Chapter 9 Hoping for the Best
Nick's alarm must have rung five times but both he and Macy were knocked out after spending their night together. It didn't occur to him that the time for them to leave was drawing near because his dad was keeping a tight schedule so that they could make it to New Jersey for their next show. There was a loud knock on the door and at first Nick tried to ignore it by placing his pillow over his head. But the knocking grew louder and louder.
"Go away!" Nick yelled without realizing who it could be.
"NICHOLAS! YOU ANSWER THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT!" yelled his mother in a tone that clearly showed that there were no arguments.
Quickly he leapt out of his bed and put on some pants and his undershirt. He needed to look presentable so that his mother wouldn't suspect anything.
"Mom! G-good morning!" Nick said brightly to disguise his apprehension. "I must have overslept. Can you just give me thirty minutes and I'll be down in a bit?"
"That's not why I'm here, Nicholas," his mother said sternly as she tried to enter his room but immediately her son put his arm up to block her path.
"You can't come in! My…uh…room is a mess," Nick said nervously.
His mom was giving him a suspicious look and said, "Macy's mom called me this morning saying that Macy isn't picking up her phone. So I went to check on her and Gabby said she hasn't seen her all morning."
"Oh?" Nick tried to fake surprise. "Uh…I wonder where she could be?"
But his mother kept staring him down and continued, "So you're saying that she's not here with you?"
"N-nope," he lied. He could feel a cold sweat coming across his forehead but he hoped to God that his mother didn't notice.
"Then if she isn't here, you wouldn't mind me looking around?" his mother argued.
"Uh…"
But before he could answer, his mom pried his arm away from blocking her path and Nick was about to confess the truth but when she went to check, he was surprised that she didn't reprimand him for having his girlfriend there, laying on his bed naked. There would have been no doubt what the two of them did last night. So Nick followed her and he was also shocked because Macy was no longer sleeping on his bed. In fact, she was nowhere to be found.
"Hm…I guess I was wrong," his mother said as she looked at Nick one more time.
"I-uh- told you she wasn't here…" Nick lied while looking at the floor because he hated lying to his mom. However, he noticed Macy's bra was on the floor. Thus he quickly kicked it under the bed before his mother saw it.
"Well, when you do see her tell her that she needs to call her mom because apparently she lied about telling her mom that she was with you," his mom pointed out. "And you know me and Maria are close. I don't want her to think that we went behind her back to have her daughter come on tour with us. Nick, you didn't know anything about this, did you?"
"Um…no, not really," Nick lied again. "Macy told me she was having problems at home but she didn't tell me anything like that."
"Well, she did and I just want her to talk to her mom," his mother continued and she was about to leave when she turned around one more time to face her son. "And, Nick, now that Macy is here, she's my responsibility. Do you understand me, young man?"
"Yes, mom."
"So that means no funny business, okay?" his mother scolded him. "Macy is a good girl and I know you care about her. But you better not do anything to her that her mother and I won't be proud of. Do I make myself clear?"
"I understand…" Nick said a bit uncomfortably because it's been a while since he and Macy had been doing things that their mothers won't be proud of…
"Good. I'm glad we had this talk," his mother said. "Anyway, you better be downstairs in fifteen minutes before your father throws a fit."
And when she left, Nick quickly shut the door and whispered loudly, "Macy! Where are you?"
The petite brunette dragged herself out from under his bed.
"That was a close call," Macy said as she began putting her clothes back on.
"Yes, that was. I thought we were going to get in so much trouble," he replied as he passed her the rest of her clothes so that she was decent. "Good job hiding underneath the bed."
"Don't sweat it," Macy assured him as she placed a quick peck on his cheek. "If there's one noise that can wake me up in the morning, it would be the angry voice of Sandy Lucas. No offense, Nick, but your mom is pretty scary when she's mad."
"Oh I know," Nick answered as he helped her hook her bra on her back . "Anyway, Macy, my mom's right though. You need to talk to your mom."
"I don't want to talk to her," she answered stubbornly as she put her shirt on.
"I know you don't want to, but she needs to know that you're here and that you're okay," Nick said.
"She's going to make me go back," Macy argued.
"Then tell her what happened—
"NO! I told you, Nick, I don't want anyone to know not even my mom…" Macy said quietly. "It's so…humiliating. Plus, my mom probably won't believe me."
