"You said that there wasn't anything you could tell me, that would change my mind about marrying Nick, & now you tell me, you know something that you aren't sure you should tell me?" I asked, my voice, high. I was sitting on the edge of the couch, watching Fran, as she stood up. She had just said that something terrifying, had happened after Nick found her in bed, with Kyle, but she hasn't elaborated & I was trying not to freak out.
"Relax. It's not something that should change your mind about marrying Nick. It's something that happened, that was horrifying, to witness, but let me tell you something. When Nick came in that room, he was blindsided by what he saw. He snapped & understandably so. What he did, was completely justified, but it still scared the shit out of me & I will never forget it, as long as I live. It's like a movie, that I can watch, in my head, whenever I want to. I try not to, but now, I'm forced to." Fran shut her eyes & shook her head, before she opened her eyes to look at me.
"What did he do, Fran?" I asked, impatiently.
Fran sighed, quietly, then turned away from me. When she spoke, I had to really strain to hear her, she was speaking so softly. "We heard the door squeak... so it had opened quite a bit, & Nick had seen enough to make him lose his mind. Kyle & I both jumped up...and Nick was...." Fran's voice shook & my heart began racing, thinking of all the horrible things Nick could have done. "He was so angry. I had never seen Nick, so angry before. I mean he barely ever raised his voice, in the six years I had known him." Fran was whispering, but I could still hear her voice shake. "Nick's face was so red... he yanked Kyle out of the bed, so fast, I didn't even know what was happening, at first. He threw him on the floor & started punching him, in the face. I was stunned, so it took me a moment to react. I started screaming for Nick to stop because Kyle wasn't fighting back. He knew he deserved it. He wasn't going to hurt his best friend, more than he already had. Anyway, I wrapped a blanket around myself & jumped off the bed to grab Nick's arm. I was scared, honestly, that he was going to kill Kyle. Nick stopped & turned on me. I thought for sure he'd hit me, but he just stared at me. The look on his face & the hurt in his eyes was not something I'll ever be able to forget. He was shaking. His whole body was trembling, he was so upset. But neither of us blamed him. Neither of us were mad at his reaction. It was what we expected & what we wanted to avoid." Fran turned around to face me, her expression a little on the devastated side.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Did he leave? Did he start yelling?"
Fran shook her head. "He walked out of the room, without saying a word. I helped Kyle get cleaned up & thank God, he was conscious. He had a broken nose, so when we came out of the bedroom, we were going to go to the hospital, but then we saw Nick sitting on a chair, his head in his hands. I knew he had been crying. It could have been because he was devastated or because he was angry, I'm not sure, but he was for sure, crying. When he looked up, he saw Kyle's bloody face & I know he felt bad, but he wasn't going to say anything. Instead, he stood up & started spewing all these questions at us. He wanted to know details. I told him I needed to get Kyle to the hospital & that I would talk to him when I got back. I wasn't sure he'd let me go, but he did. When I got home that night, Nick was drunk & I was alone, since I had taken Kyle home. Nick didn't let it go. He still wanted the details, so I gave them to him. I told him everything he wanted to know & I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but I felt like I owed him the answers he demanded."
