Now It's My Time to Strike Back

When we entered the bathroom, I didn’t close the door behind us, seeing as we more than likely didn’t need privacy for Nick to check his blood sugar.

His hand gently slid out of mine leaving it cold and empty. I missed the warmth that practically radiated out of his hands.

He opened the lower cabinet of Vic’s bathroom, underneath the sink, and pulled out a black, little pouch. He unzipped it, revealing the small alcohol pads, needles, blood strips, meter, and few bandages as well as a small sort of booklet.

He did the procedure I’d always heard, but never seen and for some reason I felt slightly bad for Nick. If he had to do this regularly every day of his life, it had to be a major change to him. I remembered the story he told me about when he found out he was diagnosed.

How did he deal with it at the age of 14? I know I wouldn’t have been able to.

The small beeping sounded from the meter and before I knew it, Nick had written down his blood sugar, speaking to me finally.

“It’s 78. That’s pretty-”, he began, but I cut across him, finishing the sentence for him.

“-low. We have to get you something to eat”, I ordered.

What Nick didn’t know was that I did research while he and I were together and I knew the level ranges from low to high. I did it for him and also to be more knowledgeable myself.

He gave me a look that I couldn’t read what emotion he was showing before it went blank. He nodded in agreement.

“So, what would you like to eat?” I asked, walking out of the bathroom after he finished putting everything away, feeling his presence behind me.

“A sandwich would be nice, I suppose”, he answered.

“A sandwich it is, then. Did you want to go out?” I asked, kicking myself mentally for suggesting the matter.

“To get something to eat? Sure”, he agreed by the time we made it to the door.

I turned to face him, my hand on the doorknob, but I took a sharp breath, seeing him extremely close to me. He was so close that I could feel his breath when he breathed.

“W-we should tell the others”, I said in a low tone, looking into his eyes trying to read him, but I couldn’t.

“I’m sorry”, he said in the same tone.

I wrinkled my brows in confusion. What was he apologizing for?

“For what?” I asked, tilting my head a little.

“For not showing you how I did that when we were together”, he answered, but he paused afterward as though he had more to say.

My mind clicked and I realized he was talking about checking his blood sugar. I laughed lightly, placing my hand on his chest as I lightly pushed him out of my personal space.

“Don’t worry about it, Nick. Honestly, it’s OK”, I replied, sighing in my mind.

His eyes searched mine for a minute and it made my mind wonder why. Why was he trying to read me? I turned from him, about to turn the doorknob when he stopped me again, turning me to face him.

“What is it?” I asked in a concerned tone, surprised he stopped me again.

“It’s just-I don’t want you to think of me as some asshole”, he answered, confusing me at first, but I understood what he was talking about now.

“I don’t think of you as an asshole-anymore”, I answered honestly.

He looked down at his hand on my wrist, then released his already light hold from me, biting his lower lip before speaking.

“This is hard for me-hanging around you again”, he began. I took my hand off of the doorknob and listened to him.

“It’s hard for me to be around you, remembering what I did to you. I feel bad. I know what I did was wrong and I don’t know how many times I have to do it, but I’m going to apologize to you. Joe told me how you felt over the summer and it made me feel worse than I already did. I-I’m sorry that I hurt you like that, but I want us to try to be friends”, he said, taking a breath afterwards.

The anger I felt towards him came back and I scoffed uncontrollably.

“I know you feel bad and to be honest, you should. What happened is in the past, but I don’t know if I can trust you as much as I used to-even as a friend. How do I know you won’t change again? How do I know if you’ll be nice to me or if we’ll actually be able to maintain a friendship? Do you know how awkward it is for me to be around you, too? Especially now that you’re dating the same person we argued about?” I asked, pouring part of my heart to him.

He looked down at his feet first, then away from me. The tears that used to fill my eyes didn’t and I was surprised, myself. He closed his eyes before speaking.

“I won’t change”, he said after what seemed like hours.

I looked at him.

“The fact is you already have”, I replied, realizing the double meaning to my statement.

He pulled away from me, sighing as he ran a hand through his curls.

“I can’t continue beating up myself over this, Rose. I know what I did and I can’t change that, but you have to believe me when I say I-I-I want to be your friend”, he pleaded, but I felt like he was going to say something else.

I sighed deeply as I watched him, practically visibly hurting emotionally.

“Fine. But if you cross me one time, it’s over. OK?” I stated.

His head snapped up to me after I spoke, then he walked over to me fast as lightning and embraced me in a hug.

“Thank you, Rose”, he murmured, sending shivers down my spine.

I didn’t hug him back, but he held onto me what seemed like forever and I didn’t object until I heard approaching footsteps.

“Nick-”, I tried, getting his attention.

“Someone’s coming”, I said and he finally budged, moving away from me as he cleared his throat, holding his hand out.

“So, friends?” he asked.

I looked at his hand, then back to his hopeful face.

“Friends”, I promised, shaking it before I pushed him afterwards, causing him to stumble.

“Oh, you’re gonna get it!” he exclaimed playfully, but I didn’t stay to find out.

I opened the door, running out into the hall, bumping into someone after my 3rd or 4th step. Whoever it was didn’t fall, but grunted.

I looked up and saw it was Max. He was wearing the usual white t-shirt and beige pants with brown shoes.

