Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 18:51:01 -0800 (PST)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-74

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.

"What I feel for you." is an awesome story and
Thack, himself deserves applause for all of his hard
work on it.


 Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


"I'm afraid Kandi and I have some bad news for all of
you." Justin said, sadly.

"Well, talk to us, man." Nick urged Justin. "Whatever
it is, we will all be here to help you through it. We
will all help you get through this, together."

Justin was taking in deep breaths, trying to calm
himself down. It obviously must have been pretty bad,
because Justin was literally on the verge of tears,
which was unlike him. Justin was not one to show
emotion alot. So, naturally we were all concerned.

"Thanks, guys." Justin said. "Kandi and I are going to
need your  support right now."

Here he looked over at Kandi and took her hand in his.

"Especialy Kandi." He continued. "I just brought her
back from the hospital. We've been there since 5 a.m.
this morning."

"The hospital?!" I exclaimed in shock. "What happened?
Is she ok?"

"No." Justin said. "She has C.H.F."

"What's that?" Nick asked him.

Surprisingly, Kandi was the one who answered that one
for us

"C.H.F is short for "Congestive Heart Failure."

Everyone was shocked to hear this news, and especially
me, since Kandi had been really great back when I
first met her. We had become friends fast. And despite
what had happened back when Nick and the guys disowned
me, I still cared about her.

"So, what does this mean, Kandi?" I asked her. "You're
not going to die, are you?"

*******************************************************
BACK INSIDE THE LACHEY HOUSE..........

NICK AND JESSICA'S ROOM

"Damn you, Sean!" Jessica swore as she tore off all of
her wet clothes and proceeded to put on some dry ones.
"I hate you so much! It's obvious that you're here to
turn my husband against me and that's just flat out
wrong! It's not going to happen! I won't let it
happen!"

Jessica finished getting re-dressed and then went to
comb her damp hair and pull it back into a ponytail.

"You just want Nick for yourself, and that's never
going to happen. Not as long as I'm breathing."
Jessica hissed.

She leaned against her dresser, supporting herself
with her arms, which were still trembling from her
anger, as well as anxiety over what had happened
earlier."

"I have to be pregnant." She said, desperately. "I
have to be. It's the only way I can get Sean out of
Nick's life."

Jessica grabbed her keys off of the dresser and was
getting ready to go. But, not before she looked at
herself in the mirror.

"I intend to make sure that Sean Perry is out of my
life, once and for all!"


***********
CHAPTER 74
***********

OUTSIDE, BY THE POOL...............

"No, Sean, I'm not going to die." Kandi said. "CHF is
a disease of the heart. It's not deadly, unless I
allow it to be. There's actually two types of CHF and
one of them affects the lungs and can turn into
cancer. I'll be fine as long as I take my medication,
stay off of salt, and exercise regularly."

Kandi stopped for a moment, and then she remembered
something else that was important.

"Oh, and as long as I stay away from stressful
situations." She said to us. "Stress isn't good for
me, either."

As I listened to  everything she was  telling me, my
heart was literally breaking for her. Then a thought
occurred to me.

"Isn't there a cure for your condition?" I asked her,
hoping to get a good answer.

"There is," Kandi started saying. "it's with surgery,
but my doctor says it's too risky. But don't worry
about that. I'll be ok."

Everyone else was quiet and not sure of what to say
next. I could see that Nick, Ben, Matt, Jeff, and
Danny, all felt sorry for Kandi, but they didn't want
her to start feeling like a charity case. And frankly,
neither did I.

I noticed Kandi looking at me funny all of a sudden.

"What is it, Kandi?" I asked her. "Why are you looking
at me like that?"

Kandi brought a hand up to my chin and pulled my face
sideways a little bit. It  was at that moment that I
realized what she was asking.

"What happened to your face?" Kandi asked me, as she
studied it, closely. "It looks like someone punched
you."

"Yeah." I said, nodding. "That's Jessica's doing."

"You're kidding?!" Kandi asked, in shock. "What the
hell did she do that for?"

I then wondered whether or not I should tell her all
the gory details of what I'd said. Especially since
she told me that she can't have any added stress to
her condition, which could affect her heart.

"Are you sure I should tell you this?" I asked her.
"This could be very stressful for you to hear."

"You let me decide that, sweetie." Kandi said. "If
it's too much, I'll let you know."

