001;
I bit my lip as I waited for him to answer. Nick stared hard at me, as if he didn’t believe me. Suddenly, he looked horrified, and it had just hit him he had a kid. He should be surprised: I mean, I left him. I was the one afraid of commitment.
“We need to talk. After t-the… this thing…” He stuttered, guiding me to a chair behind the table. About an hour of signing autographs, Nick made some lame excuse for needing to hang behind for a little. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. Soon after an uncomfortable silence, he looked up at me.
“Effie, you look beautiful. You haven’t changed much.” I looked down at myself. He was right, I agreed, as I noted my tight acid wash jeans, old band tee, black heels and yellow cardigan. I looked like the dumpy teen I did back then with my bottle blonde hair. Even my black nail polish was permanently chipped.
“Thanks,” I blushed, bouncing Audra up and down on my knee. It was so awkward to hear him call me beautiful again, like he did when we were sixteen.
“Hi sweetie, what’s your name?” My heart broke as Nick asked Audra that. He didn’t even know his own kid’s name.
“Mommy said not to talk to strangers.” Audra replied shyly, turning into my chest to hide from him. My heart broke for a second time.
“No, Audie-Ray… that’s your Daddy.” I said softly turning the four year old around. She looked him over, and Nick stared at her in amazement.
“Oh,” Audra replied plainly. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Nick breathed, smiling and taking her in. I felt self-conscious of Audra, wondering if I had dressed her right. She swung her legs happily, obviously not feeling nervous like I was, and her little cowboy boots gently hit my knees repeatedly. Her purple sundress was scrunched underneath her and her brown curls cascaded down her little body.
“She has your eyes.” Nick said after looking her over thoroughly. She wriggled from my grasp and ran over to the middle of the room and started rolling around on the floor, for no apparent reason. “What’s her full name?”
“Audra Ray…” I hesitated. What was her last name? I always gave her my last name, but was her last name Jonas? I laughed awkwardly, as did Nick. “Uhm…”
“The last name still pending?” Nick laughed again, obviously trying to unsuccessfully lighten the mood. As smiled was still on his mouth, but his question was serious. “Ef, why did you leave?”
I sighed, looking at my hands. “I couldn’t handle it. You said you’d leave the band for me. You broke your vow because of me. You loved me too much, and I wasn’t used to it. We were only sixteen! I was afraid!”
“I still love you that much.” There was another uncomfortable silence. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I shot back, unable to process why he’d even ask me. He looked over to Audra, probably just to avoid my eyes. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend either.” Nick said, still avoiding my eyes. What was wrong with him? Maybe he still hadn’t overcome the shock of finding out he had a kid. “Ef, do you wanna get coffee or something?”
I laughed, only because it reminded me of when we were sixteen, and when he asked me out for the first time. “I guess. If you aren’t busy being famous.”
fa'BAMM <3
there you go lovely readers :]
