Chapter Twenty-One| Talia

I can't breathe. The world around me feels like it's closing in and I can't get air in my lungs fast enough. Nothing makes sense as I stumble my way down the stairs and out the front door. I manage to climb inside Caitlin's SUV without completely breaking down, but truth is, I think I'm actually in shock.

"Hey sweetie, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost." Caitlin says.

"More like your brother naked with my Pre-Cal teacher in the shower." I tell her. The image of the two of them together is burned into my brain. Caitlin and I were only a stoplight away when I realized that I left my cellphone in Nick's bedroom so Caitlin turned the car around and we headed back to the house.

I jogged up the stairs and entered Nick's bedroom where I see my phone on the bed. I heard the shower running and figured I'd step in to give Nick a quick kiss and okay, sneak a peek at his abs, but as I made my way to the bathroom, the clearer a voice became and I paused at the door that was ajar. From the reflection of the mirror I could see Nick but he wasn't alone. Standing in the shower with him was my very naked Pre-Calculus teacher Ms. Carver.

The door wasn't open wide enough for me to see her in al her glory but seeing her bare shoulders was enough. I thought Nick said he ended things with her. Why was she here immediately after I left? Does he do this on nights that I sleep at the beach house?

"What?" Caitlin shrieks.

"Can we please just drive? I don't want your brother or Mrs. Carver to see me." I tell her.

"Of course. Where do you want to go?"

That's a good question. Where could I go? I couldn't stay at the beach house obviously and I couldn't go to Rhonda and Simone's place either.

"We had a day of shopping planned right? Let's go to the mall." I tell her.

Caitlin looks at me as if I've lost my mind. "Are you sure?"

"The alternative is to go back to beach house and cry, so yes, I'm sure." I tell her.

She doesn't look like she believes me but thankfully she takes off down the road.

"I promise you I had no idea he was seeing her." Caitlin tells me after a minute.

I believe her. She's been nothing but kind to me from the moment I met her and she looked equally shocked as me when I told her about Nick.

"I believe you." I reaaaure her.

****

Thirty minutes into shopping, I realized what a bad idea it was to come here. They're couples everywhere- holding hands, kissing, feeding each other those ridiculously large pretzels, and not to mention I no longer desire to spend money on clothes that I really didn't need, especially now that I would had to save money for a hotel until I found a more permanent place for me to live.

How did such an incredible morning turned into this disaster? I was supposed to be buying trashy lingerie that would make a stripper proud for Nick to tear off of me later on tonight, instead I'm searching for affordable hotels near me.

"We can do this another time. Your head is clearly not in the right space." Caitlin tells me after we've walk out the fifth store.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. When I get ahold of my brother I swear I'm going to kill him."

"You're gonna have to get in line." I tell her before we make our way towards the mall exit.

I climbed into the passenger seat while Caitlin threw her purchases in the trunk. My phone buzzed on my lap and I look down at the screen to see it's a text from Nick.

Can't wait to see what you pick out.

I don't bother responding to the message. Instead I ask to be dropped off at the beach house.

"What are we doing here?" Caitlin wonders. I simply raise a brow at her in response.

You know why.

"Okay. Well I'm sure if you called Nick he could explain-"

"I know what I saw Caitlin." I interrupt her before climbing out of her car. "Thanks for dropping me off. And I'm sorry I wasn't the best company to have around today."

"You don't have to apologize Talia."

"I'll see you around." I tell her. I start to head towards the beach house but stop and turn back around. "And please don't tell your brother. I'll talk him. I just need a minute."

"Okay."

I left her in her car and let myself into the beach house and since I didn't trust Caitlin not to text or call Nick, that didn't leave me much time to pack my things, at least an overnight bag.

I pull out my suitcase from my bedroom, the one I used when I packed my things from my mom's house. I hoped I wouldn't have to use it again until after graduation, but in the back of mind I knew that I would be.

I throw in a few shirts, jeans, my uniform, and other essentials before calling an Uber to pick me up.

Caitlin was gone when the Uber arrived and Nick still hadn't shown up. Twenty minutes later my Uber driver dropped me off at my hotel. I was hoping to have a game plan for the rest of the week because unfortunately for me, I didn't have ninety dollars to piss off every night.

I set my room key on the nightstand before sitting at the edge of the bed. With no one around to see me, I finally give in to my emotions and the tears fall.

They fell slowly at first then turned into full sobs as I think about Nick having sex with another woman just half an hour after we made love.

