up along side of it.   She got out of her car and walked up to the front door, ringing the bell and hoping he'd answer soon.  There were lights on inside the house, and she saw the tracks that led in and out of the door, on the snow covered porch.  Brooke rang the door bell again, knocking along with it, still no one came.  Finally she was too worried to give up, and grabbed ahold of the doorknob, hoping it was unlocked.  It was.  She opened it slowly and peered inside.

    "Kevin?"  She called, entering his house and shutting the door behind herself.  "Hello?  Is anyone home?"  She bellowed.  Brooke took off her shoes and walked slowly into the house.  Grocery bags still sat on the counter, and a few boxes were piled on the floor, all clearly marked with the words 'kitchen'.  He is home, she thought, looking into the living room where a blanket lay on the couch.  Obviously someone had slept there.

    "Kevin?  It's Brooke."  She called again, glancing up the stairs to the rooms in case he emerged.  Still no response.  She walked tentatively up the stairs, David's death still fresh in her mind and the thought that someone else could be hurt invaded every thought she had.   Brooke looked into a few of the rooms, most of them cold and untouched.  The final room she entered was Kevin's bedroom, he had been here.  Bags sat on top of the bed and the room was a bit warmer than the others, except for a freezing cold breeze that blew past her face.  She glanced in the direction of Kevin's small balcony, noticing the door was open a crack.  Brooke went towards it, scared at what would await her on the other side of the door.  She pushed it open gently, peering out on to the balcony that she remembered so fondly, and she saw him.  He didn't even look her way as she stepped out of the house, he simply continued staring out into nothingness.  His breath blew coldly from his lips, and his arms were folded across his chest, the black coat he was wearing, obviously not keeping him warm.

    "Kevin?  What are you doing out here?"  she asked, stepping closer to him.  He didn't respond.  "Kevin?"

    "David's dead." he simply stated, his body still unmoving.  She moved closer to the bench he sat on.

    "I know."  She replied as she sat down next to him.  "How long have you been out here?" Brooke asked, he still wouldn't look at her, and her question was met with silence.  She didn't know what to do, or what to say as she placed a gentle hand on his arm.  He shrugged it off,

    "Kevin, please talk to me, why are you being this way?"

    "David's dead."  He said again. "It's my fault."

    "Kevin, it was an accident, it isn't your fau..."

    "Please leave."  he said bitterly, in the middle of her words.

    "Kevin I..."  What's going through his head, she wondered, why is he doing this?

    "Brooke, I can't do this right now.  Leave or I will."  Still he stared into the woods that surrounded his house, and she saw the tears that formed on the rim of his eyes.  She held back her own tears, confusion the main thing she was feeling.

    "I don't know what you're doing Kevin, but I'll go if that's what you want." She stood up and made her way to the door, pausing a moment before she left.  "Call your mother, she's wondering where you are."  Brooke stated as she walked back into the house and down the stairs.  She glanced at the front door as she pulled out of the driveway hoping he'd come out to stop her, but he didn't.  Brooke drove back home, feeling worse than she had when she heard of David's death this morning.
 

        Brooke arrived home, still unsure of what had just happened, she half expected a message from Kevin when she got into her apartment, but he didn't leave one, instead she had messages from friends and family who had heard the tragic news.  Brooke didn't feel like talking to anyone, anyone except Annie that is.  She called every number she could think of to find her, but she wasn't at her dorm, or at Nick's and no one was at either number to give her any information.  I wonder if she finally moved into the apartment we talked about, she wondered as she paced aimlessly around her apartment.  Her thoughts were moving back and forth between Kevin and David, she just wished the phone would ring, that whoever was on the other end would tell her this whole day had been a bad dream, that she could stop tearing herself up over it.  Brooke felt so responsible for David's death,  and as much as she tried to push that thought out of her head, to tell herself it was just an accident like she had told Crawford and Kevin, her mind screamed louder and louder that it was all because of her.  She held her tears at bay as she rocked back and forth on the chair she had sat down in, her hands running through her hair in frustration, remembering the last time she had seen David, remembering the way he had poured his heart out to her.  All their memories ran through her mind, and once again she was up, wandering her house pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage, everything she saw reminded her of David, every picture, every piece of furniture, even the whole apartment itself.

    "I can't be here."  She said aloud, grabbing her coat and darting from the room that was inundating her with feelings and emotions she just didn't want to feel right now.  Brooke got in her car and drove, she didn't know where she was going or what she planned to do when she got there, she just had to get away.  From everything.

