Broken Pieces (Riverdale #2) (29 page)

“No!” He shouted and then closed his eyes, trying to reign himself in. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I can come back another time.” Erica said from the doorway.

Nick turned around, his arm still holding Sam’s. “Yeah, why don’t you do that, or better yet don’t come back at all.” He spat and then turned back to face Sam. She wouldn’t even look at him, her eyes firmly planted on the floor.

Erica’s eyes widened at the harshness of Nick’s words, but then she turned her attention to Sam when she heard her speak.

“I’d like to know why you’re here Erica.” Sam said and lifted her eyes to her old friend’s. She wondered if either of them would admit the truth to her.

“Well, I work for Nick’s dad in Seattle.” Erica said and thought her answer was as safe as could be.

Sam nodded and pulled her arm free with a vigor neither she nor Nick expected. “I see, so then you and Nick worked together when he was in Seattle?” She said as she stepped closer towards Erica.

“I had left California and I bumped into Nick one day.” She looked down at her hands that she suddenly didn’t know what to do with and began to fidget.

“Right you conveniently left California when I decided to visit you.” Sam stated the anger in her veins boiling. When you keep something bottled in for so long, when it finally surfaces you become an ugly person only out for the truth. “And then what?” She snapped back impatiently.

Nick stepped between them and intervened. “And then she applied for a job at my father’s firm. End of story.” He sighed and looked at Erica with a warning glance.

Sam smiled sarcastically and her eyes darted back and forth between them, a fire raging inside of them. “Tell me, how’d the interview process go?”

“Stop it Sam.” Nick demanded. He knew her better than she thought he did, he knew she was fishing for something. What he couldn’t understand was why? Again, it was as if she knew.

“Why? It seems like an interesting tale.” Sam said with her voice full of sarcasm.

Nick looked at her skeptically for a moment and his mind wandered back to that day in the garage when Luke told him about her trip to Seattle. He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. “You came to Seattle, Luke told me!”

“I think I should go.” Erica said softly.

Sam kept her eyes firmly planted on Nick’s, she didn’t say a word. She wanted to
cry and laugh at the same time. 
Cry because in an instant her heart had gone from whole, to broken into a million pieces. Laugh because she allowed it to happen. She wanted to scream because she was naïve enough to believe that Seattle was in the past, but now it stood right in front of them.

“Yes.” She said softly, almost a whisper, as if she had been defeated.

“Why?” Nick asked simply but one simple word questioned a million different things. Why hadn’t she come to him? Why didn’t he know until years later that she had been there? Why was she so mad now? Why did he fear that he had just lost her all over again?

She shook her head and tried to look away from him because looking into his eyes, knowing she’d never be able to truly have him was too much. He turned her head gently back to face him.

“Samantha, answer me.” He pleaded with his eyes.

“I came to Seattle after I graduated to surprise you, but I was the one who was surprised.” She looked over at Erica. “I knew you moved to Seattle, I saw you with my own eyes.” She took a few steps back, putting distance between her and Nick.

He swiped his hand over his head. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” He said roughly.

Sam shrugged her shoulders. “Does it really matter?” She turned to Erica. “He’s all yours sweetheart.” She grabbed her bra and her purse and charged towards the door, needing to be as far away from them as possible.

“So that’s it?” Nick asked, his voice full of anger. “To hell with me, because of something I did what like five years ago?” He shook his head at how absurd this all was to him. “It was six years. There were women, Sam and I’m not going to lie there were a lot. Half of them I don’t remember their names. What do you want me to do? I didn’t know you were even there? Should I apologize to you for getting my dick sucked while you were across the country?”

Erica gasped, making her presence still known. “Did you just call me a blowjob?”

Sam ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at the ends as if she was losing control. She closed her eyes and before she could stop herself, she set him straight. “You weren’t just getting your dick sucked Nick. You were fucking her senseless on top of your desk.” Her rage booming through her boisterous voice, until the last words came out in a strangled cry. She took a deep breath. “Maybe I was being a bit naïve, but I flew across the country thinking that we never had our chance, that maybe we could reclaim it.” She shook her head.

“I just never expected to find, that while all my thoughts were of you, that I
apparently had never crossed your mind.  You didn’t need to say the words to me the reality was shoved down my throat by watching you fuck my best friend.” She snapped her lips shut and heard the smacking noise they made. She couldn’t believe the secret she harbored was set free, and by none other than herself. She stared down at her hands for a moment before she looked up at Nick.

He stared at her speechless as he ran his fingers through his hair. Words wouldn’t erase the memory etched in her mind or her heart, which he knew. The hurt shining in her eyes sliced him like a knife, and when the look changed to disgust, the knife twisted in his open wound.

“I’m done here, I’m done with you.” Samantha whispered hoarsely, needing to get as far as she could from the two of them. She turned around and brushed past Erica, hurrying down the iron staircase.

Nick’s fist collided with the nearest wall, causing Erica to jump. He glared at her and took a step towards her. “You better have damn good reason for showing up here.” He said through gritted teeth.

Erica swallowed as she stared at the seething man in front of her. Suddenly she questioned everything about why she was here in the first place, doubting that her plan would ever wo
 

Chapter Eighteen

Nick hit send on his phone, for what felt like the millionth time. He had all but pushed Erica out the door last night before he began a marathon of calls to Sam, all that were either declined or ignored. Her voicemail sounded in his ear again and he let out a frustrated sigh and prepared himself to leave another message, only the beep never signaled. Her inbox was full. He felt like flinging his phone out the window and wondered if she had even listened to one of the messages he had left her, probably not, he decided.

