Chapter 71

 

“Oh my God,” Jenna moaned, burying her face in her hands.  “Nick…”  She looked up at AJ.  “How could we?”

 

“I’m sorry, Jen,” AJ cried, stricken.  “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t even realize what we were doing, until-“

 

“I know,” she said.  “I know, AJ, I didn’t mean to either.  We just…”  She shrugged, not even knowing how to explain their actions.  “I have to find Nick,” she said, abruptly standing up.

 

AJ nodded.  “Yeah.  Go find him,” he said.  She started up the aisle.  “I’m sorry, Jenna,” he called, as she hurried to the door.

 

She turned back to him and nodded tearfully.  Then she flung the door open and ran out.

 

AJ buried his head in his hands and began to cry again.

 

***

 

Jenna found Nick sitting down the hall, in a little waiting area with vending machines and a pay phone.   It was deserted, except for him, sitting on the floor, his head in his hands, looking lost.

 

“Nick?” she asked softly, uncomfortably.

 

Nick did not even look up.  “How could you?” he asked flatly, his voice muffled.

 

“Nick, it wasn’t what it looked like,” Jenna started desperately.

 

“Oh yeah?  It looked to me like you were making out with AJ?”

 

“We weren’t ‘making out’, we-“

 

“Oh really?  You were kissing, were you not?” Nick asked harshly, finally looking up, his red-rimmed blue eyes glaring accusingly at her.

 

Jenna hung her head.  “Yes,” she whispered, ashamed.  “But-“

 

“Don’t even start,” Nick said, shaking his head in disgust.  “How long has this been going on behind my back?  Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

 

“But, Nick-“

 

“I should have known you didn’t really love me.  You’ve always had eyes for AJ.  I should have seen it.  I should have figured that just when you thought Elyssa was going to kick the bucket, you’d make a move on AJ.”

 

Jenna gasped, horrified at what he had just said to her.  She was speechless.  She wanted to yell at him, to scream at him, to slap him for that.   But she felt like her body was frozen.  She could not move, she could not even speak.  She felt numb.

 

The numbness wore off quickly, at least in her legs, and Jenna spun around and ran from the room, ignoring the hot tears that blinded her.

 

***

 

Howie looked up in surprise when Jenna came tearing into the waiting room.  His surprise turned to shock when he saw that she was hysterically sobbing, her face red and blotchy, her breath coming in shallow pants.

 

“Jen, what’s wrong?” he asked in horror, thinking something had happened to Elyssa.  “What happened?”

 

“Nick,” was all Jenna could get out.

 

“What happened to Nick?” Howie demanded, his voice rising in fear. 

 

“I hate him!” Jenna screeched, pacing the room.  “That son of a bitch!  I wish he were dead!”

 

“What?!  Jen, what happened?!” Howie asked in total shock. 

 

“If you could have just heard him.  The things he said to me!” Jenna shrieked, her eyes wide and crazed with rage. 

 

“Shhh, Jenna, calm down,” Howie said, grabbing her by the shoulders and easing her back into a chair.  Jenna dissolved into tears, her entire body shaking with them.   Howie put a hand on her shoulder and waited for her to calm down.

 

When she was less hysterical, he calmly asked her again.  “What happened?”

 

Jenna sniffled, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and shakily began to tell him what had happened.

 

***

 

At the sound of heavy footsteps, Nick looked up.  He found Howie standing in front of him, glaring down at him.

 

“Hey, D.  What’s going on?” Nick asked, looking up at his friend in confusion.

 

“If I were Kevin, I would punch your face out right now,” Howie said, his voice low and angry, his hands clutched into fists at his sides.

 

Nick’s eyes widened.   “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

 

“I heard what you said to Jenna.  That was completely out of line,” Howie lectured, looking angrier than Nick had seen him in a long time.   It took a lot to get Howie mad, and so Nick knew this was definitely bad.

 

“Bullshit,” Nick muttered.  “That lying slut deserved it.”

 

Howie’s eyes flared with anger.  “Did you even bother to ask her what was going on, why she did what she did?!  Did you even ask her for an explanation?!”  Nick started to answer, but Howie gave him no chance.  “No, of course not, Nick.  You just went off on her, like you always do.  You didn’t bother to think about what you said before you said it.  You didn’t consider how much you would hurt her.”

 

Nick set his jaw stubbornly.  “Well, she hurt me too!”

 

“Two wrongs do not make a right, Nick,” Howie said.  “You know that.”

 

“That’s bullshit, Howie,” Nick retorted.  “There’s no way I was just going to let her get away with that!  She cheated on me!”

 

Howie shook his head, knowing there would be no reasoning with Nick at this point.  He was too angry.   Howie knew he would need time to cool down before he could be rational.

 

“Fine, Nick.  You calm down, and when you’re ready to assess the whole situation, you come get me.  Until then, stay out of my face.”

 

Nick’s mouth dropped open in shock, as Howie turned and stalked away.

 

***

 

 

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