Nick's Obsession

Hurtful Words

Chapter two – Hurtful WordsSitting at my vanity which was a present from my boyfriend, because he knew I loved doing my hair and make-up when I was in that kind of mood, I was blow-drying my hair. Evan left that morning together with Zoey, heading to Tokyo for work. We wouldn't see him in three months which made me miss him already. He was always around, always annoying Nick and entertaining me. I knew we could stay in touch via email and text, but it wasn't the same as always having him around. We always joked about Evan being our adoptive child and right now it did feel like our child left the house.

"Emily!" I think I heard Nick shout my name, but as I glanced over my shoulder I didn't see him so I continued drying my hair.

I was fluffing up my hair, actually liking the Hollywood style of it when I definitely heard Nick scream my name this time.

"What?!" I called back, confused why he was so loud this early in the morning.

"Get over here!"

It annoyed me that he called me over like I was his pet, he never did that before. I knew something was wrong, seriously wrong for Nick to raise his voice at me. Turning off the blow dryer I put it on my vanity, ran my fingers through my slightly damp hair and left the bedroom. As I walked over the living room I tightened my robe around my waist, getting ready for whatever was awaiting me.

Entering the living room I froze as my eyes landed on a man I hadn't seen or spoken to for a very long time now. When I moved to New York I called him every day, giving him updates on my life. That became less and less when I started my job at the club and met Brandon. He made me realize that sharing the same DNA doesn't necessarily make people a family. Brandon had always been there for me, he never made me feel like I was a burden to him. Max, the man who was glaring daggers at me did make me feel like that. So I stopped contacting him altogether, thinking he didn't mind that. Guess I was wrong.

"Max?"

"Emily."

"I didn't know you had a brother, Emily." Nick stated, making me shift my gaze to him, "I'm pretty sure you never mentioned him to me."

I didn't want Nick to be that angry at me, especially over Max. I hadn't seen him in months or spoken to him in months for that matter. Max didn't matter to me, I knew that was harsh, but it was reality. I didn't love him the same way I loved Brandon, I struggled with that for a while, but then I let it go. I let Max go. So him standing in our living room wasn't appreciated.

"I never mentioned him because Max and I aren't close."

"Excuse me?"

"It's the truth." I didn't want to hurt Max, but it was how I felt about our relationship, "I'm closer to Brandon than Max. We haven't seen each other or spoken to each other for months. So I more or less forgot about him."

Max snorted, "You forgot about me?"

"Emily." Nick was scolding me, he didn't do it yesterday but he was definitely doing it now.

I stared at Max not feeling anything as I looked at him. I mean if you hadn't seen your family for a long while you were supposed to be excited, affectionate, but I didn't feel any of that. Max could be any other guy in the room and glancing at Nick I could tell it pissed him off. He wasn't having it which made me wonder why. My relationship with Max had nothing to do with him, with us.

"I'm sorry, but it's not exactly like we were having tea parties every Sunday afternoon."

"Emily." Nick warned me once again, he turned to look at Max, "Listen, you're in town now and I I'll be straight with you, I don't feel comfortable with you leaving like this. So how about you go back to the hotel get settled in and we'll meet up for lunch?"

It was my turn to scold my boyfriend who thought he could make plans without my approval. I wasn't okay with that. I also didn't understand why he cared so much about Max. He never met the guy!

"Nick, I don't think-"

"We'll talk later." He told me, not even bothering to look at me. He was solemnly focusing on Max and it really pissed me off.

"Thanks." Max's look softened for my nosy boyfriend, "My number is on the card." He handed Nick his business card, "Text me the time and place. I'll be there."

Nick showed Max out, being very friendly with him. I didn't care if he was friendly with Max or not, what I did care about was the fact that he was making plans without my consent. I didn't like that, I never liked that. I'm pretty sure I made that clear to him once. This time he couldn't flash me a smile and think it was over and done with. I folded my arms across my chest and waited for Nick to return. When he walked into the living room his look told me he wasn't letting this go either. He was just as pissed.

"What the hell was that all about?" He asked me, thankfully not raising his voice at me this time.

"Excuse me? You're the one who needs to explain things. Why did you make plans without discussing it first? I really don't like that, Nick."

He looked at me like I just told him aliens were invading earth, "He is your brother. You don't just ignore your family for months and then act like they're a complete stranger when they come over to check on your wellbeing. So again, what the hell, Emily?"