"Ok, but I'll give you the shortened version." I told
her. "It all started with Jessica announcing to
everyone that she's pregnant."

"Oh." Kandi said, not looking shocked at all. "So,
it's definite?"

When I saw Kandi's face, I knew something was up and I
wasn't about to drop it.

"Wait a minute!" I said in shock. "Kandi, are you
telling me that you knew Jessica was pregnant and you
didn't say a word about it?"

That threw even Nick for a loop. Everyone, including
Justin was stunned.

"No, Sean, I didn't know that Jessica was pregnant."
Kandi said. "Jessica told me that she could have been
pregnant the night Nick learned the truth about what
Drew did and left to go and see you, in Orlando, but
nothing was proven."

When she said that, I realized at that moment that
what she was telling me was the truth. Kandi never was
one to lie to us. That made me realize something.

"Ah, so then I'm right." I said. "Jessica may not be
pregnant after all. She could have been lying about
it. I knew something was up and I told her that I
didn't believe her."

"You did?" Kandi asked me, surprised. "I'm surprised
by that."

"Really?" I asked her, frowning in confusion. "How
so?"

"Well, don't get me wrong." Kandi said. "I mean,
Jessica has lied a few times about things, but I don't
think that she'd lie about being pregnant. She
wouldn't do that."

Then, Kandi looked up at me and then her eyes shifted
over to Nick.

"Would she?" She asked, as if starting to doubt
Jessica's word.

"That's what I'm going to find out." Nick said.
"Jessica's changing out of her wet clothes right now,
into some dry ones, so we can go and see the doctor.
We're going to find out if she's pregnant once and for
all, so that there will no longer be any doubts."

"Good." Justin said, but then frowned. "Now, what was
this you said about "wet clothes?" How could Jessica
have wet clothes, it's not raining."

Just at that moment, Nick's eyes shifted over to me,
as well as everyone else's. Justin then turned back to
me.

"Sean, do you know something about this?" Justin asked
me.

"Well, duh." I said, with a grin. "Jessica punched me,
so I retaliated by shoving her into the pool."

"Are you serious?" Kandi asked, trying to keep from
laughing. "I can't believe you actually did that
because she punched you. Why did she punch you by the
way? You never did tell me that."

I opened my mouth to start telling her all about it,
but it was Ben who beat me to it.

"Well, it started when Jessica announced her pregnancy
to Nick and he didn't take it well at the time." He
explained to Kandi. "Nick stormed off and Jessica came
over and started laying into Sean. She accused Sean of
loving the fact that she and Nick were growing apart."

"Yeah." Matt said, interrupting Ben and continuing
with the story. "And that's when Sean accused Jessica
of getting pregnant out of insecurity."

"Oh boy." Justin said, amused. "I don't have to ask
how Jessica took that one do I?"

"No, you don't." I said, bitterly, remembering the
whole conversation. "Jessica was just getting
downright nasty. She started calling me names and
started throwing all of my past sexual acts with Nick,
Drew, Matt, and Ben, in my face. Then she called me
"The Slut of Hollywood" and said she was thankful that
Nick had never slept with me since you all disowned me
years ago."

I heard a few people gasp in shock, including Justin
and Kandi. I turned around and saw that Jeff, Danny,
and even Nick, were shocked as well.

"Wow." Jeff said, as he looked at me. "That's still a
touchy subject for you, isn't it?"

"Sometimes." I said. "But when she said that, I lost
my temper and told her that I had slept with Nick,
back in Orlando, right before he came home after being
gone for so long, and then again this morning after
Nick had a fight with her about the way she treated me
earlier this morning. We had flown in to Los Angeles
with hardly any sleep because we had gotten the first
flight out of Orlando when Nick got the call about a
family emergency."

"And that's why Jessica punched him." Ben finished for
me. Then he started to laugh again.

"And let me tell you." Ben said to Justin and Kandi.
"You both missed quite a show after that."

Justin and Kandi looked at each other, both of them
frowning in confusion.

"What do you mean, Ben?" Justin asked him. "What
happened?"

When Ben came to that part of the story, he could
hardly contain his laughter.

"When Sean shoved Jessica into the pool, he turned
towards me and Matt and said, and I quote: "The bitch
has nothing on me." That's when Jessica grabbed the
back of Sean's trunks and pulled him into the pool
with her. That's when the catfight started and Matt
and I jumped in to break it up."