"I don't think that's true," Nick argued with her. "She knows that you won't make something that big up. Your mom will definitely understand."
"NO SHE WON'T, NICK!" Macy said angrily as she looked him in the eyes. "You don't understand. My mom and Julian's mom are best friends. They were college buddies. If anyone wanted me and Julian to get together more than anything it would be her. That's why she sent me to Martinsburg. She didn't want me to help my aunt. She wanted me to start dating Julian and forget about you. That's so like my mom to have hidden agendas. I only realized now that was probably the whole reason why she made me go to Pennsylvania… But look what happened…"
Nick noticed her tearing up so he embraced her as he did his best to comfort her.
"Okay, Macy," Nick said softly. "I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. But I'm afraid that the more you ignore her, the more she's going be angry with you and I know you hate fighting with your mom."
"I know…" she answered quietly. "Can I just text her that I'm here?"
"Macy…" Nick said in a mildly reprimanding tone.
"Okay, fine I'll tell her that I'm here with you but that's it."
"Good," Nick said as he kissed her on the forehead. "And...um...Macy, are you better now? I mean did –um- last night help?"
She smiled at him. Then placed a gentle kiss on his lips and said, "Yes, it did. Thank you very much, Nick."
After that moment, Macy snuck out of his room without getting noticed and headed back to the room she shared with Gabby. Her alibi for her disappearance was that she needed to have a morning walk to get some fresh air. No one suspected anything but she did notice Mrs. Lucas keeping a watchful eye on her and Nick so they had to be on their best behavior.
It was the first time that Macy rode on the JONAS tour bus so it was inevitable that she would revert back to her old obsessive fan-girl behavior.
"Wow! I can't believe you can fit a big screen TV in here!" Macy exclaimed as she made her way through their lounging area on the bus. "It's so spacious! OOH! And there must be your bunks! I always wanted to lay in one of these."
"Well, you can sleep in my bunk tonight," Nick offered.
"Um, bro, I don't think that's a good idea. None of us want to be near you guys when you do your thing," Kevin teased them. Both Nick and Macy turned a dark shade of red.
"Thing? What thing are they going to do?" Frankie asked them curiously.
The three of them forgot that their littlest brother was with them and after giving Kevin a vicious glare, Nick said, "Kevin's just being stupid. What I meant to say was that Macy can have my bunk while I'll sleep on the couch."
"That's what I hope you meant!" their mother said as she now appeared on the other end. "Kevin! Your dad wants to talk to you about some promotional stuff. And Nick, have you seen Joe?"
"Yeah, he's up front. I think he's on the phone with Stella," he answered.
"Well, tell him that I want to speak with him!" his mother yelled back.
"Okay," Nick said as he reverted his attention back to Macy. "So, Macy, are you okay sleeping here?"
"Yeah thanks! It's more than enough," Macy said as she sat on his bunk. "Although I really wish I had my camera. Your fans are upset that I haven't been updating the site in a while and this would be really good footage to put up. It can be called Life on Tour with JONAS. God knows that I know more than the Celebrity Brat when it comes to everything about you guys. Hmph! Then I'll be the most reliable source out there. I'll show her, that little red-headed fiend."
"If you want, you can use my camera, Macy!" Frankie offered her sweetly. Nick narrowed his eyes at him. It seemed as if his brother's crush on the pretty brunette girl definitely returned.
"Aww, Frankie, I can't take your camera," Macy answered him politely. "But how sweet of you to offer!"
"No, I insist. Anything for you, Macy," the littlest Lucas brother said clearly smitten. "I'm not going to use it. In fact, I really don't know how to use it that well. Maybe when you get the hang of it, you can teach me!"
This time Nick gave Frankie a scathing glare because Frankie was an electronic whiz at such a young age. He knew how to use his digital camera in less than thirty minutes. In fact, he was in the process of mastering the difficult art of claymation. But of course, Macy knew nothing about this.
"Oh okay then, I'll take you up on your offer. Thanks Frankie! And I'll be more than happy to teach you how to use it. You really are such a sweetheart," Macy said as she placed a quick kiss on his forehead. "I'm so excited to start video-taping. And don't worry, I'll take good care of it. And to show you my thanks you can have the first web-interview on my site."
"Th-thanks, Macy," answered Frankie, who by now was blushing profusely because he was still recovering from the kiss she gave him. "I…uh…gotta go."
