Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Fourteen

November 29, 2008

No matter how deep you bury your past, it will come back to haunt you. Someday.

     “You’re drunk Grace,” Nick replied as calmly as he could. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

     A lot of girls had told him ‘I love you’ before but hearing it from a friend somehow made Nick tremble with nervousness. It was if he just committed a crime. He suddenly felt that Rachelle would probably feel the same way when he confessed his feelings to her. If he ever would.

     “N-no. Please understand, Nick,” Grace implored. “I came here t-tonight to tell you. R-Rachelle told me I can go and s-she encouraged me to get out of my shell and confess. T-that’s why I wore this uncomfortable d-dress and drank v-vodka. For s-self-confidence,” she finished, her words tumbling over each other.   

     He didn’t exactly know how to respond to a drunken confession but it was obvious that Grace was waiting for an answer. What was he supposed to say? Besides, would she even understand him, inebriated that she was? He was about to tell her that he will think about it and that she needed to wash her face first when Grace started giggling.

     She smiled at him and said, “I scared you didn’t I?” She laughed again. “Y-you don’t have to answer t-tonight.” She turned to look at no one in particular as she waved her hands. “What was I t-thinking? Of course, you n-need time to think.” Another giggle then she looked at Nick again. “I may have told you I love you but that doesn’t mean you love me too.” She hit her head with her right hand. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she murmured, then she laughed again.

     “Did I hear that right?” Matt’s surprised voice echoed around them. “Did that girl just say she loves you?”

     The ‘girl’ began swaying and Nick tightened his hold on her. Oh heck. He was so intent at what Grace had said that he did not notice Matt coming their way. His band mate was definitely not sober but he didn’t look too drunk either. Grace must have realized that there was a newcomer because she tried to blink several times to see who it was.

     Matt recognized her first because he exclaimed, “Ha! Stalker girl! I can’t believe it!” He turned to Nick and said, “Dude, I told you it wasn’t just for the school paper.” He rolled his eyes. “Women and their foolish ideas.” He turned to Grace and scoffed. “What makes you think Nick would want to hear your ‘I love you’?”

     “I don’t think this had something to do with that crazy day so why don’t we just forget it?” Nick told him. This scene was slowly getting on his nerves. If he did not stop this, it would surely end up posted in the Internet. He was about to drag Grace away when Matt’s words finally registered in her brain.

     “You!” Grace pointed an accusing finger at Matt. “How d-dare you mock my feelings, you bastard!”

     Before Nick could stop her, she got out of his hold and began to unleash her anger at Matt using her fists. Quarter To Five’s vocalist was never known to let anyone get the best of him so Nick shouldn’t have been surprised when he fought back—to hell if Grace was a girl.

     The mini-fight immediately caught the attention of the other guests and Nick saw someone trying to get the attention of the bar’s bouncers. They would get in a bigger trouble if the Pueblo’s security staff would be involved so when he saw a chance, he grabbed Grace by the waist, lifted her up and stepped as far away from Matt as possible. The waitress he had called moments ago took after Nick’s actions and tried to calm Matt down.

     When both had finally cooled down—Matt was breathing hard while staring at the ceiling and Grace was sobbing softly—Nick instructed the waitress to accompany Grace to the ladies’ room. He faced Matt and he was sure that his friend knew exactly what he wanted to say.