12. Let the drama begin…
Nick and Miley were cuddled up on Nick's couch. They've been together for a month now and things couldn't get better. They had lunch together every day. Miley's career as a model looked really good right now. Nick was better at work than ever. His boss thought about promoting him. And both of them knew after only one month that they loved each other. They haven't said it to each other yet, because both thought it was too early, but they did. They showed each other though.
Miley sighed and dug her head deep into Nick's side. It was late on a Saturday. They had no work the following day and Miley was staying over. They watched some show, but no one was really watching. Miley suggested watching TV. Nick just agreed.
Nick didn't really concentrate on the show. He thought of the wedding, which was in two weeks. He had to ask Miley soon because he knew that girls needed their time with shopping and stuff. And she definitely had to shop for this wedding. He sighed. He came to the conclusion that it was time.
"How about a wedding?" Miley looked at him with big eyes. What was he talking about?
"Nick, don't you think that a wedding is a little too early for us? I mean, we are together only one month and getting married right now just seems…" Nick chuckled.
"I'm talking about a friends' wedding. He's getting married and I thought I should take you." Miley was quiet for a few minutes. Then she smiled really big.
"Yeah! We should totally go! Oh my god, I'm so excited right now! I should call Demi. No, she's probably asleep. And shopping won't work either, darn. Oh wait, when is the wedding anyway?" Nick chuckled.
"Well, in two weeks." Miley nodded.
"Good, that leaves me time to pick out the perfect dress. And shoes, gosh, the shoes! They have to be comfy, but elegant. Since when did you know?" Nick wasn't sure how to answer that. He decided on the truth.
"Well, about six weeks." Miley looked at him shocked.
"Six weeks?! Why didn't you tell me back then?!" Nick sighed.
"I wasn't sure if I should ask you, if you would even agree to be my girlfriend. And then, I just forgot." Miley groaned.
"You should have told me sooner! Now, I'm totally freaking out here! And work! Oh my god, this is not even my own wedding! And I'm already stressed out! I really don't want to know how my own wedding will be like! Great, now I'm too excited to sleep." Nick chuckled.
"It'll go by soon. You'll be tired in no time." Miley glared at Nick.
"I'm mad you right now!"
"Why?"
"Because you didn't tell me sooner! I'm going to bed, night." She got up and walked into Nick's bedroom. Nick sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He knew he should have told her sooner, or lied to her. But he couldn't lie to her. He knew that a relationship, based on lies, was not a good relationship. Nick got up and followed her.
Miley plopped down on Nick's bed pouting. After about ten seconds she realized that it was stupid of her to act like that. She sighed and took off her clothes and put Nick's clothes on. She always slept in them. They were comfy.
Nick walked into his room, a little scared. But when he walked in, nothing happened. He saw Miley sitting on his bed, looking at the window. Nick walked up to her and sat down next to her. He started rubbing her back.
"I'm sorry; I should have told you sooner." Miley shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry. I totally overreacted. It's fine. I know I can find the perfect dress for that wedding. Is it in church or in a garden?" Nick shrugged.
"I don't know." Miley groaned.
"Ugh, you're not helping!" Nick chuckled and hugged Miley.
"I'm sorry." Miley shrugged.
"I'll just find one for both occasions." Nick nodded.
"That you do. And now, I'm tired, aren't you?" Miley nodded and they laid down in each other's arms. Nothing was better than sleeping in the arms of a person you love. Maybe you haven't even told that person, but you know that you do and that's enough.
A knock at the door woke Nick up. He looked at a sleeping Miley, who was still in his arms by the way. He smiled a little at her before he put her aside gently. He got up after that and went to answer the door. Of course he checked the clock first. It was two a.m. A little early for a visitor, but he shrugged and answered the door anyway.
The first thing that he thought when he opened the door was 'Who the hell is that?!'. The second one was that he probably got the wrong door. He smiled at the man at his door politely and tiredly.
"I'm sorry, sir. But I think you got the wrong door number." Just as Nick tried to close the door, the man shook his head. He put his hand on the door.
"No, I don't think so. I'm here for my daughter." Nick looked at the man shocked. Was this Miley's dad?
"Uhm… who are you talking about?" The man sighed.
"Miley Stewart, my daughter. She's here. I know she is." Nick decided to not let him in that easily. He could be a stalked after all. And what father comes to look for his daughter at two a.m. at night? Either not a good one or a crazy one. So he shook his head.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about. Why would she be here and how would you know?" The man sighed.
"You're her boyfriend, aren't you? And I know because I called a friend of hers and they said she was here." Nick shook his head.
