Bloodlines

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hope walked towards Café Express, sweltering in the heat. The sun's rays beamed on her neck, pouring out salt from her skin. She had her red hair in a bun, but it didn't stop her from sweating. She preferred to be in air condition, reading, but Nick sent her some cryptic message about how he had to tell her something. It was extremely ambiguous. Over the past few months, Hope had realized something odd about her friend, but she couldn't figure out what.

Nick had been acting erratic and had been giving Maddie attitudes for no reason, and it worried Hope a little bit. At one point, he couldn't even be in the same room as Maddie and Luke. Hope knew something was up because ever since middle school, she was able to tell if something was going on with Nick.

Hope found Nick sitting outside under an umbrella. Outside, Hope groanet to herself. Hope looked inside and saw that Luke was working his shift today. Usually, Nick would always be inside whenever he was working, and it was all the time. Hope felt a pit in her stomach when his routine changed. Something wasn't right. He didn't even have his laptop, and he always had his computer.

Hope sat down under the umbrella, facing Nick. Hope took the menu from the table, pushed her glasses back, and fanned herself with the menu. Nick was sweating bullets, but it didn't make sense how he was sitting outside. Hope glanced at the window and saw Luke wave at her. She smiled and waved back. Nick looked shyly at the window and kept his gaze at the table.

"Hey," Hope greeted Nick. "I'm starving. You willing to share some mozzarella sticks?" Hope asked him gleefully. Nick ignored her and stared at the table. "Is there something interesting on the table?"

Nick quickly looked up, cleared his throat, and shook his head. "No." Nick knotted his hands together, twiddling his thumbs. Hope looked at the table and saw there were only two chairs. Did he not invite the others?

"Nick?" Hope asked him. "Are the others coming?"

Nick shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you privately."

Hope sucked in her lips and nodded her head. She glanced over at Luke and noticed he was working. "Okay, but Luke will probably be listening. You know how nosy he can be."

"I cast a spell so that nobody can hear us."

"What?" Hope asked him with confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"Because..." Nick trailed off and glanced at the ground. His face became ghost white. "Because I want to talk about Luke and Maddie."

It warmed Hope's heart that two of her closest friends were finally getting their happy ending. Even though they were sneaking around, they were still so cute. She hadn't seen Luke happy with any girl in two years. It gave Hope joy just even gushing about the both of them. "Isn't it great that the both of them can be finally happy together? Maddie finally got her guy, and Luke finally is with a sane girlfriend! I'm so happy for them! Aren't you?"

Nick scoffed. "Yeah. Super." His tone was very abrasive and sarcastic. Something wasn't right because Nick was never negative.

"Nick, your negativity is showing." Hope then chuckled and smiled at him. "What's going on with you? Aren't you happy for Maddie and Luke?"

"It actually makes me nauseous," Nick said frankly.

Hope's mouth dropped and her eyes widened. What did he just say? Why would he feel sicken that his friends were happy? Any normal friend would be happy that their friends finally found a healthy relationship. Something wasn't adding up. What if he likes Maddie? Hope asked herself. Her brain relaxed when that answer came up. That made perfect sense. "Nick?" Hope called out to him. "You sound jealous. Do you like Maddie?"

"She's my friend."

"No," Hope clarified. "Do you like Maddie? Are you jealous of Luke?"

"No." Nick stared blankly at Hope and his face got red.

"Then what is it?" Hope asked him.

"I just feel sick," Nick said after a moment.

"Like a cold?" Hope asked him. Hope didn't see the connection between Maddie and his supposed cold. Nick didn't answer her. He just stared at the table. "Nick?" Hope stared at Nick and tried to find out what was going on with him. Did Luke and Maddie make him feel sick? That was all just jealously. Then it hit her. "Are you jealous of Maddie?"

Nick nodded his head slowly. "Luke spends a lot of time with her."

"It's a new relationship," Hope reminded him. Hope nodded her head. It made sense why Nick would feel jealous of Maddie. Nick was always around Luke, and now Luke spends most of his time with Maddie. Hope also felt a tiny bit jealous that Maddie was constantly with Luke, but it wasn't like what Nick was feeling. He acted like his heart was broken, or he had a crush on Maddie; however, he said that Maddie was his friend. Then, something clicked in Hope's head, and she wasn't sure if she was correct or not. "Oh, my god."

Nick nodded his head and exhaled. "You figured it out."

Hope felt the air cool off a bit when she figured out what his problem was. She didn't judge him, but she felt pity. The person he liked was with someone else. "Nick—"

"Am I sick?" Nick interrupted with haste. Nick inhaled and exhaled sharply. "Am I sick to be feeling this way?"

Hope shook her head with pity. She couldn't believe he felt that way about himself. "Nick, what you're feeling is not sick. It's far from it."

"I'm not supposed to be feeling like this though," Nick explained.

"Love is strange," Hope said, smiling. "You can't help who you fall for."

"I just don't want to be...judged," Nick admitted.

"I'm not judging you at all—"

"The others might!" Nick exclaimed. Hope bit her lip. Their friends may be judgmental, but they would never judge Nick for who he was.

"They won't," Hope promised. "However, you have to tell them yourself. It's not fair to any of you."

"I know." There was pause as the humidity thinned out. Nick stared at the table, but then he finally looked at Hope. "I feel different."

Hope took Nick's hand, and held them together with hers. "We are all different."

Nick chuckled slightly. "We are a couple of strange folks." Nick smiled grimly at Hope, but she didn't blame him. "I'm glad I told you."

"Me too." The both of them locked hands as the air finally cooled off.