They talked infrequently....
Looked at each other even less...and as for having sex...forget it....
Heather didn’t want to trouble him with her thoughts and Nick didn’t want to make her trouble him for fear of ‘opening floodgates’!!
Kevin had suggested to him that ‘opening floodgates’ might just be what she needed ...
His concern was greeted with a request to keep his nose out of Nick’s business
Kevin had sighed heavily and retreated to his corner....
Part of him understood what was happening to Nick and part of him wanted to shake him from this apparent complacency....
Nick wasn’t complacent
He was terrified
Heather had received several phone calls from Mike Connery
Obviously an attempt to extract more information...
There never seemed to be anyone to stop these calls ...
Almost as if Mr Connery knew when she was alone and would be answering the phone...
Was she being watched?
Heather was now on her feet ‘full time’ and no longer required Nick or one of the guys to push her around in the wheelchair.
Nick had liked that....it had been the one time he felt closer to her .....useful.......part of her life again...It had all been so wonderful back in Quito.....not the “accident” obviously...but her recovery......the thought that she’d survived and they would be together forever had spurred him on...his ring was back on her finger...... everything seemed as if it would be OKAY!
What had gone wrong?
Maybe Kevin was right ...
Maybe talking about it all would open these floodgates ...and once the ‘flood’ had subsided he would have his girlfriend back again,...
Nick spent a lot of time thinking about all that had happened ....
He spent a lot of time watching her....
She spent a lot of time watching him...but curiously never at the same time....if only their eyes could meet....
But ‘something’ was keeping them in this relationship.......neither one had broached the subject of ending it....
Neither one wanted to end it....yet each thought the other wanted it that way.
The rest of their friends could only watch in despair as these two systematically eroded what they had left....
The European leg of the tour over ...there should have been plenty of time for Nick and Heather to rebuild their life to it’s place before her trip to Cotopaxi...
However...each time the other tried to start a conversation the other got nervous and tetchy....a petty argument would ensue....nothing that touched the root of their real problem...just something silly and stupid....or worse still the silence returned....that numb silence..the painful kind...
Things had to ‘come to a head’ soon....one of them had to ‘pop’just a question of which one....
Another few days passed by....
They had all travelled home to Florida.....
Hung out at Nick’s place...’debriefing’ Kevin liked to call it....it was more tiring than performing ... especially the way Kevin liked to ......hell HAD to analyse every aspect of their performances....what could they improve on before they moved onto Austrailia....another two weeks touring there...
Alex tried to protest...’they had a three week break’ .....‘could they not just ENJOY it???’
Kevin and Alex would then argue
Howie would mediate......
Brian would giggle and quietly compose new songs....
Nick just stared...stared out at the ocean......
The others tried to ignore the growing tensions between Heather and Nick
they also knew one of them would have to “blow”
AJ’s money was on Nick!!!
They were sleeping in seperate rooms...finding it too hard ...too painful to be near each other....
The fear of rejection after all that had happened burning into their souls
Kevin wanted to slap them both now....knock some sense into them.....
But each time he looked as if he was about to inform Nick of this idea ..he received a warning look from him that would freeze hell!!!
The eruption came with no help from any outside forces...
Heather had been thinking a lot in the last few days ..thinking about how to save their love...if it was worth saving...about her career...along with Nicky ... it was her true love
She found him alone on the deck.....staring out at his boat.
“Nicky?”her voice tremulous.....
he answered without looking at her.....“Yeah?”
Bravely she continued... “I erm thought I might ring the office ....see if they have any work for
me...”
Nick laughed a nasty hollow laugh..“wondered how long you were gonna wait before dumping me”
Heather’s eyes prickled but she swallowed back the tear “I’m not dumping you
Nick span round and fixed her with a steel blue gaze
She jumped at his ferocity.....
“NO?....you’ve done a good job the last few weeks making me think you were”
“ME?...what about you?”
“What about me?....I’ve watched you Heather.......watched you get further and further from me.....”
“Nick ..I......“
“Don’t waste your breath.....”
Nick stormed back into the house........unaware his entrance and their raised voices had disturbed the feedback session..
Heather followed him...desperately trying not to shout or cry “Nick you don’t understand“
He stopped and turned around so sharply she almost bumped into him...
She grasped a table edge for balance
“DON’T UNDERSTAND????????...I tell you what i don’t understand shall I?...I don’t understand how you can still love those damn volcanoes after what one nearly did to you.....”
Kevin tried to interrupt.... “Nick it wasn’t the vol.....
He was cut short...
“BUTT OUT KEVIN!!!.......I DON’T UNDERSTAND....how you can claim to love me when you wanna go back to the same place that nearly took you from me!!”
Heather was now visibly shaking....
Nick was barely managing to control his own trembling..he wasn’t sure if it was anger...fear or cold....he just knew he had pain with it
His eyes roamed the room looking from one brother to another before lowering his gaze onto his finacee.....
His voice hoarse with supressed emotion"You have to choose.......and I mean now..... today........ here"
Heathers eyes widened...."This is unfair Nick!"
"UNFAIR!........ I'll tell you what is UNFAIR.......... Seeing your face on a TV screen with some newscaster telling me you're dead .....UNFAIR is spending a week believing it...then having to sit by your bed for another week still not knowing if you'll live!!.......THAT is unfair ............
and I can't go through that again!...I won't spend weeks away from you.....I can't .......do it!"
Nick stopped to catch his breath "Now you decide where you want to be.......... with me or.....
off photographing some fucking volcano...... cos baby I won't let you do both!"
His eyes fixed on her.........his breathing heavy and laboured. "If you wanna be with me ...........then just come over here ............and kiss me!"
Nick swallowed hard "If you wanna leave just take the damn ring off, put it on the table and......." the words choked in his throat.....he spat them out "get out of my life!............."
He tore his gaze from her eyes "just don't expect me to watch you leave!”
Nick closed his eyes and listened for nine agonising seconds for the sound of precious metal hitting the glass table.
His head was spinning with the pain of possibilities.......a worse pain in his belly..like knives being twisted .................
Then .......quite suddenly he felt two soft lips being firmly pressed to his........and two hands gentle on his chest over his heart.............
Nick gasped but never opened his eyes........ he just wrapped both arms around her body, pulled her close and deepened the kiss.......his tongue deep in the warmth of her sweet mouth...
his heart pounding............his eyes filling with happy tears!
Brian turned away his own eyes moist ......he let a smile spread across his face..... now he would get to that wedding!