Free Out of My Element by Taryn Plendl Page A

His soft voice was
enough to start the tears again. I concentrated on staying completely still,
hoping he would just go away. “Chelsea, are you awake?”
    I didn’t move or make a sound. I
was too emotionally charged to talk to him right now. I could hear him
breathing, and I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to leave—but he
did. I heard him sigh, and seconds later the door closed.
    I pushed my face into my pillow and
cried. How was it possible for your heart to break before you even really gave
it away?

Chapter 14
     
    Nick
    I couldn’t do it. Damn it, I tried.
    I met Trevor and Tom at the club
and did my best to get the vision of Chelsea and Adam out of my head. I slammed
some beers and found the first blonde I saw and invited her home.
    I don’t know what I expected when I
came through the door. I had done this same thing more times than I could
count, but this time was different. I was doing it out of self-preservation. I
figured I would screw Chelsea out of my head by being with this girl, but I
didn’t expect to see her sitting on the couch when I got home, looking so
shocked and hurt. She had hurt me by going out with Adam, so I did the only
thing I knew how to do—I hurt her more.
    I wasn’t used to caring so much.
After about ten minutes in my room with the blonde, I realized it wasn’t going
to happen. I didn’t want her—I wanted that beautiful redhead down the hall, and
I was pretty sure I completely fucked that up. I sent my “sure thing” home, and
boy was she pissed!
    I could hear Chelsea crying through
her door, and it just about killed me. I just wanted to gather her up in my
arms and tell her I was so sorry, but she wouldn’t answer me when I went to her
room. I couldn’t blame her. She obviously wanted me to leave her alone. I stood
outside of her door, listening to her cry, until I was sure she had fallen
asleep. It was only then that I finally went back to my own room.
    ***
    I woke up with the worst headache
of my life, and I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with drinking. I jumped
in the shower, hoping to be able to catch Chelsea before she left for work.
    Within fifteen minutes, I was
dressed and ready for work. I headed out to the kitchen to start the coffee,
and realized that she had been there and gone. “Son of a bitch!” I pounded my
hand against the counter, flexing it as it throbbed. 
    I grabbed my phone and dialed
Trevor. I needed some advice.
    “Good morning, Nick.” He was his
normal happy self. He and Tom were just sickening with their happy,
in-love-all-the-time attitudes. I wasn’t jealous … no, not one bit.
    “Are you at work yet?” I quickly
asked.
    “Oh, good morning to you too,
Trevor,” he scoffed. My manners were seriously nonexistent at the moment.
    “Shit, Trevor, please. I’m fucking
losing it, man,” I groaned. “Have you seen Chelsea this morning?”
    “Yeah, she was here when Ava and I
came in.” So, she must have left pretty damn early.
    “Did she say anything about last
night?”
    “Nope. Nothing other than answering
Ava’s question about her date with Adam.”
    “What did she say about it?” My
heart started beating rapidly at the thought of her with him.
    “She just said she had a nice time,
but that it was an early night. Didn’t you talk to her?” Trevor questioned me.
    “She was waiting for me when I came
home with that girl.” I could hear Trevor sigh.
    “Nick, what the hell are you doing,
man? Is this just a game to you? I’m just saying this because for someone who
had a nice date last night, she sure looks beat up today.” Trevor sounded
annoyed.
    “It’s not a game, Trevor. I just
don’t know what I’m doing,” I sighed.
    “Let me ask you something, Nick. Is
Chelsea just a friend to you?”
    “No, she’s much more than that,” I
confessed.
    “We figured that. You know, Nick,
at some point we all have to choose—do we fall back on what we’ve always done,
or do we step forward to something