Was I naive? We never had an we're exclusive talk, so maybe Nick was just doing what he thought he could do.

I should've believed him when he told me that he doesn't do serious relationships. I don't know why I thought I could change that. You can't turn a playboy into a boyfriend.

Slowly my tears dry up and the sadness I feel turns into anger. Anger at Nick and anger at myself for trusting him.

My phone ring and without looking at the screen I know that it's Nick. I debated whether or not I should answer for a minute before picking it up.

Be mature.

"Tell me where you are." His voice rumbles through the phone.

"Out."

So much for being mature.

But seriously, he had some nerves demanding to know where I am after he just slept with another woman.

"I swear to God Talia if you don't tell me where you are.."

"I'm out."

"You're supposed to be out with my sister and when I called her to find out where you guys are, imagine my fucking surprise when she tells me that you're not together."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Well, I wasn't exactly in a shopping mood after I caught you naked in the shower with Mrs. Carver."

His silence makes me smile. I wonder what kind of bullshit excuse he's thinking of right now. "Talia, tell me where you are right now." He demands.

"I'm fine." I reply.

"Talia, baby please. What you saw isn't what you think you saw and I need to look you in your eyes when I tell you the truth about what happened."

"I don't want to hear the details of your sex life Nick." I roll my eyes.

"Please baby," Nick begs. "Tell me where you are right now so I can fix us."

I tell him and he hangs up.

I'm not sure why I told him where I am. I tell myself it's to look him in the eyes and tell him I don't need anything from him as I give him back the keys to the beach house, but I'm not a bad bitch and the truth is I told him where I am because I want to look into his eyes and tell whether he's telling the truth or not.

My heart feels like it's going to explode as I wait for Nick to show up. Minutes later, there's a pouding at my door and I get up from my bed to answer it.

I don't bother welcoming him in before I go back over to the bed, needing to put as much distance between us.

"Talia, let me explain." Nick begs, erasing the distance I just between us.

"Not that you owe me anything, but damn, you could've waited until I was a streelight away before you fucked another woman after me." I say.

"Stop it." Nick growls. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"If you wanted to be with Mrs. Carver, you could've told me instead making me think I was the only one you were sleeping with."

"Talia please shut up before I completely lose it." Nick tells me.

"Why? Am I getting a little too real for you?" I demand.

"No. I just can't stand to hear you say anything else that's completely ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is that I actually believed that you cared about me-"

"TALIA STOP!"

The cadence in his voice was enough to shake the walls of the room and press my lips together.

"I swear to you that nothing happened between Josslyn and I. After you left with Caitlin, I cleaned up the kitchen then hopped in the shower. The next thing I know Josslyn is in side with me. She must still have the key I gave her when we were hooking up and that's how she got into the house. But I swear to you the second I realized she wasn't you, I kicked her out and told her that I'm seeing someone and us hooking up was in the past. You have to believe me."

"I want to believe you. I do. I just-"

Nick reaches for my hand and holds it tightly. "Believe me baby. I would never do that to you. Not when I know how hard it was for you to trust me with your heart. Please baby."

I look at Nick. I take in the tremble of his voice and the sincerity in his eyes but most importantly, I listen to my gut. He's telling the truth.

"I believe you."

Nick visibly relaxes at my words before he's crushing me into him in a hug.

I wrap my arms around his back, relieved too that I didn't lose him. He's the one good thing in my life right now and I don't know what I would've done if I had to give him up.

The both of us pull away only for Nick to bring us over to the bed. "What are you doing?"

"We're gonna sit and talk and when we do I need you in my arms." Nick explains before pulling me down to his lap.

I can't help it. I smile. "Okay."

"God, baby... I was so scared when Caitlin told me you weren't together." Nick says. "Why weren't you at the beach house?"

"It's not my house, so I didn't want to be there in case you kicked me out."

The way his eyes harden at my statement makes me squirm-- out of fear and maybe a little bit of something else.

"When I told you that you could stay in the beach house there wasn't an expiration date, Talia. The beach house is yours for as long as you need it. That's not contingent on whether we're in a relationship or not." Nick tells me firmly. "I can't believe you would think I would want anyone else when I have you."

I shrug, unable to look him in his eyes. I'm embarrassed I let my insecurities get the best of me. "She's everything I'm not." I simply said.

Nick pulls me close until my head is tucked underneath his chin. "There's no one else Talia. It's just you. Just you."

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