Yes, I Will: Chapter 1: Show Me

Nick looked up at the sky above him and sighed. He was supposed to be married at the moment. If his life hadn't been turned completely upside down and violently shaken he and Leah would be on their honeymoon. The thought made him shudder. How could his future be taken away like it had? It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.

His shoulders squared, Nick made his way from his back porch into his house. It was bustling with noise, much like it had been for days now. All the relatives had come in from different states for the wedding and most were staying at Nick's and Leah's house. The past three days had been exciting and filled with happy commotion and now... well now everybody just seemed surprised and confused and uncomfortable. Nobody more than he and Leah, he was sure.

Leah. Where the hell was she anyway? She'd disappeared right after Nick had gotten the surprise of his life, and had yet to return. Above everything, Nick was worried about her. Nobody knew where she was and she wasn't answering her cellphone. Nick was just trusting that God would protect her and bring her back to him.

God. Who was God anyway? Nick had always believed in Him. But how could He put Nick and Leah through all of this? They'd had enough thrown at them over the course of their relationship--friendship and otherwise--and they sure didn't need more. They were supposed to be happy now. It was their turn, their time... so why were they so freaking unhappy? Nick didn't want to think that God was out to get him, but why else would He have brought Lisa back into the picture?

Lisa. Lord, she'd just showed up at his door like nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. She had looked awfully nervous. And there was a very good reason why she should be. First of all, she and Nick had not broken up civilly. In fact, it had been anything but. Secondly, she had been Leah's friend and he was sure that she knew he was with Leah now. Leah's parents had said they'd told her. Thirdly, Nathan.

Nathan. Nick still felt tears come to his eyes when he thought of the little boy that Lisa had been holding. He had a son. How could this be possible? It just seemed so... not possible, maybe? But it was. Nick knew that he'd slept with Lisa, granted it had only been a couple of times, but it was still possible. Sure, he'd used protection, but that stuff wasn't always a one-hundred percent guarantee.

Shudder. He couldn't stop shuddering. What was he going to do? His fiance, girlfriend, almost-wife--whatever the hell she wanted to be--had disappeared, when his ex-girlfriend--his fiance's, girlfriend's, almost-wife's ex-best friend had showed up with his son... his son. He shuddered.

Nick walked up to his bedroom quietly, glad that none of the friends and family that were gathered in the family room heard him. He didn't want to talk to anybody. He closed and locked the door behind himself and looked over at the bed, his heart pounding against his chest. There was no way he was lying down on that bed. No way, no how. Not without Leah.

God, tell me she's coming back to me, Nick thought as he sat in a chair across the room from the bed. He sat there staring at it. Leah had made it the morning before and it hadn't been slept in since. Nick smiled with tears in his eyes as he looked at the dried rose laid across their pillows. She'd placed that same rose on their pillows since they'd shared the same room... and before that it had been on her pillow.

Suddenly Nick's body was racked with tears. He bent over his knees and tried to catch his breath as sobs took over and all he could do was gasp for air to breathe. He couldn't do anything without her... nothing... not without Leah.

"God, how can You do this?!" Nick shouted through his tears, standing up and walking to the window. He looked outside and up to the sky, feeling maybe it would bring him closer to God. Maybe then He'd hear his cries for help. "How can You just take her away like that? Please," he sighed as he wiped the tears from his cheeks and sunk to the floor, his face pressed against the windowpane, "please bring her back home. I need her."

Moments passed, the clock ticking loudly from the wall. Nick half-expected Leah to come barreling through the door at any minute, telling him she was ready to get married, that the problem with Lisa and Nathan could get worked out, that they'd work through it.

And after a half hour of waiting, Nick stood on shaking legs. "This is silly," he mumbled out loud, not knowing if he were still trying to talk to God or just to himself. "You probably can't even hear me anyway."

In a moment that was otherwise still, the drapes hanging at the sides of his window blew around in a whirlwind of fabric, knocking over a picture frame that set on the bedside table. Just as quickly as they'd moved, the drapes stilled and once again everything in the room was silent. Nick stood there a moment, stunned, before walking over to the window and feeling around with his hand for a draft. There was nothing. He looked down at the picture that had fallen to see he and Leah staring up at him, their smiles bright. How was that possible? The picture frame had a stand in the back, which would have made it fall face down when knocked over.

Nick glanced around the room... and shuddered. "Okay," he whispered, his eyes wide. "I believe You. Just bring her home to me. Please."