Lead Me Back To You (A Nick Sturniolo Story)

Two

The next morning, Alex returned from his run with Jasper to find Nick on his way out. They awkwardly bumped into each other in the entrance, with Alex letting Jasper in first and surprising Nick as he was coming down the stairs. Nick started slightly, eyes widening at Alex and Jasper's presence. He was bundled in the same long green coat from the previous night, his large black scarf hiding half of his face. Even from afar, Alex could see the shadows under his eyes, betraying the exhaustion that was pouring out of him. He opened his mouth to ask if he had slept well, though the answer seemed obvious, when Nick looked down to his trainers, clearly avoiding eye contact. Alex gulped, uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck before fully entering the building, leaving space for Nick to get out. He was literally reaching out for the door handle when Alex remembered how terrible of a host he had been.

"Hang on!" he said just as Nick took one step outside. Nick stiffened, clearly not eager for morning chatter, but still turned around to face Alex, brows furrowing a little when he saw him lift his finger for a second before running behind the reception desk. Alex started rummaging through the mess behind the counter, clicking his tongue impatiently when he couldn't find what he was looking for. Finally, after a few seconds of moving rubbish around, Alex remembered he had put it in one of the drawers and he successfully retrieved the key to the B&B.

"Here," he said, handing it to Nick once he was no longer behind the counter. "It's a key to the front door, just in case I'm not in at some point. That way you can come and go as you please, not that there's much to do here," Alex joked.

Nick's face remained stony, not a muscle twitching and betraying amusement. "I, uh..." Alex cleared his throat. "I forgot to give it to you yesterday. I'm sorry about that."

"Oh," Nick said, emotionless but not unfriendly, his fingers careful against Alex's hand as he grabbed the key from him. He still wasn't really looking at Alex's face, his eyes fixed on the small object instead. "Thanks," he mumbled, finally looking up.

"Electricity should be back on any minute now if you want a shower after your walk. And there are a couple of breakfast options too," he added, "if you're hungry."

Nick smiled politely, clearly eager to leave but not wanting to be impolite. "Thank you," he said with a nod. "I mostly skip breakfast so don't worry about going through the trouble of making something complicated for me, please."

Alex smiled as he started to take off his jacket, revealing a grey jumper underneath. "It wouldn't be trouble at all, but I'm a cereal man myself in the morning, so I understand."

Nick nodded, standing awkwardly in the doorway for a few seconds in silence before putting the key in his pocket. He was wearing the same blue jeans from the day before, a clue that he was probably not going to be jogging this morning as Alex did. Once the key was nestled safely into its back pocket, Nick nodded again, vaguely in Alex's direction. Then he turned around, gesturing towards the reception.

"Alright," he said half-heartedly, waving Alex off. "Thanks."

"See ya later!" Alex called, but Nick had already closed the door behind him. He hummed pensively once Nick had left, looking towards Jasper. "Strange fella, huh?" he asked the dog.

Unsurprisingly, Jasper didn't bark in response, just stared at Alex with big dark eyes.

"Yeah, you're right," Alex agreed, "too early to tell." Then, he walked back to his bedroom to take a shower.

Alex was at reception, buried in some admin work when Nick returned two hours later. He gave no indication as to where he had been, whether he went down the cliffside and walked along the beach, visited the village, or walked further up north towards the opposite tip of the island. Instead, he silently walked in like he'd rather not be seen, as if having a physical body that could be looked at caused him pain. His head bowed awkwardly, lingering close to the walls. He barely responded to Alex's polite greeting, offering him a tiny nod as he went straight for the stairs and vanished from view.