Chapter 95
Just over
two weeks later, Claire pulled her new (well, okay, new used) bright
yellow Volkswagen Beetle into the parking lot of the dentist’s office. She parked and got out of the car, taking a
moment to admire it before she walked in to work. She’d wanted to own a Bug for longer than
she’d been driving (they were so cute and fun!) and now she did. Jamie had taken her browsing through several
dealerships, and she’d fallen in love with the Crayola yellow Bug the moment
she laid eyes on it. It was almost-new,
and she’d haggled the dealer for a great price on it. She didn’t miss her shitty old Toyota one
bit.
The purple
cast she’d acquired as a souvenir from the Toyota’s last stand was also gone;
she’d had it cut off over a week ago, and her left arm was finally starting to
lose the shriveled look it had gotten from being immobilized in plaster for so
long. It was still very weak, and she’d
been given a set of exercises to re-strengthen the muscles in it, but at least
she could use it properly again. Her
eyes, too, were good as new, thanks to a second cataract surgery, so driving
her new car was a breeze.
And she was
back at work. As she walked through the
front door, labeled with Dr. Somers’ and Tim’s names, she knew that today was
going to be busy. It was the Tuesday
after Easter, and many school kids were on break, which meant the dentist’s
office would probably be booked solid – parents always scheduled their
children’s appointments on days when there was no school. Claire knew she’d have a full day. She didn’t mind, however; after weeks away
from the office, she was glad to be back, glad for something to do, and
especially glad to be making money again.
Between the car and her rent, she certainly needed it.
Still,
yawning as she went to pull her time card, she decided that she envied Jamie,
who had the day off as part of his vacation.
He had been out of town over the weekend, celebrating the Easter holiday
with his mother back in Iowa, and had just gotten home yesterday evening. He’d come right over to her apartment, armed
with a load of DVDs and complaining that he’d missed her over the few days he’d
been gone. They’d ended up watching
movies late into the night, and he’d crashed at her place. When she’d left for work that morning, he was
still sound asleep in her bed. Lock
up when you leave. XOXOXO, Claire, the
note she’d left him had said.
Though they
hadn’t really done anything that night, Claire knew… knew by the way she’d felt
when he kissed her hungrily and told her how much he’d missed her, and by how
it no longer felt strange to fall asleep in the same room – in this case, the
same bed – with him, the way it had in his hotel room on Halloween… that
she and Jamie were a couple again. They
hadn’t labeled themselves as such in words yet, and she’d talk to him tonight
to make sure he felt the same way that she did, but… there was really no
need. Deep down, she knew he did. They both knew it was so.
She’d been giddy with the usual rush that accompanied a new relationship for
the last two weeks, and yet, at times, her stomach would jerk unpleasantly…
whenever she thought about how Nick was going to react. She wasn’t purposely trying to keep it from
him, but at the same time, it was too awkward a subject to just spring on
him. She’d only talked to him once since
St. Patrick’s Day anyway; he’d called the day after her cataract surgery, but
she hadn’t been able to tell him then.
It wasn’t as if it were something she could just blurt out. “Oh, by the way, I’ve started dating Jamie
again.” Yeah right.
Still, he
was bound to find out sooner or later… and whether he was moving on himself or
not, she knew he wasn’t going to be too thrilled.
“’Morning,
Claire!” Laureen’s chipper greeting as
she burst into the break room put Claire’s thoughts to rest.
Turning,
she smiled at her friend. “’Morning,
Laureen,” she said in reply. “How was
your Easter?” She hadn’t seen Laureen
yet that week; she’d had Monday off for vacation time.
“Oh, it was
really nice! I flew back to Chicago, and
my brothers were back too, so we had the whole family there for Easter
dinner. I was so happy; we haven’t been
all together in months!”
Claire
smiled again, remembering how close she was to her two triplet brothers. “Aww, I bet that was nice,” she said.
“Yeah, it
was. And look – I went to my favorite
tattoo parlor in Chicago while I was home and got a new tattoo! See?”
She held out her left arm, palm-side up, and Claire saw a bright tattoo
on the inside of her wrist. It was of
three stars, outlined in black, with fading gradients of color on the inside; one
was red, one pink, and one blue. Below
the stars was the word Inseparable.