"I know." Jeff was laughing so hard he was leaning
against Danny to support himself. "Nick, Danny, and I
saw it from the window, inside the house."

Now, everyone was laughing. Well, everyone but 3 of
us. And that was Nick, Kandi, and me. Most especially
me because I didn't find the situation all that funny.

"Come on, you guys, it wasn't even funny." I said, in
disgust. "First the bitch assaults me, and then she
tries to turn me bald by trying to rip my hair out of
my head. If you ask me, Jessica got off easy with just
a shove in the pool."

I looked over at Nick and saw that he was still pretty
annoyed with me.

"You know why she assaulted you, Sean." Nick said.
"You were baiting her by telling her that you and I
had sex together, which was a lie."

I stared at Nick in shock. He was taking Jessica's
side over me? I couldn't believe it.

"Now, you're defending her?!" I asked him in
disbelief. "After all of the mean, spiteful things
she's said and done to me? Well, if that's the case,
you are an even bigger idiot that I thought."

Nick's mouth dropped open in complete and utter shock.
He was not expecting that at all. I could see the
anger and hurt within his eyes. But I was too angry
over what had happened to feel guilty for what I'd
said.

"I can't believe you just said that to me." Nick said,
in a low voice.

Before he could continue, we heard a familiar voice
from behind us.

"What who said to you, Nick?"

All eyes, including mine, turned to Jessica, who had
just entered the pool area.

"Oh, god!" I said, putting a hand to my face, in
disgust. "Here we go with round two."

Jessica frowned at me, in contempt.

"What the hell are you babbling about now, Mr. Slut?"
Jessica sneered at me.

All I could do was glare at her.

"I can throw you back in the pool again, you know?" I
threatened. " And this time, I won't be so nice! So
don't push me! You got it, Blondie?!"

I said it with so much venom that Jessica actually
looked frightened for a second or two, just before she
shook it off.

"Oooh! I'm shaking in my boots!" Jessica said, acting
like she wasn't afraid.

"Good." I said, in a serious voice. "I'm not playing
anymore. Not with you, anyway."

"Alright, stop it!" Nick said, angrily. "Both of you!"

I turned around towards Nick and looked him in the
eye. At the same time, Jessica had walked over to Nick
and wrapped her arms around Nick's waist.

Seeing that scenario, I was so jealous at that moment,
I thought I would scream, but I kept my cool and
didn't show it.

"Nicholas." I began. "Don't you see what your wife is
doing? She is trying to drive a wedge between you and
me. She wants to destroy what's left of our friendship
and she thinks that by getting pregnant that she can
do that. That's how insecure she is in your marriage.
Can't you see that?" I mean, what kind of a marriage
can the two of you have if she can't trust you?"

"Sean, I'm not going to let Jessica take our
friendship away." Nick told me. "I made it very clear
to her, earlier this morning, that I would not stand
for her coming in between our friendship."

Nick looked down at Jessica and locked eyes with her
for a moment. Then, he put his arm around her.

"I know she still hasn't accepted it, but I'm sure I
can still count on her to support me on this." He
continued.

Nick looked down at Jessica for confirmation.

"Right, Baby?" He asked her.

Jessica sighed, obviously frustrated with the
situation, but she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Nick." She said, then added. "I'm not saying
that I like it, but I know how much having Sean's
friendship back means to you. So, if that's what you
want, I'll at least try to make an effort."

After saying that, Jessica turned towards me and
extended her hand out to me.

"Sean, let's both agree to call a truce." She offered.
"Right here, right now. What do you say?"

I looked down at her hand and looked back up at her,
deciding whether or not I was willing to do that.

I looked up at Jessica, with an arched eyebrow and
gave her my decision.

"I'm sorry, Jessica, I can't do that." I said to her,
bitterly. "Simply because I don't buy your little act!
So, drop it!"

Jessica dropped her arm, and gave me a look of fake
disappointment.

"Sean...." Nick started to complain, but he didn't get
far.

"Shut up, Nick!" I said, in frustration, pointing my
finger at him. "I'm not finished!"

Nick was stunned that I'd just talked to him that way.
All he could do was stand there, looking at me, with a
shocked look on his face.

He didn't say another word, which allowed me to
continue. I turned back to Jessica.

"You don't want me in Nick's life in any way, shape,
or form." I said to her. "You've made that clear, ever
since I came back into Nick's life, as well as
everyone else who are standing around us."