"I might be her boyfriend, but only Demi knows about her being here and Demi would've told Miley if you called."
"I asked a guy called Mitchell. He said that I should call this other girl and I did. I never said my name or why I wanted to know. I just want to see my daughter." Nick shook his head.
"No! You can't come in here and expect me to get your daughter after you left her twelve years ago!" The guy sighed. That's when Nick noticed that he didn't even know the name of the guy.
"What's your name anyway?"
"I'm John Stewart. You might not know why I left her but…"
"I know why you left! You left because your wife died! You left a ten-year-old girl all alone by herself. You have no idea how much misery and heartbreak and hurt and pain you caused her. Now I'd appreciate it if you just left and never…"
"Dad?" Nick turned around to see Miley standing there with half-opened eyes. But she seemed shocked. John Stewart looked past Nick and at his daughter. He couldn't believe it.
"Mile? Is that really you?" Miley wasn't sure what to do. She hasn't seen her father in twelve years and suddenly, he was there again. She walked up to Nick and put her arms around his waist unsure. Nick put her arm around her to reassure her. John sighed.
"I'm sorry that…" Miley shook her head. Suddenly she was really angry.
"No, you're not sorry. If you were sorry, you wouldn't even have done it! But you did! and now you're just back because you saw me on TV, isn't that right?" John looked down.
"I'm not coming back because I want money from you or anything. I'm coming back because I want to come back! I want to be back in your life again. It took me some time to realize that and some time to get over your mother's death, but I managed too and now I'm back!" Miley shook her head disbelievingly. This was unreal. In no way was her dad back suddenly. Nick rubbed her shoulder.
"Seriously, 'Dad', if you were here just to be back, you would have come by daylight and not at god knows when! I can't deal with this right now! Maybe… maybe we'll meet up tomorrow or something, but I'm tired and sore and… Just leave now dad. Come back tomorrow and… I don't know. I'll be in the bedroom." The last part was directed at Nick before she turned and left. Nick nodded at her and turned back to John. He handed him a number. He didn't really want to do it, but since Miley said so…
"This is my phone number, alright? She'll most likely be here with me anyway, so you just have to call me." John nodded and smiled at little.
"Thank you. I'll call tomorrow then." Nick nodded and closed the door without saying good-bye. He wasn't sure about all this, but he just had to do what Miley said. Yeah, call him whipped, but he didn't care. He wanted to make Miley happy.
Nick walked back to his bedroom tiredly. Only then did he notice that he opened the door with nothing but his boxers on. Great first impression on your girlfriend's dad… or whatever he was to her. He reached the bedroom and saw a figure sitting on his bed. Of course it was Miley. Who else? He shook his head and walked up to her. That was when he noticed that her shoulder were shaking lightly. He quickly sat down next to her.
"What's wrong?" Miley looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"He's back. Just like that. And I don't know if I want him to be! I'm not sure if I want to call him 'Dad' anymore. I just… I don't know anything anymore. He… he looks so old and worn out! Does he really want to be here or is it just because I suddenly am on TV? Maybe he thought I was dead? Nicky help me." Nick sighed and hugged Miley really tight.
"Whatever you do, Miley, I know that you're going to do the right thing. And I'm going to support you in whatever you do. Alright? And now, let's get back to sleep because I'm really tired." Miley giggled slightly and kissed Nick's cheek.
"You're the greatest and now, let's go to sleep." Nick nodded and they laid down. Miley fell asleep pretty quickly. Nick on the other hand thought back to when Mr. Stewart was at his door. But he fell asleep too anyway. He was tired and the following day would be full of drama. Nick sighed before he fell asleep.
The two of them didn't even know that there was even more drama to come than just Miley's dad. But maybe it was better that they didn't know. Because if they knew…god knows what they would have done. But right then, in the night, they were just happy that they were in the same bed, in each other's arms and safe there. And that was good.
"Did he call yet?" Miley looked at Nick anxiously. Nick shook his head. He told Miley that he gave John his number after they had their breakfast.
"No, he didn't call in the last five minutes since you last asked." Miley shrugged nervously. They were seated on Nick's couch, just awaiting John's call. Nick wanted to do something but Miley didn't want to. She tried to prepare herself for whatever was to come, but she couldn't do that. She had no idea what her dad could want from her.
Miley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Nick noticed how tense she was. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer.
"Don't worry so much, Miles. Everything will be fine. And I'll support whatever decision you'll make." Miley smiled a little at Nick's statement. She knew he would.
"Alright, I think I'll just talk to him first. To find out his real intentions and stuff. You know…" Nick nodded and kissed her temple.
