When the Tide Rolls In [COMPLETED]

Chaptet Fifteen: I Want You

I finished lunch and happened to be heading back upstairs when Nick emerged from the bedroom. He was fully dressed, complete with a jacket and his shoes.

"Where are you going?" I questioned, looking him up and down.

"To eat lunch?" he said, as if I had asked him an unreasonable question.

I just nodded and scooted aside on the top step to let him by. As he passed, I caught scent of a clean smell. It called to me, so I decided a shower was in order.

The bathroom surprisingly didn't contain steam when I walked in. Maybe Nick liked his showers as cold as his heart.

That's uncalled for.

I ignored my intrusive thoughts, turning the shower knob on completely. Immediately, ice cold water began streaming out onto my hand. I let it warm up as I undressed.

I peered at my reflection in the mirror. I had bags under my eyes and my hair was a mess.

And Ava thought I looked pretty?

I shook my head at myself. I was falling apart. I looked at my cell phone sitting on the bathroom counter. May flashed through my mind. I had to know if she was okay.

I dialed her number, and she picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" she asked. I heard voices in the background.

"May, it's me," I let out the breath I was holding. She was okay.

"Hey Sammy. What's up?" she teased me with my nickname. I didn't care. It meant she was okay.

"Just checking in. What's going on with you? How have you been?"

"It's only been a couple days," May laughed, "but I'm doing fine. I guess I understand why you felt overwhelmed and I hope we can make up."

I smiled at that.

"Of course," I grinned.

"Cool. Well I'll talk to you later. Mom wants me to help with dinner," she spoke.

Dinner? Right, time zones.

So May and I said our goodbyes. By now, the shower was warm enough. So I climbed under the stream of hot water and relished the feeling of the freshness.

--

When I stepped out of the shower and peered at the clothes I had been wearing for over a day now, I groaned.

Instead of dressing myself, I wrapped a towel around me and poked my head out of the bathroom. Nick sat in the armchair situated in our room. He was watching the sunset through the open blinds of our window.

"Nick," I whispered, fearful of disturbing how peaceful he looked. His calculating gaze moved to me, and I watched his jaw tick.

Had I annoyed him?

"Yes?" he asked, still as a statue.

"Are there extra clothes for me?"

He stared at me a moment longer before standing and exiting the room.

How helpful.

I stepped out of the bathroom, gripping my towel around me. The carpet was a much needed solace to my tired feet. I opened one dresser drawer and found it filled with a man's t-shirts. I opened another and found boxers and boxer-briefs. Lastly, I found another was filled with a few pairs of jeans.

Were these Nick's clothes? It was hard to imagine him in anything but a suit. I thought back to the day he accompanied me to the beach and I chuckled to myself. He'd been furious.