WE ALL DIE ▸ NICK CLARK

v. pictures

"Have you seen Nick? When I woke up he was not there." I ask Maddie as I get down the stairs.

"I think he's on the back." She says looking at the door to the pool. "Look, I'm going out, I need to know what's behind this. Chris showed me a video. There's people out there. I know it. It has to." She explains to me and I nod.

"Do you need help?"

"No, just... stay here and watch Nick." she says and I give her a small smile.

"Don't die." I tell her.

"I'll try my best."

As I walk out the door, I see Nick on a chair as Liza and another woman looks at him.

"...I understand you may be in need of methadone." The girl says and I get closer.

"Well, I would love methadone if I was trying to kick, which I've already done." Je says and she looks to his eyes with a light I already saw people using in hospitals but never really knew the name of.

"When's the last time you used?"

"Uh, I don't know. When did the world end? Couple of days before that."

"Hey..." I say and they look at me.

"Oh, Hi. I'm Dr. Exner. I'm taking a look at Nick. What's your name?" She gets off him and walks towards me pushing a weird-ass thermometer onto my forehead and I push back.

"Katherine Perez." I answer her question. "Uhm... can I ask what you're doing here?"

"Overdue house calls. What's your relationship with the Clarks?"

"Is that a part of the 'overdue house calls'?" I ask looking at her and swallowing hard not feeling good with her around me.

"Katherine please..." Liza says and I take a deep breath.

"I'm Nick's girlfriend." I stat. Girlfriend, Ex-Girlfriend, Babysitter. Who cares?

She walks back to Nick.

"Uh, she takes the sick people to be help somewhere else." Liza explains to me and I nod unaware of what to say.

"Who had gone by now?" I ask.

"Doug Thompson. Uh... Hector Ramirez. Griselda is gonna go too. If she stays she loses a foot-"

"We can't discuss other patients." the lady interrupts Liza and Nick's face changes as the name Hector Ramirez sounds.

The worst thing is that I know exactly what's going on.

"You okay, Nick?" The lady asks.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Is Mr.Ramirez okay?"

"Congestive heart disease is manageable." She gives him a fake smile and I already hate her. "Your heart rate's elevated."

"You're a very attractive woman." He looks at her and smiles. I feel jealous but I know he's just covering the fact that he messed up. Again.

The lady looks at him confused and then looks at me and I give her the fakest smile I probably ever gave someone. (Except Jane.)

"He's not wrong. Now, uh, me and Nick... we're gonna do something..." I smile. "If you wouldn't mind... of course." My smile slightly drops and Liza takes her away. Not before giving me a death glare.

"She's not that pretty." I whisper to Nick as soon as they left and he slightly laughs. I was lying. She really was pretty.

***

"Did you know?!" Maddie screams at me.

"What?" I ask confused and she looks away clenching her jaw.

"Nick! He's doing it again!" She punches the kitchen counter and I swallow hard. "You knew!"

"Do you want me to blow it up? I'm helping you but I'm still his girlfriend. I care about him. I wouldn't be a good girlfriend if everything he tells me I come to tell you!" I tell her and she looks away. "You really need to understand that I'm not your kid's babysitter. In my list of priorities, both Nick and Alicia are in front of any of you. I didn't to not tell you. I said he would stop. I believe him."

"Don't you already know him?! Do you think is that easy?!"

"I can tell when an addict is lying. I can tell when they chose the powder over you." I talk about my mother for a moment and she notices it making her stop being like that to me. "He chose us." I say and he suddenly passes almost running behind me without saying a word to any of us.

"Go." She tells me noticing I was worried and I nod.

I hear the bathroom door slamming shut and I walk towards it, knocking.

"Go away." he says but I slightly open the door only for him to close it again on my face. "Go away." he repeats harshly.

"What the hell happened to your face?" I ask as I notice a red stop behind his eye and I connect the dots.

She didn't... I thought. But then I remember we're talking about Nick and Madison Clark.

"Let me in..." I almost begged.

"Go away, Katherine."

"Common, Nick." I whisper, loud enough for him to hear and I try to open the door but he's against it. "I'm right outside the door if you need me. Don't even try to push me away. I'll not leave." I say as I lean against the wall at the door's side and he opens it.

I put my hand on his cheek to touch the wound but he pushes me away and only stands there looking at the ground.

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask and he nods in deny as tears start pouring out of his eyes, never looking at me.

I slightly walk towards him and hug him thigh enough to make him feel safe.

"It's okay..." I whisper as he finally hugs back and puts his head on the crouch of my neck. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispers as he sobs.

__

The military had come to take Griselda to whatever the hell they took them.
The air between Nick and his mother was in the very least tense. He had his arm around my waist and I was feeling bad for Griselda. We had barely talked but I like her.

"Let him go. She's his wife." Maddie tells the soldier talking about Daniel.

"I have two names. Griselda Salazar, Daniel Salazar." He tells him but he doesn't care.

"No. Not you." The soldier says "Nicholas Clark." As he says these words my heart stops.

"What?" Maddison asks

"Go." I let go of Nick and he looks at me in shock.

"That's a mistake. No. No." Maddie stats saying. "Nick!"

"Stop it!" I call but nothing.

"Wait! Stop! No!" Alicia says as one of the militaries hits him in the face with a gun causing him to fall.

"Back off sir." Travis says.

"Get off him!" I yell as I push the soldier with the double of my size away but he puts a gun into my face and pushes me away against a wall, causing me to hit my ribs. "He's not sick!" I yell again but the man just leaves me there as he takes him.

No. This can't be happening. They took Nick.
They took him.

Suddenly Liza gets up one of the trucks and leaves with them.

"Where is he?! Where did you take him?" Maddie asks as she leaves the house and walks towards the soldier but they push her back.

"Nick!" She screams as the trucks get out of sight.

"Hey. Kat." Alicia walks towards me and puts my shirt a little up, showing a dark spot on my back and slightly front.

"I'm fine." I assure her before getting up and walking towards his room.

I lay in his bed and look at our picture. At that moment I realize how much I love him. Even after all this shit.