�Come in Joyce and Bill. Where�s Nick?� Kathleen asked as they entered the foyer.
�He wanted to drive himself, he should be here shortly.� Bill stated removing his coat. Joyce, Bill, and Kathleen entered the kitchen and greeted Melissa.
�Hello again Mel, how are you?� Joyce asked.
�Hello Mr. and Mrs. Carter. I�m doing well. You two look nice.�
�Thank you Mel, so do you.�
�Well dinner will be done soon would you two like something to drink?� Kathleen asked reaching into the refrigerator.
�Wine would be great, if you have it.� Joyce asked sitting down at the dining table.
�Yes we do. What about you Bill?�
�Wine will be fine.�
Knock�knock.
�Come on in Nick!� Kathleen yelled as poured three glasses of wine.
�Well this is where everyone is. Hi mom and dad.�
�Hi honey, you�re late!� Joyce stated looking at her son.
�I�m sorry about that, but I had to make a stop before I came.� Nick handed Kathleen a bouquet of lilies. �For inviting me over for dinner.�
�Oh Nick, that is so sweet of you.� She kissed him on his cheek. �I�m going to put them in some water.�
Nick walked over to Melissa and handed her a bouquet of white roses. "For just being you.�
�Thank you.� Melissa said accepting the flowers.
Nick couldn�t help, but take a long look at her. She looked so beautiful tonight. The green from her shirt brought out the hazel in her eyes.
�So is that why you were late?� Joyce asked her son.
�Yes, I wanted to give these two beautiful ladies flowers for their hospitality.� Nick grinned.
�That�s my son, the charmer. Don�t you remember their first date? Nick brought you flowers then too, Kathleen.� Bill replied looking at her.
Melissa remembered their first date like it was yesterday. Nick picked her up and then they had dinner and then went to a movie. In that theatre was where her and Nick had their first real kiss. She fought back the rest of the memory; she didn�t want to remember their past. Kathleen looked over at her daughter and saw her distressed face.
�Dinner should be done in a couple of minutes, why don�t we go and sit in the living room till then?� Kathleen, Bill, and Joyce headed into the living room, leaving Melissa and Nick alone.
�Are you going to join us?� Nick asked walking over to her.
�I need to finish chopping these vegetables for the salad.�
�Okay then, I�ll help you.� He grabbed a carrot and started cutting.
�No, you are a guest, go and join your parents.�
�I rather be here with you.� He looked up at her. Once again those eyes of his made it hard for her to breathe. A silence grew between them. �Do you like living in Chicago?�
�Why are you asking me about Chicago?�
�I�m just making small talk.�
�Chicago is a nice city, but it is so big and loud. It took me forever to get use to all the noises and people.�
�I never pictured you living in a big city. I could see you living in a small city or town. You aren�t a big city girl.�
�Well, things change, people change.� She rinsed off another mushroom. Nick stop cutting and glanced at her. �You haven�t changed Mel.�
�You don�t know me anymore. You haven�t seen me in two years; a lot can happen in two years.�
�Yes, that�s true. However, when I look into your eyes, I still see the Mel I grew up with.� He stared into her beautiful brown eyes.
�Just stop it Nick. Don�t act like nothing has happened.�
�I�m not trying to do that. I just want to be your friend. Is that so bad that I care about you?� Melissa ignored him and continued on cutting up the vegetables.
�Mel, you can�t ignore me all night.�
�I can try.�
�Do you hate me that much? Does our friendship not mean anything to you?�
�Excuse me? Does our friendship not mean anything to me? How dare you? You are the one who screwed up, not me.� Melissa tried to control her growing anger by focusing on cutting the vegetables.
�Are you going to ever forgive me for that?�
�Forgive you? How do you expect to�shit!�
�What?�
�I cut myself.� Melissa quickly went over to the sink and let the water run over her finger.
�Let me look at it.� He touched her hand.
�Don�t touch me. I�ll take care of it myself. I�m use to it; I have been taking care of myself for two years.� Melissa left the kitchen leaving Nick alone with his thoughts.
The rest of the dinner went as planned, no more fights; it was only because Melissa made sure she wasn�t alone with Nick.
�Dinner was delicious.� Joyce said as Bill helped her put on her coat.
�Thank you again for inviting us.� Bill put on his coat. �Where is our son?�
Melissa remained in the kitchen and started clearing off the table. She grabbed the last two plates and placed them in the dishwasher.
�Mel?�
She turned around and came face to face with Nick.
�I just wanted to apologize. If I said anything that hurt or upset you, I�m truly sorry.�
She looked into his eyes and she could see his sincerity. At that moment she felt like a complete brat.
�Goodnight Mel.� Nick said softly and then left.
Melissa sat at the kitchen table and kept replaying the night over and over in her head. She felt horrible; she hated having all this anger in her.
�Mel?�
�Over here mom.�
�What are you doing?�
�Thinking about how much of a bitch I was to Nick tonight.�
Kathleen pulled a chair out and sat down next to her daughter. �What happened?�
�I don�t know. We were talking and I just got angry.� She stood up and ran a hand through her hair. "I hate this mom, I have all this anger in me and I don�t know what to do with it.�
Kathleen walked over to her daughter and gave her a hug. �Honey, you really need to talk to Nick. I think once you do a lot of this anger you feel with go away.�
�You�re right mom. I�m going to go over there now.�
�Okay honey, by the time you get home I�ll probably be in bed.�
�Goodnight mom.� She kissed her mother�s cheek. Melissa grabbed her purse and keys then left.
