The Journey

Chapter 29

Nick

I was beyond furious and beyond caring. I had seen Elisha wince at the pain he was causing her, although my mind refused to dwell on whether the pain was physical or emotional. The hurtful way he said those words brought back the night when we were in mother's apartment. I had never done anything to spite him. How could he think or say all those things to me? I had worshipped his every move when we were kids. He was my idol. How had he fallen so hard from the pedestal?

And he was still acting like Elisha belonged to him when he was marrying someone else. Did she really want that kind of life with him, where she would always be second fiddle to his family with Meredith? She deserved better!

I was extremely frustrated with myself for caring this much and for loving her this way, frustrated with her for even loving him when he clearly didn't deserve her, and frustrated with the whole thing.

My first punch threw him by surprise. My second was caught in his fist as he started to vent his own anger out and went after me with all his pent up rage. But I had become bigger than he, and he had neglected his workouts in favor of drink to drown his sorrows. He couldn't touch me at all. I kept deflecting his blows, my sanity returning when I heard Elisha scream at us to stop. Everyone was panicking, the entire entourage was around us now. The other men tried to pry us off each other, and I let them take me away, keeping an eye on Newton still shouting at me with foul curses, his mouth bleeding. I hoped I hadn't caused much damage to his face. He was getting married in two days. The press would have a field day if he showed up sporting a black and blue face. My eyes sought out Elisha, who was frozen where we had been talking so pleasantly awhile ago, her hands on her mouth as she continued to tell Newton to stop. I saw her shoulder had reddened where Newton had gripped her so tightly, and my temper started to boil once more.

"Enough!" Mother's sharp voice sounded nearby. Everyone quickly stopped moving as she stood at the center between me and Newton, her eyes flashing dangerously at us. Like me, she surveyed his face instantly for noticeable damage. Satisfied, she turned to me, "now please start behaving like men and go home. We will talk about this in my apartment. Both of you, go clean yourselves up before dinner."

"He started it!" Newton shouted, wiping his jaw furiously.

So mature.

Mother fixed him with a glare, "we will talk about this later during dinner in my apartment." She repeated, in case he had become so dense.

Newton shrugged off the arms restraining him and looked at Elisha, then he stalked away. Meredith stayed away from him. Elisha looked at me, her eyes going over my face and body, like she was looking to see if I had gotten hurt. My heart leapt at the hope that she was concerned for my well-being.

Everyone dispersed and I walked to her, asking quietly, "are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm fine. What about you? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head, "not a scratch. Working out sure works out."

She smiled wanly at my attempt at humor, "you shouldn't have hit him."

"It wasn't planned," I said lightly, trying to make her feel better.

Mother came over to us and hissed at me, "what the hell were you thinking?"

"He was being an idiot," I replied, scowling.

"And you are the bigger idiot for hitting him first. I saw everything, Nicholas. You know I always have. I see everything perfectly," she stated, glancing between Elisha and I.

And I knew that she had seen and understood that I had fallen in love with Elisha. I looked at her face to gauge her reaction,but she didn't look disapprovingly at me. She was still angry at me for fighting with Newton, but it was as if she was also pleased at something. Before I could say anything, she turned to Elisha and said in a kinder voice, "you should go home and get some rest, dear. You have been working much too hard. Thank you for helping Meredith."