The power of love

“When Nick was 15, he fell in love. We were on holiday and the second he saw her, we all knew. It was obvious, But she wouldn’t let him in. He was famous and she didn’t like the idea of that. So he worked his way into her life, showing her his real colours. He took her to all his favourite places, the beach, a little café. We didn’t live here, but Nick went out of his way just to show her this place. And that’s the Nick you know, the real Nick. So they started to go out. Jess--” Then I clocked. That’s why Nick got so mad at Alex. He mentioned this girl. “She was lovely. She loved Nick and he adored her. He protected her from everything. Especially the press. He never wanted her to be in the spot light. She didn’t even want to know Nick to start with, let alone being classed as Nick’s girlfriend. So we planned on moving out here, nearer Jess and her family. Nick was ecstatic, bless him. Then while we were on tour last year, Nick received an email, saying something about cheating. None of us believed whoever sent it, so we carried on. Nick had his doubts, but didn’t believe it. Clearly blinded by love. Then when we came home, Nick went straight off. Didn’t even unpack. And then he came back, blank as a canvas. He locked himself in his room for 3 days straight. We were so worried, about his Diabetes and everything. Then he came out.” Denise rubbed her forehead, sighing heavily before Lauren took over.

“She has cheated on him. While he was on tour, she went to a boy’s house and slept with him.” I looked between the three women in the room, feeling all of a sudden, guilty. “And she told Nick everything. But that wasn’t the worst part; he was going to propose to that exact same day. He has it all planned, everything down to the second he was going to do it.” The room went quiet as I tried to obtain all the information. Nick had been cheated on, he worked his way into her life, and she threw it all away.”

“I never knew that.” I mumbled, pushing my fingers against my jeans. “Nick never mentioned anything. There was something, but I didn’t even think about it.” Danielle shrugged her shoulders and spoke for the first time.

“He wouldn’t.” I looked over at her. “Because he was so sure that he wouldn’t find anyone else. Then you came along, and he tried pushing you away, so he didn’t get hurt. But in the end, it’s all the same.” I blinked back the tears. The thought of Nick hurting because of me. Wanting to get away because of me. I jumped up, looking around.

“I’m not letting him do this again.” I said, fumbling for my phone out of my pocket. The 3 of them watched me as I rang him. Straight away to answering machine. I was on the verge of throwing my phone across the room. “Where are they?” I asked, throwing my hands up in the air.

“Staples center.” Denise confirmed it straight away. I nodded my head, before walking around like a loon.

“I need to get there. I need to talk to him. I can’t let this-” I tugged at my hair slightly, not knowing what I was going to do. “He needs to know now!” I threw my hands up.

“C’mon.” Denise pulled me back down onto the couch. “They will be home next week.” I shook my head.

“I’m going home next week. Well, I was.” I let out a soft growl. “I’ve got to see him.” I watched as the three women shared a look between them.

“Okay.” Denise clapped her hands together. “Everyone in the car. We are taking a trip to Los Angeles.” I looked at her, before she spoke again. “Get your passports and some overnight clothes. And we’ll be fine.” They all ran off in different directions, leaving me sitting on the couch alone. I thought about it. All the times Nick has tried to let me in, I pushed him away. I have to learn to let someone in. And I’ll start with Nick. Suddenly, they all came running back into the room, holding bags. “Madi, in the car.” She gave me a soft pat on the back and I jumped up and the three of us walked out, then into the car. I sat in the front seat of the massive SUV, feeling slighting out of the loop. As we pulled up in my driveway, I clocked onto what we were doing. We were hunting them down. I get my chance. “Grab some clothes and your passport. We are getting on the first flight.” I nodded my head, before running into the house.

“Madi!” My dad said, as I ran up the stairs. I stopped all of a sudden, seeing my mum, dad and Rachel standing there, looking at me. “What happened? What’s going on?” I looked around, frantically. I knew they were waiting for me.

“I can’t explain.” I shook my head as the three of them looked at me. “Nick is in LA, and I said something and they need straightening out.” I waited as the three of them shared a look. “Look, if I don’t go, he will hate me. And I don’t want him to cause then I’ll feel terrible.”

“You have such a weak conscience Madi.” My mum shook her head, before smiling. “I know how much he means to you, so you go after him. You tell him everything.” She gave me a stern look, leading me to flash my teeth at her. I skipped down the last few steps before kissing each of their checks.

“I’ll be back soon.” I said, smiling. I ran up the back up the stairs, before bursting in my room. I grabbed a few sets of clothes and toiletries. I pulled my passport from the top draw, and back downstairs. My mum grabbed me as I came to the door.

“Here.” She said, handing me over a couple of $100 bills. I took them off her, looking down at them. “Just for travelling. I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing.” I said, before pulling them in my pocket, along with my phone. “But thanks.” I kissed her check once more, before saying my goodbyes. I jumped into the car, throwing the bag down at my feet. I smiled at them.

“Danielle just got Kevin to book four tickets, secretly. It’s in just under 2 hours, then we get a higher car to the stadium and we are good from there.” I nodded my head, smiling at them again.

“Thank you, for all of this. You don’t have to.” I smiled at them.

“Give me a chance to see my boys play again.”

~~~~~

Waiting for the boarding call was the worst hour of my life. I sat on the chairs, alongside Denise, Lauren and Danielle, not talking to any of them while they chatted away. I ran through the things I would say to Nick in my head, none of it making sense. I sighed, before Lauren turned to me. “We are boarding.” She said, before the four of us grabbed our bags and made our way to the plane. “We are going first class.” She flashed her teeth at me before we showed the woman our boarding passes Kevin had sent us. We walked onto the plane, while the other three tried to hide their faces so they weren’t hassled. We sat in our seats, Lauren taking the one next to me. “How you feeling?” She asked, as she put our bags in the overhead lockers. I nodded my head, taking a sigh.

“Alright. A little nervous.” Lauren chuckled, before sitting down next to me. “What if I go there and he doesn’t want to see me?”

“If I know Nick well enough, he will want to see you. He likes you, Madi and you like him as well. Don’t lie to me.” She pointed at me. “He wouldn’t even think about going back to music if it wasn’t you. And for that, we are thankful.” I grinned at her.

“Can I tell you something?” I asked, as everyone else walked onto the plane, getting their seats. Lauren smiled at me, before nodding her head. “Nick was the first person to kiss me.” I bit my lip, as Lauren stared at me.

“Does he know that?” She asked, a smile tugging on her lips. I shrugged my shoulders, before sighing.

“I’ve never told him so.”

“That’s so cute.” She squealed, clapping her hands together. I rolled my eyes. “And if you don’t get together, I will die.”

~~~~~

We slowly made our way through the airport. Lauren, Danielle and Denise walked with their heads down, just in case someone stopped them while I walked in front of them. Suddenly someone jumped in front of me, making me almost wet myself. “Quickly.” He mumbled, dragging the four of us away. I looked towards Denise, who just seemed casual. “Who are you?” He asked, looking me up and down. I did the exact same thing to him. He was quite tall, long brown hair and scruff around his face.

“Madi.” I said, hesitantly as we climbed into the back of this bloke’s car.

“Oh.” He said, shocked. I looked at him, waiting for a reply. “I’m Greg. And I’ve heard loads about you.”