    Brooke drove out of the city, the music in her car turned up loud, drowning out her thoughts.  She tried her best to sing along, to listen to the words of the song instead of the ones that filled her mind and heart.   She didn't know where she was headed, but the drive was calming.  Eventually the roads were lined with more and more trees and she rarely saw another car, the houses got further and further apart and Brooke got further and further away from everything.  She had driven for over three hours when she realized she should stop for gas at the next place she saw.   She didn't even know what town she was in anymore, or even if she was still in Kentucky.  The elderly man filled up the tank of her car, trying to make small talk with her, but she wasn't in the mood to chit chat.  She paid him his money and drove off again, things suddenly began to look sort of familiar, but she didn't know why.  Suddenly it dawned on her.  Wyatt, she thought, and she was right.  Almost as soon as she remembered she saw the turn off to the camp ground she had lived at for a summer, abruptly she stopped the car and turned down the road.  There wasn't much snow and she drove down the unpaved road with ease,  huge evergreens lining both sides of the path, occasionally brushing against the doors of the car.   She stopped as she reached the clearing, the clearing that revealed a dozen or so snow covered cabins and many of the buildings she had fond memories of being in.    Brooke smiled for the first time that day as she stepped from her car.  The air was cold and biting, but she buttoned up her coat and walked slowly through the snow, finally allowing her thoughts to sort out in her mind.  Brooke sat down on the steps of one of the cabin's she used to sleep in, looking across the grounds to the river that lined one side of the camp, the large river that was half frozen over and didn't look nearly as beautiful as is had the summer she had been here, but it was still nice.

        Brooke wandered down to the river bank, smiling as she ran a hand over the carvings in the large oak tree that sat near the waters edge.   It had been tradition at camp for the staff to engrave their names in a different tree each summer, and Brooke was reminded of people she hadn't thought about in years.  She walked around the tree looking for her own name, finding Jeff's, her camp fling, and finally finding Annie's name forever carved in a heart with Paul's, a frown coming over her face.

    "That cannot stay here forever." She said to herself as she hunted the ground for something hard.  Finally she dug her keys from the pocket of her coat and used an old mailbox key to carve Paul's name from the bark of the tree, managing to roughly turn it into Nick.  Brooke giggled to herself like she was twelve as she looked at her handy work, it was rough and distorted, but at least you couldn't see Paul's name anymore, and that's all that mattered to her.   She stood back to look at it, satisfied his name was no longer discernible, and catching sight of her own name.  Brooklyn, she read with semi confusion in her head.

    "Why did I write Brooklyn?" She wondered aloud. No one knew me as Brooklyn, I wish I remembered why I did that?   Even though it hadn't happened too long ago, only four years this coming summer, she couldn't even fathom why she had done it.  She ran her hands along it, stopping as she saw who's name ironically lie just below her own.  KEV.  Her fingers rested on the three bold letters, and she shook her head, memory of their meeting on the balcony flooding back to her.
 

    "That's how he knew my name."  She sighed to herself, remembering how coy he had been with her that night, and how passionate he had been about his feelings for her since then.  Well at least until this morning, she thought.

    "Why is he doing this? I have to talk to him, to figure this out before I lose him too." She said as she turned back towards her car, deciding to return home.  The sun was setting over the icy water of the river and she had a long drive ahead of her.
 
 

          Annie paced up and down the white tiled floor in the hospital.  Every time a door would open she hoped it was someone telling her the man she loved was going to make it and everything was all right.  So far, it hadn’t happened.  The door would swing open and it would just be nameless people with worried expressions on their faces.  Annie felt sorry for them all, she knew what they were going through.  Nick’s parents were in with the doctor’s for what seemed like an eternity.  She had called them as soon as she got to the hospital and they came as fast as any two people could.  Annie got the impression that Mr. and Mrs. Carter weren’t too happy with her, but she just put it as two parents worrying about their son who was lying in a hospital bed.  It’s because of me, he wouldn’t be in here if it wasn’t for me, she kept thinking.  Annie’s guilt was overwhelming her, but she had to be strong for Nick.  She sat down on a plastic waiting room chair and prayed.  There was nothing else she could do.  Mr. and Mrs. Carter came bustling into the waiting room and were quickly whisked away by one of the nurses and taken into the waiting room for surgery patients.  Annie was just waiting in the lobby of the hospital.  She wasn’t immediate family, so she wasn’t allowed to go in.  Annie couldn’t get comfortable.  Her seat was too hard, her feet were hurting her when she stood up, her heart was racing too fast to be seated; whatever she did, she couldn’t get comfortable.  She walked around the lobby a little more and was deep in thought when someone’s voice shook her out of her head.