"Yeah, I know." They sighed and just waited. There was nothing to say. Until the phone rang. Miley jumped up. Nick answered.
"Nick Gray speaking." The answer came almost immediately.
"John Stewart, here." Nick nodded. Miley asked him silently if it was indeed her dad.
"I know. Well, what do you have to say?" Miley watched Nick talk to her dad. She didn't want to listen to the conversation. After only five minutes Nick hung up.
"We'll meet him in ten minutes at Patty's. Ironic how everything important in my life happens there." Miley looked at him confused.
"Well, I met you there. We went there to meet up, you told me about your past. And now we're meeting up with your dad to talk about your past. And this will decide your future as well. So it will have some impact on mine as well." Miley looked at Nick with loving eyes. He was so sweet and he looked sincere.
"Nick, you are the cutest thing I have ever met." Nick shook his head.
"I don't want to be cute." He pouted. Miley rolled her eyes.
"Alright, you are the hottest thing I have ever met. And you are so sweet to me. I so don't deserve you." Nick shook his head.
"If anything, I don't deserve you. Oh, right, we have to go." Miley giggled and nodded. Together they walked to Nick's car and drove over to Patty's. They walked in. Nick recognized the guy from last night instantly. Probably because he looked exactly like last night. Only more tired. John got up. He looked at his daughter and instantly got tears in his eyes. She reminded him so much of his wife.
Her death was a rather tragic one. It happened on a Wednesday night. John Stewart just got home from work. His daughter Miley was playing in the backyard and he found time to watch her laugh for and play around. He had to pick up his wife from work in then minutes, but still he had time to admire his daughter, who he thought was the perfection of beautiful. He looked at the time to see that he already had to leave. He shot his daughter a smile, before he told her that he had to leave. She responded by showing him her thumb. He smiled once again and left the house.
He got in his truck and drove to the hospital to get his wife. They didn't have two cars. Not enough money and John's stubbornness let them have only his old truck. John got to the hospital in time. His wife was sick. She had brain-cancer and on this day, she got treatment. John would always pick her up. They were only waiting for things to change. Either for good or bad was in the hands of god, but they accepted the fact that Elizabeth Stewart had to die one day or another, sooner than wanted anyway.
His wife came walking up to the truck with a smile on her face, similar to Miley's. He loved her smile. She kissed him as she reached him. John smiled at her and kissed her back. Usually her kisses were short and sweet, but this time she put much more effort to it. John was confused but he certainly liked it. After she pulled away she shot him the puppy-dog face. He always fell for it. She asked him if she could drive the car once. John sighed and agreed. It wasn't a far way and the streets weren't that popular.
Elizabeth got to drive a few meters when suddenly everything went black for her. John couldn't do anything when she lost control of the car. They fell into a river since they were crossing a bridge. John lost his consciousness and couldn't remember anything from that accident. But it seemed like Elizabeth was suddenly conscious again, because supposedly she saved John. People told John that she pulled him out of the sinking car and then died because her lungs couldn't survive any longer. John thought it was his fault. If he hadn't let her drive the car, she would be alive. Until that day, Miley didn't know how her mother died and John was about to change that.
"I'm glad you came." Miley wasn't sure how to respond. Should she be rude or nice? What would Nick say if she was rude? Would Nick like 'Rude Miley'? Probably not, so she smiled slightly.
"Well, I'm glad that you came back." Okay, that was probably too much and a lie, at least partly, so she was kind of satisfied. John didn't believe her. She could see it in her eyes that he was not really welcomed right now. But he smiled at her anyway. Then he smiled at Nick.
"You got yourself a nice boyfriend." Nick wasn't sure if that was a compliment or kind of a threat. Would he beat him up because Nick wasn't completely nice? Probably not, he could sue him. But Nick wasn't the person to do that. He took it as a compliment and smiled just like Miley.
Miley sighed. Was he going to act like the father that he never was? Was her seriously starting to be strict and ask Nick about things not even she knew yet? She would send him away immediately if he did that.
"I know. He's the best." Miley sat down and pulled Nick down next to her. He put his arm around her. John smiled at them and sat down.
"Well, Mile, I'm here for multiple reasons. First of all, I want to apologize for leaving you just like that." Miley nodded. Apology not accepted yet. But she probably would.
"Okay, can you tell me, why you left? This question haunted me ever since you did leave." John sighed and nodded.
"I'll get to that. The second reason I came has to do with why I left. Actually the second reason was the reason why I left." Miley was a little confused. Nick was a lot confused. Now he knew where Miley got the confusing talking from.
"Okay, tell me then." John sighed.
