“Angela!” Nick called out when he saw her at the door.

“Nick, I have something to ask you. Be honest.” She pleaded, hoping there would be a chance that it was all her imagination.

“Sure.” Nick smiled nervously as Angela walked down the stairs. The rest of the guys had retreated to the recording room. Leaving the two of them to work things out.

“Who’s Michele?”

“My girlfriend, she died in a car accident.”

“Do I look like her?”

“Yes.” Nick closed his eyes as he spat the word out.

There was silence for a long while. So quiet that it made him open his eyes. His gaze met her. There was no boiling anger or raging hatred in hers, just a plain, cool color of sadness. Her active, lively eyes were now dead. “Angela?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Do you know what you did to me?” she asked in a tone that broke Nick’s heart. He shook his head. “You made me believed you loved me, for me not my looks.” she whispered, her words were light, but clear as if someone dropped a stone in the still, calm water.

“But I...” Nick opened his mouth.

“Good-bye Nick.” Angela stared at him in a way that made his heart race and broke it at the same time.

Nick didn’t know what had gotten into him. But he didn’t make a move to stop her from turning away and walking out his life. Every footstep she took, every squeaky the wooden stairs made banged on his already shattered heart, making it fall into dusts.

“What happened?” Kevin mouthed to his cousin and Brian shrugged. There weren’t any yelling or physical contacts.

“I’m going out.” AJ said took a deep breath as he stepped out the room.

“Nick?”

“What?” Nick looked at his friend, thousands of emotions on his face, anger, sorrow, regret, love, and most unmistakably, sadness. “She left.”

“And you just let her go?” AJ asked.

“Exactly what I want to know.” Krystina’s voiced came from the stairway.

”Angie just left, looking like a walking dead! What the hell did you say to her?”

“The truth, something I should have told her a long time ago.” Nick replied.

“You idiot! Why didn’t you stop her?” Kevin curled his fingers into a fist, fighting back the urge to shake Nick until his teeth rattles.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? She’s bawling her eyes out and she basically flew out the house! If anything happens to her...” Krystina trailed off when she realized what the possibility of a car accident would be. After all, Angela was hysterically upset and hurt, in her condition right now, she could careless if she dies. Krystina knew that Angela couldn’t survive another heartbreak caused by Nick, he was all she had her world, her support and where her heart was. Now all of it was gone, even though Krystina didn’t know what happened, but she was certain that Angela would do something stupid.

“Angela.” Nick’s face whitened as he dashed out the basement and ran for the front door. He jumped into his car, praying to God that he could catch up to her, and he did. She was driving along the road, wiping her eyes as she stepped on the gas harder. Nick could see pretty well since he was directly behind her. It was clear that she didn’t notice his presence.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot.” Angela repeated to herself. She couldn’t believe that Nick didn’t bother to stop her, she would have stayed and listened to him if he had. But he didn’t. Why didn’t he? Was it because his guilt got to him or he just simply didn’t care? She was so into her own self-blaming, she didn’t see the yellow light in front of her turning red. Angela just kept on driving, as if the car had a mind of its own. The last thing she remembered was the tires screeching and yelling.

Nick saw everything happened in slow motions. He had slowed down, and thought Angela would too. He was both surprised and shocked as Angela’s white jeep got ran off the road and into a tree. The scene of Michele’s death replayed in his mind as he leaped off his car and rushed to Angela’s side. Seeing her lifeless form, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. As he told the person what had happened and where he was, Nick peeked into the window. Angela’s face was buried in pieces of broken glass and the exploded airbag. Nick put his fingers on her wrist. He let out a relieved sigh when he felt a pulse, but how long will it last? The faint ambulance siren gave him strength as he opened the door and carried Angela out carefully.

“Put her down!” One of the men yelled as he jumped off the ambulance. Nick did as he was told. He felt as if he was stabbed when he saw the newly green grass was stained red beneath Angela’s head. She was not moving. He held her hand, it was still warm, but her face, was once beautiful and similar to Michele, as ruined by the cuts and wounds, also turning yellow from the lack of blood. With a loud sob, Nick put her hand to his lips and kissed it as if he could transfer some sort of strength or life through it. Nick got back in his car as Angela was picked up and taken into the ambulance. He sped off after the flashing red light.