Always & Forever (Nick & Bailey #2)

27. Nick

She looks so beautiful. Even though it had only been two weeks since he had seen her, it seemed that she had somehow become more exquisite.

She's sitting in the middle of her room, sorting through the piles surrounding her. He watches her bite her bottom lip, deep in thought. He wishes he knew what was on her mind.

He knocks lightly on the door jam, and her head whips up to look at him. She looks surprised but only for a second. "Nick, you're not supposed to be here."

Not exactly the warm welcome he'd been hoping for. "Can I talk to you?"

She doesn't look directly at him as she stands up slowly. "Fine. But my parents are home so you can't come in here."

"I know. I said hi to them downstairs. Outside?"

She nods. "Okay. I'll meet you down there."

He heads down the stairs and takes the long way toward the back door in order to avoid Bailey's parents. They had been more than a little shocked to see him. Since he doesn't know what Bailey has told them, he wasn't sure what to say to explain his unexpected presence.

He sits down on the porch swing and waits for Bailey. It is starting to sprinkle a little, which gives him hope for some reason.

He forces his mind to stay blank as he uses his feet to push off the wooden floor and rock back and forth. If he thinks too much, he will either get nervous, anxious, or frustrated. What he needs right now is to be relaxed. He needs to tell her how he's feeling and let her do what she wants with the information.

And hopefully that will involve forgiveness.

He's watching the rain pick up stamina and doesn't notice at first that Bailey has joined him. She's looking out toward the back yard and leaning her back along the house. Nick waits for her to say something, but it becomes obvious that she's waiting for him.

"Will you sit with me?" He asks her.

"I think I should stand."

Ok then. They will be standing. Nick stops rocking and moves to stand in front of her, blocking her line of vision toward nothing. She just stares at the floor instead. "Look at me, Bailey."

She keeps her chin tucked but lifts her eyes to his.

He talks slowly, making sure that she can hear every word over the sound of raindrops falling around them. "I'm sorry, Bailey. I'm so sorry for what I said to you and how I treated you. You gave me time to think about it this week, and I have. I feel like shit that you called me to celebrate what you had done, and I belittled it and tried to make you as miserable as I was. And then to accuse you of wanting to cheat on me? It wasn't fair, and it wasn't nice, and I wish I could take it back.

"I can't turn back time. But I can apologize, and I can promise you that I will never do something like that again. I swear."

She tilts her head to side. "How can you mean that if you don't trust me, Nick?"

"I do. I never didn't trust you. I was just..." He searches for the right words. "Bailey, I have been fighting my entire life--with my mom, with Ken, with anyone who crosses me. Besides you and your family, I've never been able to count on anyone except myself. Whenever someone had the opportunity to screw me over, they took it almost every time. Getting upset and lashing out is my default. I know it's not an excuse to act like that, but it is a reason. And I think that I'm realizing that for the first time."

He sees her lips curve downward. He has to slide his hands into his back pockets because the need to touch her and comfort her is becoming too strong. "Will you please give me another chance, Bailey? I won't let you down this time."