Sister Pact: Stuck with her (Book 2)

CHAPTER 6: REVELATION

“Who is it?” Nick yelled out from inside his workshop, the doctor had warned him nit to work but clearly fixing the wheels of his modified car was not really working, or was it?

Nick hoped that it was no one he knew, because he was in no mood to explain his limping and the constant pains he was feeling. The person at his door was ether persistent or they could not the read the ‘Not Available Until further Notice’ sign on his work shop’s door.

The person on the other end did not respond, making Nick feel on edge about whom it really was. Nick picked up a screw driver, knowing quite well that he was in no condition to pick a fight with anybody but if push came to shove, he had no problem with stabbing whoever it was with his screw driver.

“Who is it?” Nick yelled again, walking slowly towards the closed entrance of his garage.

“It’s me, Tate, your friend” Nick released a sigh of relief; anyone other than Tate would have suffered severe injuries. He walked up to the door and unlocked it, only to find Tate standing there with a smile on his face and in his hand a pack of six pack beers and in the other a plastic bag, which Nick could not quite see the contents.

“Hey buddy, how are you feeling?” Tate asked Nick.

Like a bus had just rolled over me, followed by a train finishing the job. Nick thought to himself, but refused to show Tate how he was really feeling.

“Tate there’s a sign on my door that sates—“

“I know what it says Nick, but I’m not just your client, I’m also your best friend” nick knew that Tate was right and if there was one person that he could try to confine in, it was surely Tate. He never judged and always listened to people, Nick knew this because he had watched his friend observe certain situations.

“Come on” Nick told Tate and the both of them walked into the adjacent door that led into nicks house.

Tate could not help but notice that Nick held his one hand on his side, as if trying to protect a fragile part of him. Added to that, he was limping, because the only time Tate had seen Nick limp was when one of his mother’s lovers had broken and his injured his leg.

They both sat down on the couch together and watched football  but Tate noticed something strange about Nick, the entire time that the two men were watching football not once did Nick drink a can of beer, instead Tate was the only one drinking.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Without looking at Nick, Tate began questioning him. The question seemed to have made Nick uncomfortable because he repositioned himself on the couch.

“Just not in the mood I guess”

He’s lying to you Tate. Tate knew that for a fact that all that Nick was saying was a lie and he might even lie some more.

“What’s wrong with your side, you’ve been holding it for quite a while now”

“Oh that, I knocked myself while fixing my car that’s all” Nick told Tate but Tate knew that that was another lie that his friend was telling him.

“Wow that’s strange because I was just about to ask you how the operation went and now you’re telling me this” Tate joked, hoping that his friend would catch the hint.

There was a moment of silence in which Nick did not try to respond to Tate. Nicks feet felt ice cold but he could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Who told you that? I hope the town’s people are not filling your head with lies, because you know how they like gossip” Nick joked, trying to redirect the conversation elsewhere.

Tate laughed out loud along with Nick but when he stopped him looked dead into Nick’s eyes and smiled.

“The truth is although our town folks like talking a lot, I know that ii did not hear that from them. Why did you do it?” Tate asked Nick, sending Nick into a state of confusion.

“Why did I do what?” Nick asked Tate.

“Why did you give my sister in-law one of your kidneys?” Tate was no serious and Nick could see it written all over his friends face.

Nick began to panic at the thought of Tate finding out what he had done for Amber and that did not sit well with him, he had his reasons for keeping this a secret.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Tate” Nick tried to lie to Tate but he could see that Tate was not buying it one bit.

Damn it, should I come clean to him? He mentally asked himself, but he knew the answer to the question.

“Nick, I won’t judge you I just need to know if you were the one who saved my sister in-laws life” Nick could see how emotional Tate was getting, Amber was now his family and he had to do all in his power to take care of her and Nick admired that about his friend.

“Yes. yes I was the one who donated my kidney to Amber, your sister in-law” Nick knew that he could not hide it anymore, he knew that his friend was coming from a place of love and not for the purpose of gossiping to the town folks.

Tate shut both his eyes and Nick saw a tear fall from his best friend’s eye, which broke his heart that he had kept this secret from Tate. Tate opened his eyes and looked back at Nick.

“Why did you do it and a bigger question why did you hide it?” Tate asked his friend, who looked down at his feet rather than at Tate.

“I’m sorry Nick but I couldn’t just leave her there”

“Leave her where?” Tate asked his friend.

“I was the first person on the scene; you wouldn’t understand what I was going through my mind”

“Then make me understand it Nick!” Tate stood up from the chair looking down at his friend.

“I’m sorry but I was broken, I saw her there, her car tipped over onto its top and a tree right on top off it. The water was rising and if I was not there or waited a little longer, I don’t think Amber would have made it”

“Then why didn’t you tell her or us, for crying out loud why not me?” he yelled out at Nick. Nick rapidly stood up from the chair and looked right into Tate’s eyes.

