I Never Should Have Let You Go

With deep and unsteady breaths, I stepped forward enough so that Nick could see my reflection in the mirror.

He jumped, his arm shot out and he knocked the ring box of the top of the piano as he sorted though a pack of papers.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, scrambling to grab the velvet cube resting in the middle of the floor.

I beat him to it, wrapping my fingers around it delicately. "Can I have a look please?" I asked softly, shyly.

Nick bit his bottom, and stepped forward, closing his eyes. "I--I guess."

It seemed as if that not only had Stop The World calmed his anger, it also improved the way he spoke to me. To be truthful, I was expecting a snippy answer, or maybe a rude expression telling me to get out.

The engagement band was silver, with a large green emerald settled in the middle. On each side of the gem were a single diamond.

"It's gorgeous." I breathed, rotating it around so I could see the engraving on the inside.

'C+N, I'll love you forever.'

"It is pretty, aye?" Nick smiled. This was the first time I'd seen him show a happy emotion towards me. "I knew your favourite colour was green so I made sure that it fitted. You were something special Cianna, but you hurt me."

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, accepting the jewellery box gratefully.

"Can we can talk about this like grown-ups please?" I asked.

I'd already completely disregarded Megan's advice to ignore Nick tonight, and 31st December 2009 couldn't get much worse, so what was the point in paying any attention to her words today?

Nick's eyes darkened, and he folded his arms across his chest angrily. Apparently I'd hit a wrong nerve.

"Are you accusing me of not being a grown-up?" he snapped.

I didn't care if Nick saw me roll my eyes incredulously. He was being a jackass, and I could be one too.

"Yes, Nicholas Jerry the two year old. That is what I am implying." I sneered.

Nick threw his arms in the air, and slapped them down against his thighs. "Why are you such a bitch!"

"Oh sorry Nick, I didn't know that wanting to talk like the eighteen and seventeen year olds that we are is counted as bitchy."

My sarcastic side was quickly emerging. I hated tolerating shit like this. If you went and read one of my interviews in an annoying tween magazine, some of you might be able to pick up one of my snide comments.

"Alright, whatever! Let's talk about this!" Nick sighed, finally giving in to my deadly stare.

The words of my speech had been carefully mapped out in my brain, but they all shot out my ear when Nick's phone started buzzing furiously against the top of the piano.

And being the idiot he is, he answered.

"Oh hey baby!"

Well there goes our little chat.

--

It was 11:43, and Maya and I were quietly pouring corn chips into bowls in the kitchen.

"Can you guys also set up some more dip?" Danielle asked, poking her head around the door. She didn't even wait for acceptance to her request before disappearing again.

"Hey, in the fridge there's some French Onion, and Smoked Salmon ones. Pass them here please?" I asked Maya.

She shrugged, retrieved the two tubs and placed them on the counter, then kicked the refrigerator door close with her foot.

"Are you angry at me?" I blurted, cracking open the lid of another box of plain biscuits.

Maya laughed, reacting as if it were a stupid question. "No, I'm not angry at you, just at Nick." she smiled.

She shouldn't be mad at him. They'd been best friends since birth, and I didn't want to change that between the two.

"Oh, okay. I just thought you were angry at me because you read out that receipt. I took it the wrong way, thinking you wanted to embarrass me." I admitted, stretching an elastic band around my fingers to combat my sheer regret of this confrontation.

Maya giggled, balancing the dish of condiments on her hand. "No, I wanted to shock Nick into realizing he still loves you."

An accidental scoff left my lips, "Sorry Maya, but I don't think that's ever gonna happen. He's happy with Sarah, and he's over me. That's going to be hard to get over, but just Megan told me that I can't go crawling back to him. He's the ass-wipe, and he hurt me--"

Maya raised her hand timidly, cutting me off. "Don't take this the wrong way but you hurt him too. You really hurt him."

I'd felt guilty for that since the wedding day, but we were both to blame. "I know, and I never should of and--"

Dani came bustling back into the kitchen, clapping. "Chop chop, let's go!"

Tonight seemed like the perfect night for interrupting. My nice little would-be chat with Nick never happened, and now I couldn't even finish my sentence.

We served up the snacks, and I went outside to retrieve Snowball before she ran away if she got scared by the fireworks.

She was an energetic six-month old Maltese terrier, and she and Riley were getting along like a house on fire.

