Nick took a deep breath before he swiped his hands over his face. What the fuck had he done? Jake’s body wasn’t even cold yet, and he had taken complete advantage of the situation. He heard the rustle of the sheets, and when he turned his head to face Sam, she was laying on her side with her back towards him.
He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he sat up and threw his legs over the edge of the bed. The silence in the room was deafening and almost unbearable. He grabbed his shorts from the floor and pulled them on quickly. He needed to get the fuck out of there, and quick.
Sam closed her eyes when she heard him work the zipper of his shorts up. She gripped the sheet that was tightly tucked around her body, as if it was a shield. Her brother had died tonight and instead of comforting her family she sought comfort in Nick. She despised herself because of her actions, but it was too late, she couldn’t take it back, just like she couldn’t bring Jake back.
She heard the door close softly, and she sighed heavily. She wasn’t surprised he left, she had expected him to. She closed her eyes and tried to block Nick and what they had done out of her head. She began to think of the days ahead and what they would mean for her family. Would her parents ever be the same? She doubted it. She doubted anything would be the same without Jake. She closed her eyes and pictured his smiling face. Tears fell from her eyes and she turned her face into her pillow and cried over the loss of her brother. She cried for all the memories they shared and the ones they never would get the chance to make.
Nick walked quietly back into Sam’s bedroom. He told himself he should go home, but when he got to the front door, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. She was crying and he knew it was because she was realizing her brother was gone. He gently slid back into her bed. He didn’t speak a word; nothing he said would help anyway. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She hesitated at first, but he ignored her and pulled her tightly against his chest.
They lay like that for some time, staring into the darkness of her room. Eventually they succumbed to their exhaustion and fell asleep in the comfort of one another’s arms.
Chapter Ten
Nick stretched his arms over his head as he awakened. It took him a moment to process that he wasn’t in his own bed, and then he remembered the night before. He rolled over expecting to see Sam still asleep, but instead he found himself alone in her bed. He listened to see if he heard her prancing around her tiny apartment, but heard not a peep. Nick cursed as he punched the empty side of the bed. She had disappeared, left him in her own bed to boot. He buried his head into his pillow. He shouldn’t have expected much else from her. He didn’t even know why he let her actions get to him. He threw the sheet off of him and sat up. He needed to get out of there.
He looked over at the night stand to see what time it was and squinted when he noticed a folded piece of paper with his name written on it. He reached out and grabbed the note. He debated if he should even read it, knowing that whatever she wrote would only piss him off further. He also knew he couldn’t walk out of her apartment without reading it.
He sighed and opened the piece of paper.
Thanks for helping me forget for a little while. Sorry I don’t own a coffee pot.
XOXO
Sam
He tore the paper in half and placed both halves back on her nightstand. He stood up and gathered the rest of his clothes. When he tugged his shirt over his head, his phone began to ring. He slid his hand into his back pocket to retrieve it.
“Hello?” He called into the phone bending down to tie his shoe laces.
“Hey, where are you?” Luke asked, his voice full of fatigue.
“I was just about to head out.” Nick said, purposely leaving out where he was in fact heading out from. “You sound like you haven’t slept, man.”
“Yeah, well I pretty much haven’t. I need a favor.” Luke said, knowing he could count on Nick. “Apparently, after I dropped Cara off last night at my parents, she took off and no one knows where she is. I was supposed to go with my father to finalize the arrangements for the service tomorrow, but I can’t leave her God knows where, alone.”
“You want me to look for her?” Nick asked, rising to his feet. He felt his pockets for his keys.
“No, I’ll go after Cara. But if you don’t mind helping my dad out?” Luke asked.
“Not a problem.” Nick said and headed towards the front door of Sam’s apartment. He opened the door and glanced around. No signs of the night before, he mused. It’s like it never happened. He locked the bottom lock on her door. “I’m on my way.” He said into the phone as he pulled her door shut behind him.
* * * * * *
Sam sat beside her mother in the living room of the Lanza house. They were surrounded by shoeboxes and photo albums trying to pick out the pictures that best marked the milestones of Jake’s life. It was strange for Sam to be looking at the photographs of their childhood knowing that she would never have any new memories with her brother. They sat amongst tons of photographs they had taken over the last thirty years. No more pictures would be taken, with Jake in them from this point on. It saddened her, and when she looked over at her mother, her heart broke. She had no idea how to comfort her. She traced Jake’s face with her fingertips in each picture before pressing a gentle kiss to the photo of her youngest son.
