Shattered (Shattered #1) (17 page)

“Ask your boyfriend…he did it,” she shrugged as she turned a page of the
newspaper she was holding.

“Not going to work today?” I grinned. Avery had been skipping out on her
weekend shifts to spend time with Logan. She didn’t know that I knew this.
She’d been keeping Logan to herself as much as possible lately.

“Nah, I figured I’d stay here with you…especially after the fight I
witnessed last night.”

“We’re fine,” I reassured her. “Better than fine.” I grabbed a muffin, and
sat down on a chair across from her at the table. “So…you said Nick made
these?”

“Mmm hmm,” she nodded.

“Well do you know where he went?”

“Work…and to get your car…I think,” she mumbled absentmindedly.

“Oh,” I took a bite of the muffin. I don’t know why he couldn’t wait. He
hadn’t said anything last night about needing to work today but I guess I
really didn’t give him a chance to, either. “Well…I’m going to hop in the
shower. If he gets back before I get out will you let him know that’s where I
am?”

“Sure,” Avery grinned.

ooooooooo

As the day wore on, Nick had made himself scarce. He stopped by to drop
my car off when I was in the shower, but he didn’t stay. He basically stepped
in the house long enough to give Avery my keys, and left. I found it odd after
the night we’d had, but I knew that Nick had a life other than me. Cam had been
going through some stuff lately, and Nick hadn’t really been there to help. He
had always been with me. Now that things were finally settling with me, he
could get his own life back in order. I knew during football season he was
always busy.

As I was sitting on the couch watching a movie, my phone buzzed. When
Nick’s name flashed on the caller ID, I all but jumped up.

“Hello?”

“Hey Baby,” Nick’s voice was light and almost a whisper.

“I’m bored…you wanna come over and keep me company?” I tried to sound
coy, but I’m sure it came out as a little desperate.

“Ummm…actually I was calling to let you know that Cam and I are going on
a fishing trip the next couple of days. I won’t be around.”

“Oh, ok…how long do you think you’ll be gone?” I knew I was being nosy,
I just didn’t care at the moment.

“Two or three days at the most. We’re just heading out to coast. He
needs to get away from Sarah for a little bit. She’s driving him nuts.”

“Sure…I feel bad. I’ve taken you away from him so many times. You’ve
been dealing with my problems instead of his.”

“It’s alright Baby. I love you…it’s my job to care about your problems.
Listen…we’re just going out to Wilmington until Wednesday, then I’ll be back.
We can go out that night if you want. I’ll plan something nice.”

“Sure…I love you too. Have fun!”

“Thanks.”

He disconnected the call, and I flopped back to my former position on
the couch. I guess it was going to be a night in tonight. Maybe Avery and I
could have a girl’s night… that is if I could get her away from Logan for a few
hours.

ooooooooo

Nick

4 days later…

As I drove back to Pittsford with my brother in tow, I thought back to
the meeting I’d just had that morning. I’d met with Mr. Hutchins, Greg, to
discuss their job offer. They’d taken me all over campus, shown me where my
office would be, given me a tour of their athletic facilities…it was a dream
come true. Everything looked so nice and new. I wouldn’t have to worry about
broken equipment or whiny parents. The players who I was going to be working
with were hand-picked. They wanted to be there and were going to work their
asses off to make sure we won. I wasn’t going to be dealing with someone’s mom
hunting me down after a game to ask why her son didn’t get as much playing time
as she thought he should. This was going to be a whole different world. The
locker rooms were heated and air conditioned. They had carpet in them, and a
small dressing area for each player. My office was actually right down the hall
from where the players would get ready for a game. I wasn’t going to have to
carry my clip board around with notes on it. If a player needed to ask me
something, they could just step around the corner and come into my office. I
knew that this new layout was going to take some adjusting to.

I glanced over at Cam, who was now leaning back in his seat with his
eyes closed, “Are you mad I said yes?”

