He stood outside Heather’s closed door and knocked softly. Hopefully, she would tell him to come in and not ask who he was. No way was she going to let him in after yesterday. There was a brief pause before she answered in a shaky voice. “Come in,” she sniffled. Nick’s heart broke. She was crying.
He opened the door to see that her back was to him. She didn’t turn around in fear that he would see the tears streaming down her cheeks. Cautiously, he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s all right. Let it out.”
“Dammit, why did it have to be you?” she sobbed. She was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to fight him today. “I thought you were my sister.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” he whispered. He pulled her into a comforting embrace as her body trembled violently, and she wept silently into his tee shirt.
“I’ve dealt with enough loss in the past few years that you’d think this would be a lot easier,” she cried. “But it’s not. It’s so hard. I thought I was strong.”
His hand traveled up and down her back as she spoke. “I’m sure you are strong, but this is enough to break anyone. You lost your best friend, and you’re in the hospital.”
“And I’m an orphan,” she whispered. He looked up, surprised. “My parents died in a car accident two years ago. My older sister, Elizabeth, was my guardian until last month when I turned eighteen.”
“You’re so young. You shouldn’t have to be dealing with loss,” Nick said. “If I would have ever imagined this would happen, I would have given my life to keep Sara out of the driver’s seat.”
“What do you mean?” she sniffled. “I thought you were driving.”
“No. My girlfriend was driving. She had the flu or something, and we went clubbing. After she had had a few drinks, but before she was actually drunk, I insisted that we go home. I tried to tell her she shouldn’t drive, but she wouldn’t listen, so I finally gave in. I was exhausted, so I dozed off. Then she got sick and puked, which made her lose control of the car. I woke up just in time to see your headlights,” Nick explained.
“What happened to her? Is she okay?”
“No, she died on impact,” he answered, tears welling up in his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have let her drive.”
“I’m sorry,” Heather said gravely. “I guess these few days have been pretty hard on you, too.”
“Yeah, but it was my fault. You were just an innocent bystander.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”
Nick didn’t reply. Heather turned over on her stomach and laid her head on her pillow with him still rubbing her back. After about fifteen minutes, he realized her breathing had become deep and even, and her eyes were closed. He silently slipped out the door and nearly collided with a girl he guessed to be her older sister. They had the same hair, and though she was a lot more developed than Heather, she had the same innocent, vulnerable look in her eyes. He also saw surprise in them, probably because she realized he was famous. “Excuse me,” he said politely.
She pretended she didn’t know him, but as he walked to the elevator, he could feel her eyes on his back.