Remember Me This Way
Chapter 9
*At Brian's House*
AJ beat loudly on the door until Brian finally answered it, looking groggy and tired.
AJ- "Geez Rok, it took ya long enough."
Brian- "Hey I was sleeping, and what the hell are you beating down my front door for?" AJ pushed passed him and walked into the kitchen. Confused by his behavior, Brian closed the door and followed him, knowing that whatever was going down wasn't good. He found AJ already seated at the table with his head in his hands. Brian sat in a chair across from him, getting a little nervous about his next question.
Brian- "What's going on AJ." He didn't answer at first, he just stayed quiet and kept his head down.
Brian- "Come on man, what's going on with you?" Finally AJ looked up at his friend, confusion and worry standing in his eyes.
AJ- "Bri, I just came from seeing Jena."
Brian- "Is she ok?" Brian asked getting a little concerned cause he knew Nick was on his way back to see her now.
AJ- "Depends on how you look at it."
Brian- "Bone, what are you talking about?"
AJ- "Don't tell anything to Nick, but she and I had a long talk and I found out that she has feelings for me, feelings that exceed friendship." Brian looked like he had just seen a ghost, cause by the end of AJ's sentence the color had drained out of his face.
Brian- "You have to be kidding me. Please tell me that this is a joke."
AJ- "Man, I wish I could tell you and myself that. But it's not, she admitted it to me and then tried kissing me. But I didn't do it and then I left the house."
Brian- "Oh god, Nick is on his way back to the house right now. Do you think she'll tell him?"
AJ- "I don't know. In a way I hope she doesn't cause I'm afraid that he'll blame me for it, and I swear I didn't do anything to provoke this."
Brian- "This couldn't of come at a worse time. Nick and I had our own little talk while he was here this afternoon and he was finally feeling better about all everything. And now this happens. This is not gonna go over well."
AJ- "I know, what are we gonna do?"
*Nick's House*
Nick- "AJ?" He said out loud. Loud enough to wake Jena up.
Jena- "What did you just say?"
Nick- "No, I think that's my question. How come you just said AJ as I was touching your face?"
Jena- "And why were you touching me?"
Nick- "Don't change the subject Jena. What the hell is going on? Is there something happening between you and AJ that I should know about?"He said angrily, his voice getting louder and louder.
Jena- "I don't see why that's any of your business, and I would thank you to stop yelling at me." Now it was Jena getting angry at Nick's outburst.
Nick- "It is my business. He's my friend and you're my girlfriend."
Jena- "God, everyone keeps saying that! Don't you people get it? You remember me as I was, but I only know the me that's standing in front of you."
Nick- "This isn't you. The old Jena would never do this to me or anyone else she loved."
Jena- "Well, the old Jena is gone and I don't think she's coming back anytime soon. I've come to except that Nick. When are you going to?" With that she left and went up the stairs to ger bedroom. Nick could feel himself dying inside as her words continued to echo through his mind. Tears started to cloud his vision as he sat down on the couch and placed his head in his hands. Crying only for a few moments he suddenly realized that maybe Jena was right. Maybe this was the way she was to remain. And whether he liked it or not, this was the way it had to be. Composing himself, he walked over to the phone and dialed AJ's number. There was no answer, so he left a short message on the answering machine and headed upstairs. He knocked lightly on Jena's door until he heard her voice whisper ‘come in.' He opened the door enough so he could poke his head in.
Nick- "Get you stuff packed up and ready to go?"
Jena- "Why?"
Nick- "I just called AJ. He wasn't home but I left him a message. As soon as he calls back or when I get a hold of him I'll drive you over to his place."
Jena- "So, your kicking me out? Is this the way you deal with your problems, you make them go away or you run away from them?"
Nick- "I'm not running or pushing it away. There's no way that I can push away or forget the love that I feel for you. But I made a promise to you when we first started going out. I said that no matter what happened I would always do everything I could to keep you happy. And if being with AJ makes you happy, then that's what has to be done."
Jena- "So, this is for you, to make you feel better. Do I get a say in this at all?"
Nick- "I think you've said enough. And yes, it came in loud and clear and I finally have excepted it." Jena wanted to kick herself for saying that to him, cause truth be said she really did want to recover her memory and her past. And he was being almost too good to her right now. He wasn't yelling and he didn't look angry. Jena felt hot tears standing in her eyes that were about to spill over. She fought them back and managed to spit out a few words.
Jena- "Are we still gonna be friends?" Nick felt like a thousand needles were puncturing his heart all at the same time. Everything in his head was screaming the word no, trying to tell him to punish her for hurting him so bad. But his heart told him to keep her close, and to still help see her though this as best he could.
Nick- "Sure." Just then the phone rang.
Nick- "That's probably AJ. Get ready while I talk to him."
Jena- "Ok." Nick nodded and started to close the door.
Jena- "Nick" He turned back around and opened the door a little wider. Jena stood up and walked over to him. To his surprise she put her arms around his neck and hugged him close. Nick was reluctant as ever to touch her, afraid that he'd never be able to let go. Never the less, he put his arms around her waist and lightly hugged her back. The smell of her shampooed hair and perfume flooded his nose, making him remember all that they had gotten through together. But the question remained, would they be able to get through this and still be together in the end?