Cam’s head rolled to the side, “Mad at you? No. I think you should be
more concerned with how Leah’s gonna take this news. You made this choice
without evening talking to her about it.”

“I don’t need any more guilt about this job,” I glared at him. “You know
I’ve been waiting for something like this my entire life?” I gripped the
steering wheel tighter. “Do you realize how unlikely it is for someone my age
to get a job like this?” I ground out. I was mad, and I really wasn’t sure who
my anger was caused by, but right now it was directed at Cam. “I need this. If
she loves me, she’ll understand. We don’t have anything keeping us in
Pittsford. She’s always hated being there.”

“I’m not arguing with you Bro, but I do remember what you were like when
Leah decided to leave and didn’t ask you for your opinion. I think you should
think about how that felt.”

“That was different. We were kids then, we’re adults now. She’ll get it.
I know she will,” I sighed as the anger began to dissipate. “Listen, I promised
Leah I’d take her out tonight. You ok with me dropping you off at the house
now?”

“Sure…and I hope you’re right,” he mumbled. “For your sake, I hope you
right.”

ooooooooo

Leah

I began to pace my room as I looked at the clock for what felt like the
thousandth time. I willed it to go faster, for those last several minutes that
seemed to be taking forever to go by. Nick was supposed to be coming over to
pick me up for a date. I’d spent the last hour showering, and getting ready. I
wanted this night to be perfect, especially since we changed our plans during
the last date. Nick had wanted to go out, I on the other hand wanted to stay
in.

I glanced in the mirror, and smoothed my hands down the front of my
dress. I’d picked a cotton wrap dress that was a deep plum. It clung to me, and
showed off curves that I’d forgotten I had. I’d been in the habit of wearing baggy
things lately. I’d lost weight since my mom died, and I really hadn’t put much
of it back on yet. I’d curled my hair so it fell in soft waves over my
shoulders, and put on just a touch of makeup. I was never really a girly girl,
but after not seeing Nick for the last three days, I wanted to look nice.

“Knock, knock,” Avery called as she pushed open the door. “Damn girl!
You’re going to kill him with that.”

“You think?” I turned and put my hands on my hips.

“Yeah, but you need better shoes,” Avery rolled her eyes.

“What’s wrong with my shoes?” I glanced down at the black knee boots I’d
paired with the dress. “I think I look nice.”

“Girl you need some fuck me heels on,” she walked over to my closet and
disappeared inside. “Like these,” she called as she came out with a pair of
heels I forgot I even owned.

“Ugh! Avery those kill my feet,” I whined as she brought the heels over.
They were a pair of strappy high heels that wrapped around the ankle. I’d
bought them for a function that I had to attend in Atlanta with the team. It
was a black tie affair, and the shoes almost crippled me that night. I shook my
head, “Hell no. I can’t wear those.”

“Uh, yes…you can. Here!” she shoved them at me again just as the front
door bell rang. “I’ll get the door, you put on the shoes.”

I swallowed and dropped my head in defeat, “Fine, but I’m going to kill
you if these don’t kill me first.”

Avery disappeared through my door as I sat down on the bed, and began
changing my shoes. If these things did to my feet what they did the last time I
wore them, Nick might be carrying me tonight.

ooooooooo

“Have I told you how hot you look tonight?” Nick glanced over at me from
the driver’s seat as he reached out to squeeze my knee.

“A few times,” I teased. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Thanks,” he grinned.

Nick had a pair of khakis on with a dark green button down. He’d rolled
the sleeves up to the elbows and left the top two buttons open. He’d put a
little gel in his hair, but he still had the messy style going on.

The entire drive to the restaurant, Nick kept giving me little glances.
It was like he couldn’t stop. The smile he was wearing looked strained, though.
It was as if he wasn’t totally there with me.

“Nick?”

“Yeah?” he had a tight grip on the steering wheel.

“Is something bothering you?” I hedged.