“It represents my two brothers and me… the red one is for Eric, the blue
for Brad, and the pink for me, of course,” Laureen explained, blushing slightly
as she grinned.
“That’s so
cute!” exclaimed Claire, studying the tattoo.
Laureen didn’t look like the type to sport tattoos, but this one really
was cute, and the meaning behind it was sweet.
She’d never thought seriously about getting a tattoo herself; the idea
of getting poked with more needles than she already had to was not all that
appealing. But she knew if she did ever
decide to get one, she’d have people to ask for advice… Laureen and, of course,
Nick… if he didn’t hate her for getting back together with Jamie.
***
Nick’s
large Tampa home looked emptier than usual as he walked through it, stopping to
put on his shoes and grab his keys. Maybe
that’s because it is emptier than usual, Captain Obvious, he thought as he
set the security alarm and went out the front door, pausing to lock it before
he continued on to his Durango, which he’d left parked in the driveway.
The moving
company he’d hired had taken away the things he was having sent to the new
house in California yesterday, and they were scheduled to arrive cross-country
at the end of the week, a day after the new furniture he’d purchased would be
delivered. In the meantime, he was in
Tampa until tomorrow. He’d flown back to
Florida on Friday, spent Saturday going through his house and packing the
things he wanted to move to the new place, and gone to Orlando on Sunday to
have Easter dinner with Howie’s family.
Yesterday,
he had stayed home to supervise the movers, but today, as it was his last day
in town for awhile, he planned to go see Claire. He hadn’t seen her in over a month, not since
the day he’d almost had a fistfight with Jamie in the middle of her kitchen,
and had talked to her only a couple of times, once on her birthday last month
and again after her cataract surgery two weeks ago. He’d been busy getting ready to move into his
new house, but while he was back, he thought it would be a good idea to swing
by and see her. Who knew when he’d see
her again.
He and the
guys were almost finished recording in LA, but in a couple of weeks, they were
scheduled to fly to Sweden to record with Max Martin, who had written a few
potential hits for the new album. They
had recorded demos of the songs, but the Swedish songwriter liked to be present
to work with them on the finished product.
While in Sweden, they’d be doing some promotional gigs as well,
interviews and such, to build up hype for the new album, which wouldn’t be out
for a few more months at least. Then it
would be back to the States, where they would go into meetings with their
record company to decide on the final tracklisting for the album. From there, it would be on to the final and
more frivolous stages of putting out an album: photo shoots for the jacket, a
music video for the first single, and a whole circuit of promotional work.
It was going
to a busy couple of months, but Nick couldn’t wait. He was both excited and nervous, this being
the first album the group had put out in over two years. A lot had changed since the last one, and he
only hoped their fans were still out there, waiting and ready to support him
and the rest of the guys, as they always had.
Either way,
it would be refreshing to be able to put his personal life and all the crap
that went along with it in the backseat for awhile and just focus on the music
again. It was one of his greatest loves,
after all.
His other
greatest love resided on the third story of the apartment complex he had just
parked in front of.
Nick’s eyes
rose to the third row of windows up as his fingers reached to pull his key from
the ignition. He climbed out of the SUV
and locked it, before cramming the jangling set of keys into his jeans
pocket. As he strode across the parking
lot to the large building, he wondered if Claire would even be here. It was only ten-thirty in the morning, but he
wasn’t sure if she’d gone back to work yet or not.
Oh well, he thought as he walked into the
entrance way and started slowly up the stairs.
If she’s not here, I’ll just drop by the dentist’s office and see if
she’s there. If she was working,
he’d bring her lunch, and they could talk on her break.
Slightly
winded, he reached the third floor and walked down the hall. He was glad he remembered her apartment was
the second-to-last door on the left side, because he wasn’t sure he would have
found it otherwise. He didn’t remember
the number for sure, but when he stopped in front of number 306, he thought it
looked right. He knocked lightly and
waited.
A few
seconds passed with no sign of life within the apartment. He knocked again, prepared to leave if she
didn’t answer this time. But after a few
more seconds, he heard the padding of footsteps in the kitchen, and then the
door swung open.
Nick opened
his mouth to exclaim “Hey!,” positive that she would be surprised to see him
there; he hadn’t even told her he was in town.
But the word died in his throat as he found himself staring at not
Claire, but Jamie.
