Nick's Obsession

Calm before the Storm

Chapter three – Calm before the StormPushing through Brandon I kicked off my flats and got comfortable on the couch, laying down on my side while I held onto one of the gray, comfy pillows. I could hear Brandon close the door and walk into the living room, feeling his eyes take me in.

"What happened?" He took a seat beside my feet, putting my bag on the coffee table, "Did you have a fight with Nick?"

It was probably written all over my face. I never liked having a fight with Nick, we rarely had one since we got serious about each other. So this fight which got out of hand really got to me.

"Yeah."

"You want to talk about it?"

He didn't push me which I appreciated it. Right now I wasn't emotionally stable, I was fully aware of that. Nick didn't push me because he knew and Brandon didn't push me either because he was also aware of how I got whenever I was in one of those moods. Both men knew me well which brought the memory of Max back. I wasn't changing my mind about him. Just because we shared DNA didn't mean he was my brother. He didn't know me. He didn't know my likes and dislikes, he didn't know my hopes and dreams. He didn't know the Emily who thought Nick was her whole world.

"Max is back."

"Wait, isn't Max your brother? I'm pretty sure you mentioned him once to me."

"Max is my brother." I confirmed, "I mentioned him to you."

I didn't move when he placed his hand on my leg, letting me know he was there for me.

"Did you and Nick fight about Max?"

I stiffened which told Brandon enough. He gave my leg a pat before he got up and took a seat on the floor, leaning back against the couch while he turned on the TV. He stopped changing the channel when he found a sitcom. We stayed quiet for a while, watching the episode together. It put a smile upon my face which Brandon must have seen.

"Em, talk to me."

I sat up which made him narrow his eyes on me when I was slower than usual. Placing my hand on my stomach I leaned back against the couch and put my feet up on the couch as well.

"Nick and I had a fight about Max. He was pushing me to have lunch with Max and I didn't want to. Then he started to question me and I said something which I can't take back."

"Did you call him a jerk? Because I'm sure he hears that more often, he must be immune to it now."

I shook my head.

"Bastard?" He narrowed his eyes on me when I remained quiet, "I'll high five you if you called him a dick." He sounded amused which lightened my mood quite a bit.

"I didn't," I muttered.

"Then what did you say, Em?"

"I said f**k you," I said in a whisper, ashamed I had to repeat what I told Nick.

Brandon's stare burned on me, but I didn't dare to look at him, afraid he'd judge me.

"Emily, I'm sure Nick is over it."

I shifted my gaze to him, "I'm not."

He leaned closer to me, "Did you apologize?"

I nodded.

"Then it's all good. He was pushing you, things got out of hand. The thing is you knew you went too far and you apologized for it. You're here beating yourself up over it because you hate yourself for what you said. I think Nick knows that and if he doesn't dump him."

I smiled giving his shoulder a push, "Shut up."

The rest of the morning I watched sitcoms with Brandon, he also made me breakfast which made him my most favorite person on the entire planet. Pancakes with syrup, I loved it. He helped me feel better and when I was confident enough to face Nick again I left Brandon's and headed home.

***

Entering the apartment, my eyes followed the light peeking through from the living room. Kicking my flats out I headed to the living room, my eyes landing on Nick sitting on the couch with his laptop on his lap. His gaze shifted to me, his eyes softening while a smile spread across his face. He did forgive me just like Brandon told me.

"You okay?" He asked me, breaking the silence first.

"Yeah, I'm good."

Placing my bag on the one-seat I took a seat next to my boyfriend and leaned my head against his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

He kissed my head, "You already told me that, it's all good, Em."

I wasn't letting it go that easily though, "I know, but it really cut me deep when I said that to you. I hated myself for it."

He placed his laptop aside and cupped my face in his hands, making me look at him, "I know that. Like I said things just got out of hand. I'm not holding a grudge, Em. If I can let it go, so should you."

"I just want you to know that I didn't mean it-"

"Stop apologizing for it."

I nodded and let him pull away. Nick reached for his laptop again and went back to work, that didn't mean I lost his attention though. I think he needed to use his work as a shield because when he told me he still had lunch with Max he pissed me off again.

"Okay, I don't care if you like Max, don't force me to do what you want." I narrowed my eyes on him, "I'm not going to be the perfect sister because in your mind that's how it works."

This time he didn't push the subject which I was grateful for. He actually let the subject go, we talked about our plans for dinner. Nick was cooking tonight, making something simple. I asked for chicken soup and he actually made the best chicken noodle soup I ever had. After dinner, Nick showed me the pictures of Evan which were all over the internet. It seemed that Evan was having a good time. When my eyes landed on a picture of him together with Zoey I knew my plan had worked. They weren't all over each other, but her warm smile told me they were okay. She didn't resent him anymore which was a good thing.

