When he was satisfied, Nick quietly closed the door and headed downstairs, he himself was not ready to sleep just yet, although he felt rather tired, he felt stressed also and needed to relax. He slumped on to his sofa and shut his eyes momentarily, thinking of all the things that had happened recently. Nick was glad he could now view these troublesome things retrospectively-in someway now, he could appreciate what they were doing for him-making him stronger. Nick flashed his eyes open abruptly and sighed- he had forgotten about their trip to New York, to a recording studio there. Nick walked to his office and checked his calendar. He was in fact due to fly to New York in three days time. He had to pack. He was angry at himself because it took him forever to pack. But, he returned to the sofa and slumped back down into the welcoming fabric and closed his eyes again. He could start packing tomorrow…
Nick was awoken an hour later by his mobile phone ringing on the coffee table in front of him. He neither checked the time nor caller but just picked up.
"Hello." He said croakily down the phone. He was very tired now. "Hey Nick. It's not too late to call is it?" Heather said rather shyly, and Nick blinked at the VCR player clock-it was 1:30 in the morning. Nick yawned.
"No it's fine." Nick began, rubbing one of his eyes with his hand. "It's very nice to hear your voice." Nick said lying down on the sofa once again, feeling as if she were there, cradling him to a peaceful sleep; he closed his eyes and listened to her breathing on the other end of the phone. Her voice and her breaths were relaxing and no foreboding thoughts entered his mind in his light state of wakefulness. Heather sobbed and Nick opened his eyes in concern. "Are you alright?" He asked her enquiringly.
"No." Heather continued to sob.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked although he didn't think he was awake enough or strong enough to care for another crying person tonight. He sat up and gave her his full attention despite this. Heather's tears increased. Nick waited patiently for her to talk. "Don't cry…" Nick comforted when she failed at attempts to tell him why she was crying. "Whatever it is, it's ok." Nick said.
"It's my boyfriend…" Heather began, and Nick held his breath. "Oh man…" Nick thought to himself. Her boyfriend had found out about them on the sofa precisely where he sat. He knew it. He rested his forehead on his hand in remorse. "He…he…" Heather stuttered. "…he hit me."
"What?!?" Nick replied horrified. He was fully awake again. Nick had strong beliefs that a man should not hit a woman, even if the man, like he, had a bad temper. A bad temper was no excuse. In fact, there was no excuse. "Why did he hit you? Where did he hit you?" Nick barraged her with questions.
"He hit me because he found out about us." Heather said, and Nick wondered exactly what she meant by "us" but the thought was in one side of his head before quickly dissolving in the other side of his head. He cared about her, and at that moment neglected to see any warning signs. "He hit me across my face." She continued to cry into the phone, and Nick tried his best to comfort her.
"It's ok, it's ok." He repeated. "Did you call the police?" He asked. "No, no, no." She panicked at the sound of police. "I was at his apartment, and he hit me, so I left."
"Where are you now?" Nick enquired as he looked around his living room for his car keys.
"I'm at home." She sobbed. "Can you come over for a little while…?" She asked. "…Or can I can come to you? I don't want to be alone Nick…" She pleaded with him.
"I'll come to you." Nick said jumping up and slipping some trainers on. Aaron would be fine on his own for a few hours. "Don't answer any of his phone calls or texts messages or anything ok?"
"OK." She sobbed before relaying her address to Nick, to which he scribbled onto a piece of paper which he took with him, a long with a road map. "Don't answer the door until I convince you it's me ok?" Once he had hung up on Heather, he scribbled a note to Aaron, in case he was to wake and not find him there. Nick then walked out into the night and retrieved his car. The air was cold on his warm skin and tired body. The moon was shining brightly, as were the stars. This beautiful display calmed his anxious mind. On his way, he contemplated how on earth a man could raise his hand to a creature as beautiful as Heather. The thought disgusted him. It just wasn't justified at all. Nick knew this was going to be a long night.