    “Annie?” the quiet voice said.  Annie turned around, it was Nick’s mother.  Her eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks were tear-stained.

    “Annie?” Mrs. Carter said again.  Annie’s eyes welled with tears and her heart began beating a mile a minute.

    “Is he okay?” she sputtered out.  Mrs. Carter’s eyes began to water once again,

    “Just come back here with me,” she said as she grabbed Annie’s hand and walked her back into the waiting room with Nick’s family.
 

        Annie looked around the sterile room.  The hum of the machines kept the room abuzz, and Annie was happy to hear something other than the sound of her own thoughts.  She sat in a chair next to Nick’s bed and watched his stomach rise up and fall back down with every breath he took.  He was hooked up to so many machines; tubes coming out of his nose, going into his arms, everywhere.  Annie sighed deeply and let out a quiet sob.  She leaned her head on the metal bar on Nick’s bed and let tears roll down her cheeks.

    “Dear God, please let him be okay.  I’ll do whatever it takes for him to make it.  Don’t let him die.  I love him…” she sobbed quietly. What have I done? It should be me.  I don’t deserve him were the thoughts running through her mind.

    “Baby,” Annie whispered as she grabbed Nick’s hand, “Please don’t give up.  I love you so much,” Annie whispered as she cried.

    “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.  I’m so sorry Nick.  Just wake up Carter,” she cried.  No tremble.  No movement.  Just the sound of the buzzing machines.  Annie squeezed Nick’s hand a little harder, but no response was given.

    “C’mon baby,” she whispered.  Nothing.  Annie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  She opened her eyes and looked at the heart monitor just in time to see it flatline.  The terrible whiny beep it gives when someone has flat lined rang through her ears and cut right to her heart.  Suddenly, her world started moving in slow motion.  Annie saw people running in and a nurse even ushered her out of the hospital room.  She was crying.  All her thoughts moved slowly through her brain, like someone had poured syrup in her brain and everything was sticking.  Annie could feel her stomach start churning and the sweat began to pour from her body.  Her vision became blurry as her world went black.

    “Code Blue! Code Blue! Dr. Jensen, come to ICU Four. STAT!” rang a voice over the intercom.
 

        Annie awoke in a bed that was not her own and she was all by herself.  Her heart began pounding and she could feel herself start to panic.  A nurse walked into the room,

    “Oh! You’re awake!” she said.

    “What happened?” Annie asked more than little scared.

    “Oh, you passed out, that’s all,” the nurse said reassuringly.  Annie looked around the room, getting more acclimated with her surroundings.

    “Nick…what about Nick?” she stammered.

    “Nick?” questioned the nurse.

    “My boyfriend,” Annie said as tears welled up in her eyes.  The nurse looked at Annie with a puzzled expression,

    “Honey, I don’t know who you’re talking about.  I’m sorry,” she said.  Annie let tears roll down her cheeks.

    “Can I go now?” she questioned.  The nurse checked Annie’s chart,

    “Yeah, you can.  You weren’t admitted, they just gave you a place to lie down,” she said nicely.  Annie got up off the bed and thanked the nurse.  She walked down the hall back to where Nick’s room was.  Annie saw the door was cracked open a little and she saw Mr. and Mrs. Carter standing over Nick’s hospital bed.  Nick was sitting up now, and he was awake.  Annie breathed a sigh of relief and was about to walk in, but then decided a little time with his parents is probably what Nick needed.  Annie stood outside and could here Mrs. Carter talking to Nick.
 

    “Just thank God you’re okay,” Mrs. Carter said as she leaned over Nick and kissed him on the forehead.  She had been crying and her eyes were swollen and red.  Mr. Carter’s face was tense and he looked very worried about his son.

    “Mom,” Nick choked out.  He began to cough and his father gave him a sip of water.

    “I’m okay.  I’m glad you all are here,” he whispered.

    “Son,” his father said sternly, “we need to talk to you about something important.  You might not like what we have to say, but hear us out, okay?”  Nick nodded.