Nick and Macy looked after him as he sped away from them.
"He's such a sweet boy," Macy said admiringly.
"You know you just made him the happiest boy in the world," Nick pointed out a bit miffed.
"What are you talking about?" she asked him.
"I mean isn't it obvious that Frankie has this colossal crush on you? He was just in the process of getting over you and look what you did!" Nick cried out unbelievingly.
"What did I do?"
"You flattered him and gave him a kiss," Nick retorted.
"Nick…"Macy said in an amused voice as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't tell me you're jealous of an 8-year-old boy, who happens to be your brother?"
"I'm not jealous," Nick scoffed at the idea and then added. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't give him false hope. He's at a very impressionable age when anything can leave him scarred for life!"
"I can leave him scarred for life!" Macy repeated incredulously and said. "Oh, Nick you are SO jealous. What do you want me to do then? Be mean to Frankie?"
"No, I'm just saying don't kiss him so freely. It can send him the wrong message. You can-um- punch him on the arm instead and say thanks," Nick explained. "He's a boy. It will toughen him up."
"Punch him in the arm? Like this?" Macy said as she gave Nick a good punch on his arm.
"Ow! Yeah like that but not that hard. You don't want to bruise the boy. And, Macy, you don't have to punch me in the arm," he retorted. "You can kiss me if you want to show your thanks."
"So you're saying there's a double standard when it comes to you and Frankie?"
"Exactly," Nick said as he now embraced her and started getting very touchy feely with his girlfriend. "Because you already left a very good impression on me, Macy."
The two of them shared a rather passionate kiss and things could have easily gotten out of hand if it wasn't for Macy who stopped him the moment she felt his hand creep underneath her shirt.
"Nick, we can't do that! Especially with everyone around," Macy whispered. "Besides, we don't want to do anything our mothers wouldn't be proud of."
"So you heard that…"
"Yeah, and we need to be careful especially with your whole family living in such tight quarters," Macy said quietly because she didn't want to feel the wrath of Mrs. Lucas breathing down her neck.
Thus, Nick and Macy joined Frankie in the lounge room as the bus made its way to New Jersey, their home town.
It was mid-day and by now all four Lucas boys were busy having a heated video-game battle. Macy laughed to herself because it was nice to see the boys sharing some quality bonding time, which was quite intense. While they were having their fun, Macy went on Nick's lap-top and spent the rest of the trip searching through the web. Because she really had nothing to search for, she decided to pay a visit to the Celebrity Brat's page. And she was met with yet another picture, or in this case a mash-up, of Nick and Gabby. The article was entitled, "Is Nick Gabby's Biggest Fan?"
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Macy said loudly causing all the Lucas boys to look at her curiously.
"What is it, Macy?" Nick asked her as he rushed to her side.
"Look at this! She's just fueling more lies!" Macy cried out. By now, all of them were crowding around her. "I really wanna punch her out."
"Macy, don't let her stuff get to you," Nick said as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You know that song is about you."
"I know that. It's just that the whole world now thinks it's about Gabby…" she said scornfully.
Nick was about to say something when Kevin interrupted them, "Wait! Scroll down for a second. I think the Celebrity Brat has more incriminating news about Joe."
"What?" Joe said as he shoved his way near the computer. And right there on the screen was a picture of Joe and Stella on an obvious date. There were about ten shots and each one clearly confirmed that Stella Malone and Joe Lucas were indeed a couple because the last shot, even though it was quite dark showed the two lovebirds sharing a kiss. "Crap."
"There's no denying it anymore, bro," Kevin pointed out as he put a comforting arm around his shoulder.
"Just say that the pictures were photo-shopped," Nick suggested.
Joe was in deep thought because he hated letting the public eye get into his personal affairs especially if it involved someone he truly loved.
"I need to talk to Stella," was all he said and once again, he disappeared to have a private conversation with his girlfriend.
"Wow! The Celebrity Brat may get her info wrong sometimes but it's scary how accurate she can be," Kevin said while shaking his head. "Thank God Anya lives in a different country and a different continent!"
Kevin returned to playing video games with Frankie but Nick could tell that Macy was still bothered.
"I think Joe should just come out with his relationship with Stella," Macy finally said.