I gestured towards Jeff, Danny, Ben, Matt, Justin, and
Kandi, to make my point.

"Not to mention, the way you assaulted me earlier." I
continued, pointing at my face where she had hit me.
"How can you just do all of that and then all of a
sudden decide to call a truce? I'm sorry, Jessica, but
that just isn't you. So, I'm sorry, but I'm going to
have to take a pass on your offer. I don't trust you."

I walked past her and Nick to pick up my iced tea that
was sitting. As I was walking, I heard Jessica speak
again.

"Fine." Jessica said, lowly. "It doesn't surprise me
that you would turn me down. It just proves that I was
right about you all along. You don't care who you hurt
or who you destroy as long as you get what you want.
And I know what you want. You want my husband."

I had just picked up my glass of iced tea, and when
Jessica said that last part about my wanting her
husband, I froze, literally.

"Your marriage to Nick didn't work out, so now you
want to try to destroy mine." Jessica said, angrily.

"Jessica, stop!" Nick exclaimed, in horror. "What the
hell are you doing?!"

As soon as Jessica finished saying that, I knew right
then and there that she had figured me out. If Danny
and Jeff had been able to pick up on it, I'm sure she
could too. And obviously she had.

Now, I was madder than I had ever been in my life. And
it wasn't just because Jessica was on to me. But
because of everything that had happened in my life. It
was all coming back to me:

Being disowned by 98 Degrees, my anger, pain, and
resentment over being treated like garbage, my suicide
attempt, my love for Nick, learning about Drew's
involvement in breaking up my marriage to Nick, and my
tremendous dislike for Jessica, who was a pain to be
around now, given her hatred of me.

She was living my life! The life that I should have
had, and would have had, if Jessica had not have
gotten pregnant. Not only that, she was married to the
man I still loved.

She was married to the man who should still be MY
husband! Not hers!

Finally, I snapped. I couldn't hold in my anger any
longer. The glass of iced tea, that I had in my hand,
went flying into the wall near the grill. The glass
shattered into a thousand pieces, the tea splattering
against the wall, now starting to run down it.

I had startled everyone when I threw my glass and
shattered it. They had never seen this side of me
before. And they were going to get a glimpse of the
old Sean Perry: The one they never saw when he was
going through hell.

"HOW DARE YOU, JESSICA!!!" I bellowed at her. "HOW
DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF TRYING TO DESTROY YOUR MARRIAGE!
YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DESTROYED MINE! YOU AND DREW! DREW,
WHEN HE SABOTAGED OUR MARRIAGE, SO THAT IT WASN"T
LEGAL, AND YOU WHEN YOU GOT PREGNANT! IF IT WASN"T FOR
THAT SWEET, INNOCENT LITTLE BABY, NICK AND I PROBABLY
WOULD STILL BE TOGETHER TODAY!"

I couldn't say anymore, as my breaths were coming out
in quick gasps. I felt like I was going to faint. As I
looked around, I noticed everyone seemed afraid of me
at that moment. Especially Jessica, who was visibly
shaken. She was clutching Nick's arm and from the
looks of it a little too tightly, because he had
grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his bicep. He
was really nervous at that moment, seeing me like
this.

"Sean, calm down." Jeff said, quietly. "You'll give
yourself a heart attack or a stroke."

I calmed down enough so that I wasn't screaming
anymore, but I was still going to be talking very
loudly.

"Oh please, Jeff, that's not going to happen!" I said,
loudly. "I will NEVER give Jessica the satisfaction of
that! No way in hell!"

After making sure that Jeff knew that, I turned back
towards Nick and Jessica.

"You have some nerve, Jessica!" I said, shaking my
finger at her, as the first set of angry tears slid
down my face. "You and Drew destroyed my marriage,
except that Drew did it directly. But you did it
literally! I, on the other hand, have done nothing but
support Nick in his decision to be with you! That's
what a best friend does! I did it because Nick's
happiness is all that matters to me! Or at least it
did until now!"

"Sean...."Danny tried to interrupt, but I ignored him
and kept ranting and raving.

I turned to face Jessica and Nick again. What I was
going to say was heartless and cruel, but I was so mad
right now, I wasn't thinking rationally. I wasn't
aware of what I would be risking.

