Falling Too Deep

Chapter 25

I quickly closed the desk drawer and stood up, nervously looking at Nick. I was so caught up in the gun I didn't realize he got out the shower.

"Oh! I was just looking around."

He frowned at me. "You aren't supposed to be in here. This room is for my work."

I looked back down at the closed drawer and he walked up to his desk. "What the hell are you looking at?"

I was a little surprised, Nick had never cussed at me before. Well at least never in anger.

"Nothing."

He roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the desk. "Did you mess with anything?"

I ripped my arm away from his grasp and glared at him. "Why are you acting like this?"

He scoffed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. "Don't try and put this on me! You're the one snooping through my desk."

"It shouldn't be a problem. Unless you have something to hide?"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand pulling me to the door. "I have nothing to hide. There you go again...accusing me of stuff, don't you trust me?"

I shrugged and followed him into his bedroom. Lately, I didn't know who or what to trust.

* * * *

"He had a gun locked away in his drawer!" I said to Christie while pacing in her kitchen.

She shrugged and continued bashing the fresh coconut with a kitchen hammer. "Who cares? A lot of people have guns for safety. Plus, Nick is very wealthy and I'd be lying if I said people probably haven't tried to rob him."

I sighed and rubbed my hands through my hair. "That doesn't matter. Nick has house security, why would he need the gun? And...why would be have it locked away? As in trying to hide it.."

Christie laughed and banged the coconut one more time causing it to split open. "Andrea do you hear yourself? You sound crazy. Maybe, Nick had it locked up so it wouldn't get in the wrong hands...or someone crazy wouldn't snoop through his things and have easy access to it."

I ignored her hint towards me in the last sentence and took a seat next to her. "You don't understand Christie."

Christie sighed and began scraping the inside of the coconut out. "I do understand. And I also understand you're acting like some crazy housewife. Nick is a good guy, don't you trust him?"

I nodded. "I guess."

She gave me a small smirk and handed me a potato skinner. "Well let it go and help me."

I began scraping the fresh coconut into a jar and mixing it with raw Shea butter. This was my sixth try for the conditioner and I was hoping it would work. But, I still wouldn't get over what Nick was hiding and I was planning to figure it out.

* * * *

Nick - POV:

Bradley handed me a dumbbell and I began pumping the weight trying to force the anger out.

"I can't believe she snuck into my office." I shook my head in disbelief still thinking back to that night.

Bradley rested on one of the workout benches and sighed. "Nick you've said that about ten times already and I've told you maybe you should just tell her the truth."

I sat the weight down and immediately went to the treadmill before breaking out into a small jog. "I can't."

He sighed in an annoyed tone. Was everybody annoyed with me?

"I don't understand why you can't. What you do isn't even a big deal. Yes, your dad is a con-artist and you trick people into getting their money, but honestly you're gonna quit soon...so what's the point in lying?"

I began to run. Bradley thought that my dad's company was just a bunch of greedy con-artists, but he didn't even know the real truth.

"Not telling her or even you the real truth is my way of protecting you guys."

He stood up and stared right at me. "What are you talking about?"

I sighed and wiped my moist forehead. Could I tell him? He was my best friend. He would understand. He wouldn't run away like Andrea would.

"Bradley what you think I do isn't what I really do..."

He crossed his arms. "I'm so confused dude. What's really going on?"

I looked down at my running feet and blinked away the sweat that was running down into my eyes. "My father doesn't trick people into getting their money. He isn't some measly con-artist."

Bradley moved closer to me and raised his eyebrows. "Well what do you really do?"

My breathing became heavy. I think it was from the running, or maybe because I was nervous as hell.

"We....we.."

He sighed and gripped on the arm of the treadmill. "Spit it out."

"We...we sell drugs. Like, hardcore drugs. It's a drug business. My dad also works with sex houses and he sells women for money."

Bradley didn't respond and I continued running. I didn't want to look at his face. My running soon deceased when Bradley pressed the stop button on the treadmill.

"Are you serious?"

I stepped off the treadmill and wiped my face with a towel. "Yes."

He stood in front of me and looked at me in disgust. "And you're okay with that? Working for him?"

"No I'm not okay with it. I dread going in that building everyday."

He shook his head. "How could you work for him, knowing what he does? You know what you're doing is illegal!"

I sighed. "I know Bradley! But I have no other choice!"

"What do you mean you have no other choice!"

"My dad basically owns me! He controls what I do and there's nothing I can do about it!"

He pushed my shoulder roughly and glared at me. "Nick you're allowing him to be in control of you! You sell drugs and women! How can you even look at yourself?"

I pushed his shoulder too and raised my voice to match his. "I didn't choose this okay! My father chose me! There's nothing I can do about it especially because my father has connections and he can have me killed any minute!"

Bradley shook his head and scoffed. "There is something you can do about it! Get the police!"

I groaned and yelled at him. "You don't understand you idiot! Don't you think I didn't try that? Like I said I'm stuck in this and I definitely don't need you judging me and trying to tell me what to do! You wouldn't have a clue how to get out of this situation because you're too busy worrying about how to shove your dick up everything!"

Bradley looked at me in shock and shook his head in disappointment. "You know what...you're right. I wouldn't know how to get out this situation and I'm not going to try and help you. You don't deserve my help."

He walked away towards the door but turned around. "You may try and pretend you're different from your father but you aren't. Keep pushing away everyone who cares about you and you're gonna end up just like him. Cold, evil and sitting in a desk with the only thing you love...money."

With that he opened the door and walked out slamming it on his way out. I glared at the door and started pacing the room. How could he say that? Who did he think he was? I grabbed one of the dumbbells from the rack and threw it into the full length mirrors that were hanging on the wall.

I watched, air puffing out my nose, as the glass shattered to the floor. I stared at my reflection through the broken mirror and sighed. Bradley was right. Who was I? I definitely wasn't Nick Carr.

I had no one to talk to. Bradley hated me now, Andrea was mad at me and I didn't really know or talk to any one else. I decided to visit the only person who would listen and not judge me.

My mother.

* * * *

The cold grass crunched under my feet as I numbly made my way to my mothers grave. I knew exactly where she was buried but I was afraid to see it. I hadn't seen her in so long.

I kept walking along the trail and finally stepped up to my mother grave. My heart was pounding as I knelt down and rubbed my fingers over the engraving.

In loving memory of Rose Anne Carr. Sep 16, 1965 - May 22, 2007. Mother, wife, daughter and friend.