    “We think you should stop seeing Annie,” Mrs. Carter blurted out.  Nick flinched at this.

    “What?” he asked hotly.

    “Nick, she almost got you killed!” Mr. Carter exclaimed.

    “That wasn’t her fault!” Nick said quickly jumping to Annie’s defense.  His heart began to race, making his monitor beep quicker.

    “Nick! Calm down!” his mother said.

    “Honey, Annie’s a sweet girl, but you have a life of your own.  You don’t need to be worrying about her all the time,” she said as she sat down on Nick’s bed.  Nick was seething and hurt by what his parents were saying, but they weren’t giving him any time to respond.

    “Son, you had a life before Annie. Now all it seems you do is spend time with her.  We like her Nick, but we don’t think she’s right for you,” Mr. Carter said.  Tears of anger were welling up in Nick’s eyes.

    “What would have happened if that knife had gone any deeper Nick?” Mrs. Carter asked before she began crying.

    “Mom,” Nick sighed.  “It didn’t go any deeper, and I’m still here.”  Mrs. Carter looked at Nick and kissed him on the forehead,

    “And, thank goodness for that,” she said.

    “Are you two finished?” Nick asked sharply.

    “Nick!” Mr. Carter said surprised.

    “Dad,” Nick stated, “Can I respond to what you said?”  His parents nodded.

    “Okay, well, number one, I’m NOT going to stop seeing Annie.  I love her and there’s no way anything you two say is going to stop me from being with her.  I am still the same person I was before I met Annie, only better.  I know you both know what I’m talking about.  You two know what love is,” he said as he looked at his parents, who were exchanging glances over Nick’s bed.  Nick continued on,

    “You say that she could have gotten me killed, but you guys don’t know the whole story.  What if I hadn’t come home when I did?  She’d be dead.  I couldn’t live with that.  She needed me.  She NEEDS me now! Don’t you get that?” Nick’s eyes were misting over and he was seething with anger.

    “Nick, calm down!” his father commanded.

    “DAMNIT DAD! NO!” Nick yelled.

    “I love this woman!  I’ve never felt like this for anyone before.  I’m not letting her go, I don’t care what you two say,” Nick stated matter-of-factly.  Mr. Carter coughed,

    “Well, we’re gonna let you get some rest now Son,” he said.  Mrs. Carter kissed her son on the forehead and took her husbands hand and walked out of the hospital room.  They walked down the hall and out the doors.  They didn’t see Annie who had been listening at the door the whole time.  Tears were streaming down her face.  She felt so guilty.  Annie realized the Carter’s blamed her for Nick being in the hospital.  She knew he loved his family and she wasn’t about to come between that.  Annie walked down the hallway and through the swinging doors.  She leaned up against a wall and slid down and sobbed with her head in her hands.

    “I’m so sorry Nick,” Annie sobbed.

        Nick laid in his hospital bed and everytime the door opened, he hoped it would be Annie, but it never was.

    “Damn, where is she?” he wondered aloud.  He was hoping she’d be there with him so he could just see her face, but she wasn’t there.  Annie hadn’t called, or even left a message with anyone to let Nick know where she was.  Nick was in mid-thought when there was a knock on the door.

    “Yo!” said Ryan as he poked his head in the door.

    “Hey man, c’mon in,” Nick said laughing a little.  Ryan walked in the room and sat down next to Nick.

    “Wassup man?” Nick asked.

    “I can’t believe you’re in here.  Your parents called me and I totally just didn’t even believe it,” Ryan said with a hint of sadness.

    “I’m okay,” Nick said reassuringly.

    “Yeah, I know,” Ryan said, “but still, when someone says your best friend is in the hospital, it freaks ya out!”  Nick nodded.

    “So whatcha been up to?” asked Nick.  Ryan filled Nick in on what he had missed in the previous weeks, and they each laughed a little and caught up with each other.

    “Man, are you like movin’ in with Annie?” Ryan questioned.

    “I don’t know.  Maybe,” Nick said sounding unsure.  Ryan looked at Nick,

    “What does that mean?”  Nick pursed his lips and looked at Ryan.

    “She hasn’t come to visit me since I’ve been here,” Nick shrugged.  Ryan could feel anger rising inside of him.

    “Dude, she’s the reason why you’re here!” he said hotly.

    “Don’t even start that Ryan!” Nick said.