“No, why?” he snapped back.

“You seem a little off tonight, that’s all,” I murmured.

“Sorry, I had a lot going on with Cam…that’s all. Let’s enjoy our
dinner. I don’t want to talk about Cam or anything else right now…ok?”

“Sure,” I mumbled as I scanned his face. His lips were saying one thing,
but his eyes were a totally different story. A storm was brewing over
something, I could feel it.

ooooooooo

Once we were seated in the restaurant, Nick ordered us a bottle of wine.
While he read over the menu, I scanned the room. It was a nice place, too nice.
White linins covered the tables, and waiters were dressed in tuxes. We’d driven
two towns over to get to this place. If I didn’t know better, it seemed like
Nick had big plans for the night.

I grinned to myself as I picked up my menu, and scanned it.
No prices…shit
I mumbled to myself. I
knew Nick didn’t have a lot of money. We’d never been out anywhere like this
before. I glanced over at the salad section. Salads had to be on the lower end
of the budget, right?

“Nick?”

“Hmmm?” he glanced up at me and then went back to the menu.

“There aren’t any prices on here,” I swallowed hard, and watched him for
a reaction.

“I know,” he didn’t look up that time, “Get whatever you want. I’ve got
it covered.”

“Are you sure?” I felt bad. I was never one to take advantage on a date.
I always tried to find something on the lower end of the price range no matter
who was taking me out.

“Leah, can you just let me take you on a date without all the questions.
I’ve been away, and I want to spend a romantic evening with you. Not everything
we do has to be hard,” he sighed, and shook his head.

“I just…never mind. This place is great. Thank you,” I murmured.

“You’re welcome,” he nodded.

When the waiter came back, Nick ordered us both a steak. I was slightly
surprised that he would order for me. He’d never done that in the past, and I’d
only seen it in the movies. I sipped my wine, as I waited for him to tell me
whatever it was that had caused this behavior. He was not acting normal, and it
was slowly driving me crazy.

“So…are you going to tell me?” I cocked a brow as I set my wine glass
back down.

“Tell you what exactly?” he shifted in his seat.

“What all this is about,” I waved my arms around. “You’ve never taken me
to a place like this.”

“Damn Leah, can’t I take you on a nice date? I mean really…what’s the
big deal?”

“I just…you never have before,” I mumbled.

“Well yeah…because I was a kid back then, and this was beyond my
capabilities,” he sighed, and leaned forward as he placed his napkin in his
lap. “What’s going on with you tonight?”

“Nothing…I guess I just miss the old you.”

“What? The one who could only afford pizza from your dad’s shop because
he gave me a discount. The one who busted his ass every day at work just so he
could make ends meet. The one who could only afford to take you out to that
dirt road, and star gaze for a romantic date? That one?”

“You make it sound awful,” I began to tear up. “I loved that version of
you. This one doesn’t seem real. This one seems like he only wants to impress
me with money, and the finer things in life. I don’t need any of that,” I
pointed around the room. “I had all of this in Atlanta…all the fancy parties,
the schmoozing, the formal wear. That’s where I got these,” I pointed to my
shoes.

Nick grinned as he looked at my foot, “I love those.”

“Nick be serious. I came back here didn’t I? I had all the things that
you keep showing me…I thought I wanted them, but the truth is, all I wanted was
you. I don’t want you to change for me.”

“Noted,” Nick ground his teeth together like he was fighting with
something he wanted to say, but he stayed quiet.

When the waiter came back with our food, Nick picked up his fork, and
began shoveling his dinner into his mouth as fast as he could chew. As the
tension seemed to rise between us, I slowly began to lose my appetite.
  
We ate the rest of our dinner in silence as
the happy couples around us blurred into the distance. I had done it again. I
turned what Nick had planned as a nice evening into something totally
different, and I could feel the guilt rising. It was like I was sabotaging us
subconsciously. What was wrong with me?