Calm In the Storm

Betrayal

Later at the police station, Sidney just got done with being interrogated. It was Billy's turn talking with Sheriff Burke in the room. Dewey was kind enough to give Sidney his police jacket for warmth and Tatum sat next to her.

Dewey was trying to locate her father on the computer, but wasn't getting anything, and comforted her that they would keep trying.

Sidney looked over at Tatum. "Thanks for coming with me. I don't know what I'd do without you." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Tatum gave her a reassuring smile, squeezing her hand.

Dewey continued to search for information on Sidney's father, shaking his head when he came up empty-handed. "We're doing everything we can to locate him, Sid. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." Sidney nodded, trying to maintain her composure.

Meanwhile, Tatum couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for calling Sidney earlier that day. She knew that Nick had feelings for Sidney, and that he had been nothing but protective of her. As much as she cared for Sidney, she couldn't help but wonder how Nick must feel right now in the hospital.

"Can you promise to keep a secret, Tatum?" Sidney whispered, glancing around the police station. Dewey left them alone for a while as they talked.

"Of course, Sid." Tatum whispered, glancing around nervously. She leaned in closer to Sidney, her voice barely above a whisper. "What is it that you need to tell me?"

"I...I cheated on Billy tonight...with Nick." Sidney confessed, tears streaming down her face. Tatum's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, Sidney..." was all she could manage to say. "You two didn't..."

"We made out, but that was it. Nothing else happened. Even though...we wanted it to." Sidney confessed, wiping away tears. Tatum bit her lip, feeling conflicted. On one hand, she was happy that Sidney had someone like Nick who was so protective of her. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel guilty for her own feelings towards Sidney in a friendship way, of course.

"Sidney, I understand how you feel about what happened between you and Billy, but you can't let it consume you. You need to focus on getting through this whole ordeal. And about Nick...he's a really good guy, and I think he's got a lot of feelings for you. You should just be honest with him, you know? Tell him how you really feel and see what happens," Tatum said, trying to offer some advice. "I know he's dating Heather, but the both of you should be completely honest about your feelings. You never know where it might lead."

"Thanks, Tatum. I will try to talk to him about it, but I don't want to hurt him too. He's been through so much already with this and his father," Sidney sniffled, wiping away the last of her tears. "And I don't want to make things worse between him and Billy."

Tatum squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You don't have to worry about that. You can't control how people feel about things. All you can do is be honest with Nick, and see where it goes from there. You never know, maybe he'll understand and give you both some space, or maybe something more could happen."

"I know, you're right," Sidney agreed. "It's just that when I saw Nick getting stabbed I...I thought I was going to lose him too. It's like...knowing you love someone so much at the last minute until..." Her voice trailed off and she started to cry again. Tatum pulled her friend closer, rubbing her back.

🔪

Meanwhile at the hospital, Nick was laying on his bed, still in shock and disbelief about what had just happened. He kept going over the events of the night in his head, trying to make sense of it all. The pain from his chest was almost unbearable, but he was more concerned about Sidney. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and the thought of losing her was unimaginable.