"And as for your accusations of me, wanting your
husband." I continued, ranting at Jessica. "You
couldn't be further from the truth. How could you
think that I could love him in that way ever again?
After everything he did to me? My god, he and everyone
else threw me out on the street when things didn't
work out. And it was all because I wasn't honest with
Nick about what I was feeling and about our marriage
not being legal!"

Here, I turned to look at Nick, who was glaring at me,
his jaw clenched tightly. I didn't know if he was
glaring at me because he was angry, or if he was
trying to keep from bursting into tears. Maybe a
little of both.

"God, Nick, you ripped out my soul!" I shouted at him.
"You ripped out my soul, you....."

I couldn't go on anymore and I started walking past
them. I stopped when I was in front of Justin and
Kandi, and turned back around, forgetting something
else I had meant to say.

"As I said before, Nick's happiness was all that
mattered to me, but not anymore." I repeated, then
added. "If Nick wants to stay married to someone like
you who will lie, scheme, and even try to get pregnant
out of insecurity, then that's his funeral. Because
ultimately, that's what you'll do, you'll destroy
him."

I continued to look at both Jessica and Nick, coldly,
my emotions closed off now.

"If that's what going to happen, I'm not going to be
around to watch it." I said, coldly. "And another
thing, Jessica, I hope that you are telling the truth
about being pregnant! Not for your sake, but for
Nick's and your daughter's. Because if you're not, you
can kiss any fanstasies you have of a long and lasting
marriage goodbye."

I finished what I had to say and reached for my
cellphone.

"As for me, I have a flight to book." I said, as I
looked over at Nick. "And Nick, you love Jessica, so I
know you don't see her the way that I do, right now.
But one day you will. And when that day comes, I hope
that you remember that there were people who tried to
help you....."

I looked at Nick sadly, as I came to the last part.

"People who love you." I finished.

Nick stood there, unable to speak. He wasn't sure what
to do or say at that moment. He couldn't even look at
me.

"But you'll have to count me as one less person who
does love you now." I said, not bothering to look Nick
in the eye. "Hell, I don't even want to be your
friend. Being your friend is too painful and
exhausting."

Once that was out of my mouth, I immediately knew that
I could never take it back. Once it was said, the
damage was done.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some packing to do,
and a flight back to Orlando to catch, so I'd better
get started."

I opened my phone and dialed the number for the
airline.

"Have a nice life, Nick." I said, not looking up.
"Goodbye."

After saying my final words, I turned around and
walked out of the pool area, leaving everyone behind
me, speechless, as I booked my flight.

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE POOL AREA...........

"Well, Jessica, I hope you're proud of yourself!"
Kandi said, all of a sudden. "You've managed to make
things go from bad to worse!"

Jessica's mouth dropped open in shock when she
realized what had just happened. Kandi was turning
against her!

"Now, wait just a minute, Kandi!" She complained. But
Kandi cut her off before she could say any more.

"No, you wait a second, bitch!" Kandi scoffed,
angrily. "You had your say, now you're going to listen
to me for a change!"

Jessica didn't say anymore, allowing Kandi to
continue.

"Ever since the day Sean came back into our lives, I
have told you, time and time again, to stop being so
insecure about Sean and focus on the fact that you
have a husband who loves you, despite all your flaws.
And he still loves you now, even after everything you
have done in the last few days! And frankly, with this
last stunt that you just pulled, with trying to attack
Sean in the pool, I'm surprised Nick hasn't dragged
you into Divorce Court yet!"

"Sweetheart, calm down." Justin said, trying to reason
with Kandi. "Remember the doctor said that stress is
not good for your condition."

"What condition?" Jessica frowned. "Kandi, what is he
talking about?"

 Kandi looked at Jessica, still annoyed with her.

"I have a condition that's called "Congestive Heart
Failure" and it a very serious condition, but with
medication and a few precautions, I can keep it under
control. But stress is the number one factor that I
need to avoid at all costs."

"She's right." Ben chimed in. "And I'm sorry to say
it, Jessica, but you're stress with a capital S."

Jessica glared at Ben.

"If you two are against me as well, then why don't you
both just leave?!" She snarled. "I don't need your
insults either."

"That's fine by us." Ben said, getting up, along with
Matt Damon, an angry look on his face. "After all,
We're Sean's friends, not yours!"

"I couldn't agree more with you, Ben." Matt said,
annoyed, as he and Ben were getting their stuff
together.

As Ben and Matt were leaving, they turned back to face
Nick and Jessica.

