A week later, when I told Dylan that I was going to the meeting, I met Nicholas at a nearby Chinese restaurant. He let me choose it. The food was good, but the company was excellent. We both laughed. He said that it was the first time he'd been able to laugh in awhile. It was dark when we left, so he insisted that either he let me drive him or take a cab. I wasn't ready to be alone with him, when he could have complete control yet, so I took a cab. He waited with me outside for the cab, and when it came, he leaned in and kissed me gently. He kept one hand carefully on my shoulder, the other on my back, carefully avoid any uncomfortableness. The kiss was slow and perfect. He was perfect.
"Wow, you're in a good mood," Ashley said the next day at my locker.
"I was on a date last night," I admitted.
She raised one eyebrow. "Really? Would this be Spinner and you getting back together?"
I looked over at my locker, and busied myself pulling some books out, not meeting her gaze. "It wasn't Spinner."
"Then who?" she asked. When I looked back at her, she didn't seem hurt that I hadn't told her, but genuinely interested.
"This guy I met a couple of weeks ago."
"What's his name?"
"Nicholas."
"So. . . what's he like?"
I felt a smile spread slowly across my face. "He's really nice. He's smart. . . I don't know. We had a good time."
"Does he go to Degrassi?"
I looked away from her again. "No. He's, uh, he's more in the city, instead of being stuck in the middle of suburbia." So it wasn't a lie. I was just allowing her to believe that he was in high school, not fourth year university.
"Okay, enough with all that. Is he hot?"
I felt the smile spread further across. "We're talking male model gorgeous. In that mysterious way."
"Tall, dark, handsome?"
"Oh yeah."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Days started to go by faster after that. Still not as fast as the devastatingly long days before my mom was killed, but still, faster than before. We went out for a second time that weekend, and I explained to him that I needed to concentrate on studying for the next two weeks for exams. He took it well, and promised to come by with a coffee whenever I needed. But the night before my Math exam, the exam I was most stressed about, the exhaustion and the stress started getting to me. Plus, it was one month since my mom had died. Though I had promised myself to commit to studying, sometime around twelve I found myself holding a phone, his name displayed on the screen. All I had to do was press the talk button. Before I could change my mind, I pressed it.
It started ringing. One ring. My heart was pounding. What if he was out? Two rings. What if he was sleeping? How stupid could I be to call him when he was sleeping? Three rings. He must have caller ID, and must be ignoring me. That had to be the answer. Four rings. Oh, God, it was the one month anniversary of his sister's death too. What kind of idiot was I. A little insensitive bit-
"Hello?" His voice came smooth and low. He sounded tired, but not like he'd been sleeping. Just hearing his voice, the thought of him on the other end, and I felt whatever self control I had left starting to come undone within me.
"Nicholas?" I said softly.
"Paige. Are you alright?"
I had no doubt that my voice gave away exactly how I felt. "Yeah, I'm just. . . I needed to talk to someone."
"Tonight's hard for you, huh?"
I swallowed hard and nodded. It took me awhile to realize that he couldn't see me. "Yeah."
"Me too," he whispered.
I imagined him there, in his apartment that I'd never seen, sitting in the dark, his hair mussed and his eyes red, just as he'd been the first time I'd met him. The image was powerful, and I longed to reach out and touch him, just feel him there, beside me, knowing that he was feeling the same thing. Just to feel his touch, human contact. To know that he was there, and that in that instant, he wasn't going anywhere. No phantom drunk driver to kill him. He could be there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I don't know when I fell asleep, but when my alarm woke me up the next morning, I was spelled out sideways across my bed, shivering from lack of blankets, and still in my clothes from yesterday. My neck and the side of my face were sore, and when I sat up, I realized that I had fallen asleep on the phone. I picked it up, and heard soft breathing on the other end. Nicholas, I remembered. I gently put the phone back in it's cradle. I got up and looked in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy, and my face felt sore. I brushed away some hair that had stuck to my cheek. I was a mess. I didn't care. My limbs felt tired and heavy, and I moved slowly when brushing my hair and getting dressed. I threw some notes into my purse to review right before my exam, and started downstairs.
I decided against breakfast, but chose a cup of coffee to try and settle my stomach. It was quiet upstairs, and I realized that Dylan had already left. The keys sat neatly in the middle of the kitchen counter, and the car was out in the driveway. I wasn't fond of the idea of driving, but I had no other means of getting to school. I sighed, put my cup in the sink, and headed out to the car.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"That was brutal," Ashley said as we headed out of the exam room. "How do you think it went?"
