Chapter 34

“Damn nope nope…. Damn damn…” Nick thought as he dialed AJ’s number.

“Sup, this be me.” Said AJ answering his phone.

“This be damn…..” said Nick.

“Who the hell is Damn? Nick, man what you want?” asked Nick, “I just got off with Kevin, how’s Sam. You want me to get all our posse together and go kick that guys ass?”

“Damn… um no.. leave that up to me.” Said Nick as AJ started laughing, “Dude that’s not funny…”

“Yeah I know.” Said AJ laughing, “What you all damning about?”

“Man, I could so kick his ass… just uhhh…” said Nick.

“Damn I know man Kevin told me.” Said AJ.

“It’s more than that.” Said Nick.

“Dude that is a good title for a song let me write that down.” Said AJ.

“Uhh… yeah okay, whatever…” said Nick.

“Um okay well why did you call me.” Said AJ.

“Uh no reason at all..” said Nick.

“Well Kev said we were all gonna meet over at your place in a few days so… it’ll be cool.” Said AJ.

“Yeah okay, alright, let me go I’m soak and wet.” Said Nick.

“Uh huh.. I don’t wanna know, peace dude.” Said AJ as he hung up and Nick hung up, kicking his Nike’s off and started upstairs and reached his bedroom, opening the door to see Megan asleep in her playpen and he could hear the water of the shower in the bathroom.

“Damn..” Nick thought as he looked back over at Megan asleep and smiled, “Poor kid.. got that dude as a father…” as he walked over to his closet pulling out some pants.

“Damn forgot about these..” said Nick as he took his shirt off and threw it on the floor and took his jeans off, leaving him in his boxer briefs, kicking them over by his t-shirt, “Shit what else I got in here… I need to come home more often..” when he heard the bathroom door open and saw Samantha walking out with a towel wrapped around her.

“Shit I’m sorry!” said Samantha as she put her hands over her eyes.

“Shit..” said Nick as he jumped and fell into his closet while Megan started to cry, “Oh fuck when you have a bunch of junk in your closet, you fall in it, damn it hurts…”

“Aww come here baby, I’m sorry I scared ya..” said Samantha as she picked up Megan and tried to get her to stop crying as Nick stood up in his closet and put on the first pair of pants that he saw and peeked out of the closet to see Samantha standing there holding Megan.

“Um is it safe to come out?” asked Nick.

“Yeah I’ve got a towel around me, hell you’ve seen more than that I’m sure.” Said Samantha as Nick walked out, “Nice umm briefs.”

“Uh don’t go there.” Said Nick as he grabbed a t-shirt and put it on, “I’m gonna go call for some food.”

“Thought you already did?” asked Samantha.

“Uh nah called someone else..” said Nick as he smiled and walked out, banging his head against the wall, while walking down the hall.

Not too much longer, Samantha walked downstairs in a pair of shorts and a tank top to see Nick sitting on a stool in the kitchen writing something. She just stood there at the corner for a minute and watched him until he moved, then she moved and he saw her.

“Hey, you got her to sleep again?” asked Nick.

“Yeah.. it took a little bit then I got dressed…” said Samantha as she walked up to the bar and sat down across from him, “What are you writing?”

“Um nothing..” said Nick as he folded the paper up and looked at her, “So you feel better after playing in the rain and taking a bath and seeing me in my underwear?” as Samantha started to smile.

“I could have done without the last thing but yeah I feel better.. I’ll have to take my medicine again in a little bit.. after I eat.” Said Samantha.

“I just ordered a pizza… extra extra cheese…” said Nick.

“Okay.” Said Samantha as tried to smile and looked down.

“Did you see yourself in the mirror?” asked Nick as Samantha nodded her head a little.

“Yeah.. he hit me hard…” said Samantha.

“I guess what he did to ya, it kind of makes it hard for you to trust guys…” said Nick.

“Kinda..” said Samantha.

“Well you know you can trust me right… I wouldn’t ever do anything like that to you. I mean, I…” said Nick as he paused and looked down as Samantha looked up at him, “I care about you and I wouldn’t ever do anything like that.”

“I know… just Jake has a bad temper…” said Samantha, “He said he got it from his dad…”

“Stop making excuses for him. He could control it if he wanted to. He thinks he’s so big and macho and all that, that he needs to act like that for everybody, and his well I almost said wife, but his girlfriend, he shouldn’t have to. I just.. I don’t understand people like him and I never have but when they go fucking around my block well that’s when payback is gonna be a bitch…” said Nick as Samantha started to laugh a little.

“Fucking around your block?” asked Samantha.

“I never liked him. I didn’t like him when I went to school with the ass, I don’t like him now either, fuck I hate him now.” Said Nick.

“He can be so sweet at times and that’s how he was when we first started dating…” said Samantha as Nick interrupted her.

“Nah see.. we’re not gonna talk about Jake, that’s all we talk about when we’re on the phone, this is our time, we’re together, and we’re not gonna waste it by talking about him because well he’s history.” Said Nick.

“Do you really think that?” asked Samantha as Nick shook his head yes.

“Yeah, he’s gone…” said Nick.

“I wish I could believe that.” Said Samantha.

“Uh huh, see here we go again talking about him… so let’s change the subject, why did you decide to cut your hair and why didn’t you tell me?” asked Nick.

