Times Like These

A few days later, we were all piled in mom’s Durango and headed to the airport. Dani and Matt were behind us in her rental car so we could return it. Brian was driving and I was in the passenger seat, singing along to the radio, which was louder than usual because Johnny was really hung over. “Come on Nikki, turn it down a little.” He whined, leaning his head against the window. “Well, you probably shouldn’t have drank an entire bottle of tequila last night knowing you had to be in a car with me the next day.” I said loudly, making Zack and Brian laugh. “You are such an asshole.” He grumbled after I turned the music up a little louder.
Once we got to the airport, we parked and unloaded all the guys’ stuff before walking them to the entrance. “Okay, you guys need to get through security so you don’t miss your flight.” I sighed, walking over to Zack and hugging him. “Be good, Zee. Give Erin my love and tell her I’ll be back soon.” “You got it, kid. See you in a few days.” He said with a smile. I hugged Johnny next, who squeezed me tightly and told me he would see me later. I walked up to Matt and smiled up at him. “See you later, you big gorilla. Keep Brian in line for me until I get back.” I said, making him chuckle. “You know I will, Nick.” I turned to Brian, who had his hands on my sister’s shoulders and was looking at her sternly. “Keep Nikki out of trouble. Don’t let her start any more fights at Dave’s.” He said. Dani laughed loudly and nodded. “I will. See you in a few days buddy.” I walked back over to Brian, who immediately wrapped his arms around me. “I didn’t even punch the guy, but I started the fight.” I grumbled, while he just laughed. “Nikki, I have seen a side of you this week I didn’t even know you had. I mean I knew you were a spitfire but I had no idea how bad.” He pressed his lips against my forehead. “I love you, Nick. I’ll see you in a few days, okay?” I smiled up at him and nodded, “I love you too, babe. When you go see your dad as soon as you land tell him I said I miss him.” I chuckled, looking at his surprised face. “How did you even know I was going to see him?” “Because he has Pinkly.” I said, like it was the most obvious thing. He chuckled and pulled me closer, burying his face in my hair. “I’m gonna miss you so much.” He whispered. “I’ll miss you too.” I sighed. He pulled away slightly and grabbed my face in his hands, kissing me fiercely. “Love you, Nick.” He said as he broke away and bent down to pick up his bag. “Love you too. Text me when you land.” I told him, watching him nod and walk toward the security check in with the rest of the guys. Dani moved to stand beside me and sighed. “Okay, time to go talk to mom I guess.” I handed her the keys and we walked back to the car, heading back to our hometown to see if mom was coming to visit California with us.
When we walked in the house, mom was in the kitchen. “Hey mom, what are you doing?” I asked, taking a seat at the island. “I figured you two would be hungry, so I threw some chicken on the grill and I’m putting together a salad for you.” She said, chopping tomatoes. “Need any help?” My sister asked, walking over to her. “Sure, you can go check the chicken. Nichole, you get in here and shred carrots.” She said, looking over her shoulder at me. “If I’m cooking I’m turning on music.” I said, pulling my phone out of my back pocket. Mom laughed and shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Once the chicken was finished, Dani chopped it up and we threw the salad together, each of us grabbing a bowl and putting our favorite dressing on top, then headed into the living room to watch tv and catch up with mom. After a few hours of NCIS and receiving a text from Brian saying the guys landed safely, I decided to bring up California. “So mom, did you ever make a decision about California?” The older woman sighed heavily and looked at us. “Girls,” she started, but was quickly interrupted by Dani. “Mom. Don’t say you’re not going with us. We can’t leave you here alone. You don’t need to be alone. You shouldn’t be alone. Just come with us for a few weeks.” She pleaded. “But what about my job?” “Fuck that job.” I said, causing her head to whip around and stare at me. “Sorry. But seriously. Your job sucks, mom. And besides. You’re on a leave of absence right now. They can’t fire you because you’re grieving.” Dani nodded and looked over at mom. “She’s right, you know. Your job does suck. And if you were with us you wouldn’t have to worry about paying bills and shit. We would take care of you.” “But you two are so young, I don’t want you taking care of me.” She argued. “Seriously? You’re our mom.” Dani said, placing her hand on top of mom’s, “We owe you everything. You have made us the women we are today, and we want to take care of you. Let your girls take care of you and enjoy yourself for a while. You deserve it more than anyone I know.” “Do you have anything to add?” Mom asked, looking over at me. “Nope. I think Dani pretty much covered it. We’d feel better knowing you were with us, not starving and depressing yourself.” I said with a shrug. Mom sighed and looked at both of us with a smile, “Well, I guess I’m going to California on Wednesday.” “YES!” I shouted, high-fiving my sister. “Thank god, because your ticket is nonrefundable.” Dani said with a laugh. Mom rolled her eyes and laughed, and we spent the rest of the night telling her all about Huntington Beach and how much she is going to love it there.
------------------------------------------------BRIAN POV------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as I landed, I went straight to my Dad and Suzy’s house to get Pinkly. “Hey son.” Dad greeted as I walked into the house. “Hey old man. How was my girl?” I asked, picking up my little white dog. “She was great, like always. How is Nichole holding up?” He asked, concern lacing his voice. Dad and Nikki officially met each other a little over a month ago and he’s grown quite a soft spot for her. “She’s okay.” I sighed heavily, “She’s just taking it one day at a time, I think. She’s a lot like we were when we first lost Jimmy. She will see something that reminds her of Mark and she loses it all over again. But she’s strong. Oh, she and Dani got into a bar fight a few days before I left.” I chuckled, remembering the night Dani punched that Michael dude. “Wait, what? Not my innocent little Nick.” Dad laughed loudly. “Well, according to Matt and Johnny, Nikki just basically told the guy off and pushed him a little, and when he went to push her back Dani busted his nose. He was about to hit Dan when Matt knocked his ass out.” I explained, “I was in the bathroom, so I missed the entire damn thing.” “Those two girls are wild.” He chuckled. “Hey Suz. Brian’s girl got into a bar fight the other night.” “She didn’t!” Suzy gasped. “She did, turns out she’s a little spitfire, which is exactly what Brian needs in his life.” He chuckled and proceeded to tell my stepmom the story that I had just told him. When he was finished, Suzy was in tears she was laughing so hard. “Well, those two can definitely take care of themselves. How are they, Brian? How is their mom doing?” “They’re hanging in there. Janice is still pretty torn up. The girls are trying to talk her into moving out here so they don’t leave her there alone when they head back on Wednesday. If Danielle is anything like her sister, it’s going to be pretty damn hard for their mom to say no to both of them.” I explained with a laugh. “It sounds like they’re a handful when they’re together.” Dad chuckled. “You have no idea. They’ll keep you on your toes, that’s for sure.”