"What? Are you nuts!" Nick answered. "The last thing he wants is to have someone like the Celebrity Brat stalking his every move. I say Joe should deny everything."
"But this could be good for them. I mean if they're going to last, Stella needs to realize that Joe is a rock-star and people are always going to talk about him."
"So what you're saying is that instead of respecting their privacy they should come clean and let the public into their romance?"
"Well...yeah. It has to happen one day when they-I don't know- get married," Macy pointed out.
Nick pursed his lips as he listened to what she had to say and sighed. Because was this a hint for what she wanted him to do as well?
"Say that Joe is the type of guy that really values privacy. And he hates people talking about him. Wouldn't it be better to keep things hidden, especially for Stella, since she will be dragged into the spotlight unwillingly?" Nick asked her.
Macy paused before she answered this question.
"I mean it's going to be hard on her at first but like I said before it needs to happen one day, whether Stella likes it or not, she's going to need to share this part of Joe's life if they want to work out," Macy explained. She looked at Nick who seemed to be in deep contemplation. "Nick, are you okay?"
"Huh?" he said still deep in thought about what Macy was saying because he wondered if everything she said about Stella applied to herself as well.
"You seem like you're lost in thought," Macy pointed out while peering closely at him. "What are you thinking about?"
But before he could answer, his mom announced that they were stopping for some lunch. They made a quick stop at a rest stop with a small picnic area. Mrs. Lucas, Frankie, and Macy went to order the food while the boys waited in the bus to avoid any fans or paparazzi, who may be lurking around.
"So did you talk to Stella?" Nick asked Joe as they waited for them to come back.
"Yeah and I was surprised that she wasn't too upset about it," he replied.
"Really?" Nick asked surprised.
"Yeah, she actually thought it was funny how everyone is making it such a big deal," Joe said. "I guess it might be time to come clean and tell the world about Stella Malone."
"But aren't you scared about what it can do to your relationship? I mean it could put a strain on what you guys have now that the public will be breathing down your necks."
"That's true but I think we're stronger than that," Joe said simply.
Their conversation would have continued if it wasn't for Kevin, who was anxiously waiting for the food to arrive, yelled out that their mom, Frankie, and Macy were back.
"OOOH MCDONALD'S!" Kevin yelled as he delved into the bag for his double-quarter pounder with cheese.
Nick went for his chicken strips and he was about to take his seat next to Macy, who was sitting at the edge of the bench but he was surprised to find Frankie in his spot.
"Frankie, move," Nick ordered impatiently.
"Sorry, Nick, I got here first," Frankie taunted him as he reveled in the fact that Nick was now fuming with anger. "And like you always said, whoever gets there first has dibs."
"Frankie, you better move if you know what's good for you," Nick said through gritted teeth.
"Nick, don't be mean to him," Macy said as she took a bite of her chicken sandwich. "He does have a point. Besides, Frankie, was in the middle of telling me what was happening in the latest issue of the Avengers. "
And to show Nick that she listened to what he had to say, she gave the young boy a friendly punch on the arm. Nick narrowed his eyes at both of them and so, he sat all the way on the other end sitting next to his mom and dad.
But the moment they went back to their bus, Nick threatened to burn Frankie's comic books if he dared to interrupt his movie night he planned on having with Macy alone. Thus, the young boy was stuck playing his Nintendo DS in his bunk bed while Kevin video-chatted with Anya on his computer. And Joe was taking a nap.
"Nick, stop," Macy warned as she tried to move away from her very affectionate boyfriend who was trying to kiss her neck. "Your parents might walk in."
"They're already sleeping," Nick whispered as he successfully got her lips. Macy was very familiar with this kiss and she knew very well what usually came after.
"Nick, we can't," Macy said reluctantly because she was really tempted to continue. "We might get caught. Let's just watch the movie."
And this time he got off of her and let out a loud sigh, "Macy, I told you they're already sleeping. There's nothing to worry about."
"Um, are you forgetting something?" Macy said slowly. "How about your brothers? What if Frankie walks in on us while we're…you know…doing it. We don't want to scar him for life, remember?"
She made a good point. He gave out a loud sigh of frustration, "You're right. Let's just watch the movie. But come here."
He opened his arms so that she could snuggle up against him. And for a while, they took comfort in each other's embrace. But after a few minutes, the movie that they chose to watch was a real bore, so throwing caution to the wind, Macy turned to Nick and gave in to temptation by kissing him roughly on the lips.