“It’s because her family is always in the media! Think about it Tate, my family would have been dragged into all this and you know my families mess”

Tate thought about it for a moment, maybe Nick had been right to keep his act of kindness a secret. He too had had his own share of the media and it almost ruined his relationship with Viola. Tate knew how daunting it is to still have the paparazzi follow them around trying to snap a picture of their daughter.

Tate knew about Nick’s childhood and anyone who was faced with the same situation would have been embarrassed to have it published to the media. His mother was not really the perfect role model for her two children and Nick’s father, well he was a drunk, haunted by the memory of the woman he had lost because of a shameless one night stand that he had with Nick’s mother which resulted in him being born.

“It’s okay Nick, I’m so sorry that I over reacted.  It’s just that Amber wants to know who her donor is and she’s trying her best to find out who her donor is”

Nick thought it beautiful that Amber had tried to find him, yet they had met just a day ago and he could not even tell her that he was the one who saved her life that faithful day.

A big part of him wanted to tell her that he had saved her but Nick refused to be a fool yet again, the this time not just in front of the town but in front of the whole world.

“I know she wants to know who I am but please don’t tell her, she’ll get tired and just give up on it”

Tate looked at his friend, Nick with uncertainty written all over his face.

“You don’t know Amber like I do. She does not give up so easily” Nick swallowed the lump in his throat, because he knew just how stubborn Amber could be, a trait that he had seen in Viola as well. He knew how stubborn the Albertson females were and he hopefully wished Amber was not like that.

**

Someone unlocked the door, when Viola looked to see who it was it was none other than her husband Tate. He walked in carrying grocery bags in hand, with a smile on his face.

“The sun has already gone down, is this the time that a married man comes home?” she asked him, joking as she walked towards her husband and planted a kiss on his lips.

“I’m sorry… I was at Nick’s place and you know how carried away we get when we catch up” Viola looked into her husband’s eyes and immediately she knew that he was telling half-truths or he was hiding something from her.

Tate looked away from his wife and he realized that someone was missing.

“Where’s Ariel?” he asked his wife who in return rolled her eyes at him and smiled at him.

“She’s sleeping, she missed you know and she was crying for you” Tate felt like a piece of his heart had just been ripped off, he hated the thought of his little daughter crying and him nit being there to comfort her.

Viola placed a hand on her husband’s cheeks, causing him to flinch at her touch and just then Viola knew that something was wrong.

“Tate please do not me ask for the second time” she begged her husband to tell her the truth.

Tate looked around the living area, as if he as looking out for someone that’s caused Viola to become a little concerned.

“Where’s your sister?”

“She’s sleeping and why are you asking?”

“Are you jealous” Tate joked, age trying to change the topic but Viola was not having it.

“Tate please, you’re hiding something and you need to tell me what it is going on. Does it have anything to do with my sister?” She asked her husband, her heart rate racing for fear that something as about to happen to her sister.

“Nothing has happened or is going to happen to your sister. I just found out something whilst visiting Nick”

“What happened to Nick, is he sick” Viola asked Tate, sounding worried that something bad had happened to Nick.

“Nothing much, just that he had surgery” Viola out of shock placed her hand over her mouth to stop her gasp.

“Surgery? What happened to him?”

“Nothing much, just a kidney surgery”

“Oh no! He too had—Wait when did this kidney surgery take place?” Viola asked. Tate had a feeling that Viola was putting the pieces together. Tate looked down at his feet, afraid to look at his wife in the eyes.

“the same time that Amber was getting her surgery done”

“So—“

“Yes honey, Nick is your sister’s donor” A million thoughts travelled through her head at just that moment, she knew that Nick was thoughtful but never had she thought that he would go as far as giving up a part of himself for someone who he was not related to.

A tear drop fell from Viola’s eyes, she knew people could be kind hearted but never had she seen kindness like this, truly there was still good people in the world. Tate walked towards his and closed the space between the two of them, so that they were mere inches away from each other.

“But you can’t tell Amber about it” Tate told his wife. Her pupils grew wider at the thought of keeping such a secret away from her sister.

“Why?” she asked her husband hastily.

“Viola Nick does not really come from a good family and he’s afraid of the media attention. 

Then it hit Viola that her husband, Tate was telling the truth. Her entire life she had grown up with her family being center of attention in the media, she did not want quiet, and silent Nick brought into this mess.

“Okay, I won’t tell my sister a thing” she promised her husband, he heart in pain as she knew that she had to keep something so big away from her sister.

Tate kissed his wife on the forehead, he knew that this was going to be hard for his wife to keep this away from her sister but she had to for Nick’s sake.

**

Amber sat on the floor of her room, crying her eyes out for what felt like hours. She could still hear Tate’s words ringing in her ears. She could not believe that Nick of all people had given her a piece of himself, which was the most selfless thing that anyone had ever done for her.

The worst part of all was that her sister and her husband thought that keeping something this big from her was a good thing. She was in no mood to say anything to the two of them, she had made up her mind, and she was going to act on her decision tomorrow morning.

Amber knew that her decision was drastic but there was no ways that’s he would let them stop her from making her decision