Nothing Like Us

Chapter Twenty-One

It was torture to stay away from the hospital. Nick wanted to be with her 24/7 if he could. But every now and then, Joe had to remind him of what was going on and what he told Demi. It was best for both of them to stay away from each other for a while until things calmed down. But nobody really knew when that would happen. All Nick could do was give her the time and space she needed until she'd come to him.

If only he'd know that he'd throw that plan over board in just a few hours. He woke up feeling pretty good, even though Demi's sorrow still made him feel like shit most of the time. Today, he planned on not letting it control his day. He was going to head to the gym and the studio afterwards and it was going to be a beautiful day.

Joe was doing a photoshoot all day with his band and left the apartment really early. They haven't really seen each other the last few days because DNCE was playing a lot of concerts lately and Nick was...well, he wasn't. His album was still not done, mainly because of that period in his life where he didn't know what he wanted to include in his music and what he'd rather forget about. The singer was slowly at a point where it all came together, though, and he already thought about when he'd want to release it.

After he finished his work out, Nick drove to the studio to get a bit more work done. Phil was going to come over to go through Nick's plans for the release date and to listen how far the singer has come already. Nick was really happy to have someone like Phil as a manager. Not only did he an amazing shop managing both Demi and Nick, he was also a really good friend and super supportive of both of them, which probably wasn't always that easy, especially in the months after their divorce. Just like Joe, Phil was stuck between the two of them and had to stay as neutral as possible.

As Nick recorded a few lines for his song, Phil walked in and waved at him through the window. Nick waved back and finished before he headed out and greeted his manager. "Hey." he smiled and grabbed his water bottle, taking a sip.

"That sounded really good." Phil smirked and patted Nick's shoulder in a friendly way. "Maybe the break-up had one positive thing...amazing music coming from it." he winked and Nick chuckled a little.

"Yeah, maybe." he said. They talked a little until Nick looked at Phil and took a deep breath. Sure, he said he would give Demi time and space, but that didn't change the fact that he wanted to know how she was doing and if everything was okay with the baby.

"How's Demi doing?"

Phil looked up and licked his lips, shrugging. "I don't know. Probably not that well." he said and Nick pressed his lips together.

"Yeah, I thought so." he said. "It's tough not being there for head, but I know it for the best. This is something her and André have to get through." he sighed and ran his hand over his head. "It just sucks that there's nothing we can do to help Theo. That little boy has so much life ahead of him and who knows if he'll ever experience it."

Phil licked his lips. "He won't. That's the saddest part. He was just born and eventually..." Phil couldn't even say it out loud. It was painful to think about what Demi and André were going through.

"I'm worry about her, Phil."

The manager looked at the ground and nodded. "Me, too."

They both knew how strong Demi was. Ever since she's been in recovery, she handled certain situations like a champ, but this...this was a whole new level. And Nick wasn't sure if she'd be strong enough this time around.

Nick went to record a few more parts of songs before him and Phil headed out to get something to eat. They spend almost the whole day in the studio and Nick was starting to get really hungry. As much as Nick loved being in the studio, it can be exhausting at times, especially for his voice, so it was good to finally get out.