"I'm so sorry, I know you don't want to deal with this. But I always turned to you." Claire cried.
"Shh, come on in my car and I will come pick up your car later." Angie said wrapping her arm around Claire and bringing her to the car.
As they got inside, Angie started the car and looked at Claire. She silently cursed herself and felt her heart racing. She had been through this before and she never wanted to go through it again. It tore her up seeing Claire so helpless and upset.
Aj raced over to Brian's and went inside without knocking.
"Brian?" Aj called out.
Brian showed up in the door with a can of Coke in his hand.
"Oh, hey J. What's up?" he asked taking a sip.
"Nothing, is Nick here?" Aj asked.
Brian nodded and headed outside, where Nick had his feet dangled in the pool, with Tyk in his lap.
"Hey Aj, what's up?" Nick asked looking up at Aj.
"Hey, uh listen, I'll explain in the car, but I need you to come over to Angie's to see Claire for awhile." Aj said.
"Is Claire okay?" Nick asked putting Tyk next to him and standing up.
"I hope so." Aj mumbled as he turned and walked outside with Nick behind him.
They got in the car and started driving over to Angie's.
Over at Angie's, Claire and her were in Angie's bedroom on the bed. Angie sat trying to comfort Claire, and Claire just sat there trying to calm down.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"I'm so sorry Ang, I really didn't want to call you, but I knew you'd be there. I kept thinking, it was just a phone call, he's not going to come after me, just drive back and talk to Nick. But I couldn't make myself do it. I just felt like I was back to the relationship, constantly being put down, feeling worthless." Claire said as fresh tears rolled down her face.
"Sweetie, you should never not want to call on me. We are like sisters and I will always be here for you. Listen, Scott is not a part of your life anymore, he will never be again." Angie said.
"I know, I just feel so foolish. I overreacted but the way he talked it was just too much like the past." Claire said as she buried her face into her knees.
In Aj's car, Nick and him pulled up to Angie's and Nick practically jumped out of the car after hearing how Claire might be.
Nick went inside and up the stairs to Angie's room. He opened the door and looked in seeing Angie rubbing her temples and Claire's face buried in her knees. Once Nick came in, Claire looked up and managed a small smile.
He walked over and sat down next to Claire and she clung on to him like she hadn't seen him in weeks.
"Nick, I'm sorry I didn't tell you when he called. I thought I would be fine, I'm sorry." Claire said.
"Baby, what's wrong?" he said feeling a large clump rising in his throat.
The sight of Claire sitting on the bed sobbing and looking like she was a little lost child, made Nick feel sick to his stomach, since no one should feel the way she was right now.
"One of my ex-boyfriends called me. It was nothing, I just overreacted." she lied to him.
Nick looked at Angie for some reassurance, but she just looked away. Aj came to the door and looked at Angie, she got up and walked out of the room with him, leaving Nick and Claire privacy.
"Ang, are you okay?" Aj asked.
She nodded solemnly and hugged Aj, "I hate this. She doesn't deserve it. I mean, her past has been her past for awhile now, and if it comes back up, I don't know what she will do."
Aj just kissed Angie's cheek and held her closely.
Back in the room, Claire held on to Nick as he rubbed her back soothingly. She had stopped crying and she just liked being in Nick's arms.
"Can you tell me what happened now?" he asked.
She swallowed and wondered why, with Nick, she still felt like she couldn't trust him. Claire knew it was because any trust she had ever given to a man, was ruined.
"Nick, I swear it was nothing. I dated this guy once and he called me yesterday. I just overreacted because he was, uh, not the nicest person in the world." Claire said trying to comfort him.
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Claire, just tell me what happened."
"I swear that's all Nick. I am sorry I overreacted, I just panicked I guess." she said.
Her heart sank a little having to lie to Nick. It was just a phone call, but she wasn't overreacting. When it came to Scott's possessiveness, there was no stopping him.
Nick placed his hand on her face, "I want to believe you, I do-"
Claire closed her eyes and pulled Nick closer as she kissed him lightly. When she pulled back she brushed a stray piece of hair out of his eye.
"Trust me Nick." she said in a soft voice.
He nodded and stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it and stood up. They walked out of the room and saw Aj and Angie sitting in the kitchen, talking.
"Ang, thanks for everything, but I think I am gonna go stay at Nick's for tonight." Claire said.
Angie got up and got a little closer to her, "Are you sure your okay?"
Claire nodded and placed a fake smile on her face before hugging Angie.
"Please don't tell Nick about Scott." she whispered to Angie.
When Claire pulled back, Angie nodded solemnly and watched Claire take Nick's hand and walk out the front door. They started driving, and Claire told Nick where her car was, and they drove in that direction. Once there, Claire got out of the car.
"I will meet you back at your house." she said before kissing his lips quickly.
He nodded and drove off as she got into her car. She opened the car door and sat down in the seat. Claire started the car and took a deep breath.
"It's fine, Scott won't bother you." Claire said to herself.
She sighed and realized after talking to Angie and Nick she did feel relieved. She turned on the radio and pulled out onto the highway.
Claire smiled at the song on the radio as she sang along and felt happy with the wind whipping through her hair.
"Now I know the sweetest dreams can all come true, cause I found heaven here on earth, when I found you. It's nothing I could never make up, how I hope I never wake up, just to find this isn't true reality. When I'm with you, it's paradise...." Claire sang.
She soon was driving right behind Nick on the highway. She pulled into the lane next to him and sped up. As she passed him she beeped and stuck her tongue out at him. She watched him smile as she drove in front of him.
Soon, they got off the highway and drove to Nick's. When the got out of their cars, Nick was on his cell phone.
"Yeah ... Okay ... Yes, that's fine ... Yes, Good-bye." Claire heard him say.
He clicked off the phone and stuck it in his pants pocket. Claire grabbed both of his hands in hers and swayed her shoulders back and forth.
"When I'm with you, it's paradise. No place on earth could be so nice. Through the crystal waterfall, I hear you call ..." she sang before letting go of his hands and dancing up the driveway.
Nick laughed as she swayed back and forth while singing to herself.
"...Just take my hand it's paradise. You kiss me once, I'll kiss you twice. As I gaze into your eyes, I realize, it's paradise."
She opened the door as one of Nick's pugs ran in between her feet. She picked the puppy up and nuzzled her face into his soft fur. Nick followed behind her with his mail in his hand.
"Are you sure your okay? I mean I know how upset you were, and now you are back to normal. Well, as normal as you can get." he smirked.
Claire gaped her mouth open and put the puppy down on the hard wood floor.
"Sic him." she laughed as the puppy ran in between Nick's feet, making him trip.
"Hungry?" she asked as he nodded.
"Want me to make us lunch?"
He nodded again but crinkled his brow.
"We need to go food shopping though." he said.
She smiled and walked into his kitchen, opening his fridge. There was a few pieces of fruit, 3 soda's and some sort of pasta dish his mother had sent over.
"Um, yeah, you do." she said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'll go, you go out to the patio and start the grill, we can have a little cookout, okay?" she offered.
He smiled big like a little kid, "I haven't had a cookout in months!"
She laughed at him and kissed him sweetly, "I'll be back."
She walked off and knew he was just watching her, "...When I'm with you it's paradise." she started singing and swaying.
As she heard Nick laughing she just smiled and realized as long as she had Nick, her life was perfect.