"Nick, despite what's happening right now, Matt and I
want to thank you for inviting us over." Ben said to
Nick.

"You're welcome, guys." Nick said. "I'm really sorry
about all this."

"We're not the ones you should be apologizing to,
man." Matt said. Then he turned to everyone else.

"Jeff, Danny, Justin, Kandi, it's been a pleasure as
always." He said to them. "Please tell Sean that we
said goodbye and that we'll be thinking of him."

"We'll do that, guys." Jeff said, on everyone's
behalf. "Thank you for coming."

Ben and Matt then left the Lachey residence and headed
for home.

Once the rest of them were alone, Kandi continued to
lay into Jessica.

"You see what I mean?" She said, angrily. "Now, you've
alienated Ben and Matt! Now they probably won't come
here as much anymore! Now, do you see why you're your
own worst enemy?!"

Jessica went on the defensive as if she were a child
bein scolded.

"Kandi, Ben was insulting me!" Jessica exclaimed,
obviously frustrated because Kandi was taking Sean's
side. "He had no right to do that!"

"No, Ben was stating a fact, sweetie!" Kandi fired
back at her. He was only trying to protect me. He had
every right, considering the way you acted earlier
with Sean by punching him and then trying to drown him
in the pool! And he was right! You are 'stress' with a
capital "S." It doesn't surprise me that Sean finally
had had enough of you! I can't say I blame him!"

Jessica looked to Nick for help.

"Nick, help me here." She begged him. "Talk some sense
into her. She'll listen to you!"

Nick just threw up his hands.

"Sorry, sweetheart, I'm staying out of this one for
safety reasons." He said. "As far as dealing with
Kandi is concerned, you're on your own."

"Oh, thanks Nick." Jessica said, sarcastically. "Some
help you are."

Nick shook his head.

"You know what, I'd love to stand here and referee,
but I have to see if I can do some damage control
where Sean is concerned." He said. "I'm going to go
and try to talk to him."

He started to walk towards the house, but Kandi put a
hand to his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"I don't think you should do that right now, hon."
Kandi told him. "I think you should give Sean time to
cool down before you talk with him."

Nick looked at her, the guilt written all over his
face.

"Do you think he meant what he said before?" He asked
Kandi, hoping that what Sean had said wasn't true.
"About not wanting to be my friend anymore?"

Kandi looked at Nick and shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you, honey." She said.
"I've never seen that side of Sean before. I think he
was dead-serious. But even I don't know for sure. The
only person who can answer your questions is Sean."

"Well, whether he was serious or not, I've got to try
to get him to reconsider his decision." Nick said.
"His friendship means alot to me. I cannot let that
go. Not without a fight."

Kandi smiled a little and caressed Nick's arm a
little.

"Then, you do what you have to do, sweetie." She said.
"But just be careful and try not to expect too much
from Sean right now. Just play it by ear and see what
happens from there, ok?"

"Thanks, Kandi." Nick said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Thanks for giving me hope."

She smiled.

"That's what I'm here for." She replied. "Now, go and
talk to Sean, while I stay here and straighten out
your wife."

Nick nodded and headed into the house to find Sean,
leaving Jessica alone with Justin, Kandi, Jeff, and
Danny.

Kandi turned back to Jessica.

"You know, Jessica, I'm very disappointed in you!"
Kandi continued. "And as long as we're being honest, I
have something to tell you that I've been wanting to
tell you for a few days now."

Jessica wiped at her eyes, and nodded.

"Ever since the day Nick left after he found out about
Drew's sabotage of his and Sean's marriage, I have
questioned your integrity, and now it's become very
clear to me that you have none of that! Especially
with the fact that you called your parents and your
in-laws to get Nick back here when you should have
just left well enough alone!"

"And that, along with the fact that you told me that
you may be pregnant again. And if what Sean says is
true and you did get pregnant out of insecurity, then
you have no business being married to Nick. Not if you
constantly have to question whether or not you can
trust him."

"I do trust Nick!" Jessica wailed.

"No, you don't, sweetie." Kandi said, bluntly. "If you
did trust Nick, then Sean wouldn't even be an issue
between the two of you! Sean has done nothing but be
supportive of you and Nick and he's tried to be civil
to you and respect the fact that you're Nick's wife,
but you wouldn't even give him a chance!"