�Oh honey, please help our daughter. She is so lost and she doesn�t even know it.� Kathleen stated looking up as she talked to her husband.
�I can�t believe I�m doing this.� She said as she stood in front of Nick�s house. She took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.
�Hang on, I�m coming.� Melissa could hear Nick walking towards the door.
�Mel, what are you doing here?� Nick asked once he opened the door.
�I wanted to apologize for my behavior tonight.�
�Come in.�
�I don�t want to intrude.�
�You won�t be besides Brian isn�t here. I think he is out with Sam. Please come in.� Melissa smiled and then entered the house.
She looked around the old house. It was your so called bachelor pad. Not many decorations, just furniture.
�You have a nice place.�
�It�s okay, have a seat.� Melissa sat down on the dark blue couch.
�Do you want something to drink?�
�No, I�m fine. Nick can you please sit down, we need to talk.� Nick nodded and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.
�I�m so sorry for yelling at you tonight. You didn�t deserve my rage.�
�I understand Mel. I hurt you badly; I understand why you don�t want me around.�
Melissa took a deep breath. �Yes, Nick you hurt me. You hurt me very badly, but that doesn�t excuse my behavior.� She turned to face him better.
�Nick, I have all this anger inside of me and I can�t control it.�
�Anger from what I did?�
�Yes and no. A lot has happened since I left Fairview two years ago, so much that I don�t recognize myself anymore. For so long I have been numb and I was okay with that because then I didn�t have to worry about feeling anything. But then my mother called telling me that my dad died. Once again I was thrown into a situation where I had all these emotions around and I didn�t know how to deal with them.�
�I�m so sorry Mel.�
�I know you are Nick. I guess what I�m trying to say is, I don�t want to be like that anymore. I don�t want to hold onto this anger anymore. That is where you come in.�
�I�ll help anyway I can.�
�You might change your mind once you hear how.�
Nick reached for her hand and held it in his. �I want to help Mel.�
�Okay, I need to know why you cheated on me. Was it because you weren�t happy with me or you didn�t love me anymore?�
�No, god no Mel. I was happy with you; I had found the love of my life at such a young age, I couldn�t have been happier.�
�Then why did you cheat?�
�We had just graduated and I was so excited about the new world that now was opening up to us. I was so anxious to get out of Fairview.�
�Yeah, I remember. You wanted to travel, see the world.�
�I did, but then I thought about us.� He squeezed her hand. �I thought about you going away to college in Chicago and me at state. All of a sudden, I couldn�t breathe. I hated the idea of being away from you, even for a moment. I mean we grew up together and now we were going to be miles away. But I knew how excited you were about going to Chicago, so I knew I couldn�t ask you to join me at state. So I asked my parents if I could go away to college in Chicago, but they had already made a payment to the university, so it was out of the question.�
Melissa listened as Nick continued telling her what happened that night at Brian�s party.
�I went to Brian�s party trying to not think about any of it. But I couldn�t stop thinking about the future, our future. So I started drinking and one beer lead to another and another. I got so plastered that I couldn�t think straight and that was when I ran into Paige.�
Melissa�s stomach turned when he said her name. She hated that girl even before she slept with Nick. She was the school�s slut and everyone knew it. She had made her rounds around the school and she even had tried to steal Nick from her. Nick turned her down flat, but that didn�t stop her from trying again.
�I don�t know exactly what happened, all I remember next is seeing you. Seeing your eyes fill with tears, your hands covering your mouth, you sobbing as you stood there looking at me.� Nick pulled away from her and stood up. He couldn�t let her see how upset he was with himself. He ruined the best thing he had in his life. Her.
�Nick.� She walked over to him. �I never knew. I just assume I wasn�t enough for you.�
Nick turned and looked at her. �Mel, you were more than enough. You made me so happy. You showed me what love really means. I don�t regret one moment I shared with you.� He said pushing her hair back; he then noticed how close they were to each other.
�You made me happy too, Nick. That was why I didn�t understand why you cheated. I would have gone to state with you in a heartbeat, I loved you. I wanted to be with you, I never wanted to leave you.� She replied looking into his crystal blue eyes.
As he looked into her eyes, he felt this feeling in the pit of his stomach. The feeling was of want, he wanted to touch her, hold her, kiss her. He leaned into her and he felt her arms go around his neck. Their lips brushed slightly when�
�Nick, I�m back. Oh, I�m sorry.� Brian stated turning his back. �I�ll just come back later.�
�No, Brian its okay, I should be heading home.� She grabbed her purse and then turned to Nick. "Thank you.�
�You�re welcome.� Melissa smiled and headed over to the door.
�Bye Mel.�
�Bye Brian.� Once Melissa was gone, Brian joined Nick in the living room.
�Care to tell me what I walked in on?�
�I don�t know Bri, but something has happened.� He sat down on the couch. �We had a conversation and we didn�t fight. The next thing I know, we were about to kiss till you came. Thanks again for that!�
�Sorry man, I didn�t know you would have a girl in here, let alone Mel.�
�It�s okay Brian; something tells me that it won�t be the last time.� Nick stated with a grin.
