After Madison and Brian came inside, the four of them sat down to dinner. Leah had fixed baked chicken, a macoroni salad, corn, green beans, and rolls. It was a good meal. After they finished eating, Brian helped Leah load the dishwasher, while Nick sat in the living room with Madison.
"You're not going to tell Leah, are you?" Nick asked Madison.
"No, Nick. Don't worry. I'm not going to get you in trouble with Lee. You can relax."
"What are you guys talking about?" Leah asked as she and Brian entered the room.
"Nothing," Nick quickly answered.
"Hey Madi, where are you staying?" Brian asked.
"Oh, well, I wanted to stay with Leah, but since Nick is staying here, I guess I'll have to stay in a hotel till I can get my own apartment."
"No, there's no need for you to do that. Come stay at my place. There's more than enough room, and I would love to have you."
I'd love to have you too, Madison thought. Rather than saying what was really on her mind, Madison said, "Sure Brian. I'd love to stay with you, if you're sure it's no trouble!"
"Don't be silly, of course not." Brian sat down on the couch beside her and put his arm around her. "Besides if you're going to be working with us now, you can ride to the studio with me."
"Working with you?" Leah said curiously.
"Madison's going to help out with that new group I told you about. She's going to choreograph some routines for us." Nick answered.
"Oh! That's great!" Leah said, obviously a little surprised about the news that had just been told to her.
The four of them watched a little televison and then Brian and Madison left to go back to his place. After they left, Nick took a shower. When he came out, Leah was in the floor doing sit-ups.
"Did you absolutely need a choreographer right away?" Leah asked as she continued to do her sit-ups.
Nick could tell that Leah was a little upset that he and Brian were working with Madison. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and thought for a second. "You know it was really Brian that gave her the job. I was really hoping to work with you, but Brian asked Madison."
Leah got up and took a drink of water. She then sat beside Nick on the bed, putting her arm around him and her head on his shoulder. "I understand Nicky. Afterall, how could you hire her? You've just met her. You don't even know how she dances."
"Yeah, that's true. Brian told me she was pretty good."
Leah stood up. "She's one of the best. When we were kids we were always so competitive. When we were really young I always thought I was a better dancer, because I was older, I guess. But then she just got better and better. I guess we were both talented, but I think her talent was a little more natual than mine. I think I had to work harder to get where I was, wherever I was."
Nick got up and approached Leah. "You're wonderful. You're so beautiful and talented. I think if you put your mind to it, you can do anything."
"I really want to dance again. I love dancing. It sets me free, but I don't know if I can do it anymore. It's so hard sometimes. Just try, if you really want to do it. I'll be here for you every step of the way. You just gotta try and get back in the game. If you don't do it, then one day you'll wake up and you'll really regret it."
"You're right, Nickolas. I know you're right. But saying it is one thing, and doing it is another."
"I know you're afraid of failing, but don't be. I'll be here for you no matter what. But you have to try."
"It's hard, because the medication they put me on for the 'quote unquote hallucinations' makes me feel weak. It gives me the biggest headache. But I'm trying to eat good, and I'm going to the groups. Tomorrow I've got a meeting with the psychiatrist, like that helps. I should be in a studio working on new routines."
"Hey relax. If you want to dance you should dance. But don't put too much stress on yourself to do everything."
"Yeah, I know." Leah sat back down on the bed. She looked down at the floor for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. Nick stared at Leah as she sat there. He knew that she was really in deep thought about something. He considered asking Leah what she was thinking about, but he then decided it would be best to let her sit and think for a moment and let her talk when she was ready. A million thoughts ran through Leah's head as she prepared herself to bring up the topic that laid heavily on her mind. Finally she looked up at Nick, to find him staring right at her with a great look of concern on his face. "Nick I have a question to ask. I hate jumping to conclusions like this, but I've just got this way of sensing thing, and I have to know."
"What is it?" Nick had no idea what could be wrong.
"Nick, did you have sex with my sister?"
"Did she tell you I had sex with her?" Nick asked, suddenly feeling extremely guilty.
"Just answer the question." Leah demanded.
"Yes." Nick looked down at the floor. He felt so ashamed. "But Leah it meant nothing. I don't know why I did it. I just did it, but I promise you it will never happen again. Please believe me."
"I believe you. I don't condone what you did, and I'm sure not happy about it, but I'm sure it wasn't all your fault. I know how Madison can be. Every time I get something Madison must have it too. And if Madi sees something she wants she'll do anything to get it, and she doesn't care who she hurts along the way."
"I wonder what her motive was for telling you what we did."
"Oh, she didn't tell me. I had a feeling. I could tell by the way you looked at her. I knew something had happened between the two of you."
"I'm sorry, Lee. I love you. You know I wouldn't ever do anything to deliberately hurt you."
Leah smiled, put her arms around Nick, and kissed his cheek. "I believe you. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not upset, but I'm not angry. At least you were honest about it. I'm not going to let Madison ruin what we have." This last comment made Nick smile. Leah didn't want Madison to ruin what she and Nick had. Nick wasn't sure of the full meaning of that statement. He really wasn't one hundred percent sure what Leah thought of their relationship, but from the way she talked Nick could tell that their relationship did mean a lot to Leah, which made him feel even worse about the thing with Madison, but more comfortable when it came to where he and Leah stood as a couple.