Secrets are my Sanity

Chapter 7

I’m sick of the tension, sick of the hunger

Sick of you acting like I owe you this

Find another place, to feed your greed

While I find a place to rest - A place for my head.

 Chapter 7

An hour and a half later, Shane found himself putting down a deposit and signing a lease. Julienne could be very quiet and shy then there were times she was a spitfire, she wasn’t letting him leave this place until he signed papers. There were even some threats she used and he was sure she picked that up from Michael

The real estate woman shook his hand after giving him the keys then wished him luck as she left him alone with Julienne.

“You bullied me into this.” Shane told her.

She gasped. “No I didn’t, I simply present you with good facts.” She was cute as a button when she pouted, no wonder Michael was in love with her.

“It’s a great deal, you were right but I can’t do it alone.” this was his biggest fear, he entered this agreement with hope and not facts.

“Nick will say yes, trust me. I could’ve built a cardboard box and he would’ve moved into it.”

His heart started to drop with sadness. “Is it that bad with his parents?”

Julienne got the look that said she realized she said too much. “They argue, what family doesn’t? Nick is just sick of it and doesn’t want to have to change himself again because he lives with them again.” What she said felt unfinished but Shane understood she was loyal to her best friend and couldn’t break that trust.

“Let’s go back to the house so I can break my mother’s heart.”   

When they arrived his mother was in the kitchen cooking after his father talked her into it. She wasn’t happy at all as she stirred the food on the stove. “Where’d you disappear to with Julienne?”

“She wanted to show me something….an apartment she saw in the paper. It’s pretty big, close to the campus and a steal of a price.”

Patricia Gregory slowly turned away from the stove and looked up at her tall son. “You’re moving?”

“Mom we knew this time would come. We talked about how I would stay here to save enough to branch out on my own.” He was quick to explain, he hated seeing her upset. “It’s close; I’ll visit everyday and steal food from you.”

She threw her hands in the air. “Now I have to keep cooking everyday.”

Shane laughed with relief, if she was joking then that meant she was ok with it all. He stepped forward and gave her a tight hug.

Nick was camped out in his room when he got a text from Julienne demanding that he meet her at the Gregory residence. He told her no and his phone rang. “Julienne I don’t feel like going over there.”

“Why, because Shane suspected the truth? Or because you might confess your love?”

“You’ve been with Michael too long, you’re turning into a bitch.”

“I love you and you know that, I’m trying to do what’s best for you.”

“How does it help me if I go over there?” Nick asked.

“I have a surprise and this is just where I happen to be.”

He knew she was lying; her voice changed tons when she lied. “Julienne….”

“You trust me right? Then get your pretty ass over here.” She hung up after that.

Nick shook his head, yeah Michael definitely was rubbing off on her. Nick had never been able to tell her no and he wasn’t going to start now. He climbed out of his bed and pulled his sneaker back on.

He was halfway to the door when his uncle’s deep voice broke the air. “Where are you going?”

“Julienne needs my help with something.” Nick mumbled.

“Couldn’t be her bra strap because you couldn’t find that with the light on and with two hands.” He was always saying stuff like that. “She’s a hot piece of ass, too bad you don’t know what to do with it.”

Nick started seeing red, he was used to his uncle talking shit about him but it was wrong to bring Julienne into it. “Leave her out of this.” he growled.

“Or what? Are you itching to get dealt with again?” Jim Straits stood from his spot on the couch, he was a big man at over six foot and weighing over three hundred pounds.

What Nick had on his side was speed, he was close to the door and could haul ass, and his uncle could never keep up.  “I’ll be back later.” His movements were quick out of the house, he could hear his uncle yelling their conversation wasn’t over.

Within the next ten minutes he was pulling up to the Gregory family home. His stomach tightened and he started to feel sick from how nervous he was. Julienne was standing on the porch waiting for him, along with Shane.                                                                                

As he got out to face them he was glad he had his best friend on his side at least and she knew the truth about what he was feeling. “Hey, what was so urgent?” he asked Julienne.

She jumped right into it. “I was apartment shopping with Shane here and he found this amazing place but he’d need a roommate to afford it comfortably so I told him I knew the perfect person….”

Nick’s eyes all but fell out of his head. “No.” why the hell would she suggest him knowing how he felt about Shane?

“Yes.” Julienne said. “I pushed him into signing the lease, you don’t want him to be stuck with a place he can’t afford and go hungry, do you?”

He stared into her grey yes. “Are you blackmailing me?” Nick was completely shocked.

“She’s good at it.” Shane chimed in.

Nick shook his head, still not completely believing this. “You’ve been around Michael too long.”

Shane agreed. “That’s what I said.”

“See!” Julienne exclaimed. “You guys get along great and you share a lot of the same people in your life, it’d be great.”

Nick looked toward Shane and tried to calm the increased heart rate he brought on. “What do you think?” he knew Julienne was the mastermind behind all this but he didn’t want to cave and then have Shane regret him for it.

Shane smiled shyly, a small smile that had Nick breathless all over again. “I need a roommate that’s true and I can’t think of anyone better then you right now.”

Nick started feeling like a wussy girl who grew lighthearted when the gorgeous guy looked her way. “Ok.” There was nothing else he could say, he couldn’t take up the perfect opportunity in front of him. He could finally leave home and that was all that mattered. He could survive living with Shane. He just had to be careful to keep his feelings to himself and avoid Shane Gregory at all costs.