"When your mother died… your mother died because… I let her drive the car. You never knew. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to hate me. She asked me to drive the car that crashed into the river and I let her. I shouldn't have, but I did. She had a blackout and lost control over her body and over the car. I couldn't catch the steering wheel fast enough and we just fell over the bridge. I can't remember anything happening down in that river, but they told me that your mom pulled me out of that water and then died at the impact." Miley looked at her father shocked. She never knew that. She always thought her mother was hit by a bus! Her father said so himself! But what she didn't get was why her mother even had a blackout. So she asked.
John Stewart sighed and got himself ready for the hardest part. Miley didn't know about Elizabeth's cancer. They thought she was too young to understand. So she never knew that her mother was sick already.
"Your mother had brain cancer, Miley. I had to pick her up from the hospital. She just had a treatment and I let her drive that car. She was sick and I still let her drive. I know that it was my entire fault and you can blame me. And that is why I left town. I couldn't live with the guilt of killing my sick wife and lying to you." Miley shook her head slowly. Her mom had cancer? Her mother? The always bubbly and healthy-looking woman who gave birth to her and raised her until 10 years old? She couldn't believe it.
Nick was shocked himself. He wasn't sure what to do. That girl has lived through so much and then she finds out her mother had cancer. And you're her boyfriend and can't even help her. You can't say you know how she feels because you simply don't. You can't say everything was going to be fine because you know it wouldn't. You can't say that everything was alright because you know it isn't. And that is how Nick felt that moment. He couldn't tell her anything. He just hugged her tightly to his body.
"She-she didn't have cancer. She always played with me, I remember! She didn't lose her hair… she was healthy! You are lying to me!" John shook his head. He knew this would come. He was stuck in denial himself for a really long time.
"I'm not lying to you. She really did have cancer." Miley started crying. Nick rubbed her back. She couldn't really believe that her mother had cancer. She also couldn't find a reason why they wouldn't tell her. She was their daughter! She had a right to know these things.
"But… why didn't you tell me?" John sighed.
"Because you were too young! You wouldn't have understood if we would have told you. And your mother didn't want you to think any different of her. So we decided it would be best if we didn't tell you. I'm sorry. I know we should have. But…" Miley sighed deeply and dug her head into Nick's shoulder.
"And why are you back now? I get why you left and I personally don't think that it's your fault. And Mom would have died either way so… but why did you come back? After all those years… I thought I'd never see you again." John nodded.
"Honestly, I never planned on coming back either. But I just… I don't know. I guess when I saw you on TV that was the last straw and I knew I had to see you again. I didn't come for money or anything. I came for forgiveness. And I really hope you can forgive me." Miley sighed and looked at Nick. He had to help her.
Nick looked back at Miley. He knew that she wanted his help. She practically screamed it in his face. He sighed and nodded. He knew that if Miley didn't forgive her dad now she'd regret it later. So he told her to forgive John.
Miley saw Nick nod. She needed that. She wanted him to nod or say that she should forgive John. She wanted to forgive him anyway, but if Nick had shook his head she wouldn't have. She knew that she made a few stupid decisions in her life and Nick was almost clean from little scandals. He would decide the right thing. And with Nick's nod she knew that she would have done the right thing anyway.
Miley looked at John. Just one more look to see if he was sincere. The pleading in his eyes and the desperate look in his face made her crack completely. She nodded.
"I forgive you. But you have to know that whether you stay or not, I won't go back to the way things used to be just like that. You have to earn my trust back. That won't be that hard, honestly. I liked Nick the second I saw him… no wait, the first time I saw him I was mad at him… But the first time we met properly because the first time we saw each other he spilled his coffee over me although I know it was on accident, but anyway… I'm rambling, aren't I?" Nick nodded and chuckled. Miley giggled and John grinned. Miley was still the same. John nodded.
"I understand. I'm glad you forgave me just like that." Miley smiled slightly and looked up at Nick before she looked down again.
"Well, you have to thank Nick for that. He made me better person." Nick rolled his eyes.
"You were a great person the moment I met you. How can I make you even better?" Miley blushed.
"How can you think I was a great person? I was mad at you!" Nick chuckled.
"Well, I liked you the first time I laid eyes on you. Ask Larry, he made fun of me. I thought you were great. I even had a dream about you before you came into my office." Miley laughed. Nick blushed this time. John smiled at their interaction. Miley looked at her father.
