He was struck with the emptiness in her eyes.
“ April,” He said, somewhat dazed but hoping she didn’t notice before giving
her a hug.
“ Hey, Nick, what are you doing here?” She asked, surprised to see him at her
doorstep at ten that night.
“ I came to visit, I just got back earlier today,” He informed her, fidgeting on the
doorstep.
“ Can I come in or-?”
“ Oh, yeah, sure,” She moved from the door and he walked in, shutting it softly
behind them.
“ I called,” He added, glancing around the familiar living room.
“ I know. I saw your number on the caller ID,”
“ Were ya gonna call me back or make me wait?” He asked in a slightly teasing tone
as they sat down on the sofa.
“ How was the tour?” She asked, thinking it’d be appropriate of her to ask. He
shrugged.
“ The tour was...Ok, I guess,” She nodded.
“ Where are your parents?”
“ Ugh, at some dinner party or something,”
“ So you’ve been all alone all night,”
“ Not really, just for about an hour,” He looked at her for a second, trying to
decipher the hidden messages her eyes held.
“ It’s been a long six months,” He said finally, her gaze finally leveling with his.
“ That’s what happens when you’re the famous Nick Carter,” She tried to make her
voice light but instead, it just came out dead and dry, the type of voice he wouldn’t
expect from her.
“ So what have you been up to? Any new projects?...Classes?...Boyfriends?”
“ Guys come and go...Nothing too new. Graduation was a few months ago. I don’t
know if you got the invitation? I assumed you weren’t coming, I just...thought you’d like
to hang on to an invitation,” She shrugged again and looked at the clock.
“ I couldn’t, you know I would have loved to come, April,”
“ Anything new or intresting going on with you?” There was a quick pause before he
filled it up with stories of the tour, wishing she’d laugh like she used to. At 11:45, she
stood up and looked outside.
“ You’d better get going, it’s late,” She said, running a hand through her hair, always
a sign that she was tired.
“ Yeah...You gonna be ok by yourself?” He asked before getting off the sofa.
“ I always am, aren’t I?” There was an uncomfortable tension in the air and they
both knew that the whole night had just been a cover of the awkwardness their friendship
had somehow turned into. How he felt obligated to call even if he knew things weren’t
going the way they were supposed to and how she felt obligated to wonder how he was.
They both realized this and let it fill up the empty room, making the house seem vast and
cold. Nick could see in her eyes that things had changed and weren’t over yet. It was
barely the beginning. He could tell that already, in the past six months that he’d been
away, she had traveled down roads he could only try to fathom.
“ Are you sure? I could stay until your parents get back,” For a second, she felt a
rush of affection for him, genuinely glad he was back.
“ You don’t have to,” She said again, half hoping he’d insist to stay but the other
half telling her he should leave. As he stood, contemplating on what her answer would
be, car headlights flashed through the living room window and that moment of closeness
shattered as April rolled her eyes.
“ They’re back,” She muttered, her eyes drifting to their empty glasses of coke.
“ Well, I guess I’ll wait and say hi,” She didn’t reply, instead taking the glasses to
the kitchen. He could hear the sink running as the front door opened and Beth and Mike
walked in, a look of surprise crossing their faces when they saw Nick standing in their
living room. They greeted each other warmly, seeing as how Nick had grown up with
their daughter and how they were friends with his parents. April walked in as Mike was
telling Nick “how much he’d grown” and the usual comments that went along with it.
“ Hi,” April said to her parents and it seemed that her simple word made the
laughter die.
“ Hello, sweetheart,” Beth said after a second of silence.
“ Hi, April,” Her Dad added, giving her a smile.
“ Did you eat dinner?” Her Mom asked, glancing again at her daughter’s skinny
frame.
“ Of course I did,” She answered, a look of innocence and wariness on her face.
Another pause as if no one knew what to say to each other. Finally Nick excused
himself, saying he was tired and promising to come over for dinner the next evening. As
he made his way to the front door, he saw April going up the stairs and retreating back
into her room. He shut the door and pulled his keys out of his pocket, watching as the
light turned on in her room and her parent’s room. It was as if the whole family was
drifting to being complete strangers. He sighed as he unlocked his car door, wishing
April would be like she used to, wishing they could just chat about all the times when
they’d get into mischief when they were younger. He got in the car and started the
engine before pulling out of the driveway and making his way to his empty house...
