Chapter 13
Around 6:30, I returned home from my boat ride. I usually go out there to get away from my problems, but this problem wouldn't go away.
Caitlin was still in her room when I walked in the house. She hadn't come out all day. I knocked on the door and walked into the room, and I saw Caitlin sitting by the window, holding a teddy bear in her arms.
"Caitlin?" I asked. She turned and looked at me. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy from crying. She sniffled.
"My dad won this for me at a carnival," she said, and pointed to the teddy bear that she held tight in her arms.
"Are you going to be OK?" I asked, even though I already knew what her answer was. Stupid, stupid. Why did I ask that?
"No. I never will be. I have just lost my family, my own blood!" she cried, more tears falling.
"I know, I know. Shh!" I said and hugged her.
"Where am I going to stay now? I am an orphan!" she cried.
"No! You can stay here," I offered. Silence lingered for five minutes and I just held her close. Then she spoke up.
"Nick, I need a break," she whispered. I nodded.
"I'll be downstairs if you need me," I said and kissed her cheek. I took a few steps away.
"No, Nick. A break from us," she said. I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart filled with pain, and I nodded. She didn't need a boyfriend right now. She needed a best friend. I walked over to her and gave her a big hug.
"Don't worry, Caitlin. We'll get through this." I said. I held her close, close to my heart. Even when her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. Even when a tear dropped onto my arm.
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I stayed there, holding Caitlin for hours. I wasn't even that sad that we were no longer together. Caitlin was still in her grieving process when I left to go back to Europe to finish the tour. I heard from her a couple of times, she told me she was getting better everyday. The good thing was that she was living with us. That cheered her up a bit, constantly being around the people she loved. I was extremely happy when we came back to do our first US Summer Tour. I had two months off. Two months of doing nothing.
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"Almost there!" I heard Brian say as we landed at the airport in Tampa. All of us were eager to be home. The five of us quickly got our bags from the cubicle above us and got off the plane. I looked around at all the happy families that were greeting their missed ones.
"Nick!" I heard a little voice call. I turned around and saw Aaron running towards me.
"Aaron! I missed you," I said, as he ran into my arms. "How've you been?" I asked him.
"Fine! You know what? Mom bought me a new video game and I bet I will kick your butt!" Aaron challenged.
"Your on, little man!" I teased, ruffling my brother's hair.
Soon after, my parents and Angel and Leslie came over to greet me.
"Where's Beej?" I asked.
"She's off getting a drink with Caitlin." My mom said. Caitlin. My face softened at the sound of her name. This would be the first time I saw her since her parents death.
' How should I act?' I asked myself. I shouldn't act like nothing happened, should I? I thought back to the time where I saw her holding the teddy bear that her dad had won for her. How bad I wanted to hold her in my arms and kiss away all her tears, but that wouldn't take the pain away. Nothing could ever take the place of death.
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"Beej, I think their plane is here," Caitlin said.
"It is? How do you know?" she asked.
"Look at the arrival boards," Caitlin said, pointing towards them.
"OK. Let's go then." BJ said. They walked over to where they had left the family. Now, as they watched, they saw a huddle of people together, and in the middle, Caitlin could make out Nick's 6' 2 frame.
"Hey Nick!" she called over the many voices.
"Since when do you stop saying hello to your best friend!" she called.
I immediately stopped what I was doing when I heard it. I would know that voice from anywhere. I made my way through the throng of my family until I towered over her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and she threw her arms around her neck.
"I missed you," she whispered into my ear. The touch of her breath sent chills up and down, from my toes to the top of my head.
"I missed you, too!" I said.
"So, tell me all about Europe!" she exclaimed as we walked over to get my luggage.
"Same old, same old." I said. She laughed. I couldn't help but notice the way her blue eyes danced like fire when she smiled. It was then that I realized that I would never ever stop loving my best friend, for as long as we both shall live.
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