Nick watched Isabelle enter the lounge a little later than normal as he practiced with the band. When he finished, he found her in her office, sitting in her chair with her head back. "Izzie?"
She looked up at Nick, giving him a smile as she stood up, "hey. I'm here. Sorry, moving a little slow today."
Nick sighed, "stop apologizing, okay?"
She nodded, wrapping her arms around him as she rested her head on his chest. "Thanks for coming with me this morning Nicky."
"Of course." He sighed, "the girl that came into the lounge. You were right, she was an ex of mine."
She pulled away a bit to look up at him as he continued.
"We were together for a while. But we wanted different things. I sold my trumpet at the time and bought an engagement ring, proposing to her. Instead she broke up with me. Now she's engaged with a baby on the way. So it's not that she didn't want the same things, she just didn't want them with me. Apparently."
"I'm sorry Nick." She brought her hand up to his cheek as he smiled.
He shrugged, "it's fine. Sometimes things are meant to happen to lead us somewhere better."
She sighed, shaking her head, "you're too sweet."
He shrugged again, this time smirking, "maybe sweet is what you need Izzie." He heard her chuckle softly as he leaned down to kiss her softly and he felt her hand in his hair.
💫
Isabelle sat at the bar later that night while Nick played up on the stage with the rest of the band. She looked up when she saw Stephen come in, pushing Beth in a wheelchair, all dressed up. "Hi!" She kissed them both, looking at Beth, "you look great. What are you doing here? Where's Eddie?"
"We left Eddie with Beth's parents for a few hours. And Beth was feeling mildly better and wanted to come listen to you sing." Stephen pushed Beth to a free table before going back to Isabelle, "please. It may be the last time she gets to hear you."
She crossed her arms, looking at the ground, "Steve.. I..."
"Please Isabelle." He rested his hand on her arm as she looked back up at him. He looked at the stage to see Nick watching them. "Your boyfriend is a musician too?"
She laughed, "he's not my boyfriend Steve."
"He looks at you like he is. Come on, sing for us."
Isabelle sighed, looking back at Nick. "Fine. Go sit down." She got onto the stage as the song ended. She looked at Charlie, "take a break. I don't need help on this one." She watched them all sit down on their stools as she sat at the piano. She smiled as she heard the band pick up the song and started playing quietly with her.
🎵I lit a fire with the love you left behind
And it burned wild and crept up the mountainside
I followed your ashes into outer space
I can't look out the window, I can't look at this place
I can't look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on Heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I, I can't look at the stars
All those times we looked up at the sky
Looking out so far, we felt like we could fly
And now I'm all alone in the dark of night
The moon is shining but I can't see the light
And I can't look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on Heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I, I can't look at the stars
Stars
Stars, they make me wonder where you are
Stars up on Heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all,
I know you've gone too far
So I can't look at the stars🎵When she finished, she rushed from the stage to her office.
Nick saw Stephen start to go after her but he shook his head, going to her office to find her just standing in the middle of the room, crying. He sighed, pulling her to his chest. "It's okay love."
After a minute, she pulled away, shaking her head as she dried her eyes with her hands. "I have to go back out there."
"Okay. But you don't need to be the strong one all the time Izzie. You're allowed to be sad too. You're allowed to break down. It's okay to not be okay." He saw her only shake her head as she started to leave the office, "hey." He grabbed her hand, pulling her back to look at him. "You hear me? No one is going to think any differently of you. No one."
"I can't Nicky! I'm not the one losing their wife or mother."
He scoffed, "you're losing your sister. You lost your parents. Sometimes it's okay to stop taking care of everyone else. Sometimes it's okay to be selfish Isabelle."
She shook her head, "I don't have time to be selfish. Just leave it alone Nick."
He sighed, watching her leave the office. He stood back, watching her smile and talk with Stephen and Beth as if she were okay. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed when he saw Charlie come up to him.
"Good luck Nick. She won't let anyone in. You've gotten farther than anyone else ever has that I've seen. And I've been in the band and friends with her for years. Be patient. Whenever her sister in law does go, she's going to need you whether she'll be able to admit it or not."
Nick nodded, sighing as he looked at the ground, "I know."
YOU ARE READING
Letting Go 🤎
Fanfiction~~Complete~~ Nick Vaughn enters a prominent lounge in downtown Manhattan looking for a place in their house band. What he finds is more as the lead singer of the band, Isabelle Pierce convinces him to put himself out there and sing with her. Throug...