I shrugged. "Okay. The stuff from the beginning of the year was a bit fuzzy, but the part from the second unit went well." I pulled out my cell phone and turned it on to check the time. My stomach was still roiling, and I wasn't in the mood for food, but I had been invited to lunch at eleven. It was ten thirty. I'd just tell them that I didn't want to go. I was about to turn it off when I noticed that there was a message. I looked around for teachers, the listened for it.
"Hi, Paige, it's Nicholas. I was just calling to wish you luck on your exam, and to make sure you turned your phone's off. Teachers get upset when you leave them on. Um, it's nine thirty now. . . my afternoon class is cancelled, so I was wondering if you wanted to get together this afternoon. There's something. . . anyways, just give me a call. We'll talk then."
"Raditch," Ashley warned, seeing him walking down the hall. Quickly turned my phone off and threw it in my bag as he walked by.
"Good morning girls," he said, not noticing anything.
"So are you coming for lunch?" Ashley asked.
I shook my head. "I'm still not feeling great. I'm just going to relax this afternoon.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." As soon as she was out of sight, I took my phone out and called Nicholas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nicholas was speed-dial 4 on my phone. First, I had Dylan's cell, then home, and then my mom's cell. I still couldn't bring myself to take her number off- like it would be some way of keeping her alive, at least in my mind. So I had easily bumped Hazel's number down one, and put Nicholas's in her place.
I was standing inside the front doors when he pulled up in front of the school. He had a sports-y looking black car, but I couldn't tell you what kind if my life depended on it. I waited a minute, then took a deep breath and walked out. He looked over, surprised when I knocked on his window. He had been looking out the other way. He unlocked my door.
"Thanks," I said, slamming the door behind me. "I smell coffee." It was a radar I had developed in grade ten- even if I couldn't see it, I could smell if someone had been near it. Nicholas smiled, and reached down beside him to produce two steaming cups of Tim Horton's coffee. I raised my eyebrows- the only real problem we'd had was when it came to coffee- he loved Tim Horton's. I, on the other hand, had trouble with anything other than Second Cup. Although he always insisted on paying, we'd settled on a rotating pattern of Tim Horton's and Second Cup.
"It was my turn," he explained quickly. I smiled and kissed him quickly. When I pulled away, I couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. The night before had been hard on both of us.
I nodded. "So where are we going?"
His face turned serious. "There's something that we both need to do."
"Wow, you're in a good mood," Ashley said the next day at my locker.
"I was on a date last night," I admitted.
She raised one eyebrow. "Really? Would this be Spinner and you getting back together?"
I looked over at my locker, and busied myself pulling some books out, not meeting her gaze. "It wasn't Spinner."
"Then who?" she asked. When I looked back at her, she didn't seem hurt that I hadn't told her, but genuinely interested.
"This guy I met a couple of weeks ago."
"What's his name?"
"Nicholas."
"So. . . what's he like?"
I felt a smile spread slowly across my face. "He's really nice. He's smart. . . I don't know. We had a good time."
"Does he go to Degrassi?"
I looked away from her again. "No. He's, uh, he's more in the city, instead of being stuck in the middle of suburbia." So it wasn't a lie. I was just allowing her to believe that he was in high school, not fourth year university.
"Okay, enough with all that. Is he hot?"
I felt the smile spread further across. "We're talking male model gorgeous. In that mysterious way."
"Tall, dark, handsome?"
"Oh yeah."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Days started to go by faster after that. Still not as fast as the devastatingly long days before my mom was killed, but still, faster than before. We went out for a second time that weekend, and I explained to him that I needed to concentrate on studying for the next two weeks for exams. He took it well, and promised to come by with a coffee whenever I needed. But the night before my Math exam, the exam I was most stressed about, the exhaustion and the stress started getting to me. Plus, it was one month since my mom had died. Though I had promised myself to commit to studying, sometime around twelve I found myself holding a phone, his name displayed on the screen. All I had to do was press the talk button. Before I could change my mind, I pressed it.
It started ringing. One ring. My heart was pounding. What if he was out? Two rings. What if he was sleeping? How stupid could I be to call him when he was sleeping? Three rings. He must have caller ID, and must be ignoring me. That had to be the answer. Four rings. Oh, God, it was the one month anniversary of his sister's death too. What kind of idiot was I. A little insensitive bit-
"Hello?" His voice came smooth and low. He sounded tired, but not like he'd been sleeping. Just hearing his voice, the thought of him on the other end, and I felt whatever self control I had left starting to come undone within me.