“This is one of my favorite photos of the three of you.” Deb said sadly as she shared the photo with Sam. It was taken one Christmas morning, Sam must’ve been about three years old and Jake seven. Luke was approaching ten and they were smiling underneath the tree.
“We had the best Christmases.” Sam said as she stared down at the picture. “I remember going into Jake’s room and waking him up one year. The year I thought I saw Santa Claus.” Sam laughed and lifted her gaze to her mother’s. “You know he went along with it, even though he had already learned the truth about Santa. He told me I probably did see him, but never to tell you or dad, because then he wouldn’t come the following year.”
Deb smiled sadly. “Sounds just, like, Jake.” She paused a moment and shook her head. “I can’t believe he’s gone.” She said quietly.
Sam looked at her mother, not knowing what to say, so she remained quiet. Deb took a deep breath and reached for another shoe box. Carefully, she lifted the lid and placed it between them. She took a stack and handed it to Sam, and then took one for herself. They sat in silence filtering through the stacks of photos. Most of them were of Jake and Cara through their adolescent years.
Deb lifted her head and turned to Sam. “I wish Cara was here to go through these with us.”
Sam nodded in agreement. “She was the most important person in his life.” She said as she smiled down at a picture of Jake giving Cara a piggyback ride. He was looking over his shoulder with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. She was sure her brother had fallen head over heels in love with Cara way back then. The proof was in the photos. Every single photograph of the two of them, they were smiling and so at ease with one another.
“Luke brought her back here last night, she barely said a word and this morning when I went to bring her coffee she was gone. I wanted her to have some sort of input on Jake’s arrangements. She’s his fiancée after all.” Deb said. The final sentence catching as her emotions got the best of her.
Sam took her mother’s hand in hers and patted it gently. “Everyone grieves differently, mom. Cara has no family. Her whole world centered on Jake.” Sam shook her head.
Deb nodded. “I just don’t want to lose her too. We’re her family now.” She said as she reached for a tissue. The doorbell sounded and Sam immediately stood.
“I’ll get that. It’s probably another fruit basket or flower arrangement.” Sam said and took a glance around the room. Every piece of furniture had some sort of flower or plant on it. The kitchen was stocked with food from neighbors and friends who had sent their condolences.
She stepped into the front hallway and pulled o
pen the door. She was prepared to tip another delivery boy, not see the man she spent the night with. The man she should’ve never spent the night with. Bad Samantha! She scolded herself mentally. “Nick, what’re you doing here?”
Nick laughed out loud causing her to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. He shook his head and brushed past her, inviting himself into the house. She rolled her eyes and closed the door. When she turned around, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but my parents just lost their son and they're not exactly…”
“Would you just shut up!” He exclaimed, cutting off her words. “I’m not here for you.” He shook his head and ran his hand over his head, clearly agitated. He shot her a fierce look, one that told her to back off. He had taken just about all the shit he’d ever allow himself to take from her and was done. He was so fucking done. He turned around and walked into the living room.
Sam stood speechless, her hands still poised on her hips. Had he just dismissed her? She went to rip him out of the living room and lash into him, when her father walked down the stairs.
“Who was at the door?” Joe asked, holding an empty garment bag.
Sam dropped her hands from her waist and looked up at her father. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had seen her father look so old, so distraught. She had been only five when her paternal grandfather died. Luke and Jake often talked about him and how great of guy Grandpa Lou was, but she also remembered her brothers telling her that was the only memory they had of their father crying. They said he sat in their family room for about a month listening to Mike and the Mechanics, “The Living Years”.
She didn’t know how her father would mourn Jake, maybe he would play records, or maybe he would walk around in denial much like he was now. She didn’t think that denial was the right word, because she was sure he was aware his son was gone. He was on his way to make the arrangements to bury him. But still he was acting like he had it all under control, which wasn’t the norm for him.
“Nick’s here.” She nodded towards the living room as her father stepped off the last step and headed towards where Deb and Nick were.
“Deb?” Joe said softly, tearing her away from her embrace with Nick. They both turned to face Joe. Nick took a few steps towards him and patted him on the back.
“How are you holding up, big guy?” Nick asked sincerely. It was hard for Sam to hate him sometimes. Especially when she watched the way he interacted with her parents. He really did love them, she marveled.
“One day at a time, that’s all we could do.” Joe said sullenly. He looked over at his wife. “I found the garment bag. Have you decided what you want him to wear?” He asked, his voice catching thinking about what his son will be laid to rest wearing.