Claire’s
ex-boyfriend was standing in the doorway, barefoot and clad only in his boxers,
a blanket draped loosely around his shoulders.
His dark curls were tousled, and the shadow of a beard clung to his
chin. By his disheveled appearance, Nick
could tell he had just woken up… which meant he’d spent the night here.
Jamie
seemed to get over the shock of seeing Nick much faster than Nick did of
finding him in Claire’s apartment. He
was still staring, dumbfounded, at Jamie when Jamie offered a crooked smile and
said, his voice croaky from sleep, “Well, hey there, Nick. Guess you’re looking for Claire. She’s at work.”
This time,
Nick did not collar Jamie and throw him up against the wall, or sock him in the
jaw, the way he would have liked to a few weeks ago. No, this time, he simply turned and walked
away without a word.
He tried to
keep his expression neutral, tried to maintain a façade of calmness on the
outside, though inside, he could feel his heart racing and hear the blood
rushing in his ears. He knew Jamie was
still standing there, watching him, as he walked up the hall. It seemed about ten miles long, and he tried
to walk quickly without looking like he was trying to walk quickly.
As he
reached the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway, he heard the apartment
door click shut.
***
Strangely
enough, Nick remained in his stunned stupor all the way to the dentist’s office
where Claire worked. He walked inside as
if there were nothing wrong and calmly told the receptionist he would like to
see Claire when she was available.
The woman,
Carey, glanced at her computer screen and said, “She has one more appointment
at 11:15, and then she’ll be able to take her lunch break. Can you wait that long?”
Nick
glanced at the clock on the waiting room wall; it was quarter till eleven. “Yes,” he said, adding a quick, “Thanks,” as
he sank down into an open seat.
The waiting
room was more crowded than he’d ever seen it.
There were many children clustered around a low table heaped with Highlights
and Nickelodeon magazines, coloring books, and crayons; they were all so
busy squabbling over the materials, none of them paid him any attention. Nor did the adults and teenagers in the room,
who all had their noses in magazines or books.
Nick hoped it would stay that way; he didn’t feel like having to be
civil to any fans. The only person he
wanted to see him was Claire.
The anger
didn’t come until that moment arrived, until Claire stepped out into the
waiting room at exactly 11:15, clipboard in hand, dressed in bright teal
scrubs. The waiting room was so crowded
that she didn’t notice him; she called out her patient’s name, and the little
girl came to her right away. Then they
disappeared behind the door, Claire still oblivious to Nick’s presence.
But Nick
had seen her, and as soon as he did, his blood started to boil. Here she was, calmly going about her work as
normal, when his world had just been turned upside down… because of her!! He’d never expected the shock of finding
Jamie half-naked in her apartment that morning, and he felt somehow betrayed.
In the back
of his mind, he knew it was irrational; technically, Claire wasn’t doing
anything wrong by sleeping with Jamie.
She wasn’t engaged to him anymore; she could see who she wanted. But he wondered, how long had this been going
on? For months, she’d insisted that she
and Jamie were nothing but friends. What
if they’d been so much more than friends behind his back the whole time?
Nick fumed
silently for the next half hour, until Claire finally reappeared. Glancing up, he noticed her through the glass
window that separated the waiting room from the receptionist’s desk. He watched her punch her time card; then
Carey swiveled around in her chair and said something to her. Claire turned quickly, her eyes searching the
waiting room until they came to rest on Nick.
They widened instantly, but then her face broke into a smile.
Nick didn’t
return it, but she must not have noticed.
“Hey!” she said brightly, when she came out into the waiting room,
stopping in front of him. “I didn’t know
you were in town!”
“Yup,” he
replied flatly. “Can we talk?”
“Well,
sure. C’mon, let’s go,” she said and
offered him her hand. He ignored it,
standing up by himself, and walked past her to the door. She followed him, catching up to him
outside. “Nick?” she asked, with concern
in her voice, looking round at him. “Are
you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Not here,”
he muttered, gesturing to the parking lot.
“Okay…
well, you wanna go somewhere and grab lunch?
We can talk at the restaurant.”
“I’m not
hungry. Where’s your car?” He looked around for her battered Toyota
before remembering that she’d totaled it.
“Right
there.” A smile broke through the worry
on her face as she pointed to a shiny yellow Beetle in a far corner of the
lot. “I just got it.”