"Hey girl." I called, clicking my fingers. She pricked her ears up and came bolting at me, circling my legs.

Riley came bounding along too, nuzzling his nose into my thigh. Elvis was sleeping in the kennel next to the barbecue.

For a two-year-old, he wasn't very active. He was taking after Nick -older and wiser than their real age.

I picked my pup up in my arms, and let her inside. Everybody was crowded around TV counting down till the brand new decade.

I took my place on the arm of the couch, not realising Nick was sitting right next to me. To be honest, I haven't never jumped so quickly.

Just as I was about to find another spot to get comfortable, Nick reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers.

My heart was hammering in my chest, and I was overcome by that burning feeling. Kevin made eye contact with my and winked. I gave a weak smile back.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, happy new year!"

Nick stood up, wrapped his arms around my torso, and held me. I didn't know what had gotten into him, but I cherished the moment nonetheless.

"Happy New Year Channa." he whispered in my ear, pressing his lips to my cheek. "Let's it make it our best yet."

I buried my nose into the crook of his neck, relishing in the scent of Polo Blue.

I don't really know what happened between the point when he released my body, to when I found myself retrieving my pillow from my car. I was on cloud nine.

It was stupid of me to feel like everything was okay. Things weren't just going to miraculously repair themselves in a matter of minutes. It would take time but there was nothing wrong with starting early, right?

Maya, Joe, Nick and I were the only ones staying back at Dani's house overnight.

We all had separate beds (the house was certainly big enough), and an en suite to ourselves.

Nick, Joe and Maya had gone to sleep, while I helped Kevin and Dani clean up a little. My eyes were closing on me, but I refused to let my tiredness win.

I'd offered to wash up, and was currently, wiping away grime with a wet soapy cloth. Husband and wife were picking rubbish off the lounge-room floor.

"Goodnight." a male voice announced. I gave a wave and yawned.

"Night Joe." I mumbled, rinsing dish-washing liquid off a sharp knife.

"Don't you mean Nick?" He was breathing down my neck. I jumped ten feet and sliced my finger on the blade. Blood started to flow quickly, and I cursed, snatching a roll of paper towel up.

It was stinging pretty badly, and putting pressure against the wound didn't seem to be helping.

Nick had lost his head, racing around the kitchen for medical supplies and blubbering at every opportunity.

I found myself looking at him curiously. There was something not quite right about the way he was acting around me. Suspicions were arising.

"Oh my gosh, you look pale! Do you feel alright? Are you going to pass out? Oh gosh, oh jeez!"

Rolling my eyes, I removed the tissue and let the blood pour down my finger and into my palm.

"Ooh, wow." I sighed. Nick gulped, and fumbled around for more towel. "Don't tell me you're getting queasy when you have to prick yourself everyday."

"N-no, I just don't like see other people's blood, or pain."

A small smile parked itself on my lips. "It doesn't hurt, don't worry about it." I shrugged, peeling a Band-aid open.

"Here, let me put it on." he offered, taking my finger gently. It was still spurting from the gash which was about 2 centimetres long.

The sticking plaster somehow manage to clot my blood, and I continued on with the washing-up.

"Here, let me do it, you've hurt yourself and I don't want you getting an infection or something." Nick insisted, bumping my hip.

"No!" I argued, pushing him back. "I'm not incapable like you think, so stop treating me like shit!"

Nick reared back, slamming the fork he was holding back down onto the sink. "Just because we're not dating anymore, doesn't mean I can't care for you! Why do you have to be acting like this?!"

My lips pressed in a harsh, tight line as I ignored him. "See? You can't even fight back! Are you weak?!"

That last comment got me really riled up. With a cup, I filled it with the suds, and I threw it at him.

He grabbed me by the waist and yanked me away from the H20. Nick's hands were wet too, and the were soaking my tank top.

The room was spinning as he swung me around the kitchen. It was a great feeling, that is, until he got too close to the cupboards, whacked his head and we both came tumbling down onto the floor.

Danielle and Kevin came running to see what the commotion was, only to find us in a jumble of limbs and giggles.

Nick was smiling at me, and I was grinning right back. His eyes were hooded with tiredness, but there were still those all too familiar sparkles.

Kevin gave me an unimpressed-sounding, and I realised I was giving a quite public display of affection. Leaping to my feet, I shoved my hands back in the sink. As I peeked over my shoulder, I saw Nick scratching the back of his neck.

I think this could the start of our relationship rekindling.