“Monday.. after I got off work, I went and got it cut because I needed a change. I looked exactly like I did in high school and I needed a change.” Said Samantha.

“You looked.. ya know, okay in high school.” Said Nick as Samantha smiled.

“Yeah I would say the same for you but you didn’t go..” said Samantha as Nick rolled his eyes.

“Let’s not go back there!” said Nick laughing as the doorbell rung, “Pizza’s here.” As he got up and walked out of the kitchen to go to the front door as Samantha sat there and smiled.

“Nick…” said Samantha that night as she walked downstairs to see Nick laying on the sofa in his living room asleep as she walked in there.

“Yeah?” asked Nick.

“Oh I thought you were asleep.” Said Samantha as she started to sit down in a chair across from him and he moved over some.

“Nah, come over here.” Said Nick as Samantha walked over to the sofa and sat down at the opposite end and looked down at him, “Did you get her to sleep?”

“Yeah…” said Samantha as they both sat there and didn’t say a word.

“You know… umm….” Said Nick as he paused and Samantha looked away, “Um, you know you that um you can stay here as long as you want..”

“Yeah… you didn’t have to do this.. I could have found somewhere else to go or just gone back to Jake.” Said Samantha.

“It’s not a problem.. You’re not going back to him.” Said Nick as he looked over at her, giving her a smirk.

“Well I’m gonna try not to.” Said Samantha, “Try anyway, I was thinking that I’ve got a little bit of money that I’ve had left each week that I put back from my paycheck, and maybe I can move somewhere and get my own place to stay away from Jake, just get out of the Tampa area all together.”

“That’s no problem, we can move.” Said Nick as Samantha looked over at him, “I mean I can help you get a place or something and don’t say it’s not my place, I mean, hey, I can do it, let me do it alright. I mean I’ve got all this money and all I’m gonna do is wind up blowing it all, damn let me do something good with it.”

“I don’t wanna be a charity case.” Said Samantha as she looked down and crossed her legs, then looked back over at him, “I just don’t…”

“Can I ask you a question?” asked Nick as he sat up a little and looked at her.

“Sure, what?” asked Samantha.

“When he did that to you on prom night, you told him no right?” asked Nick.

“Yeah.. and he was saying it’s too late that we had already planned it and everything and I just wasn’t ready, I thought I was and I wasn’t but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Said Samantha.

“Did he say he was sorry?” asked Nick.

“Not at first and then after I got a ride home with this guy that lived down the road from me…I got home and he was outside my window saying he was sorry and he just he thinks it was all a sign because I got pregnant with Megan and everything it’s sad..” said Samantha as she started to cry a little.

“Why?” asked Nick.

“Every time I look at her I think of that night. I mean if I had just given in, he wouldn’t have been so mad, and we would have taken our time and used protection and I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant and I could have went on to FSU and I could be finishing up by Freshman year there… but no… I had to be complicated and just say no and I shouldn’t have.” Said Samantha as Nick sat all the way up.

“Dude don’t go blaming yourself Sam, he should have took no for an answer and he didn’t and well he’s a fucking asshole…” said Nick.

“You know… if it weren’t for him, me and Megan would have never gotten in that wreck and she wouldn’t have died.” Said Samantha.

“Why do you say that?” asked Nick.

“He didn’t know we were going, if he had he would have showed his ass and so you know we went without him knowing and had to get home, that’s why we couldn’t stay.” Said Samantha.

“Oh yeah… yeah.” Said Nick, “Well you know…. You just need to forget all that, forget everything that’s happened and forget him because you’ve got Megan, well the other Megan..” as he started to laugh, “And you’ve gotta stay strong for her and all that good stuff so see that’s why you’re gonna stay here with me.”

“Uh huh…” said Samantha as Nick looked back over at her, giving her a weird look.

“What was that uh huh… for?” asked Nick.

“Nothing..” said Samantha as she smiled.

“What are you smiling about?” asked Nick as he smiled.

“Nothing, I’m going to bed..” as she stood up, “Um.. Megan is in your room.”

“Yeah.. so.” Said Nick as Samantha rolled her eyes and looked at him.

“Well I particularly wanna stay in the room with her.” Said Samantha.

“That’s cool.. you can.” Said Nick as Samantha started to walk up the stairs, “I’ll be up there shortly..” as he started to laugh.

“Huh?” asked Samantha, “In your dreams…”

“Been there done that…” said Nick under his breath.

“What?” asked Samantha.

“I didn’t say nothin’…” said Nick innocently as Samantha continued to walk upstairs and Nick looked back at the TV laughing.

“Not now…” Nick thought as he looked back over towards the stairs, and then looked back at the TV as he turned it off and sat there, looking around, “Just not now…..”

Samantha walked out of the bathroom in her pajama’s and looked over at Megan in the play pen to see that she was awake.

“Come on…” said Samantha as she picked her up, walking over towards the bed as she pulled the covers back and looked at the bed, “God only knows what Nick’s done in this bed….” As she looked at the floor, “Uhh well shouldn’t be that bad..” as she got into bed and laid Megan down on her stomach, beside her, patting and rubbing her back.

“It’s gonna be okay… we’re gonna figure out what we’re gonna do?” said Samantha as she looked from Megan over to beside Nick’s bed on his nightstand to see a picture of her, Nick, and Brian in front of her car at graduation.

“What’s he got a picture of that for?” she thought as she laid her head back down on the pillow, closing her eyes.