Brooke Whittaker had all but forgotten Nicholas Williams after the "Great Christmas Disaster of 2010." But, when her father announces a business arrangement that will not only move Brooke and her family to New York City, but also forces Nicholas bac...
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"Nick, you haven't slept in 36 hours," Sage said, grabbing Nicholas's hand, practically begging him to take care of himself. Despite the numerous warnings from his friends, That gnawing feeling ate at his stomach any time he thought about sleeping or eating.
"So?" Nicholas said with as much strength as he could muster. He knew, even though his voice came out strong, his red-rimmed and slightly sunken eyes betrayed him.
"So, go home," Sage pleaded. "Get some sleep."
Brooke had been in the hospital for the past day and a half sleeping. Nicholas had been in the hospital the whole time with her. Of course, the only time she'd woken up—rather groggily according to the nurse, but awake nonetheless— was when Nicholas was out of the room calling Brooke's family to update them. Other than that, Nicholas hadn't seen her open her eyes in days.
The whole situation caused an unwelcoming feeling to suffocate him. Although his friends had tried numerous times to convince him that it wasn't his fault, Nicholas knew there was something he could've done to stop this chain of events from unfolding.
"I'll be fine," Nicholas finally responded to Sage who was trying her best to get him up out of the dark blue chair next to Brooke's hospital bed.
"I can stay with her," Sage said, practically pulling Nicholas's shirt at that point to try and get him up.
"No, you should go home and get some sleep," Nicholas argued, not willing to leave Brooke's side.
"You're being hypocritical," Sage argued. "You stayed with her all last night, let someone else take over. You need to take care of yourself too."
Nicholas knew Sage was right, knew she was being reasonable. He also knew if Brooke was awake she would tell him to go home and not put her needs before his. But, every time he thought that way, that feeling of guilt crept back, telling him that this was his fault and he should've done more.
"I'll leave as soon as her dad gets here," Nicholas said, although he knew full well it would take Mr. Whittaker days to get back to New York. Nicholas had called Mr. Whittaker immediately to alert him to what had happened, but he had left the wedding reception just before Brooke had for an emergency business meeting in Virginia. He had promised to get the quickest flight back, but they both knew it wouldn't be for a few days.
"Nicholas, you said yesterday he might not be able to get a flight back until Wednesday," Sage countered, sitting down at the foot of Brooke's bed and grabbing her hand.
"Sage, just go home," Nicholas said, exasperated. Nothing Sage said was going to get Nicholas out of the seat he thought he might be glued into from the amount of time he had been sitting there.
"Fine, but if you're still awake tomorrow night, I'm dragging you out of this hospital with my bare hands," Sage said as she got up from the bed. She walked over towards Nicholas to give him a quick kiss on the top of the head before she left the room.
