I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN WEEKS BUT I'M UPLOADING THIS CHAPTER ANYWAY SO SHOW ME SOME LOVE :p
I USUALLY LIKE TO GET AHEAD BEFORE POSTING ANOTHER CHAPTER BUT I'M HOPING TO WRITE A LOT THIS NEXT WEEK SO ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND LEAVE ME SOME OF THOSE WONDERFUL COMMENTS THAT WILL INSPIRE ME TO WRITE ;)
DON'T FORGET TO HIT PLAY!
~~
~ 2 Years Earlier ~
"You never go skiing with my brother unless you want to end up at the top of a slope without skis or a coat," the man laughs deeply as the tall blonde haired girl across the table does the same.
She shakes her head in amusement. "He came back though, right?"
The man shakes his head. "Nope, didn't see him until I walked all the way back down the slopes and by then he had left the resort to get dinner. My brother is evil, seriously."
She laughs once more and this time the conversation is interrupted by the sound of a simple ringtone coming from her small clutch. She reaches into the bag lying on the white table cloth and pulls out her smart phone. Before answering she glances up at the man with a small apologetic smile, "sorry, I really need to take this."
He lifts his hand with a grin, "of course."
She nods in gratitude and makes her way outside of the restaurant to answer the phone. "Hey, Scar. Could I call you back later?" She smiles with red flustered cheeks while glancing back into the restaurant through the large glass windows. "I'm kind of on a date at the moment. It's going really great; he's handsome and smart and funny. I think you'd really-"
Her words are abruptly cut short by Scarlett's urgent tone. "Taylor, it's Joe."
Taylor takes a worried breath, her heart catching although deep down she knew. She just knew it wasn't a friendly call. "I was just there a few weeks ago."
"I know and I feel bad for calling you but you said whenever he gets bad that we should call you and-"
"I know. I want you to call me. I'll catch the next flight out."
"You're the only one who can help, even if it's just for a little while, it's better than nothing."
"Is he home now?" Silence fills the phone line a moment and Taylor becomes anxious for a reply. "Scar?"
"No, that's kind of the problem...we filed a report a few days ago. Taylor, Joe's been missing for three days now."
~
"Have you checked his apartment?" Taylor questions while pacing Scarlett and Nick's living room floor, her hair matted from her trip and a sleepless night.
"I've practically been staying there, just hoping he would show up." Nick answers while standing off to the side with Scarlett.
"What about Buster's?"
"We questioned everyone in the bar last night, no one has seen him in almost a week." Nick responds once again, watching as Taylor continues pacing and racking her brain for possibilities.
"The gravesite," she whispers and stops pacing to turn and face them. It wasn't a possibility but more of a definite answer.
"He never goes to the gravesite. He didn't even want to be there the day of the funeral, why would he go back?" Scarlett questions, the fear and sadness obvious in her voice.
Taylor stares back at them in silence a moment before thinking of only one response, "because it has been over two years and his mind hasn't left that stone."
~
"It was only just a dream...so I travel back that road
Will you come back?
No one knows...
Cuz I can still feel it in the air
See your pretty face
Run my fingers through your hair...
It's was only just a dream." He finishes the slurred lyrics with a long swig of beer before leaning his back against the tombstone and looking up at the sky. "Are you there? It doesn't feel like you're here. Everyone says you can still feel someone's presence after they're gone but you died and...you're just gone. I can remember and I can see you clearly when I close my eyes but...I open them and you're still gone. No figments of my imagination...no gusts of wind...nothing. It's just empty." He takes another swig of the beer bottle in his hands while keeping his eyes focused on the starry sky above, the twinkling light scattered like glitter on a dark blue piece of velvet. "Maybe I should ask for a sign. People like asking for signs in movies. So...give me a sign, Dani. Give me some hope."
"What makes you think she's any less stubborn in death?"
Joe turns to his left to see a familiar blonde haired girl walking towards him, a quizzical look across her tanned face. "You shouldn't be here."
"I'm not so sure you should either." She sits down beside him, unconcerned with her new blue jeans on the dirty ground.
"You're supposed to be in the city, making something of yourself and instead here you are..." he turns to her, his face resembling that of a frightened puppy. "Why did you come back?"
"Because you're my best friend and right now you're hurting so here I am, right now." She smiles and gently bumps his shoulder, sending a small smile to his lips for only a moment.
"I'm sorry that you can't have one full week in the city without having to come back to babysit me," he apologizes before taking a swig of the beer in his hands.
She takes the beer from his after the last swig and shakes her head. "No, you're not; being sorry means attempting to change what you've been doing." She tries to come off as sounding humorous and stands to her feet before helping Joe stand as well.
He loses his balance a moment but quickly releases her hands once he gets to his feet. "You know, you don't have to come every time they call! Why do you pretend to care so much?!" His anger and frustration with himself was all pouring out towards her as his drunken slurs burned through the air like fire.
Taylor fumes at his words and at the situation as a whole. "The only one pretending here is you! Pretending that you're not strong enough to get through this, pretending that you need alcohol or me coming to babysit you every week for you to move on! You, Joseph Adam, are the strongest person I have ever met and Dani knew that! She gave you hope everyday she was alive because she believed that! To sit here, at her gravesite, with a bottle of beer and a hopeless attitude is a disgrace to her memory and everything she gave you before she left." She lowers her head for a moment as the beer bottle hang loosely in her left hand. "So, don't sit here, asking more from her. She gave you everything you could ever need," she steps forward and lets him hold the beer bottle while she straightens the collar of his shirt with a small smile, "you're just too drunk to see it."
