Authors Notes--- Hi people. Long time no write... right?(excuse the bad rhyme there...) Well i finally came out with another chappie of my lovely little story. I know long time in coming... but I had writers block for a while and my writers block is BRUTAL when it hits... but now i already have 6 floating around in my head so it shouldn't be that long to the next chapter.
Black and Blue COMES OUT TOMMORROW!!! GO GET IT!!!!!
And I am not going to comment on AJ's blue hair, nope not me.... Did anyone else see the Rosie on today? Damn.. that is the last time I do one of those chapters.. too much of a damn likeness for my tastes...
Disclaimer- Roses are red, violets are blue (so is AJ's hair) and no this ISN'T true!!
Picking Up the Pieces Chapter 5
A half hour later, and me wallowing in my own personal hell, the cab finally pulled up to the coffeehouse. As I stepped out of the cab and opened the door to the coffeehouse, I was assaulted with the smells of freshly brewed coffee and cappuccinos all over the place. It also brought back memories of when Zach and I first found this place.
Zach works at a bookstore somewhere downtown, I think it's Barnes and Noble but I'm not too sure. Anyway, he was talking to his friend Rachel one day and she told him that there was this really great coffee place down in the village. Her and her new boyfriend, Evan, had just gone there yesterday. Zach said he would go check it out sometime. Well, 'sometime', just happened to be the next time I was in town. Zach and I had been coming here ever since.
The coffeehouse itself sat on a street corner and had a vintage clothing store next to it. It's front was some weird orange color, while there were three wide windows on each side that were trimmed in bright blue, with flowerpots in the windowsills. Inside there were several table strewn around with small vases on each table. On the walls were paintings of different landscapes and there were shelves where incense and candles burned, and various pottery was on display. It was a quaint little place and I loved visiting it.
Going inside, I was immediately greeted by Maggie, the owner. Maggie worked there everyday, and she was also the person whose paintings were on the walls and pottery was on the shelves. She was about a foot shorter than me, with dark gray hair always in a bun, bright blue eyes, and she always greeted me with a smile. "Nickolas!" she yelled as placed her rag down and hugged me. "How are you? And who is this fine young man standing behind you?"
"Hi Maggie. This is my friend Kevin." I introduced Maggie to Kevin.
"Pleased to me you Mrs..." Kevin started but Maggie interrupted him.
"Call me Maggie." She smiled.
"Alright then Miss Maggie." Kevin smiled back.
"You must charm the ladies all the time don'tcha?" Maggie laughed.
"That's what I've been told."
I rolled my eyes. "Sure you go on believing that Kev." I laughed when Kevin stuck his tongue out at me. "Maggie... is Zach here?" I asked apprehensively.
"No hunny why?"
"Oh no reason." I said quickly. "I'm just supposed to meet him here in a half hour and I was wondering if maybe he was here already."
Maggie could tell that there was something wrong. "What'd that buffoon do now?" Maggie knew that Zach could do some stupid things, but this one was going to take the cake.
"Zach's been cheating on me with some girl."
"Jesus, I could kill that boy. Sometimes that boy doesn't think. I swear." She said as she shook her head in disgrace.
"Yeah, you could say that." I smiled pensively.
"You just sit down and relax. I'll tell Zach you're here. That is after I knock some sense into that boy." Maggie said as she patted me on the shoulder.
"Okay." I said as Kevin and I sat down at a table.
One of the waitresses came over to take our order, "Hey Kelly." I said as the waitress came over. I know everyone who works in the place.
"Hey Nick. Who's the hunk?" Kelly asked.
I laughed. "This is Kevin. Kevin, Kelly."
"Hi Kelly." Kevin said.
"So Nick, where's Zach?" Kelly asked.
"He's meeting me here." I sighed.
But Kelly could tell that something was bugging me. I swear all the girls that work here can read me like a book. "Okay." She drawled. "I bet you're gonna have a cappuccino with hazelnut and crème." She smiled, changing the subject.
"Yup." I smiled back.
"And what will you have?" she asked Kevin.
"I'll have a coffee with mocha sprinkles please."
"Sure." Kelly said as she wrote down the order. "I'll be right back."
As Kelly walked away, my head hit the tabletop. "Tell me again why I'm here?" I asked out loud.
"Because you want some answers?" Kevin tried to answer my question.
"Couldn't I have just gotten them over the phone?"
"Nick you just need some closure. Everyone needs closure." Kevin said as he took my hand and started rubbing the palm.
"I don't want it. Don't need it." I muttered into the tabletop as I shook my head.
"Yes you do. Don't kid yourself."
"No I don't. It just means more heartache." I said as I looked up and wiped my eyes of the impending tears.
