Poison Ivy

I waited around the small apartment Nick had rented me, so I could get out of that house, for him to come back. He had ventured to get something for dinner and I sat in my pajamas waiting. It’s been an okay week since I quit being Kevin’s assistant, Nick has been over everyday, and helped me get this apartment.
I heard the door open and Nick was standing there, arms full of Chinese take out.
“Here ya go!” He smiled over the boxes.
“Aw, thanks kid!” I smiled and kissed his cheek. His face turned red and he fumbled into the kitchen behind me. I sat the boxes down and dug into the fried rice. “So, I’ve been thinking.” I started on him, he stopped, sesame chicken half way to his mouth, and looked at me.
“What about?” He stuffed the huge portion of chicken into his mouth and I laughed in disbelief.
“Any who, it’s about…us.” He stopped chewing and sat back in his seat. He swallowed hard and looked at me solemnly. “Well…here’s the thing. You’re…young. I mean, not just young, illegal.”
“Are we doing anything that would constitute as illegal?”
“No, but you never know. Well, another thing is, I really need my job back with Kevin.”
“But, you hate him.” Nick told me.
“I don’t hate him, stop mixing words. Here’s the thing, I like you, a lot, but I need this job back with Kevin and I’m afraid I can’t get it back unless I’m super nice to him. I know how to forgive, and I’ve done that.” I shrugged.
“You truly are an amazing person.” He smiled and got up for a glass of water.
“In a good or bad way?”
“Good. He screws you over twice and you forgive him? I bet you would go back to him too.” He drank the glass in a huge gulp, I sat wondering if it would be worth it, I do still like him. “You would, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m not saying I would or I wouldn’t but…I really don’t think he would take me back if I asked him.” I said, worrying about Nick freaking out on me.
“If he wanted you back, and you two could make it work, I’ll let you go.” He sat back down and picked up another box of food.
“You would do that?” I was shocked, and disappointed. Shocked that he would do that, and disappointed that he wouldn’t fight harder for me.
“I would, but not because of the reason you’re thinking. He’s my brother, I can’t fight for you over my brother, it could wreck not only a franchise we’ve built, but a family.”
“You read my mind.” I chuckled.
“I just want you to be happy, and if I have to risk losing you to do that, it’s worth it.”
I got up from my seat and went to his side. I embraced him in a huge hug. “Seriously, best, best friend in the world.” I whispered into his ear, tears trickling down my face. He pushed me back a little and looked into my face.
“If he hurts you again though, like this last time, he’s dead, brother or not. Joe would probably kill him too.”
“Is Joe mad?”
“Like a hornet. He’s flipped out on Kevin countless times since you left, but not because of that. He finds little things to get mad about and blows them out of proportion because he’s too scared to bring you up.”
“Scared?” I asked, sitting back in my seat.
“He’s afraid Kevin might flip out. Kevin has been a hermit since you left. He’s not called anyone, he’s not been out, he walks around in his pajamas constantly, his phone is dead if you call it, and he’s lost four pounds in a week.”
“I did that?”
“You scared the fear of God into him, yes.” Nick shrugged and ate another unholy amount of chicken. That made me crack up and feel a little better. “Seriously, if you went back, he’d be too terrified to do anything.”
“Well, I don’t want him living in fear of me.” I rushed.
“He’s not scared of you, he’s scared of what you could do. He told me he’s never been so close to peeing his pants than the day you were going to bash his bed in with that baseball bat.”
This made me laugh harder, and Nick joined in this time. “I’m going to go talk to him.” I said out loud. Nick got up and kissed my forehead, then pressed his head against mine.
“Do whatever you think is right, sweetheart.” He kissed my cheek and announced he was leaving.