Nick
snorted. “I’m not gonna fit in that
fucking thing. Come on, my car’s closer
anyway.” He started towards his Durango,
and she had to jog to catch up to him again.
“Nick, what
the hell is the matter?” she hissed, as he yanked his keys out of his pocket
and hit the unlock button on his keychain.
He heard the doors click and reached for the driver’s side handle,
climbing into the car with a heavy sigh.
Claire scurried around to the passenger side and jumped in quickly. “Will you answer me?” she demanded, her voice
rising shrilly. “Are you all right??”
He knew by
the way she asked that she was talking about his health. Maybe she thought he’d had a relapse or
something. Ha. That was the least of his concerns right
then. Snorting again, he turned to face
her. “Dunno about me, but it sure seems
like you’re doing fine,” he said, none too kindly. “I went over to your apartment this morning
to see you, and guess who I found there instead? Your dear old friend Jamie.” He enunciated the word ‘friend,’ his voice
dripping with sarcasm.
The blood
drained from Claire’s face, and it became filled with guilt instead. She shook her head slowly, and her mouth
moved soundlessly for a few seconds before she finally got a word out. “Nick… I… I’m sorry. I never thought in a million years… I never
expected it to happen.”
“Oh,
right. So after last Halloween, when you
told me over and over again that you and Jamie were ‘just friends,’ you had no
idea you were going to fucking ‘Dear John’ me and go back to screwing him in a
matter of months? You sure move fast.”
“Nick!”
“What?! Is that not how it is? Well, maybe not, maybe I got it all
wrong. Maybe when you said you were
‘friends’ all those times, you meant you were just buddies… fuck buddies!”
he spat, throwing his hands into the air as the f-word sprang from his
mouth. Then he smacked them down against
the steering wheel, causing Claire to jump in the seat next to him.
She
recovered quickly and fired back. “How
dare you?!” she screamed across the arm rest dividing their seats. “I was faithful to you, Nick! I never, never would have cheated on
you! But if you don’t believe me, that’s
your problem, not mine! I haven’t done
anything wrong here! We’re not together
anymore; we’re both free to date whoever the hell we want!”
“Is that
what you were thinking when you wrote that letter?” Nick asked snidely. “How as soon as you laid it down on my stairs
and gave back your ring, you’d be free to date Jamie again?”
“No!!”
Claire insisted. “Damn it, I just told
you… I never expected this! Honestly!”
Nick just scoffed
and shook his head, staring blankly out the windshield. He didn’t know what to believe, but he wasn’t
ready to let her off this easy. He was
angry and hurt, and he wanted her to know it.
A part of him wanted to see if she would hurt too. Or maybe she just didn’t care anymore.
“Nick,
please,” Claire pressed, her voice softening.
“Please believe me… nothing ever happened between Jamie and I when you
and I were together. Nothing. I wasn’t attracted to him; I thought I was
over him. I thought I was over him until
a few weeks ago, when… when he kissed me.
It was on St. Patrick’s Day, and I was pretty drunk, but-“
“Will you
stop?” Nick snapped, reeling towards her again, his face contorted with
disgust. “I get the idea; I don’t need
to hear every fucking detail!”
“Sorry,”
she apologized in a whisper, sinking back in her seat. She reached for the door handle. “I should go.”
Nick didn’t
protest, so after a few seconds of silence, she opened the door and slid out of
the vehicle. She closed the door without
a word and walked away. Glancing into
his side mirror, Nick watched her trudge across the parking lot to her new
Volkswagen and climb inside. With
trembling fingers, he jammed his car key into the ignition and twisted it,
revving the engine to life.
He tore
recklessly out of his parking space, nearly clipping the car next to him, and
floored the SUV, sending it shooting across the lot. He braked before turning out onto the street,
stopping just long enough to glance up into his rearview mirror. Claire was still sitting in her car, the
engine turned off.
Sneering,
he jerked the mirror up so that he could no longer see the yellow Bug in it and
whipped his Durango out of the parking lot.
I’m coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss
It was only a kiss…
Now they’re going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it’s all in my head
But she’s touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Letting me go
And I just can’t look
It’s killing me
And taking control
Jealousy
Turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside
- “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers
***