Part 366
"Nick, wait!" Becca called out to him, but he was too far across the arena to hear her. In his haste and hurt, he'd squeezed past everyone else on the bus, making his escape before having to face anyone else's accusations.
"Bec, let him go," Brian said. "Give him some time."
"Brian, no, I have to find him."
"Bec, he'll be back, he just needs a little space."
"He'd better not miss sound check," Kevin mumbled behind them, and in the blink of an eye discovered just how wrong his choice of words was.
"You prick!" Becca whirled on him, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes flashing.
"You colossal prick! How DARE you, Kevin?"
"Whoa, little lady, back up!" Kevin held up his hands to defend himself.
"Don't you patronize me. You have NO idea what you're dealing with here, do you?" She never gave him a chance to reply. "No, of course not. You're too damn busy being the 'big brother', being 'mister large and in charge' to notice what else has been going on under your nose."
"Becca-" Brian tried to interrupt.
"No, Brian, he needs to hear this. I'm sick to death of Nick being the butt of everyone's temper tantrums. You say he's grown up, but none of you believe it. You all say the nice words, but when it comes right down to it, you're not willing to let him be an adult. I suppose that's because none of YOU ever makes a mistake, right? No, I didn't think so. But Nick does, all the time. Nick, the cute one. Nick, the kid. Nick, the perpetual screw up of the group." Becca had enraged tears streaming down her face and didn't even bother to stop and wipe them away. Her voice softened as she choked out the rest of it. "Nick, the man who sobbed in my arms two days ago for the loss of his friend and teammate. Nick, who carries a guilt you'll never understand because his baby has a father and Kellie's baby doesn't and somehow he feels responsible for that."
"Becca-" Kevin reached for her.
"Don't touch me." Her chest heaved with the effort to breathe as she continued to stare him down. "Nick made a mistake. In the heat of anger, he said something that can never be taken back and that's something else he'll have to live with. My best friend was raped tonight. Again. You think Nick will sleep well tonight? Wake up with a carefree smile on his face? No, he won't. Because it's his fault. You told him so, and so did Sarah. Sarah has an excuse, she's the victim here, she was lashing out and understandably so. What's your excuse?" Becca held Kevin's eyes with her own until he looked away.
"Let's go find him, Becca," Brian said gently, taking her arm and turning her towards the closest entrance to the arena.
Becca wiped her eyes, turned sharply and walked away.
As Brian turned to follow her, Kevin grasped Brian's arm. "Brian-"
Brian simply looked up at him and shook his head sadly. "Way to go, cuz," he whispered, and walked away to help Becca look for Nick.