"Nicholas?" I said softly.
"Paige. Are you alright?"
I had no doubt that my voice gave away exactly how I felt. "Yeah, I'm just. . . I needed to talk to someone."
"Tonight's hard for you, huh?"
I swallowed hard and nodded. It took me awhile to realize that he couldn't see me. "Yeah."
"Me too," he whispered.
I imagined him there, in his apartment that I'd never seen, sitting in the dark, his hair mussed and his eyes red, just as he'd been the first time I'd met him. The image was powerful, and I longed to reach out and touch him, just feel him there, beside me, knowing that he was feeling the same thing. Just to feel his touch, human contact. To know that he was there, and that in that instant, he wasn't going anywhere. No phantom drunk driver to kill him. He could be there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I don't know when I fell asleep, but when my alarm woke me up the next morning, I was spelled out sideways across my bed, shivering from lack of blankets, and still in my clothes from yesterday. My neck and the side of my face were sore, and when I sat up, I realized that I had fallen asleep on the phone. I picked it up, and heard soft breathing on the other end. Nicholas, I remembered. I gently put the phone back in it's cradle. I got up and looked in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy, and my face felt sore. I brushed away some hair that had stuck to my cheek. I was a mess. I didn't care. My limbs felt tired and heavy, and I moved slowly when brushing my hair and getting dressed. I threw some notes into my purse to review right before my exam, and started downstairs.
I decided against breakfast, but chose a cup of coffee to try and settle my stomach. It was quiet upstairs, and I realized that Dylan had already left. The keys sat neatly in the middle of the kitchen counter, and the car was out in the driveway. I wasn't fond of the idea of driving, but I had no other means of getting to school. I sighed, put my cup in the sink, and headed out to the car.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"That was brutal," Ashley said as we headed out of the exam room. "How do you think it went?"
I shrugged. "Okay. The stuff from the beginning of the year was a bit fuzzy, but the part from the second unit went well." I pulled out my cell phone and turned it on to check the time. My stomach was still roiling, and I wasn't in the mood for food, but I had been invited to lunch at eleven. It was ten thirty. I'd just tell them that I didn't want to go. I was about to turn it off when I noticed that there was a message. I looked around for teachers, the listened for it.
"Hi, Paige, it's Nicholas. I was just calling to wish you luck on your exam, and to make sure you turned your phone's off. Teachers get upset when you leave them on. Um, it's nine thirty now. . . my afternoon class is cancelled, so I was wondering if you wanted to get together this afternoon. There's something. . . anyways, just give me a call. We'll talk then."
"Raditch," Ashley warned, seeing him walking down the hall. Quickly turned my phone off and threw it in my bag as he walked by.
"Good morning girls," he said, not noticing anything.
"So are you coming for lunch?" Ashley asked.
I shook my head. "I'm still not feeling great. I'm just going to relax this afternoon.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." As soon as she was out of sight, I took my phone out and called Nicholas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nicholas was speed-dial 4 on my phone. First, I had Dylan's cell, then home, and then my mom's cell. I still couldn't bring myself to take her number off- like it would be some way of keeping her alive, at least in my mind. So I had easily bumped Hazel's number down one, and put Nicholas's in her place.
I was standing inside the front doors when he pulled up in front of the school. He had a sports-y looking black car, but I couldn't tell you what kind if my life depended on it. I waited a minute, then took a deep breath and walked out. He looked over, surprised when I knocked on his window. He had been looking out the other way. He unlocked my door.
"Thanks," I said, slamming the door behind me. "I smell coffee." It was a radar I had developed in grade ten- even if I couldn't see it, I could smell if someone had been near it. Nicholas smiled, and reached down beside him to produce two steaming cups of Tim Horton's coffee. I raised my eyebrows- the only real problem we'd had was when it came to coffee- he loved Tim Horton's. I, on the other hand, had trouble with anything other than Second Cup. Although he always insisted on paying, we'd settled on a rotating pattern of Tim Horton's and Second Cup.
"It was my turn," he explained quickly. I smiled and kissed him quickly. When I pulled away, I couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. The night before had been hard on both of us.
I nodded. "So where are we going?"
His face turned serious. "There's something that we both need to do."
