That Should Be Me

Me in love with Joe? Could that even be possible? I couldn't understand why Nick and I just couldn't go back to the way things were before he left for college, something was stopping me from getting back together with Nick and I didn't know what.

"Nick, I'm not in love with Joe." I told him. He looked at me and frowned.

"Look, I know you're not in love with me and I get that but you don't have to lie to me so you won't hurt my feelings."

I sighed. "I'm not lying." I said and Nick said nothing.

"I should go." I said as I got off the couch and headed up the stairs.

"D I love you do you know that?" Nick said to me. I merely nodded. "Yes, I know."

***

"How did spending time with Nick go?" Joe asked me.

"Fine." I told him.

"Just fine?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yea, just fine" I said

"And why is that?"

"No reason." I said.

"What happened?" He asked me.

"Nothing, he just mentioned you." I said

"What about me?"

"He asked if I was in love with you." I told Joe.

"And are you?" He asked me and I looked at him. I wasn't really sure. But I had this feeling that I should say 'yes'

I hesitated before speaking again, Joe sat there waiting for an answer.

"Yes." I told him not once regretting it. He smiled and then he kissed me.

"Good answer." he said with a smirk.

"I love you." he told me

***

I knocked on Joe's door. It only took about a minute until he answered the door.

"Oh, hey Nick" Joe said.

"Hey." I said as he let me in.

"What brings you to La casa de Joe?" He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked as he opened the refrigerator and took out a beer. "Want one?" He asked.

"Sure, I'll take one. I want to talk about D" I said

"What about her?" He asked as he opened the can of beer, I watched him take a sip.

"Well I mean I talked with her about this, this morning but... I mean sh-" Joe cut me off.

"Nick, are you here so you can ask me if D is in love with me?" He asked.

I looked at him. "And how would you know that?" I asked confused.

"Yes she's in love with me, sorry dude but you chose to leave her and sh-" I cut him off.

"I DIDN'T choose to leave her, I had to Joe, it wasn't a choice." I said.

Joe looked at me, he placed his beer can on the kitchen counter and folded his arms across his chest.

"You didn't have to leave her you idiot. If you actually loved her, you would have stayed by her side the entire time, but you never actually loved her, you just thought you did" He told me.

"That isn't true." I said raising my voice.

"Nick, it is and you know it." Joe said to me

"Joe, why the fuck do you do this to me?" I asked

"Why do you do this to her?" Joe yelled at me.

"What's going on?" I heard her voice say, I turned to see D standing there in nothing but one of Joe's shirts. I stood there staring at her but saying nothing.

"Why don't you tell her what's going on Nick?" Joe said.

"And you told me you're not in love with Joe." I told D, she stopped looking at me and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"You're such a bitch." I said to her and I walked past her, colliding her shoulder with mine as I passed.

"Nick..." She said as she grabbed my hand.

"What?!" I asked.

"Can we just talk?" She asked

"There's nothing to talk about" I told her.

"Yes, there is." She said, I watched her as she grabbed her jeans that were on Joe's couch, I looked over to see Joe leaning against the wall his arms still folded across his chest. D began slipping Joe's shirt off and I only longed to touch her, but I didn't. She grabbed her shirt off of the floor and put it on, she grabbed her purse and put on her shoes and led me out the front door.

I stared at the floor in my car, D sat in the passenger seat, I felt her watching me.

"Nick I'm sorry." She said. I looked at her.

"No you're not." I spat at her.

"Nick, we were in high school, it was puppy love." She said to me. I shook my head.

"No, it wasn't don't kid yourself, it was real" I told her.

"Nicholas, you're my best friend, you've always been my best friend and when I make a decision, and you're not involved in it you have got to respect that." She told me.

"Yeah, I guess" I said and she leaned toward me a kissed me, the last kiss I'd ever receive from her.

"Best friends?" She asked me. I nodded.

"The best" I told her. She smiled.

"Nick, I'm always here if you need me." She told me and I nodded

.
"Ditto." I said

And that was forever the end of Nicholas and Destiny. us

Five Months Passed.

D was still with Joe. They have been together for a little over 6 months now. I mean they were together before I ran into her on my 22nd birthday. For me? I'm still single. I just can't seem to get over her.

"Nick" D said

"What?" I asked

"Are you okay?" She asked me

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said smiling.

She smiled and she pushed some of her hair behind her ear and then I saw it, a big diamond ring on her left hand.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked

"Get what?" She asked.

I grabbed her left hand. "That" I said looking at the ring.

"No where." She said as she pulled her hand away.

"D, we're best friends, you can tell me" I said.

"Joe gave it to me" She told me and my heart sank.

"He asked you to marry him??" I asked and she nodded.

"Oh" I said, my voice became a little higher. "I'm happy for you." I said as I forced a smile.

"You are?"

"Mhm." I said while I hugged her.

No way in hell was I going to let her marry my brother.