ForeverLasting (Book 10 in Nemi Forever Series)

Chapter 11

Demi

I was glad Nick was finally going to see Dr. West. I could feel him slipping away from me & as hard as I tried to not let that happen, it felt inevitable. I tried to be intimate with him, but he got frustrated & it just upset him more, so I wasn't trying as much anymore. It killed me, when I'd think about it, because I didn't want us to drift apart.

Nick was quiet when he got home that afternoon from his appointment with Dr. West. I asked how it went, when he came into the kitchen, but he just said he'd talk to me, about it, later. He seemed bothered by something, more so now than when he'd left earlier, so I was assuming it had something to do with his session with Dr. West. I tried not to think about it too much & just enjoy our family time. The kids were excited to see Nick when they got home from school, especially Jerry, since he had a basketball game that evening.

While we were at Jerry's game, Mercy sat with her friends, which I could tell bothered Nick a little. He kept watching her, too, which I kind of expected. Reid sat between us & Avery sat on Nick's lap, while they cheered, loudly, for Jerry. The girls had stayed home with Nick's mom, since they were not at a cooperative age. I could see as I looked around, there were a few journalists there & they were pointing their cameras in our direction. Since word had gotten out about Nick's new sexy movie & me doing Dancing with the Stars, we had become a hot paparazzi target again. Even for the basic photographers, word got out that pictures of us were being bought for a pretty penny. I had a few friends in the business of journalism & they kept me in the loop about these things.

Jerry won his game, so we all went to get ice cream before we went home. As the kids enjoyed their treat, I watched Nick laughing with him & it warmed my heart. Right now, I felt he was good & wasn't struggling with something. After a few minutes, I realized he wasn't paying much attention to me & that brought on the sadness again. His gaze met mine & I smiled at him, but I didn't get a smile in return. I wondered what had him so upset with me.

Nick & I put the kids to bed that night, then as Nick shut the door to Jerry's room, I reached for his other hand. He looked down at our hands, a scowl on his face, then looked back up at me. "Can we go to our room to talk?" I asked him & he gave me a slight nod. When we got to our bedroom, I closed the door & sighed. "I want to hear how it went at Dr. West's today. Did she help you figure out anything?"

Nick sat on the bed & hung his head, then started nodding it. "A lot of things came out, actually. She wants us to do a session together, in fact, because of some things I revealed."

I took a few steps toward him, feeling a little nervous to hear about his revelations. "Okay... I'm sure we can do that. Are you going to tell me about them now or do I have to wait until we're on Dr. West's couch?"

Nick stood up & started pacing in front of me while he looked down at the floor. I waited, patiently, for him to answer me & finally he stopped moving & looked up at me. "I want this to be a discussion, Demi. Not a fight."

"Why would it be a fight?"

"Because I feel like you're gonna be upset about some of the things I came to realize as I was talking to Dr. West." Nick's eyebrows went up & I swallowed hard, then cleared my throat.

"I won't get upset. We will just have a discussion & I will listen & not get mad." I crossed my arms.

"Promise?"

I nodded, flashing an exaggerated smile. "You seem like you're the one who is mad. I felt like I was getting the cold shoulder all evening."

Nick sucked in his breath, deeply, then blew it out. "I'm sorry. I guess some of it makes me more upset at myself that I even feel the way I do." Nick brought his hands up to his face & ran them up his forehead & onto his head before he brought his gaze to my face. "I have these things in my subconscious & until I talked to Dr. West, I had no idea they were there, but then when I started talking, they just came out because of questions she asked...." Nick started shaking his head as he looked around the room. "She's really good at her job." Nick let a chuckle come out with his words. "Anyway... the underlying problem I have, that is fucking with my head & causing me stress, which is causing my limp d.ick, is.... I'm afraid of losing you."