"It's none of your concern how I interact with my family and for the record Max and I were never close. He was too busy setting up his company while I tried to live my life here. When I first moved here I called him a lot, informing him about things, but he never cared. Then the calls became less and less and he didn't care then either. Because we never were close enough to care about each other's lives. When I got attacked I considered calling him, but I knew he'd make a big deal out of it so I didn't. I told Brandon instead."

"Emily." Nick sighed, "You should have called him. I know you think of Brandon as your brother, but you can't change the fact that Max is your actual brother and despite what you think he actually does care about you. If he didn't he wouldn't have shown up today."

"Well, it took him long enough to actually give a crap about me again." I narrowed my eyes on Nick, "I wonder why, maybe because I'm in a relationship with you? Have you stopped to think about that? He had plenty of opportunities to show up, but he shows up now? Don't you find the timing odd?"

Turning on my heels I walked back to the bedroom to finish up getting ready for the day. I didn't feel like doing my hair and makeup anymore. I shrugged my robe off, slipped my panties and bra on and searched for something to wear. Not feeling like dressing up either I grabbed a simple long black dress, threw it on and slipped into some flats.

"He is your brother." Nick had followed me, obviously not done with the conversation, "You don't treat your family like that."

"Just because we share DNA doesn't mean he is my family."

"It actually does mean that." Nick threw back at me, "He is worried about you."

I hated that he kept saying that to me. He met Max like five seconds ago so why the hell was he on his side? He didn't know Max at all, he knew me for months. It flared my annoyance hearing him talk like that about my brother.

"I'm so glad you like Max." I told him snottily, "Then you can go meet him for lunch by yourself."

He grabbed my wrist when I tried to walk away from him, "You're going too, Em."

I tried to pull away from him but he wouldn't let me, "No I'm not."

He tightened his grip on my wrist, "Yes, you are."

He wasn't letting it go so instead of keeping the loop going I turned around and faced him, "Why do you need me to go? What does it matter? You can tell Max I'm doing fine and send him off."

He released my wrist but didn't back off, he was all up in my space, "I need you to show and have an actual conversation with your brother. I need the woman who I'm having a child with to not turn her back on her family."

"What are you trying to say?" I knew this wasn't about Max anymore, it was something different that nagged at him.

"What I'm trying to say is that if you can easily turn your back to someone who you grew up with, treating him like a complete stranger what makes me or our child any different?"

I couldn't believe he said that. I actually felt him stab me with a knife and twist it. The pain was spreading across my body, making it hard for me to breath. Whoever said words didn't hurt was a fool.

"I can't believe you're saying that." The words were barely a whisper but the pain that flashed across Nick's eyes told me he heard me, "f**k you."

The words left my lips before I even realized what I said. I regretted it the minute I said it though. Not being able to deal with it a second longer I dashed out the room, hearing Nick's footsteps behind me but I didn't turn around, not once. I grabbed my bag from the living room and headed out the door.

"Emily!"

I didn't stop once, I kept walking ignoring the tears streaming down my face. I was about to reach the elevator when Nick grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face him.

"Things were getting out of hand." He didn't comment on me being a total b***h to him, maybe he was letting it go because he knew it was only because of emotions running high, but I couldn't let it go, "Let's go back inside, calm down and talk about it. We'll tell Max-"

"I need space." I told him my eyes on his leather shoes instead, "I'm going to meet Brandon and take a minute. You do whatever you want. I just can't right now."

He placed both his hands on my shoulders, holding tightly onto me, "We had a fight, it got intense. I know it scared you, but we'll get through it. We just need to calm down and discuss it. We'll be alright."

I nodded, finally meeting his eyes. He looked worried, pain spread across his face. Seeing that look on his face gripped my heart, only making me regret my words more.

"I know, but I really need space right now."

He held my gaze for a while before he let go, "Got it. I'll give you space, but do me a favor to ease my mind, let Miles take you to Brandon's and also pick you up whenever you're ready."

I could do that. I knew Nick would always worry about me.

"Okay."

"See you later."

I closed my eyes when he leaned in kissed me. Normally his kisses made me burst with happiness, this time his kiss hurt. It was like he was trying to mend things. He didn't have to though. It was me who was the one who went out of line.

"I'm sorry." I whispered when I pulled away, "See you later."

I stepped into the elevator when it arrived and turned around to look at him, "We'll be okay, Em." He told me before the door closed.

Sighing I closed my eyes and leaned back, this was our first major fight and I hated it. I hated that I told him that, I really wished I could go back in time and take it back. The thing was you could never take back what you said. It would be between us forever. I knew Nick brushed it off as if it didn't happen, but I knew better. The mind was a tricky thing. He'd remember it.