CHAPTER 8 – WHAT ABOUT LOVE?

"Nick! What happened?"

Kevin and the others were running towards Nick in the casualty department.

"We heard your message on the machine," Charlotte said. "What happened to Taylor?"

Nick looked very pale. "She was driven over by a car"

"Oh my God" Charlotte gasped. "That’s awful. Is she dead?" "No, but she’s in intensive care" Nick said and sat down and started crying.

"It’s all my fault. What if she’s gonna die? I don’t know what I’m going to do if I lose her. I love her"

"We know" Brian said and gave him a hug.

"And she’s going to be alright" AJ said to Charlotte, who had started crying too and gave her a comforting hug.

"But what exactly happened?" Brian asked Nick.

Nick told them the whole story.

"That bitch!" Kevin said with anger in his eyes, referring to Amber. "If I ever meet her again I’m gonna slap her so hard she doesn’t know what hit her"

"Let’s all pray to Taylor’s safety" Denise said and bowed her head. The others followed her in a silent prayer.

A little while after, a doctor came out of intensive care in direction of the little crowd.

Nick stood up. "How is she, doctor?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

"Well, we were able to stop the internal bleeding" the doctor said. "She’s a very lucky girl. She could have died from that accident, but she got away with a broken leg and a few bruises"

"Oh thank God!" Nick said. "Can we go see her?" "Yes, but only one at a time. She’s not that fresh yet," the doctor said. "Thank you so much, doctor" Nick said and shook his hand.

Everyone shook his hand too. "Well, my pleasure" the doctor smiled and left again.

"Charlotte, you wanna go first?" Nick asked. "No, you go" Charlotte smiled, still hugging AJ.

"You probably have a lot to talk about" "Thanx" he smiled. "Thanx for coming, everyone"

"Well, she’s like our sister" Brian smiled. "We’re all concerned for her, but you go in first and tell her how you feel" "I will" Nick smiled and walked into intensive care.

When Nick got into intensive care, it broke his heart to see Taylor surrounded with all those tubes and monitors.

He walked over to her bed, and saw her staring in the sealing. Then she looked at him with very tired eyes. "Oh Taylor, I’m so happy you’re alright. Don’t ever scare me like that again" Nick said and sat down beside her bed.

"Please leave, Nick. I don’t wanna talk to you," she said, with a very low voice.

"But I don’t understand..." he said. "You’ve broken my heart, Nick" she said. "I thought I could trust you, but it turns out that you’re just like Todd and everyone else. And just when I started to trust you. I loved you, Nick" "You love me?" Nick said. "No" she said. "I did love you until I saw you with that girl. Then all my love disappeared for you. Now please leave, I don’t wanna see you anymore"

Nick felt as if he was being punched in the stomach. She didn’t love him. Then anything else didn’t matter. He stood up and walked out before he started crying before her and walked right out of intensive care without looking back.

"What’s the matter, Nick?" Howie asked as Nick walked by the whole crowd.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." Nick whispered, even though everybody heard.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just done!

I laid in my bed, still crying. I had told him I didn’t love him. But that wasn’t true. I loved him.

I loved so much that it hurt when I wasn’t with him.

Oh, just to see that painful look in his eyes. I could see that he was about to cry.

I should have stopped him and told him that I loved him more than life itself and that I always would.

I was just so hurt about him and that girl. That he could think of cheating on me, but that didn’t keep me from loving him still!

Suddenly Brian walked in. "What did you say to Nick?" he asked. "He stormed out the hospital without any explanation at all"

"He cheated on me, Brian" I said with tears rolling down my cheek. "I thought he wouldn’t do a thing like that. I thought he was different. I thought..."

"He didn’t cheat on you, hon" Brian smiled. "But I saw him myself?" I said confused.

"What you saw, was Amber kissing him. He didn’t know that she was gonna do that, and besides he doesn’t like her. He loves you" "He loves me?" I asked surprised. "Of course he does" Brian smiled. "He always has, he just always didn’t knew it. And you love him too, right?" "Of course I do" I said.

"Then what’s wrong?" Brian said and sat next to my bed and took my hand in his.

"I told him I didn’t love him, Brian" I said and started crying again.

"I was so hurt over what he’d done that I told that I didn’t love him anymore. You should have seen the heartbreaking look in his eyes, Brian. I thought I was gonna die with sorrow" I cried uncontrollably.

"Their, their" Brian said and wiped the tears of my cheek.

"You just have to tell him that you love him, it’s as simple as that"

"No!" I said. "I can’t do it. I’m too scared. He probably doesn’t love me anymore after what I said to him"

"Of course he does, Tay" Brian smiled. "You’re his first real love. He won’t stop loving because you say you don’t love him. His heart will be broken, I’m sure of that, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna stop loving you" "You think?" I sniffed. "Tay, the kind of love you and Nick share is a once in a lifetime kinda love," Brian said. "You gotta hold on to it"

"I’m too scared" I said and burst into tears again.

Brian held me close to him. "If you don’t do it, you might never see him again, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life, just like Nick will"

"I can’t. I just can’t bear the thought of being hurt like that again!" I cried.

"Well, none of us can help you" Brian sighed. "You’ve gotta handle this for yourself, but I know for sure that Nick’s gonna miss you dearly" "I’m gonna miss him too" I said and let go of Brian’s hand.

"Tell him that...no don’t tell him anything I’ve said to you, and please tell the guys to come back later. I’m too tired to see anymore people" "Okay" Brian smiled and wiped a tear away.

"But I gotta tell you, I hope you know what you’re doing" "I don’t have a clue" I sighed.

Brian gave me a kiss on the forehead. "See you soon, Tay" he smiled and I smiled back.

"See you soon, B-Rok"

Brian left and I started crying again.