“Max!” I exclaimed happily, hugging him or as much as I could seeing as my arms couldn’t fully fit around him.

“Hey, there, kiddo! How have you been?” he asked, but stopped once he saw Nick behind me.

“Oh. Hello, Nick”, he said in a threatening tone. Did I mention that Max knew about me and Nick breaking up? Needless to say, he was pissed just like Joe was when he found out, but it was worse.

“H-hi, Max”, he said nervously. Max sized him up quickly before responding.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’m here with Victoria. We’ll be leaving with Rose tomorrow to go back to New Preston”, Nick answered easily.

Max had took the summer off the same time school ended, but promised he’d be back before I returned to New Preston this summer.

“Really? So, you’re with the she-devil now?” Max asked with a brow raised.

“Max-”, I began, but Nick cut across me.

“Yes, I am”, he answered calmly, staring at Max without any emotion in his face.

Silence reigned over the three of us for a minute before anyone spoke.

“Well, good luck then”, Max said, walking away from the both of us.

I watched him walk into the nearest bathroom, then turned back to face Nick, blinking a few times in disbelief.

“Did he just-”, I began, but he cut across me.

“-let me off the hook? I think so”, he finished, smiling slightly.

I laughed lightly, and then we went our separate ways, deciding to change into more comfortable clothing.

…

I changed into this, while Nick changed into this.

Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I sighed seeing Vic head towards the house, a frown on her lips. She was pissed, but what for?

We walked to the kitchen, Nick sitting in one of the chairs near the aisling, setting his arms on it, resting his on his elbows as his hands held up his face.

I ran a hand through my hair, getting ready to ask what kind of sandwich he’d want, pulling out a notepad and pen out of the drawer Dad usually kept those things in, but Vic entered through the backroom sliding door, sighing loudly once she stepped over the threshold.

“I can’t stand being around them. Where’s Nick?” she mumbled to herself, about to walk past us until I spoke.

“He’s right here, Vic”, I said in a monotone, giving her a look. She turned to us, jumping slightly as she held a hand over her heart.

“Oh shit, Rose! You scared me!” she exclaimed angrily until her eyes landed on Nick.

“Oh, Nicky!” she said cheerfully and dramatically. I rolled my eyes at her and I could have sworn I saw Nick do the same.

She approached him in under a few seconds, wrapping her arms around him as she hugged him briefly before placing a quick peck on his lips making my stomach churn.

I quietly exited the room, heading back into my room when Vic stopped me.

“Aren’t you going to ask our guests what they’d like to eat?” she asked.

“Nick’s your guest, too. You do live here the last time I checked”, I said in a smart tone.

A smile appeared on Nick’s lips, but disappeared once Vic looked back at him.

“I do live here, but you’re the planner, remember?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips causing me to shrug.

“I can’t plan everything”, I replied, knowing that my response had a double meaning.

Silence fell over us, but Vic’s voice quickly occupied it.

“Sure you can. Come on! Have a chat with your sister”, she said, grabbing me by the hand as she practically pulled me away from a confused Nick.

I groaned loudly as she added a “we’ll be back” to Nick. He nodded, then began examining the new kitchen.

Once we reached the hallway upstairs, Vic spoke, dropping my hand abruptly.

“Is this some sort of trick?” she asked, not facing me.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, not wanting to hear her rant at me.

“I’m talking about you and Nick being alone all of that time yet you didn’t come storming out of the house or something. What happened?” she asked.

I was taken aback at how straightforward she was compared to me, feeling slightly embarrassed, but I ignored it, folding my arms across my chest.

“Nothing happened. We just talked”, I said, being vague.

I didn’t have to be honest with Vic anymore and I sure as hell wasn’t about to start doing otherwise now.

“About what?” she asked, raising a brow skeptically.

“None of your business. It wasn’t important, anyway”, I replied, turning on my heel before she stopped me again with her words.

“The hell it isn’t, Rose. When he got here, you seemed to hate his guts, now all of a sudden you guys are ‘civil’?” she asked skeptically.

“And what’s so bad about that, Vic? It’s not like I’m going to stab you in the back like you did to me!” I exclaimed angrily.

“So the thought has crossed your mind!” she exclaimed in shock, but I scoffed.

“You’re an idiot. I wouldn’t stoop to your level by doing something like that even if Nick is my ex. I don’t care about the fact that you’re my sister. I have more respect for myself than that, unlike you do”, I replied easily, watching the anger evident in Vic’s face.

She sighed loudly out of annoyance, biting the inside of her bottom lip before responding.

“The reality is that you just can’t let go, can you?” she asked with a smirk.

“You’re full of it, Vic. I’m over him”, I answered calmly, but my heartbeat quickened as I answered her.

“You’re over him? Really?” she asked sarcastically. “If you’re over him, then how come you’re friends with him so easily?” she asked again.

“We’re not friends”, I said through gritted teeth. Vic was irritating me and she knew she was.

“Whatever. If I find out one thing about you and Nick and you two possibly rekindling your used-to-be romance, I’ll make your life a living hell at school again, and that’s a promise”, she threatened.

I turned to face without any fear or emotion in my eyes staring into her blue ones.

“Fuck you, Vic”, I replied simply, turning on my heel as I headed back downstairs once more.