    “You love her don’t you?” Ryan asked.  Nick nodded,

    “You know I do.”

Nick and Ryan kept talking for a little while longer.

    “Well, I’d better get goin’,” Ryan said as he got up from his chair.  Nick shook Ryan’s hand and said,

    “Talk to ya later man!”  Ryan was walking to the door,

    “Hey Nick,” he said as he turned around.

    “Huh?” Nick said.

    “We’re cool, right? About what happened before?” Nick nodded and said,

    “Yeah man, we are.”  “Cool,” Ryan said.

    “You know, ya always got a roommate in me if ya need one,” said Ryan.  Nick smiled and Ryan left the room.
 
 

        Annie paced the lobby.  Back and forth…back and forth.  Her heart kept telling her to go see Nick, but she was afraid to.  She felt so guilty and didn’t know what to do with the guilt.  Just go talk to him, her head and heart kept saying.  She stopped pacing and decided she needed to go talk to Nick.  Annie walked down to the swinging doors and walked through them and down to Nick’s door.  She poked her head in and saw Nick looking out the window.

    “Nick?” Annie said meekly.  Nick turned from the window and saw Annie standing there, a smile spread across his face.

    “Hey baby,” he whispered. Annie stood in the doorway, unsure as to whether or not she should go in.  Nick looked at Annie just standing in the doorway, she was halfway in the room, halfway out.

    “Annie, come in,” he said sweetly.  Annie fidgeted in the doorway, but eventually came in.  She sat down in the seat next to Nick’s bed, but sat as far away as possible.  Nick was taken aback by this, but didn’t say anything.

    “How have you been?” he asked.  There was a knot forming in his stomach and he could feel his heart drop a little each second she wasn’t sitting next to him.  They each made small talk for a few minutes and then came an awkward silence.  Nick looked around the room.  Annie fidgeted with her thumbs.  They exchanged uneasy glances with each other.  Nick sighed loudly.  Annie stared at the door.  Nick stared at Annie.

    “Annie, why didn’t you come and see me?” he blurted.  Annie avoided all eye contact with Nick.  “Ann?” Nick asked.  Annie looked down at her feet.

    “Look at me,” Nick said quietly.  Annie lifted her eyes to meet Nick’s gaze.

    “Why didn’t you come and see me?” Nick asked again.  Annie’s eyes filled with tears.

    “C’mere,” Nick whispered as he motioned for Annie to sit next to him on his bed.  Annie hesitated, but finally gave in.  She sat down next to Nick and he put his arm around her waist.

    “Don’t cry,” he whispered.  Annie let silent tears fall.

    “I missed you Ann,” Nick said.  This only made Annie cry harder.

    “I wanted to see you Nick, but I just didn’t think I should,” Annie cried.

    “What?” Nick whispered.  “Why didn’t you think you should see me?”  He wiped falling tears from Annie eyes.

    “I’m so sorry Nick,” sobbed Annie.  Nick squeezed Annie’s waist a little more.

    “Ann, what are you sorry for?”

    “It’s all my fault.  If it wasn’t for me, you never would have gotten hurt,” Annie cried.

    “Annie, it happened.  I don’t blame you,” Nick said reassuringly.  Annie looked at Nick and smiled a little.  Her smile quickly became a frown as she remembered his parents.

    “Your parents think it’s my fault,” she said somberly.  Annie started to cry again.   “Nick, I heard your parents talking to you the other day,” she sobbed.  Nick frowned.

    “Ann, I don’t care what my parents think.  It only matter what I think.  I love you, and nothing is going to change that,” he whispered into Annie’s ear.  Annie cried silently as Nick kissed her falling tears away.

    “Nick, I just don’t think I can live with myself.  I can’t live with knowing that now you’re going to be around to protect me all the time.  Maybe we should just brea-“ Annie said before she was cut off by Nick.

    “Annie, NO! You are not breaking up with me.  I know you don’t want that!  You know I don’t want that,” Nick said.  Annie nodded as if to say she knew.

    “Honey, I love you.  You needed my help.  What if I hadn’t come back when I did?  I can’t forgive myself for leaving, but thank goodness I came home when I did.”  Annie sobbed loudly.

    “Shh, shh, shh,” Nick whispered.  Nick grabbed Annie’s face and cupped it; he pulled her close to his face and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

    “I need you with me Annie.  I love you so much,” he whispered right before he kissed her again.