He stares at her a moment, his eyes bloodshot but his mind very coherent. "Thank you."
She motions towards the car. "Go sit in my car, I'll be there in a minute." She jerks the beer bottle from his hand before nodding towards the car. Her eyes follow him as he walk in an effort to make sure he kept his balance. Once he is safely inside she allows herself to look down at the stone beside her feet. "He will be okay. I promised, remember?" She smiles before turning on her heel and following Joe's path to her parked car.
~ Present Time ~
Scarlett bites the end of her pen in frustration as she sits at the desk in her bedroom. The sunlight was streaming in through the sheer curtains, illuminating the blank page she had been staring down at for the last half hour. Writing this letter to her father was a lot difficult than she had originally thought and with every thought that came across her mind, she quickly pushed it aside. She was seconds away from postponing this assignment one more week when she hears a soft knock on her opened bedroom door. She turns in her chair to find Nick standing at the door, a small apologetic expression across his face. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
She shakes her head and motions with her hand for him to come. "No, it's fine. You're just in time; I was seconds away from putting my fist through this table." She chuckles softly as he steps inside and sits down on the edge of the bed.
"I've been thinking about some things lately...since you've been going to therapy." His voice was meek and hesitant, he was so worried of saying something to upset her or disrupt the progress that had been made. Scarlett had only gone to a few sessions but Nick could already see a change. She was less tense and angry about things. He was hopeful and for the first time in years, he saw that same light deep in her eyes as well. "I think I'm going to stay at Joe's for a while."
Scarlett's eyes widen at the suggestion and her heart immediately sinks. "Nicholas, I'm trying. I'm really trying and I know I said a lot of things but I was just angry and resentful but things are getting better, I can feel it." She smiles despite the tears building in her eyes. The anger was fading away and now all she felt was sadness because she could see how much she had been hurting him.
Nick smiles at the change inside her and reaches forward, taking her hands in his. "I'm not doing this because I'm hurt or angry. I'm doing this because I want to give you all of the space and time you need to feel better. I will still be over here every day to see Audrey but I think some time apart will be good for the both of us." He smiles honestly while rubbing the back of her hand. She smiles reluctantly and nods.
"Okay, if that's what you think is best."
"I do." He responds with certainty in his voice despite the hesitation behind it.
~
Nick steps onto the construction site, the sound of dull dozers and hammering causing him to wish he had brought a pair of ear plugs. He notices Joe across the yard talking to a man holding a clipboard, they both had hard hats on but Joe's was a different color blue. Nick waves at him once he looks his way and Joe almost immediately makes his way over after quickly signing his signature on the piece of paper. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Joe questions as he comes closer before removing his hat. "Are Scarlett and Audrey okay?" He becomes instantly worried at the thought and Nick being here was a little unnerving, he couldn't remember Nick ever stopping by his place of work.
"No, everyone's fine." Nick quickly assures with a small smile. "Have you taken a lunch break, yet?"
Joe shakes his head and begins walking towards the exit gate with Nick. "No, why?"
"Well, are you hungry?"
"I could eat." Joe responds briefly and Nick nods. The two had become friends over the years but even with all of the people they both loved and their common friends, they still had never been very close and words were not easy to come by when it was just the two of them. They sat down at a local burger joint a couple blocks down the street as they both order a simple burger and large order of fries. Even just sitting down at a table to eat lunch, the two couldn't have looked more misplaced. Joe was blue collar and his old blue jeans had been worn and stained from manual labor while Nick held the status of white collar, taking after his father and becoming a fairly well-known business man. His button up shirt was dry cleaned and his bill fold resembled that of the upper middle class. "So, are you going to tell me what the reason for our surprise lunch date is or do I just assume you play for the other team now?"
Nick rolls his eyes at Joe's humor. "Don't go getting your hopes up, Adam."
He snickers before taking a sip of his Coca Cola and urging Nick to explain by the look in his eyes.
"I need to crash at your place for a couple of days." Nick admits bluntly, knowing there was no point in beating around the bush.
"Scarlett finally came to her senses and kicked you out."
"She's attending therapy sessions." The tone suddenly went from lighthearted to serious and both of the switches flipped inside them.
"Well, it's about time. I mean, you've all been pushing that for a while, right?"
Nick nods while playing mindlessly with the paper from his straw. "Yeah, it's a good thing but I just don't want to be the one to screw anything up. I think she needs space to deal with this on her own." He remains silent a moment before crinkling the paper up into a small ball and tossing it at Joe's forehead with a smirk. "So, you got room for me to crash for a few days or what?"
The paper bounces off his forehead and lands on the table. "Yeah, sure, dude. Just remember, no funny business."
Nick shakes his head with a chuckle about the same time the waitress comes by with their food. It wasn't an obvious friendship but it was the kind of mutual appreciate that didn't need words or labels. They knew they had each other's backs in the tough times and it wasn't because they called each other best friends and went to lunch every day; it was because they knew, even without labels, that they were friends when push came to shove.