"I couldn't, Kandi." Jessica cried. "Because of the
way he treated Nick before he left all those years
ago. He lied to Nick about his feelings for Drew, as
well as the fact that he couldn't bring himself to
tell Nick that their marriage wasn't legal. Sean lied
to Nick too many times."

"And you haven't?" Kandi asked, in disgust. "Well,
considering some of the things you done, it makes Sean
look like a saint, compared to you! And I'm so sick
and tired of hearing you call Sean a slut! All Sean
has done is follow his heart! And maybe he and Drew
didn't work out, but that doesn't mean that Sean
didn't care about him! If Sean didn't, he wouldn't
have had a night of passion with Drew! Sean isn't the
one night stand type of guy!"

"She's right, Jessica." Jeff said, coming over to
Jessica and putting his hands on her shoulders. "You
really need to stop with the name calling and give
Sean a fair chance."

"You two were friends at one time." Danny chimed in.
"There's no reason you couldn't be again if you could
just drop the attitude and insecurity and see him how
we see him. Do you think you could do that?"

Jessica thought it over for a moment

*******************************************************
UPSTAIRS IN DREW'S ROOM.................

I was packing up what little I had brought with me to
Los Angeles, into my suitcase to get ready to leave.

"I can't believe I said all of those awful things out
there." I said, putting a hand to my face, as the
guilt sunk in. "What was I thinking?"

"You knew exactly what you were thinking." A voice
inside my head was saying. "You were trying to protect
yourself from being hurt again. And Jessica was not
being fair, so you decided to remove yourself from the
situation!"

"But I love Nick." I whispered, so only I could hear
it, as I wrestled with my own thoughts.

"I know you love him." My mind supplied. "But, as
along as Jessica is Nick's wife, and the mother of his
child, you can't win. You have to move on, no matter
how hard it is for you. Whether or not Jessica is good
for Nick is something Nick has to find out for
himself."

"If only it were that simple for me." I thought
outloud, as I finished packing and closed my suitcase.

Just then there was a knock at the door. I set my
suitcase down and went to answer the door.

I was greeted with Nick's form, standing in the
doorway. Immediately, I went back into defense mode.

"What do you want, Nick?" I asked, in a aggravated
tone. "Can't you see I'm getting ready to go. I have a
flight to catch."

As I stood there, looking at Nick, I could see that he
was still hurting from everything that I'd said,
outside, just a few minutes ago.

"This won't take long." Nick said. "I have a few
things to say to you and you're going to listen."

He brushed past me, into the room. I shut the door
behind me and turned to face him.

"Well, make it quick, Nick." I said, bitterly. "I have
to leave in 10 minutes for the airport. My flight
leaves in two hours."

Nick looked at me for a few moments. Then he shook his
head in defeat.

"What the hell was that all about out there?" He asked
me. "I've never seen that side of you before. I never
knew you had such a hot temper."

I knew what he was asking. He was referring to the
fact that I'd blown up out there when I'd thrown my
glass and broken it. And the way I blew up at Jessica
and said those hurtful things.

"Well, now you know why." I said to him. "Which just
goes to show you that I've truly changed. "After the
way you treated me, years back, the scars are still
there. And it doesn't matter that I've forgiven you
for it. It doesn't erase the pain that I went
through."

Nick eyes closed and he sighed in frustration.

"But, I thought you and I were past all of that." He
said to me. "We were starting to become close again."

I nodded. He was right about that. But too much had
happened in the last 5 hours since I'd came to Los
Angeles for me to even want to stay here any longer.

"Yes, we were." I said. "But that's over and done with
now. Your life is here in Los Angeles. Mine is back
home in Orlando. I have to get back home."

Nick's eyes shifted to the floor. He could tell that
I was being serious about leaving Los Angeles and
leaving my past behind.

"So, you meant what you said out there about not
wanting to be my friend anymore?" Nick said, his voice
filled with sadness. "You're really going to just walk
out of my life just like that?"

I couldn't hold back my emotions anymore. My eyes
filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Nick." I said. "But I can't stand by and
watch you go down this road with Jessica. You refuse
to see Jessica the way I see her, so there's nothing I
can do for you anymore. You'll have to find out for
yourself what kind of a person Jessica really is."

Nick shook his head in defeat.

"If you're that determined to cut me out of your life,
then I guess that there's nothing I can do to stop
you. But I will say this. You're making a big mistake.
Because once you walk out that door, you know that
there is no turning back."