"Macy…er…I…thought…we…weren't going…to do…that," Nick managed to say in between the kisses his girlfriend were placing on his lips.
"I know what I said but the movie's pretty lame," Macy said as she unbuttoned his shirt. "And I never said we couldn't make out."
Nick laughed and said, "Oooh, you sneaky little vixen."
And for a good ten minutes the two of them went at it, placing kiss after kiss on each other's lips while they were wrapped tightly around each other's bodies. If anyone were to walk in on them at that moment, it would have been very hard to distinguish that that there were two bodies and not one because Nick and Macy were tightly entwined with each other.
"OOH!" Nick said when he felt a vibration on his pelvis. "Macy-um- I think your phone is vibrating."
"I'll get it later," Macy said as she pulled his head down for another kiss but he stopped her.
"Macy, you should get it," Nick said. "I mean it's ten at night, so it might be important."
"No, really, it's okay," Macy replied. "It can go to voicemail and—HEY GIVE THAT BACK NICK!"
But the boy was quick to get her phone out from her front pocket and he got it just in time to notice that the caller id read mom.
"Mace, it's your mom," Nick said as he now sat on the couch with her. "You should call her back and talk to her."
"I'll call her tomorrow."
But Nick was busy looking at her phone and noticed that she had been ignoring all her calls.
"Macy! You missed 57 of her calls!" Nick pointed out. "You can't keep ignoring her. You have to talk to her."
"But I don't want her to force me to go back…" Macy said as she now sat up and buttoned up her shirt because the mood for doing anything else was dead.
"Then don't go back. Just tell her that you're here with me and my parents are okay with it. That's all."
"But, Nick, your mom knows my mom. What if she tells her that we…um…had sex…? You're mom is going to definitely send me back," she whispered after she made sure no one was eavesdropping on them.
This was one thing Nick hoped Mrs. Misa would keep quiet about but he said confidently, "If that's the case, then I'll take care of my mom. Don't worry. It might be hard at first but I know how to get through her. Besides I'm her favorite so she can't stay mad at me forever."
Macy shook her head and joked, "You're so full of it, Nick. Sometimes your cockiness never ceases to amaze me."
"I'm not cocky. I'm just being honest," Nick chimed in. "But please call her back, Macy. I hate that you and your mom are fighting because of me. I really don't want to come in between you guys because I know you hate fighting with your mom."
This time Macy let out a loud sigh of defeat and conceded, "Okay, fine. But, Nick, would you mind giving me some privacy? I want to talk to her alone."
"Sure, of course," he replied as he got up. "I'll be in the kitchen."
"Okay."
She looked at her phone wondering if it would ring again but it lay silent on her lap. Taking a deep breath, she dialed her mom's number. It rang only two times before she heard her mom, who did not give her any chance to speak.
"MACY ANNE MISA! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" her mother yelled through the phone. The brunette girl had to keep her cell phone at arm's length just so she won't become deaf. "TO TAKE OFF JUST LIKE THAT WITHOUT GIVING WORD TO ANYONE? HOW IRRESPONSIBLE CAN YOU BE? IT'S LIKE I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE ANYMORE BECAUSE THE DAUGHTER I RAISED WOULDN'T BEHAVE SO STUPIDLY. "
"Mom, I know you're upset. And you're right it was dumb of me to just get up and leave but I called Aunt Jane to tell her that I was fine. It's just that I chose to leave but I'm safe now—
"Don't beat around the bush, young lady," her mother said angrily. "I know that Nick came to visit you in Martinsburg."
"Oh, you found out about that…well, you see—
"I can't believe this! Are you now the type of girl who would do anything to be with her boyfriend even if it meant leaving your aunts and cousins who's done nothing but be nice to you?" her mother questioned her. "What kind of gratitude is that? They've been nothing but accommodating and you just abandon them like that. And then I called Sandy and thank goodness she told me you were safe and sound. I was worried sick! You weren't even answering your phone! I called you at least fifty times! Don't tell me Nick told you not to pick up. Because I swear if this boy is brainwashing you—
"STOP IT MOM. Nick was the one who told me I needed to call you," Macy explained as she did her best to control her frustration because she hated it when her mom bashed on Nick. "He has done nothing wrong. In fact, it's because of him that I'm all better now."
