The Stars Are Blind ★ Nick Jonas

Final Chapter

It was silent for a moment before he talked, "I can't" was his response.

I frowned at this. His hands were tied but his legs weren't.

"Why not?" I asked, concerned.

"My ankle. It hurts. Like hell" he said softly. 

"Did they break it?" I asked.

"No. I don't think so. But it might be fractured".

"Shit" I hissed. 

"Okay, listen to me, Nick. I'm sorry. I'm a jerk and I deserve all of this shit but you don't. And my best friend is in love with you and she never meant for you to get hurt" I saw Nick's body tensed at my words but I kept talking as quickly as I could.

"Nick, she wasn't happy with the mission, that's why I had to take over. I didn't want her to get hurt either. You can't blame me for that. You need to understand that we didn't do this to hurt you. We wanted to help you. You were so miserable and I got it. Hell, I lost my dad two years ago and my mom left me when I was a kid. I lost my family. I understood your pain and your bitterness because I have felt it too. And just like it happened to you, Liz saved me. She brought me back. I love her, Nick. I know you're in love with her... and well, to be honest, so am I" the words came out in a rush. My confession forcing Nick to look up at me from where he was laying. 

Silence followed.

"Are you going to say anything?" I asked, knowing the clock was ticking and the man would be back soon.

"I could say I'm surprised. But I'm not. Somehow, even if I admitted it to myself or not, I knew you loved her. That's why you 'disliked' me so much. You were just jealous" he stated. I didn't argue the truth.

"The question is, why tell me and not her?" he asked.

I sighed.

"She doesn't need to know. You do, because I want you to understand that this was never about you, it was about me and my inability to handle the fact that she was falling for someone who was not me. I have always known that there will only be a friendship between Liz and I. It's like our fate's were knitted together but were never meant to join into one. I'm okay with that. I'm fine with just being her best friend for the rest of my life if it means that I'll have her close. She means absolutely everything to me and even though sometime's I get jealous and I act like a selfish jerk, at the end I just want her to be happy. You make her happy, Nick. It's you" I let the words sink in.

"Why are you telling me this?" his voice sounded troubled. I ignored the purple and blue-ish bruises on his face. I ignored his broken lip. I focused on his brown eyes, that were begging for an explanation. Pleading to understand. 

"Because, Nick, you deserved the truth. And I'm not going to lie. When that man comes back he will want you to tell him something. If you don't he will kill us, if you do... he will kill us just the same" I saw Nick registering what I just told him and he closed his eyes.

"If that's the case... then yeah, I love her. Like I've never loved anyone before. And it's crazy because since day one I was very sure she was nowhere near what I considered my type. But then I got to know her and, there was so much more than the hot-tempered girl that she appeared to be at first glance. She had so much depth, and a strange kind of wisdom that can only be gained from painful experiences... like losing her mother" I nodded at Nick's deduction. He was completely right about everything he said about Liz. She was so much more than she appeared to be.

"I get why you feel the way you do... and I forgive you" Nick said. I was about to say something, when the door was banged open. The man from before along with three other men that I didn't recognize came in.