"I'm going to take a shower." Nick announced putting his laptop away, "Are you good?" He asked me when I started to collect our dishes to put them away.

"Don't worry about me, I'm good," I told him.

I knew he wasn't just referring to my pregnancy, he was asking where my head was at. Things were good though. After our quiet night in, catching up while avoiding talking about my brother and Nick's sudden obsession with our relationship everything was good again.

Nick left the room while I started cleaning up. Rinsing the dirty dishes I put them in the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Once everything was sparkling again I retrieved my bag from the living room and headed to our bedroom. I could hear the water running so I knew Nick was already taking his shower. I dumped my stuff from my bag out on our bed to reorganize it. Putting my phone on the bedside table. I was so into my little project that Nick's phone vibrating loudly scared the crap out of me. Taking a deep breath I released it to get rid of the tension. Walking around the bed I grabbed his phone off the bedside table. My breathing caught in my throat when I realized he missed a call from Max. The phone vibrated in my hand letting me know he got a text right after. I was curious to know what Max texted him, but I wouldn't snoop, not this time. So being a good girl and respecting my boyfriend's privacy I placed the phone back and cleaned up my mess on the bed. Putting my bag away I went into our closet to slip out of my dress and wrap myself up in my silk robe.

After Nick finished his shower I took one as well and settled in bed with him, trying to get as comfortable as possible, it was hard with Matthew being a bit active but I managed to ignore it and actually fall asleep.

***

Waking up the next day I startled myself realizing I had slept till noon. I only did that when I still had my shifts at the club, but since Nick and I were blessed with Matthew I stopped working at the club. I didn't have late shifts anymore so it wasn't acceptable for me to sleep in like that. I knew I had no responsibilities so technically I could, but I didn't allow myself to do that.

Doing my morning routine I went to the kitchen to prepare brunch, putting my phone between my shoulder and ear to call Nick. I knew he was at his office, but I didn't like the fact that I hadn't seen him or even heard from him. When he worked at the office he started bright and early. Sometimes I woke up together with him, getting ready for my day even though I didn't have to and other days I stayed in bed, but awake and watch him get ready. I always knew when Nick left the apartment to start his day so it threw me off my game because I didn't today.

"Hey, Nick."

I heard the smile in his voice, "Em, you finally up?"

"Yeah, you should have woke me up." I finished making my toast with strawberry jelly and held my phone normally again.

"I couldn't wake you, you looked so peaceful." He was silent for a minute before he continued again, "You had a rough day so I wanted you to rest."

That was my Nick, always worrying about me and making sure I was okay. Smiling I took my plate with me to the living room and got comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV to watch some random show.

"I'm good today," I told him.

"I can hear that." I heard movement in the background so I knew my boyfriend had yet another busy day at the office, "Em, I need to go. I have a meeting, but I'll be back home for dinner. Do you want to eat in?"

"Yeah. I'll cook tonight."

I finished up my toast and made myself a fruit salad while munching on fruit I cleaned up the apartment. The kitchen was good since I did that yesterday but since I had nothing planned today I figured I could do laundry and iron some things. I reorganized my movie collection and when it was nearing five I left the apartment to do some shopping. I had everything I needed for dinner and was about to meet Miles outside the store when I ran into Sacha. She decided to come home with me since she had a day off and Brandon was at the club. She called Brandon to let him know to come over at Nick's apartment for dinner. We prepared pasta with tomato sauce and a chocolate cake for dessert. Later that night Brandon and Nick joined us and we had an amazing night in together.

After dinner we played a board game together, watching Brandon and Nick try to beat each other, behaving like little kids. I loved seeing them like that, they were having a good time despite wanting to be better than the other. In the end, Nick won which was no surprise, we figured he'd win. We called it a night after that, walking Brandon and Sacha out. Brandon opened the door ready to step out when he faced Max who decided to show without letting us know first. Brandon glanced over his shoulder meeting my gaze, I shrugged a shoulder in return. I told myself to stay calm. Reading the situation Sacha dragged Brandon away with her, wishing us a good night.

"Max." Nick greeted holding the door open to his newly made friend, "Come in."

Max didn't move though, he stared at me as if he waited for me to say something first. Then I realized he was waiting for me to ask him to come in. At least he wasn't forcing the situation like last time.

"Yeah, come in, Max."

His gaze softened after I said that and stepped inside the apartment, following us into the living room.

"I think it's time we talk, Emily," Max told me once he took a seat on the couch.

When I didn't protest he knew I wasn't against that. I felt Nick's hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze before he left the room, giving us the privacy we needed.