“How could you do this to me?!” Lauren screamed at the top of her lungs. Nick just knew that the whole hotel could hear their fight. “I trusted you. Why? Did you think I’d never find out?”

“I’m sorry, Laur,” Nick cried, trying to blink back the tears that welled up in his eyes. “I don’t know what else to say. I honestly don’t remember. It was three and a half months ago and I was wasted.”

“That’s not an excuse, Nick!” She yelled. “That’s a fucking cop out! If you told me about it then I might have been a little more understanding. Do you know how stupid I feel?”

“Lauren, I love you,” he whined. “I would never do anything like this to you on purpose. You know that.” Lauren was silent. So was Nick. He couldn’t do anything else but apologize. It was in her hands now. He wanted to kick himself for being so stupid and never telling her. How could he think she would never find out? Suddenly, the door swung open and Brian walked in.

“Hey guys,” he said, oblivious to the tension in the room. “Frack, what time’s Kayles getting here?”

Lauren’s head shot up and she glared at Nick. “She’s coming here? After all this, you still have the nerve to invite her out here when I’m here?”

“Whoa,” Brian breathed. “What the hell is going on?”

“None of your business, Brian,” Nick snapped. Lauren put her hands on her hips:

“Oh, I think he deserves to know. Do you know that Nick, here, and his little slut best friend slept together?”

Brian’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What? When?”

“In London,” Nick mumbled. “That night we all went to Limelight. I honestly don’t remember.”

“You better tell her to leave,” Lauren warned. “I don’t want her here.”

“Lauren, I can’t make her turn around and go home,” Nick responded. “It’s not like it’s the next town over. She can’t just hop on another flight like that. Besides, she’s my best friend.”

“I don’t care!” Lauren yelled. “It’s your decision, Nick. Kayleigh or me.”

“You can’t do that, Lauren!” Nick cried. “You can’t make me choose between you guys. I love you but I’ve been friends with her for almost ten years! You can’t make me do this!”

“You just did,” Lauren whispered. She quickly walked around the room, gathering her stuff.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked, warily.

“I’m leaving,” Lauren stated. “You just made it clear that she’s more important to you than I am. I can’t compete with that.” Nick watched helplessly as she threw her things into her suitcase. “The thing that sucks, Nick, is that I really liked Kayleigh. I always have. She’s always been so sweet to me. I know that she’s important to you. But the thing is, you’ve just proved that she’s so important that you’d sacrifice everything we have together to keep her happy.” She picked up her bag and started walking towards the door.

“Don’t do this, Laur,” Nick pleaded. “Please don’t walk out that door. We can get through this.”

“No we can’t,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “I can’t get past something like this. You slept with another girl, Nick. And you kept it a secret from me for months. That’s not something that we can fix. I love you, Nick. You know that. But I can’t be with you anymore. It hurts too much that you would do something like that to me when you claim that you love me so much.”

“I do!” Nick cried, tears of sadness and frustration pouring down his cheeks. “I love you more than anything. I’m sorry. Fine. I’ll stop being friends with her. I promise. Just please stay!”

Lauren reached up and wiped his tears away. “I’m sorry, Nick. I can’t do that. I love you.” And then she was gone.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

“AJ!” Kayleigh called as she walked into the lobby of the hotel and spotted AJ about to get into the elevator.

AJ turned around and smiled. “Hey girl! Do me a favor and don’t yell out my name in a hotel lobby. Unless you want to get caught in a mob of screaming fans.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, AJ,” she giggled. “I could’ve been talking about anyone.”

AJ threw an arm around her and led her into the elevator. “So what’s been going on? How’s your knee treating you?”

Kayleigh shrugged. “It’s slowly getting better. I still have to wear the brace when it acts up and I still have physical therapy.”

“Do you think you’ll ever be able to play again?” AJ asked carefully.

“I don’t think so,” Kayleigh answered, sadly. “When I started physical therapy, there was still a chance. But they pretty much told me not to get my hopes up. Pretty much sucks. I lost my scholarship at FSU because of it. It’s funny that they love you when you’re their star player but as soon as anything happens, you’re forgotten.” AJ gave her a sympathetic hug as the elevator stopped on their floor. He politely grabbed her bags and the two exited the elevator. Kayleigh was about to knock on Nick’s door when Brian’s opened.