"I know that, Nick." I said, as I wiped at my eyes to
clear them of the tears. "I don't want to do this, but
it's for your own good, Nick, as well as mine. And to
be honest with you, I can't take your family's drama
anymore."

Nick came over to me and tried to put his arms around
me, but I moved away.

"Don't Nick." I said, angrily. "Don't touch me. I
don't want your pity."

Nick was visibly hurt by my words. He raised his hands
in the air.

"You know what? Fine!" He said, harshly. "If you're
going to be this difficult, then just go!"

I watched Nick, closely and saw just how upset he was
getting. His face was turning red, which is what
happened when he was getting angry.

"You don't care about me!" Nick shouted at me. "You
never did!"

Nick's words were like a knife in my heart. I'm sure
he didn't really mean them, but it still hurt to hear
them.

"I'm through trying to reason with you!" Nick said,
through gritted teeth. "Good-bye Sean!"

Nick brushed past me, bumping against me, as he exited
Drew's room and slammed the door behind him.

About a minute later, I heard the sound of a car being
started and then the sound of squealing tires,
signaling that Nick was driving away.

I grabbed my suitcase and headed towards the door, as
I wiped the remains of my tears away.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. I closed it
behind me and walked downstairs and out the front
door.

As I walked outside, I could hear voices from the pool
area. It sounded like Kandi was laying into Jessica. I
knew I had to stop it before Kandi got too stressed.
Besides, I needed to say goodbye anyway. As well as
ask for a favor.

I set my suitcase down by the gate, and opened the
gate to enter the pool area. Everyone looked in my
direction as I came in.

"Well, guys, I've come to say goodbye to all of you."
I said. "And to ask for a favor."

"What favor is that, Sean?" Jeff asked me, curiously.

I looked Jeff in the eyes.

"I need a ride to the airport." I told him. "Would you
be willing to take me?"

"Sure." Jeff said, nodding. "Just let me go and put on
a shirt and grab my wallet and car keys, and I'll be
right back."

"Ok." I said, as Jeff started walking towards the
house.

"I'll go with you." Danny said, as he followed Jeff
into the house to get a shirt put on as well.

I turned back to Justin, Kandi, and Jessica who was
standing nearby.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." I said to Justin and
Kandi. "I'll miss you two."

"Same here, hon." Kandi said. "I'm sorry about
everything that's happened."

"It's not your fault, Kandi." I said, hugging her. "If
you want someone to blame, look at the bitch behind
you."

"Right." Kandi said, as she released me.

When she did, I looked past her and walked up to
Jessica.

"You listen to me, and you listen good, you little
ingrate!" I said to her. "If you are not on the up and
up about being pregnant with Nick's child, and you
hurt him, you will answer to me. Because I will come
back! I will come back with a vengeance! And I will
attack you, your life, and your work! And I will pull
them all down! I will do everything I have to do to
destroy you, Jessica! Never doubt me on that!"

"Oh, shut up, you little whiner, and get lost!"
Jessica spat back at me.

"Gladly." I retorted. "If I never see you again,
that's just fine with me. Even if it means not seeing
Nick too."

I turned away from her and turned back to Justin.

"Take care of Kandi, Justin." I said to him. "I'll
email you guys when I can, ok?"

"I will." Justin said, as he hugged me. "Take care,
Sean."

"You too, Justin." I said, as I pulled back from his
hug.

Just then, Jeff and Danny, re-entered the pool area.
Both of them now had shirts on, but still had on their
swimming trunks, which had not been wet, since neither
of them had gone into the pool yet, this morning.

"Are you ready, Sean?" Jeff asked me. "Danny and I
will get the car ready and put your suitcase in it."

"Yes, Jeff, I'm ready." I said, as I walked toward the
gate entrance. "Let's go."

I waved goodbye to Kandi and Justin, who were staying
behind, and left with Danny and Jeff and followed them
to their car.

"Speaking of the car," Danny started to say, as we all
got into the car. "We all heard Nick get into his and
peel out of the driveway. What happened between you
two that upset him so much?

"I'll tell you on the way to the airport." I said to
him. "For now, let's get out of here."

Jeff started the engine and backed the car out of the
driveway. He put it in gear and started driving
towards the airport.



To Be Continued........?

Well, that's it for this one. I hope you all enjoyed
it!

"What happens next? Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com