Blue Money | Nick Robinson

Chapter Five: Hungover

"She just used your full name, bro," Lance states.

Thanks Lance, I think the whole table already noticed the tension. I don't say that, I don't say anything I just push my food around on the plate, eggs, toast and blueberries mixing together.

Nick is still staring at me, I can feel the heat of his eyes right on me and I finally let my fork fall which makes a clang, causing Savannah to jump.

"What?" I snap at him. He's making me feel unsure, he's being weird, acting like nothing happened but it's just breakfast. I have no idea what i expected to happen.

I was drunk, he was high, we kissed. End of story I suppose.

"You're mad at me," Nick says.

"I didn't think I was," I say. I look like I'm talking to a tiny blueberry. I squish my fork into it and it bleeds juice.

"I'm confused," Lance says. Layla shushes him loudly.

A beat passes where nobody says anything. Finally, after what feels like forever, Savannah speaks up.

"Ok, you guys just deal with whatever crap this is, I'm taking a fuckin nap," She stands and grabs her plate. She watches the table and when nobody moves, she stalks off.

"Do you need to talk to me?" Nick asks like maybe he's a therapist or something. I give him a blank stare. His lips also looked chapped.

"No," I say, smiling. "I don't, Nick."

I stand and grab my plate, dump it into the pile of the other dirty dishes and retreat back to my room.

I'm not angry at Nick, just confused. He seems like he wants to talk about the universe and do something important and like he could go into details about the shape of someone's hands and he's sweet, unexpectedly. One second he's endearing, he's sugar, he's almost a softness you can only feel and the next he's harsh and scrawled handwriting and 500 dollar shoes and he forgets that he wants everything to matter.

Maybe I think too much for every little thing he does but I can't help it. It's Nick.

Back in my room I lay down and as soon as my head hits my pillows I fall asleep.

****

I wake up right at lunch; Eileen has to shake me awake. My headache is better but my mouth is dry.

"How you feeling?" Eileen asks, sitting herself on my bed. When I don't respond right away she keeps talking. "I mean that whole thing with Nick was totally weird. Did something happen between you two? Last night?"

I sit up and try to smooth out my hair. "It's not a big deal and I'm fine."

"Hmm," She scrunches her nose in disapproval.

"What?"

"Nothing, I've just known Nick for a long time and well," She pauses to consider her words. I'm nervous. "He can be kind of an asshole."

"Yeah, I figured that out the first time I met him," I stand and stretch. I smooth out the wrinkles on Eileen's dress and put my shoes back on. Eileen starts rambling at me.

"He's really nice too sometimes and protective. He's also totally not selfish not like Lance anyway. Nick just comes off as a little lost sometimes, you know? And he just needs someone to guide him through things, not like, well, don't baby him but you just need to be clear do you get-do you get what I'm trying to say?"