Wrapped

Chapter 41

~Zack

"I love you, too, Nicky," I say into my phone and hang up. I set the device down onto my coffee table and sigh. All I can think about is why does Nick have to go through all of this? He's so young and fragile, it's just not fair.

Hearing Nick talk over the phone while practically crying, brought tears to my eyes; I just couldn't stand to hear it. Also since it was his dad that was being so creepy towards him, it was just disturbing.

As Nick tried to explain what had happened, I had a few ideas of what his dad might have done. I have a terrible feeling that his dad had touched Nick is certain ways; mainly because he had told me that his dad wanted Nick to call him 'Daddy'. The worst thought I have had was that Nick had been raped by his own father. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about.

Poor Nick, he has been through so much already, and his dad should be there for him, not making it worse.

Glancing back at my cell phone, a serious thought came into mind, should I tell Lori?

I know I should, but I didn't want to hurt Nick's feelings. I know he doesn't want his mom worrying so much, but this was serious. Lori didn't even know about his dad taking Nick out of school, why wouldn't he have told her?

I reached my hand down towards my phone and stared at it a bit longer, trying to get myself to dial Lori's number, but something inside me just wouldn't allow it. What if Nick got mad at me? To the point where he wouldn't want to date anymore?

I shook my head and dialed the number quickly, and then pressed talk. I need to be an adult now.

After a few rings, Lori's cheerful voice chirped through the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, Lori, it's Zack," I said, my voice slightly cracking a bit.

"Oh, hi, Zack," She replied quickly, her cheerfulness seemed to slowly fade as she spoke, "Is there something wrong?"

I bit my lip and looked up; Nick is going to kill me. "Actually, yes there is," I sigh deeply.

Lori groaned, "What happened?"

"Well, I called Nick and he sounded really upset, and-" I paused not exactly knowing how to explain, Nick didn't exactly tell me anything except for calling his father 'Daddy', I knew I should have listened to the rest of the explanation. "-well he told me that his Dad picked him up early from school today."

"What?!" Lori yelled through the phone, anger rushing through her tone, "What all did he say?"

"Not a lot," I mutter, mentally slapping myself for having him stop explaining what had happened, "All I know is that he has basically been stalking Nick, and that he took him to his house."

In the background, it sounded as if someone had dropped a plate or something, "Oh my god," She said barely above a whisper, "Uhm, thank you for informing me, Zack, I'll talk to you later." With that, she had hung up.

I placed my phone back down and felt a small amount of relief wash over me, at least Lori knew about it now.

"Zack?" I heard a quiet voice say; I shot my head up and saw Pierce standing at the end of the hallway.

Pierce was still barely talking, he says a few words every now and then, but at least I can now get him to talk.

"Yeah, Pierce?" I ask kindly, trying to cover the worry that still seemed to lurk in my voice.

"Was that-" he paused, lowering his voice so I could barely hear him, "-Nick you were talking to?"

Was Pierce not over Nick? Every time I did speak about him, Pierce get awkward and would try to change the subject, and when we were in the car he said that he missed him.

"No," I reply while slightly shaking my head, "That was his mom."

"Oh," he trailed off, looking at the ground and swaying on his feet, "Next time you talk to him. . . " He began to mumble, not letting me hear the rest of his sentence.

"What was that?" I ask with a slight chuckle, trying to lighten up his mood.

"Nothing, never mind," He growled under his breath and turned back into the hallway, probably heading back towards our room.

I quickly came behind him, grabbing onto his wrist before he could lock himself in the bedroom. "Pierce, tell me, I won't get mad if that's what you think."

Pierce shook his head and looked at the ground, "I said it's nothing. It's just-" he paused and took a deep breath, "-stupid."

I sighed, wishing Pierce could just speak to me and not keep it all locked up inside him.

After I let him go, I look down at my watch. It wasn't getting too late, so maybe I could take Pierce out for a bit, let him clear his mind.

"How about we go somewhere for dinner?" I say and go towards the coffee table to retrieve my phone and keys. "You seem like you could use some fresh air."

Pierce looked up at me with a small smile, "Sounds nice."

I grinned, "I also want you to meet a new friend of mine, I think you might like him," I finish off and start scrolling through the contacts on my phone.

I keep scrolling down until I reach a certain name: Nathan.