Chapter 8
Nick waited by the phone; the waiting was driving him crazy. The phone barely had a chance to ring, before he picked it up and pressed the button. "Illana?"
"Nooo, sorry to disappoint ya man."
"Ugh, AJ. This is a hell of a time to be callin' man."
"What's up?"
"Don't ask, you don't wanna know."
"Let me guess, Vanessa?"
"Sorta."
"Whoa wait a minute, you said Illana when you picked up? Ohh is ma man getting' a little sum sum on the side yo?"
"Screw you AJ! Illana is a friend, and she's helping me!"
"Right!"
"Whatever, I gotta go man, I'm expecting that call."
"Seriously, what's wrong?"
Nick sighed. "You know about the problems with Vanessa right?"
"Yeah"
"Well, Illana's helping me to try to sort things out with her is all."
"Ohh, how's it going?"
"Well ya know, I'm waiting on a call from Illana."
"Has she called yet?"
"Well I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"Cause I'm on the phone with you."
"Oh...oh yeah." AJ chuckled.
"Yeaaaaaah."
"Aight, aight I'll let ya go."
"Thank you for your permission." Nick groaned.
"No prob. Later man, let me know how it goes."
"Yeah yeah, later." Nick pressed the button and slumped back on the couch, the phone resting in his lap. ************************************************************************
She tore through her door later that evening. That had taken her a lot longer than she'd planned. She looked up at the clock, it was almost nine. Shutting the door, she took her groceries into the kitchen and started putting them away, when there was a knock at the door. "Must be Nick" She mumbled, walking over to the door. Her eyes widened. "Vanessa! I was gonna call you."
"Yeah? I thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to hang out for a bit."
"Oh, well come on in."
Vanessa came in and sat on the couch.
"I've been meaning to talk to ya Vanessa."
"Oh? What about?"
Illana came and sat next to her. "You and Nick. How are things?"
"Things are fine, why?"
"Oh I dunno, I just noticed yesterday that things seemed, a little tense. Did you talk to Nick about things since that phone call before?" She watched Vanessa's expressions carefully, trying to gage what she was thinking.
"No, not really. Nick never brought it up again so I guess everything's ok."
"Are you sure?"
"What are you getting at Illana?"
"I dunno, you two just seem so...distant towards each other."
"So what, you see us one day and you're gonna decide what's wrong with our relationship?" Vanessa asked coldly.
"No. All I'm saying is, that maybe you should talk to Nick about it, really talk to him. Listen to what he has to say, let him know how you feel. You've said that you know things are different, why not get it out in the open?"
"How do you know what's good for us to do?"
"I'm not saying I do, I was just making a suggestion. There's no need to..."
"Fuck you Illana! Where do you get off telling me what to do?" Vanessa yelled.
Here it came, she should've known better. "Vanessa, please..."
"Back off alright! What goes on with Nick and me is none of your damn business you got it! Butt out!" She screamed, standing up and storming out the apartment.
Illana sat there, her hands on her hips. "YA DIDN'T HAVE TO YELL YA KNOW!" She screamed at the closed door. She grabbed the phone and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Nick?"
"Illana, I've been waiting for your call."
"Yeah I know. Sorry, the things I had to do took longer than I thought. Vanessa just left."
"And?"
"Well, let's just put it this way, I don't envy you." She heard Nick sigh.
"What'd she say?"
"She told me I had no right telling her what to do and then she so pleasantly said for me to and I'm quoting here, 'butt out.'"
"Shit! I'm sorry Illana, I shouldn't have brought you into this, and now she's mad at you." Nick replied softly.
"Eh, it's alright. I'll survive. I know that Illana's been acting funny, I saw it for myself. I just wish she'd say what she was feeling."
"Yeah, you're not the only one. Damnit how am I gonna make it through tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Vanessa and I are supposed to go out and shit. I don't know what to do."
"Just play it by ear and see how it goes. Call me after and let me know how it goes if ya want ok?"
"Yeah I will. Thanks for everything, for listening you know. It really means a lot to me."
"Nick stop it. It's fine. I'll let ya go alright."
"Yeah, talk with ya tomorrow then."
"Ok, goodnight."
"Night."
Illana put the phone down and stared at it. She really felt bad for Nick. She wished there were more she could do. Sighing, she headed up to her room.