He grabbed his keys and stormed out the door of his apartment, stomping down the iron staircase taking two steps at a time. If she wasn’t going to answer his calls, then he’d just go to her house.  He almost went last
night, but thought maybe she needed time to cool off. He sat in bed all night pondering their situation. He even put himself in her shoes and tried to figure out how it would feel if he saw her with someone he considered a best friend, which was a little weird since he automatically thought of Luke.

Nick stopped short when he spotted Erica as she leaned against his car. He had thrown her out of his apartment before she could even explain why she came and destroyed everything. Truth be told, he still didn’t want to deal with her, but he needed to know why she showed up out of nowhere, if only for his own sanity if nothing else.

Erica quickly pushed off from the truck and offered him a cup of coffee she had bought him at the deli down the block. “Still drink it black?” She asked hopefully.

Nick snatched the coffee from her hands, but
didn’t bother to answer her. “Start talking, why the hell did you showed up on my doorstep last night?”  He snarled as he took the first sip of the piping hot beverage.

Erica sighed, stepping back, putting some distance between them. “Look, I’m not here to start trouble for you. I came here because I tried calling you a thousand times and when you ignored every call I had no choice. I don’t know where else to go.”

Nick swallowed another sip of his coffee and studied Erica. He had ignored her calls, just like he had with his father’s. Between the both of them his phone hadn’t stopped. He hoped that they would get the hint, not show up uninvited.

“Your father said he will fire me if I don’t bring you back to close some deal. I don’t even know the details of the deal, just that the closing of this deal relies on you.” She stared up at Nick. “I don’t know why he thinks I have any kind of hold on you. I know better.” She said looking away.

Nick nodded shortly. “I still don’t get why you’re here.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Erica, you and I had a good run, we had some fun times together, but that’s it. I’m not going to put everything I have on the line for you. No offense.”

“I guess your father figured that since you were the reason I stayed in Seattle and you were the reason he gave me a job, maybe you would be the one to save my job.” She put her head in her hands for a moment. “Nick I have nowhere to go. I can’t just pick up and come back home like you did. I can’t make a life here anymore.” She dropped her hands from her face and peered up at him her eyes pleading.

“I know you don’t owe me anything. I know that I don’t mean anything to you, but there was a time when we both turned to each other to get us through the rough times. You turned to me, and I never turned you away. Not once. No matter how much I should’ve.” She shook her head disgusted with herself. “God, Nick I was Sam’s best friend. I knew how much she cared for you and I still didn’t say no to you.”

Nick looked at her for a moment, remembering the nights when he reached for her instead of a bottle to fill the lonely nights. She never denied him and never asked for much in return. He had used her, and never once had he felt guilty. Not until now. “I never twisted your arm, Erica. You made your own decisions.” He said, needing to clarify that more for himself than her.

“You’re right.” She sighed. “Look, I had to come here. I had to try. I didn’t know that you and Sam had found your way back to each other or that she had known about us at all. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you or her. I really just needed you to help me out with your father, to help me keep my job and the life I built in Seattle.”

“When does the deal close?” Nick asked, not committing to anything, but at this point, maybe getting away from here would give Sam time to cool off and be ready to talk. He had been having trouble trying to come up with ideas, to get her to listen to him, disappearing wasn’t sounding so bad right now.

“I think by the end of the week they expect to close. I know the investors are due into the office by Wednesday.” She said as she took in a sharp breath.

“That’s tomorrow.” He said as he reached around to grab the back of his neck. “Fine, I’ll do it. Book us on a flight, I want to be there by Wednesday and meet with the investors myself.” He watched the smile bloom on her face. “Erica, I’m doing this, this one time. I have a life here now, and I’m not looking to escape it or have someone help me forget it.” Her posture straightened and he peered at her sternly. “I’ll close the deal.” He said confidently. “But if my father doesn’t secure your job, that isn’t on me.” He stared at her. “Do we have an understanding? This is a one shot deal if it doesn’t work…” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll still be on a plane back here Saturday, regardless.”

Erica tried to contain her smile, still the edges of her lips curved. “I understand. Thank you, Nick. Thank you so much!” She exclaimed happily and debated whether or not to hug him.

He nodded.  Turning toward his truck he gestured for her to step aside from the driver door she had been blocking.  “Work on getting the tickets, I have to get to work.”

Deciding not to go in for the hug, she sidestepped allowing him access to his truck. “Okay, I’ll call you and tell you what time the flight is.”

Another nod accompanied by a grunt, then Nick got in his truck, peeling out of the parking lot, leaving Erica standing there with a grin on her face. She reached into her purse and quickly found the contact she needed and hit send. The recipient of her call answered right away and her grin widened. “Mission accomplished. Now I need tickets back home, A.S.A.P.”

* * * * * *

Phillip looked down at the tray in his hands and frowned. There sat a burnt English muffin, a cup of instant coffee and a box of tissues. It was pitiful, he knew it, but it would have to do, he wasn’t exactly prepared for a heartbroken houseguest. He kicked open his bedroom door and glanced at the unmade bed and his friend who had curled up into a ball in the center of it.

“Rise and shine, beautiful.” He sang cheerfully as he placed the pathetic tray on the night stand.

“Go away.” She muttered into the pillow.

“Well, at least you’re not thrashing anymore.” He said, thoughtfully and sat on the edge of the bed.

“It’s not funny Phillip!” She pushed the sheets off of her and turned around to face her friend that had consoled her through the night.

“No you’re right. I’m sorry.” He said sincerely as he slung his arm around her shoulders. The poor thing looked like she went through the ringer. “Will it make you feel better if I personally beat the crap out of Mr. Hot Stuff?”