"You see, Nick is my agent. And he spilled coffee on me one day before I went to go meet him as my agent. We didn't know that he was my agent then and so I was just really angry at him. And then I… wait, I forgot what I wanted to say. Oh well, anyway, I thought he was cute, but I was mad at him so I ignored that fact. And then the next day, when I saw it was him, I was so shocked. And he was too. And I wasn't mad at him anymore because… well, he was cute. So… what was I even talking about?" Nick chuckled at his girlfriend.
"You were probably writing a novel…" Miley rolled her eyes. John laughed.
"You are one talkative girl, aren't you?" Miley giggled.
"Always was, always will be." They talked a while longer and Miley told John everything about hers and Nick's relationship. Nick thought it was unnecessary to talk about it like that, but Miley shrugged and kept on talking.
They left Patty's at around four. Miley was mostly satisfied. Of course, she was still confused about everything, but all together she liked how the afternoon turned out.
Nick was proud of Miley. She was nice to a person who left her life just like that. She forgave her father just like that too. His girlfriend was amazing and he let her know too. He kissed her as soon as they entered her apartment.
Miley welcomed the kiss by kissing back. She giggled a little when Nick's tongue glided over her lips. She opened her mouth and they kept on kissing.
Nick pulled back after some time and smiled at Miley. She smiled back and blushed a little too. She still blushed whenever they kissed, even though they made out a lot. Nick chuckled and put his hand on her cheek.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Miley blushed even more and looked down.
"Not really, but okay." Nick kissed her cheek.
"But you are! You forgave your dad! I'm so proud of you." Miley rolled her eyes slightly.
"You would have done the same." Nick nodded.
"Yeah, I would have. But I think it was brave of you to forgive your dad like that. Maybe I wouldn't have forgave him. I didn't go through what you did. And I bet your dad doesn't know what happened to you after he left. So…" Miley nodded sadly. She looked down with tears in her eyes. Nick noticed and he quickly wiped the tears away that already fell.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring that up again. I just won't." Miley nodded and smiled sadly at him. She took a deep breath and smiled again, this time happily.
"You're the perfect boyfriend." Nick blushed lightly. Miley giggled.
"Aw, am I making you blush?" Nick shook his head.
"No, I'm not blushing and you're not making me blush. Besides, I can't be any more perfect than you." Now Miley blushed and Nick chuckled.
"Aw, am I making you blush?" He mocked her and she buried her head into Nick's neck.
"Stop it." Nick put his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him. He kissed her head and pulled back a little so he could look at her.
"I think we should go now. We're still in the middle of the streets." Miley looked around and frowned.
"I don't want to move…" Nick chuckled. She was sometimes acting like a child, but he found it cute.
"Then I'll just carry you." And with that said he wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms found their way around his neck. They walked to the car like that. Nick was sure they got a few weird stares, but he didn't care. To him, it was just Miley and him.
He let her down in front of the car and opened the car door for her. Miley got in. Nick leaned forward and gave her a soft peck before he got into the car himself. Miley smiled at him.
"Thank you." Nick smiled at her. He didn't question why she thanked him. He knew it. It was because he was there for her whenever she needed him. It was because he was nice to her father even though he knew about everything that happened to her when her dad wasn't there. And because he carried her to his car.
They drove to his apartment. Miley was quiet through the whole drive. That wasn't usual for her, but Nick knew that she had to think about her relationship with her father. She wasn't sure if this was going to work out perfectly. And she was scared, scared that her past might repeat herself. She was fine without her father and now that he was back in her life, she wasn't sure if she could lose him again. But she had to someday, because he was just another human being and everybody dies sooner or later. So that's why she thought about her decision. Maybe she made the right choice, maybe she didn't. All she knew was that losing her father a second time would be even worse than the first time.
Nick looked at Miley while she thought. She looked so concentrated and confused. He didn't want her life to be like that. But he knew he couldn't change it. And that was what bugged him. He couldn't do anything for her. He could just be by her side as often as possible. And that's what he planned to do. Always be there for her, whenever she needed him. He somewhat knew that that was the only thing Miley needed. And then he glanced at her again and as if on cue, Miley turned her head in Nick's direction as well. They looked each other in the eyes and smiled. Both thought the same when they did so: "I love you".
I'm so sorry that I updated so late! But I was on vacation. We went skiing and I didn't have any internet there. I was going crazy, but I was able to write a new chapter. I think, this one's the longest for I've ever written for this story, so don't be too mad at me, please?
I tried to get internet-access, but my mom didn't allow me too. So that's why I updated so late. I'm writing a new story as well and I think I might upload it today. And now to She Said, He Said. I'm kind of on a writer's block, but I'm at the new chapter. So, look out for that too.
Anyway, I really hope you liked that chapter and please review!!!