I hung out with dad and Suzy for a while before heading home. I unpacked all my crap and threw my clothes in the washer before grabbing a beer and going to sit down on the couch. As soon as I turned the TV on, the doorbell rang. I sighed heavily and opened the front door, revealing Matt on the other side, holding a six pack of beer in one hand and a pizza box in the other. “Hey man, what’s up?” I asked, standing to the side so he could walk into the house. “Well, I was lonely and I figured you were too, so I brought beer and pizza.” He explained, walking into the kitchen. I chuckled and followed him, grabbing a slice out of the box. “We just got home and you’re already lonely?” “Are you kidding me? I’ve been lonely since I got on that damn plane. We should have just waited until Wednesday to come home.” He sighed, grabbing his own slice of pizza. “Damn dude. You’ve got it bad.” I laughed, earning a middle finger from him. “Shut up dick. You are too, don’t even act like you’re not.” He said, taking a drink of his beer. “So when are you moving Nikki in?” “I don’t know. I thought about asking her once she got back, but I don’t want to just take her away from Jan like that. Maybe I’ll just wait a while. I don’t fucking know.” I sighed. My original plan was asking Nichole to move in with me once we got back from Georgia, but things kind of changed when we found out about her brother. I don’t want her mom to be alone any more than she does. Jan is pretty kick ass. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I almost feel guilty moving Dani in, but this was something we decided before we ever left.” My friend explained, “It’ll all work out man.” I nodded and took a drink of my beer. Matt and I hung out for a few more hours, eating the entire box of pizza and drinking his six pack and then some before we decided to call it a night and get some sleep before getting up bright and early to head to the studio in the morning.

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