Ray of Hope

A Night Out

The week had gone by and neither Nick or Mia had heard from Raidyn. Nor Raidyn from either one of them, they were all waiting on each other to make the move.

Nick spent his days walking on the beach with Iggy and Angel. On the couch watching television, beer cans scattered around the coffee table. Ignoring everyone else's presence, closed up in his room sulking under the blankets, the curtains drawn until noon. He was looking tired and scruffy, but he didn't care, there was no one to impress. All the hope of seeing her again had faded with the days that dragged by.

"Nick, shouldn't you shave and change your clothes?" Angel sat down and patted his back. Nick sat on the edge of the bed and slowly turned to look at her, his eyes a dull blue, with dark circles of lost sleep around them. "You look like shit!" she mumbled

"Good that is what I feel like. Now leave me alone sis...please. I just want to go back to bed." he threw himself back onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling. "I just want to be alone." he muttered.

"Nick..." Mia poked her head through the door and got a frown from Angel. "How's he doing?" she asked, with hope in her eyes as she walked up to the twosome.

"He's still dead!" Angel stood up and gave him a glare. "How about you give it a try." She placed a hand on Mia's shoulder and walked out of the room.

Mia swept the floor with her long, cotton dress. She stood over Nick and grabbed his hands "Come on Nick...you have to wake up. No more sleeping, sulking, or being nasty to everyone." she pulled him into a sitting position, he just glared at her "Yeah be mad all you want. We got ourselves into this and we have to get ourselves out. You have to shave, shower, and get dressed. You can't give up,Nick. There will be a chance to explain and everything might go back to normal."

He huffed as she pulled his shirt over his head "Yeah like her stubborn ass is going to listen, for all we know she's already shacked up with Adam." he wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought.

"That's not nice to say" she pulled him up to his feet and dragged him to the bathroom "You're like an overgrown baby you know." she turned on the bathroom sink and took a seat on the counter, her legs spread pulling him in between. She took out a razor and shaving cream.

"What are you doing? I'm not in the mood for any more bathroom indecencies with you, the last time I messed with you...I got that..." he pointed at her invisible belly. "And lost my girlfriend. So don't..."

She sighed and rolled her eyes "This!" she rubbed her stomach "Is a baby! Now my hormones may be going crazy, but at this point Mr. Carter you would be my last option. Now shut up and let me shave you since you're being such a baby! I guess I can use the nurturing practice. I'm just not changing your diaper." she giggled, smothering his face with shaving cream "Wake up Nick...Do you really want to lose her?"

He looked up at her "No..." he whispered.

"That's what I thought!" she smiled, running the razor over his stubbly cheek. "Then get your shit together."

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raidyn had grown used to Adam and his random acts of kindness. She now had her own bedroom in the new house which he had moved into on Monday, he made sure to be a gentleman at all times. He was her shoulder to cry on, the clown to make her laugh and her median between giving up and going on. It was the same routine: wake up, go to work, get off work, go home and sulk, eat and sleep if that was possible.

Around everyone she tried putting on a happy face, nothing was wrong in her life for eight hours. Her life was normal. But when the end of the day came, reality settled and the sadness would return. Every day after work she stared out the glass doors at the parking space, the one where she always saw the Mustang and the handsome man leaning against it. Now it was always empty. Some days she could fight the tears and others she had to run to the bathroom and hide.