“Hey girl,” he whispered. “Why don’t you come hang out with me for a little? I think Nick wants to be alone.”

“Oh, is Lauren in there?” she asked quietly, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

Brian shook his head. “Nope. Come on in and I’ll tell you everything.” Kayleigh nodded and followed him into his room.

“Where’s Leigh?” she asked, flopping down on the bed.

“Out with Kristin,” Brian answered. He sat down next to her. “There’s something you should know before you go in Nick’s room.”

“What is it?” Kayleigh asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah,” Brian told her. “I mean he’s not hurt or anything. Well, physically at least. But it’s pretty bad and you’re involved.”

“I am?” she asked surprised. “What would I have anything to do with?”

“Lauren found out about what happened in London,” he explained as Kayleigh’s eyes widened in shock. She honestly had no idea that anyone would know. Nick must’ve told her. That could be the only explanation. The only people that knew were Nick, Kayleigh, and Brooke. “I don’t know how she found out. But she did and she flipped out and broke up with him. He’s a wreck. I don’t really know if you’re going to be the one he wants to see right now.” Kayleigh bit her lip and nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “But what should I do? I mean, my flight doesn’t leave until Sunday. Should I try to get an earlier one?”

Brian shook his head. “Not at all. You’re not going anywhere. I just think maybe we should give him a little time to himself. This only happened an hour ago.”

“Okay,” Kayleigh said, nodding slowly. No sooner had the word left her mouth when there was a knock at the door. Brian stood up and went to answer it. “Frack!” he announced, seeing Nick standing out in the hallway. His eyes were all red and puffy from his crying. “You okay?”

Nick shrugged and walked into the room, not seeing Kayleigh at first. “Not really. I guess I’ll live. I just don’t want to without her.” He looked up and caught Kayleigh’s eye. “When did you get here?” She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? This is all your fault. If only…if only…” He couldn’t think of anything to say and he collapsed on the bed as the tears began falling again. Kayleigh looked helplessly at Brian and he could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Nick,” Brian began. “This isn’t Kayleigh’s fault. It’s as much yours. You’re the one that cheated on your girlfriend. You knew that this could be the consequence of that.”

“Maybe I should go,” Kayleigh said softly as she stood up. “You obviously don’t want me to be here. I’m sorry, Nick.”

“Sit Kayleigh,” Brian ordered. Kayleigh sat back down on the bed.

Nick stood up. “Then I’m leaving.” Before anyone got a chance to respond, Nick stood up and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Kayleigh looked up at Brian with tears in her eyes. “Why is he treating me like this?” She buried her face in her hands. Brian stared at her, sympathetically, knowing that her feelings for Nick ran much deeper than she had ever admitted.

“You really love him don’t you?” He asked after a moment of silence.

Kayleigh’s head snapped up. “What?”

He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. “You really love him,” he repeated. “The way you look at him totally gives it away. You love him.”

“Of course I love him, Brian,” she answered. “He’s my best friend.”

“No you love him,” Brian stressed. “You’re in love with him. I’ve always wondered when it would happen. The way you stare at him makes it so obvious sometimes.”

Kayleigh couldn’t believe how Brian read her like a book. She caught herself staring at Nick a lot, not realizing that anyone else had noticed. Slowly, she nodded. “I do,” she whispered. “I have for a while now.” Tears poured from her blue eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “He’ll never feel the same way about me. It’s all about Lauren. He’ll never see me as anything other than a best friend. It’s hopeless.”

“Nothing’s hopeless, Kayleigh,” Brian pointed out. “Does he know?”

Kayleigh shook her head. “No. And he’s not going to either. So, don’t even think about opening that mouth of yours.”

Brian nodded, although he didn’t agree that she shouldn’t tell him. “Okay, Kayleigh. I won’t. But you have to promise me that you won’t keep this inside of you forever. Maybe now’s not the best time to tell him, with Lauren leaving and all. But you’re going to have to one day or it’s going to kill you.”

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