Always & Forever (Nick & Bailey #2)

44. Nick

Nick: I miss u. I know it's only been a day

Nick: Do u miss me?

Nick: Plz answer

Nick: I know ur still pissed. I'm sorry for bothering u

Nick: I couldn't sleep last night. I never sleep anymore

Nick: I have so much still to say to u. Don't ignore me forever. Please

Nick: R u even getting these messages?

Nick: I will always love you

Nick: I'll wait forever if I need to

Nick: I'm so sorry. Plz forgive me

The week passes with no word from Bailey.

He texts her everyday, multiple times. He's never gotten a response.

The new freshmen moved in a few days ago, and he was able to perform his move-in duties--reassuring parents, instructing students, confiscating joints. He's had plenty of practice at pretending his life wasn't complete shit. This is nothing new for him.

When he's alone, though, his mind goes to Bailey. He knows she is supposed to be moving into her new house today. He sends her a text telling her good luck, not expecting a response. It's become a habit more than anything else, the texting. It's his new normal and a way for him to not let her go. Even if she is silent, he knows that she sees them when he sees "Delivered" in the bottom corner. She can't forget him this way.

After hitting Send, he tosses his phone onto his bed and takes a shower. Classes start the day after tomorrow, and he needs to go to the bookstore before then. He wouldn't normally wait so long, but school has seemed so unimportant lately.

When he returns from the shower, he looks at his phone instinctively. Under the last message he sent, it's blank. It wasn't delivered. He re-tries it, but after another thirty minutes, it still hasn't gone through.

She blocked him.

She doesn't want to hear from him anymore. She wants him out of her life--for real this time. Although he obviously should have, he hadn't really believed it until now.

How is he supposed to get her back if he can't even talk to her? He's not showing up at her house unannounced again—not after the looks he got from her family the last time. And she obviously doesn't want him to anyway.

It...is...over.

He looks in the corner of his room at a bottle of vodka that he found in a student's backpack yesterday. Technically, he is supposed to turn it into the main office and report it, but he has other plans now.

He twists the lid off and tosses it behind him. Opening up his throat, he pours the spicy liquid down, drinking until he needs to breathe. Then repeating the process.

This time he is interrupted by his phone ringing. His heart beats fast with the anticipation of it being Bailey, but when he looks at the screen he sees that it's actually Candace.

He doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, even the person who has somehow become one of his closest allies, but answers anyway. He's barely spoken to her or Pete this summer, but it won't do him any good to push her away now.

"Hello?"

"Nick? Hey! How are you?"

"Fine."

"What are you doing? Can I come over? You need to catch me up on your summer with Bailey, and I'm getting kind of freaked out being surrounded by boxes. Plus I am DONE unpacking for today."