The inked artwork displayed on Nikki’s arms isn’t as visible as the first day I met her. The tail end of one tattoo is poking out of the short sleeve of her shirt and she has a small tattoo on each wrist. On her right wrist, the name “Jason” is spelled out in black ink, ending with a line wrapping around her wrist to draw the shape of a heart on the inside. It’s colored-in with deep red ink. On her other wrist are small hearts travelling her wrist like a bracelet. They also wrap around to the inside of her left wrist, which has a date scripted. I have no idea what the date represents. Other than those, nothing else is visible. She looks stunning. Even when she has all her ink on display, she is beautiful, probably even more so with all the color.
The dinner is nothing like I expected before I arrived. No one has said a single nice thing since we sat at the table. Judge Lewis finds a way in every discussion to criticize either Nick or Nikki. I can tell Elaina doesn’t like it, but she never interrupts her husband, nor does she defend her children. Way to be a great mom!
“Mom, thank you for dinner, but we have to be going,” Nick says as he pushes himself back from the table. Hallelujah! His sister follows suit immediately, looking relieved to be getting out of here. I guess I can’t blame them. Hell, I wanted to run out of here an hour ago myself.
As I stand up from the table, I cut my eyes to Nick’s father. He’s sitting back in his chair at the table and drinking a glass of wine. He looks right at me, over the rim of his glass, every time he takes a sip. Nikki doesn’t speak to her father after she tells her mom she’ll call her next week. She quickly exits the room and I follow her as quickly as my feet will take me. Nick doesn’t linger and we all make our way back to his car. As I sink down into the passenger seat, I look over at Nick. He looks like he’s brooding.
On the drive back, Nick heads to Knocked Out to drop his sister off. The way he is gripping the steering wheel I think it’s going to break any minute now. If that doesn’t happen, his speed is sure to get us in an accident. I think it’s safe to say he is royally pissed off. He looks like he wants to smash something. I really hope it’s not the car.
“Nick, maybe you should drop Shannon off first and come with me to Knocked Out,” Nikki says from the back seat. She has been staring at the back of Nick’s head while biting her nails for about twenty minutes.
“Drop it, Nikki. I don’t want to hear it,” he says through clenched teeth. “I’m taking you to Jase, and then Shannon and I are going home.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she snaps at him as Nick pulls into the parking lot of the gym. He doesn’t park in a parking spot, but instead, he pulls up to the front door throwing the gear shift into park as Jase is descending the stairs.
I open my door and step out, pushing the seat forward so Nikki can get out. She doesn’t move and sits back, crossing her arms in front of her. Nick whips his head around to face his sister. “Get out of the fucking car, Nikki.”
“No, not until I make you see I’m right, and you know I’m right, Nick. I know what you do when you’re this mad. Do you really want Shannon to see that side of you?” Does she mean it gets worse than this? Jase has come to stand next to me by the door.
“Jason, you need to get your girlfriend out of my car, now.” Nick has turned back around in his seat, looking straightforward. He is ignoring his sister. She doesn’t strike me as the type to be ignored.
“Man, why don’t you and I go work this out? Nikki can take Shannon home, or fuck, let Shannon take your car and we’ll take you home later, after you cool off,” Jase tries to reason. He crosses his arms across his chest, concern displayed on his face. He obviously cares a great deal for his friend.
Nick and Nikki are staring at each other through the rearview mirror, neither wanting to give in to the other’s demands. Nick is the first to break their silence. “Get the fuck out of this God damn car. NOW!” he yells.
“FINE!” she yells back as she throws her hands in the air. She leans forward and pulls herself up and out of his car. She takes Jase’s hand and looks dead at me. “If you need anything…anything at all, please call me, okay?”
“Get in the car, Shannon,” Nick spits out, still looking forward ignoring his sister. I nod an okay to her and then descend in the passenger side seat, pulling the door shut.
Nick floors the accelerator just as I hear the clicking sound of my seat belt, letting me know I’m secure. I’m not sure if secure is the right word for what I’m feeling right now. Nick is beyond mad, and probably shouldn’t be driving. I don’t offer to drive for him. Something tells me that would not be the right thing to ask at this moment. I’m not really sure what the right thing to say right now is. This is all pretty new to me. Last month, my life was pretty drama free.