"What are you talking about being all better? You were never sick."
Macy hesitated because she really didn't want to tell her mom the details of want went down between her and Julian but her mom was really pushing her buttons.
"It wasn't a sickness, mom…You see…Nick…helped me with a –um- situation I had with Julian…" Macy said hesitantly. She really didn't want to expand on this subject.
"Situation with Julian? What on earth are you talking about?"
"M-mom…he did something very bad…I didn't feel safe there…I had to leave…" Macy said as she felt chills run through her body because she didn't feel comfortable talking about this.
There was a moment of silence and Macy took this a sign that her mother was trying to process what she said with the little hints that she gave her.
But boy, was she surprised when her mom said next, "Are you telling me the whole reason you left is because Julian did something wrong? How can you lie like that especially under the circumstances—
"Are you calling me a liar?" Macy said incredulously.
"This wouldn't be the first time you lied to my face, Missy," her mother argued. "Didn't you lie to me before about having sex with that boy? And now you're accusing Julian for harming you? I'm not dumb, Macy. I know why you left."
"I'm tell you the TRUTH! What are you talking about, mom? And that boy's name is Nick. It's really not hard to remember."
"Well, then tell me why the moment you and Nick left Julian was found bleeding on the ground unconscious?"
"What?"
"Yes, Julian was found by your aunt and it looked like he was beaten up really badly. He's in the hospital, Macy, in a coma."
"WHAT?"
"The doctor said he's not sure when he's going to wake up but by the time he does, we're going to get to the bottom of this. I'm not dumb, Macy. If your boyfriend has something to do with this, you shouldn't protect him. This is a serious matter and—
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, MOM! YOU'RE SAYING THAT I'M LYING? THEN WHAT BULLSHIT ARE YOU SAYING? BECAUSE THE LAST TIME I SAW JULIAN HE WAS FINE. BELIEVE ME. HE WASN'T BLEEDING ON THE GROUND UNCONCIOUS. THIS IS JUST PROBABLY SOME PLOY OF YOURS TO GET ME TO COME HOME BUT –
"Macy, you listen to me," her mother said sternly. "You are blinded by this love you have for this boy. But trust me, if he's capable of doing that to Julian, a boy I know who can never harm a fly, then I advise you to get out of this relationship quick. I don't want to see you getting in the middle of this because you can't cover for Nick anymore. This is a serious matter and he could—
"No, mom, stop this. I seriously cannot take this anymore. Why are you always pinning Nick as the bad guy? He isn't! In fact if you listen to what I'm trying to tell you, then you'll see that Nick is the good guy and it's actually Julian who's the bad one—
"How classy, Macy, to blame the guy fighting for his life! Tell me, Macy, does Nick have any bruises on him? I'm guessing he doesn't. Then the evidence speaks for itself who's the bad guy here and—
"SHUT UP! Nick didn't do anything to Julian. You're the one making up lies. I'm trying to be nice here. I went to Martinsburg just like you wanted me to but this? No, I cannot listen to this because you're accusing Nick of something he didn't do. I don't know how Julian got like that if that's even the truth. But what I do know is that this conversation is over."
"Macy, is that how you talk to your mother? You better watch your tone."
"Watch my tone? What about yours? You've been nothing but mean and nasty to me the whole time. You know what mom? Don't bother calling me anymore because I'm not going to pick up and if you call anyone else, don't think I won't hesitate to get a restraining order."
"Macy—
"GOOD-BYE!" she turned off her phone and threw it across the room. Tears were now forming in her eyes and as if on cue, Nick walked in.
"Macy, are you okay?" Nick said as he rushed towards her and embraced her tightly.
"I c-can't b-believe her," Macy said in between her sobs. "I tried telling her b-but she wouldn't listen."
"What?" Nick said in disbelief because he didn't think her mom would ever doubt her when she claimed that she was almost raped.
"Yeah…well…I d-didn't really go into specifics," Macy admitted when she turned to look at him. "I tried telling her…But get this! She was quick to blame you again, Nick."
"Me?"
"Yeah! She made up this obnoxious lie saying that Julian is in the hospital because someone beat him up! Can you believe that? Some nerve my mom has to make believe someone's life was in danger just for the sake of me coming back," Macy cried out in disbelief. "That was low even for her."
