"Oh I'm sorry did your boyfriend see that?" Jake asked as he got up off he ground. In one quick move Alex turned around and punched Jake. The blow sent him right back to the ground. Alex turned around and walked slowly to the truck telling herself over and over that they were going to work this out. As she got closer Nick hit the unlock button gripped the wheel with both hands. Alex climbed in and didn't say anything. Nick put the truck in drive and drove towards Alex's house. The silence started to get to Alex, "Nick I.."
"Don't!"
"What?"
"Don't say anything."
"But.."
"Alex, just shut up!"
Alex looked at him for a minute and then clamped her mouth shut. He pulled up in front of Alex's house and stopped. "Nick..I.."
He cut her off again, "I'm leaving. You and you're boyfriend can be happy because I won't be in the way!"
Alex looked at him, shocked at what he had just said, "Well, since you don't care about the truth, then fine!" she slammed the door and stomped off towards the house before Nick caught her by the arm and spun her around.
"The truth? I go to pick MY so-called girlfriend up and find some guy slobbering all over her, and you want me to listen to 'the truth'!"
They way he spat 'my so-called girlfriend' made Alex flinch. "Yes! You didn't bother to notice that he kissed me and I did not kiss him back, or the fact that I punched him afterwards!"
"Only after you saw me!" he yelled back
"FINE NICK, YOU WANT TO BE A JERK, THEN BE A JERK I DON'T CARE!" she turned around walked into the house and slammed the door. Nick walked back to his truck, slammed the door and jerked the car into reverse.
***
Alex leaned against the door and tried not to cry, she did care. She didn't want to yell at him, she wanted to tell him she was sorry, but if he was going to act like that she could forget about it. She walked up to her room determined to get his mind off of Nick Carter.
***
Nick drove back to Brian's house got his gear and left leaving a note for Brian on the counter.
*******************2 WEEKS LATER*******************
Alex had had a tough week, her pitch was getting a little slow, she had a deadline on choosing a college, and she had tons of homework everynight. On top of all that, she hadn't talked to Nick, at all.
She was sitting in her room working on science homework when she decided to take her Great Dane, Charlie, for a walk. Whenever she needed to think taking Charlie for a walk had always worked. She walked down stairs and out the back door, "Charlie! Here boy, Charlie!" She looked around, "Where is he?" she finally spotted him laying in the corner of the porch, "There you are you lazy dog. Come on! Let's go for a walk." She bent down and pet him, Charlie had started to get real old so sometimes it took him a minute to get up. But, this time, Charlie wasn't getting up. Alex thought he felt cold, and checked for a pulse, he didn't have one. She got up and walked back in the house. Jasmine walked past her and Alex stopped her, "don't."
"What? I'm just going out back."
"No, don't."
Jasmine looked at her sister and the followed into the kitchen. Alex found Mrs. Paine sitting at the table and told her about Charlie. "Oh my, I'll call your father."
Jasmine's eyes teared up and she ran out of the room crying. Mrs. Paine called her husband and he told her he would take care of it when he got home.
Alex walked back up to her room and sat down on her bed, she glanced at her dresser and saw the picture taken when she was 10, she had her arms wrapped around Charlie, and next to it was the picture of her and Nick. Alex lay down on her bed and just cried. She cried about Charlie, about Nick, about college, about homework, and just about life.
*********
She woke up an hour later with a headache. She glanced out the window and thought she would go for a walk anyway. She walked out the front door, and thought about how everything was changing and she didn't think she liked it. She walked for a long time, just thinking about everything that was happening. By the time she started back she had decided that she would except the scholarship from the Univ. of Florida, that Charlie deserved to die because he was an old dog near 16 and lived in pain, and that she was going to enjoy the few last weeks of high school.
She turned the corner to see a familiar green truck sitting in her driveway with the owner leaning against it, watching her approach.
