An Ocean Away
Chapter 12
Riana woke up to the overbearing sun from her open window. She sat up and shielded her eyes.
"Ohhhhh," Riana grumbled and laid back down. Her head was killing her. Drinking did have its effects. She rolled over to her right, and her arm hit something very hard. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of blue eyes staring at her own.
"AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" they both screamed, jumping out of bed and covering themselves with a blanket.
"Brian, what are you doing in my room?!?" Riana shrieked.
"Why am I naked?!" Brian questioned with worry in his voice.
"We didn't....." Riana trailed off, trying not to say the obvious. "Omigod," Riana whispered and sat back down on her bed.
"We can't tell anyone about this, ok? Not even Leah," Brian said, sitting down opposite her.
"Especially Nick," Riana said, looking up at Brian for the second time that morning. Brian shook his head in despair. How could he do something so careless and stupid? He looked at his watch, it read 11:15.
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"I could tell this is going to be a good day," Nick said with a smile. He hopped out of bed and practically skipped into the kitchen for breakfast. He noticed the room seemed kind of quiet.
"Brian??" he called. No answer. He looked into Brian's room. His bed looked unslept in.
"Hmm. That's funny," Nick said. He shrugged his shoulders and continued making his breakfast. After he ate, he wandered over to the TV and turned it on.
"I don't understand how it is possible for nothing to be on TV when we have 150 channels!" Nick said, somewhat jokingly. He looked at the clock, 11:15. Riana was probably awake already, so he decided he should go see her. He went into his room and grabbed some clothes.
After taking a long shower, Nick quickly shaved and slapped on some aftershave. He didn't know why he was going all out for this, but he didn't think twice of it when he sprayed some Gravity onto his body. Grabbing a light jacket, he walked out the door.
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"Well, we aren't getting anything done by just sitting here," Brian grumbled. He quickly threw his shirt over his head and swiftly put on his boxers and pants. When he stood up he wobbled, he should have known that alcohol would do this to him. He was a moderate drinker, but last time, he went for the nearest escape.
"I'm gonna go now Riana." He said quickly. She covered her eyes from the rays of sunlight streaming in through the curtains. He could tell that she was still somewhat not there yet, so he slowly walked over to the window and tightened the curtains so her room was dark.
"Thanks," Riana grumbled. They walked into the living room and stopped at the front door.
"Look." Brian said. "I'm really sorry, Riana. It was my fault, I should have known you were drunk. Otherwise, this would have never had happened."
"No, it's just as much my fault as it is yours. We were both drunk, Bri. And I know that there is nothing that we can do to change what happened. But we have to pretend as if nothing happened. If this gets out to the public, your career and my career will be gone."
"Don't worry. I won't breathe a word of it. Do you think that.....this.....will change anything? Like between us?" Brian asked in a whisper. Riana shook her head.
"No, Brian. I don't like being awkward, so let's just go on as if it never happened, ok?" She asked with a smile.
"Deal," Brian said back, and he reached over and enveloped her in a friendly hug. "I'll see ya later," he said, and walked quietly out the door. Riana stood standstill for a second, before slowly retrieving back to her room. She flopped down on her bed and hid in her covers. She sighed and placed her head in her hands.
"Oh, God. What have I done?" Riana cried. Her tears were flowing down her cheeks. Her head ached and her stomach lurched. She buried her face within her pillow and cried herself back to sleep, hoping this nightmare would be gone by the time she woke up.
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Nick whistled a happy tune as he walked off the elevator and onto the 23rd floor. He looked down at his feet and BAM! He collided with someone and landed on the floor in the blink of an eye.
"Oh, Nick. I'm sorry man," he heard Brian say. He helped Nick up from the floor.
"No problem, B. What are you doing up here?" he asked.
"Well, I......uh.....had to use the bathroom," he lied, nodding as he said it. Nick looked at him strangely.
"Brian, we have two bathrooms in our room. Why did you come all the way up to the 23rd floor?" Nick asked, bewildered.
"I.....decided to take a walk, too. And I happened to walk up to the 23rd floor, and then I REALLY had to go and -"
"Brian, man. You're rambling. I'll see you later, ok? I'm gonna go see Riana for a sec," Nick said, patting Brian on the back. Brian opened his mouth to tell Nick that Riana was kinda upset, but he quickly shut it.
"Ok, see ya later," Brian said quickly. He scurried into the elevator and left Nick, standing there dumbfounded at the actions of his best friend. He shook his head and laughed. He walked to her door and knocked three times.
"Riana?" he called. No answer. He twisted the handle and was surprised to find that it was open. He walked into the living room and placed his hands on his hips, looking around the room.
"Riana?" he called again. Still no answer. He sighed and walked into her bedroom, to find Riana sprawled out on her bed. The sheet was so tightly wrapped around her that he could see a heavy sweat on her forehead.
"Riana, what's wrong?" he asked. He rushed over to her side and knelt in front of her.
"Nick! Get out of here!" she cried, turning in the opposite direction.
"What? Why?" He asked in shock. He noticed her shoulders were heaving up and down from her tears.
"Please, Nick," she sobbed. "Just leave me alone," she whispered. She tried to catch her breath but sobs were replacing her air.
"Riana, please tell me what's wrong," he said. He sat down on the bed next to her.
"There is nothing wrong!" She wrapped her sheet more tightly around her sweating body. Her head throbbed even more, and the alcohol pulsated through her veins more quickly then before. She just cried, trying more than ever to escape Nick's embrace. There was no way that Nick could see her like this. She was too ashamed, she was afraid that he would stereotype her as a whore.
"Riana, please." Nick said. He took her by her shoulders and faced her to him so he could look into her misty eyes. His voice was filled with so much sincerity that Riana couldn't look him in the eye and turned away.
"Nick, please leave me alone?" she looked at him and his eyes basically told her he cared for her. This was not a good time to notice all of the great features that Nick had in him. Especially not after she slept with his best friend. She thought she saw sorrow in his eyes, but she wasn't sure. Whatever she saw made her realize what a mistake she had made. How could she? When she finally realized that she wanted to be with Nick more than anything. Just the sight of him made her want to break down and cry. As if crying could make anything better.... He slowly nodded and let go of her. She suddenly felt cold when his arms retrieved from her stifling body. They belonged there.
"Are you sure? Because you know, I could stay-"
"Nick, just go." She whispered. She rolled over onto her stomach and faced the wall.
"Ok. You know where my room is, Riana." With that, he turned around and shut her door quietly. He waited one second outside of her door and then, with melancholy steps, he trudged back to his room.
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Riana knew very well that Nick was still there. She held her breath until she heard his footsteps disappear and then the door close. That's when she let all of her anguish out of her, crying all of the tears she held within her body. This was a secret that she knew if Nick ever found out, he wouldn't handle it well. Hell, Riana couldn't handle it well. Knowing what had happened would kill her before long.