Silence. Nick could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he loosened his embrace around Macy. This alarmed the girl so she peered up closely at him.
"Nick are you okay? Did you hear what I just said? My mom lied about Julian. She even blamed you for beating him up. She said that you were the bad guy and Julian was the good guy," Macy repeated what she said but when she looked up at Nick, she was now the one who moved away from him and stared at him suspiciously. "Nick…my mom was lying right? Because there is no way that Julian could have been left unconscious on the ground after someone beat him up, RIGHT? Please tell me you didn't do anything."
"Well…um…you see…I—
"NICK!" Macy said in a loud whisper because she didn't want to wake up anyone who may be sleeping. "I told you not to do anything. OH MY GOD. You can get in so much trouble—
"Macy, I know I promised not to do anything but can you really blame me? That bastard needed to be taught a lesson. He can't just get away with doing that to you!" Nick retorted but he was now starting to worry. "I made sure he didn't die. I mean after I did that I saw he was still breathing…He's still alive, right?"
"He's in a coma," Macy said as she now felt her body go numb because one thought was bothering her to no end. "Nick, what if he wakes up and blames you…I mean all the evidence is there…"
"Then, I'll do the honest and right thing and tell the truth."
"But Nick I told you I don't want anyone else knowing that he took advantage of me…It's embarrassing enough…I told you not to do anything so we can avoid things like this happening…you can destroy your career and—
"Macy, stop. I don't care if my career gets destroyed because you're the most important thing to me. And fine I won't mention you if you don't want me to. I'll just try to come up with something that is believable…"
"But I don't want you to lie either…" Macy said solemnly. She was panicking because the last thing she wanted was for her boyfriend to get arrested for doing a noble thing because in reality, Macy was actually happy that Nick went out of his way to defend her honor. "We need to think up of something…"
"Macy, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you," Nick said quietly as he gave her a light kiss on her forehead.
She let out a loud sigh and said, "No, don't apologize…I just don't want you to get into trouble…"
"I know. I was just so angry at him I just couldn't stop punching him."
"It's okay, Nick. I appreciate what you did but if this comes out, this could really do some damage to you and your brother's career."
Nick bit his lip. It was a habit of his when he was worried about something and right now, this was definitely something he should worry about. But as much as he didn't like the fact that Julian could affect his career, Nick was content that Macy was with him safe and sound.
So the two of them sat together in the dark as the movie played on trying to think up what they could do. But there was nothing substantial coming into mind. So an hour must have passed when Macy called it a night.
"It's getting late, Nick," she finally said. "We should go to bed."
"Okay," he agreed. "And Macy? I'm sorry again. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me."
"No, it's okay. I'm just worried about what could happen to you," Macy replied as she embraced him tightly.
"It'll be okay," Nick said more to himself than to Macy. He needed some self-assurance because he really didn't know what could happen.
"I hope so…"
After that, she tiptoed up to give Nick a heartwarming kiss goodnight. But the kiss that they shared was symbolic in the sense that no matter what happened to the both of them, they would always have each other's back. And so Nick took her up in his arms and kissed her passionately on her lips before letting her go.
Thus, both Nick and Macy secretly wished that Julian won't wake up anytime soon.
Here's to hoping for the best.
Closing Remarks:
Before I say anything, I totally forgot to make shout-outs to those of you who made some really insightful reviews for Chapter 7. Sorry about that!
Shout outs to snoupy, Nacy017, and nacy4ever for giving really in-depth analysis behind Julian's actions.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. So at least we know what became of Julian after Nick's brutal beating. When will he wake up? And what happens if he does? If anyone has any idea PM me, because if you guess right, you'll get a shout out at the very END of the story. The next few chapters will be quite entertaining as Macy continues her trip with JONAS. There will be some drama but not as big as before. So this is definitely a change of pace. LOL. Maybe that's the reason why I'm slow in updating this because I'm not use to not having so much drama but I always like testing myself and my writer's block is slowly going away because I was already able to write up a makeshift outline for future chapters. So stay tuned!
And if you haven't done so check out my new story that I uploaded a few days ago entitled Secret Liaisons. This story will definitely contain some drama (which is my forte). So after I wrap this up, I'll be sure to continue that story next. And once you read the first chapter of this new story be sure to vote in the poll. I explained it at the end of that story so check it out for the details!
Read and REVIEW PLEASE!
-Penelope36