"Nick, I'm here okay? You don't have to keep it bottled up or anything like that." Kevin told me.
"Yeah Kev I know." I sighed.
"No Nick I don't think you do. Otherwise this would be a lot easier than you're making this."
"Kevin can you just stop with the mental depression trip? I've got it as bad enough as it is."
"Okay Nick." He said as he withdrew his hand from mine. I felt strangely empty as soon as his hand left mine.
Kelly came back a few minutes later with our drinks. Kevin and I were pretty silent as she quietly set the drinks down and walked quietly away, not breaking the mood between us.
I slowly stirred the crème into my cappuccino and licked the excess crème off the spoon. A few seconds later, Kev started to laugh quietly. "What's so funny Train?"
"Ya got something on your nose." Kevin said, while pointing to his own nose.
I wiped my nose. "Did I get it?"
Kevin laughed a tiny bit harder "Nope. You made it worse. Here I'll get it for ya." He said as he leaned over the table with his own napkin and swiftly wiped my nose. Staring straight at me, he said, "There...there ya go." He said, pausing slightly in the middle of his sentence.
I starred right back at him and said, "Thanks."
"Ahem." We both heard a bass voice say as we quickly looked to the intruding voice. It was Zach.
"Hi Zach..." I trailed off. He was looking really hot in a pair of black, slightly baggy jeans, and a blue silk shirt with a white wife beater underneath. 'Damn it Carter, stop thinking about hot he is, he's your ex now for christsakes' I berated myself.
"Can I sit down?" Zach asked.
"Yeah sure. I mean you were the one who arranged this meeting." I said.
As Zach brought over a chair and sat down, silence once again prevailed, until Zach said, "If it means anything Nick, I didn't mean for you to find out this way."
"But I did Zach, the point is I DID." I paused, and I saw that Zach looked kinda miserable, but my feelings were too hurt for me to consider his at the moment. "Do you know that I pictured the rest of my life with you? The REST OF MY FRIGGIN LIFE. I gave you my goddamn heart, and what do you do with it? You step on it when I least expect it. What did..." I stopped as I put my head in my hands and took a deep breath. "What did I do? I mean, what did I do wrong that you don't love me anymore? Cause I don't know the answer."
"You're not here Nick." Zach said quietly.
"What do you mean I'm not here? You've known that even though I can't be here all the time that I love you, and I've never betrayed you. I talked to you every frickin chance I got, you have my heart and soul, and now you say I'm not HERE?" I said, slowly reaching hysteria and knowing that I was going to start bawling any minute. NOW he decides that I'm not here enough for him?
"And I thought that it was enough at first too. But Nick, it isn't. I need to feel someone when I go to sleep at night... to cuddle next to. Not to wake up in the morning and only reach cold bed sheets in the morning when I expect... no when I NEED... someone to wake up next to. And just talking isn't enough anymore Nick." Zach swallowed. "Sarah has been there for me Nick... you haven't."
I swear at that moment I heard my heart stop beating as Zach finished throwing me out of his life. Ever had one of those times where you've felt about three inches tall and the world is about to crush you under its foot? Well that is about how bad I was feeling right then. I vaguely realized Kevin staring at me, trying to gauge some sort of reaction out of me. But I was feeling so emotionally bare at that moment that I don't think Kevin would have been able to read me at all. "Fuck you." I whispered to Zach, my voice barely reaching above a whisper.
"What?" Kevin and Zach asked me at the same time.
"FUCK YOU!! JUST FUCK YOU ZACH!! I gave you my heart and soul, and you decide to just throw it out like yesterdays news simply because I can't give you 24 - 7 comfort. Then just FUCK YOU. I guess I didn't know you at all." I yelled, getting the attention of several customers, and Maggie and Kelly, but I didn't care who saw me at that moment. I just jumped out of the chair I was sitting in, and ran out of that coffeehouse as fast as my legs could carry me.
Kevin and Zach stood up simultaneously as Nick ran out of the coffeehouse. Kevin gave Zach and acidic look, and said "If you ever THINK about coming near Nick again I will have Q beat the shit out of you until no one knows you anymore. And don't think that I won't be right behind him to give you a second round."
Kevin saw Maggie approach the table ready to give Zach a stern kick in the pants, but at that point he was more concerned with finding Nick before he did something that he was going to regret.
Don'tcha just hate me?? Don'tcha? Uh oh Nick ran out and he's emotionally distressed-- not good... not good at all shakes head disaprovingly
Oh well here comes Kevy Kev to the rescue... or so you all think. You'll just have to find out.
And did I forget to mention that you need to buy Black and Blue tommorrow? I did?? Well buy it anyway!!
Adios. Jess.
P.S. Everyone have a good Tommy Turkey Day!!