“When he and Cara came back from Manhattan, he dropped off the outfit he wore at the dry cleaners. I just picked it up last week.” Deb said, walking over to the coat closet and on the back of the door hung Jake’s dry cleaning. It was a pair of slacks, a button down dress shirt, and a vest that matched his slacks. She stared at the clothes for a moment, and then turned to her husband. “He told me that was the best weekend he ever had.” She smiled as her eyes filled again with fresh tears.
Joe nodded and closed the distance between them. He took the outfit from her hand and gently placed it into the garment bag. He zipped it closed and draped it over his arm before turning back to his wife. He took her hand in his and kissed it softly. “Is there anything else I should give the undertaker?”
“We’re not finished with the display boards of pictures. Can we drop those off later?” Sam asked behind them. Joe turned and faced his daughter.
“I don’t see why not. They just want everything they need for him.” Joe said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a gold pocket watch that was his father’s. “I want this to be with him.” He said as he offered the heirloom to his wife. She smiled at her husband closing her hand over his.
“He always joked that he wanted you to leave that to him in your will.” She remembered sadly. She brought her free hand to her mouth, to muffle her cry. Joe leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Where’s Luke, I thought he was coming with me?” Joe said, noticing for the first time his eldest son was missing.
Nick cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. “He’s actually trying to find Cara. I’m going to take you if that’s okay?”
Joe looked at Nick and nodded. “Thank you.” He murmured.
“Not a problem.” Nick said and for the first time since he abruptly dismissed her, he turned his eyes towards her and dared her to throw a fit.
She met his dangerous stare with one of her own. The tension between them so thick you could slice it with a knife.
“We should be on our way, then…” Joe said, pressing a kiss to his wife’s cheek.
“Make sure we send our boy off right.” She whispered, holding his cheek to hers. Joe took her hand and stared into her eyes, and simply nodded, assuring her he would do his best.
* * * * * *
Luke had been searching Riverdale for over two hours for Cara. He had gone by Rudy’s, her old apartment, even the tattoo parlor. When he came up empty handed, he found himself at the cemetery where her mother was buried. It was the last place he wanted to look, knowing very well tomorrow he would be spending part of his day there. It didn’t matter though, because he wasn’t there long, because Cara wasn’t there either.
There was only one other place he could think of, Jake’s apartment. When he first began his chemotherapy, he and Cara had moved in with his parents so they could all take turns caring for him. Jake wouldn’t give up his apartment, waiting for the day he and Cara could move into it together. He hoped she was there because he was out of ideas at this point and fearing the worse. Jake was gone a day and he had already failed to abide by his promise to take care of Cara.
He walked up the stairs to the second floor apartment and instantly heard glass shattering. He paused, not climbing another step, he just listened. He could hear things smashing. A door opened and another tenant stepped out of their apartment. Luke watched the man rap loudly on Jake’s apartment door.
“I told you to keep it down! Now I’m calling the cops.” The old man roared causing Luke to hurry up the remaining steps.
“Sir, please don’t!” Luke pleaded and the old man turned around and faced him. His bushy gray eyebrows furrowed as he studied him.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
“I’m Luke Lanza. My brother Jake used to rent this apartment.” Luke said patiently. The old man crossed his arms on his chest.
“You look alike.” He said, acknowledging the resemblance between the brothers. It wasn’t a strong one, but you could definitely tell they were brothers. “He hasn’t been here in some time. Is he in trouble or something?” The man asked as he glanced towards the door. Another loud crash sounded and the old man grunted. “This is been going on since early this morning. Scared the hell out of whatever little life is left in me.”
Luke took a deep breath. “My brother passed away yesterday.” He nodded towards the door. “The one making all that noise is his fiancée. She’s not handling it very well. I’d appreciate it if you let me take care of her and refrain from calling the police.”
Jake’s neighbor stared at him shock crossing in his aging eyes. “I’m sorry.” He stammered before moving away from the door. “I hope you get through to her.”
“So do I. Sir.” Luke admitted as he gazed at the door. He drew a deep breath and the older man retreated quietly to his own apartment. Luke placed his hand over the doorknob as he leaned his forehead against the door. He gave himself a moment, trying to brace himself for what came next. God only knew what he was in store for.
He tested the doorknob to see if it was locked, luckily for him it wasn’t. He quietly pushed opened the door and stepped inside. The apartment was a dis
aster. Broken glass that had once been picture frames were shattered. The couch was covered with Jake’s clothes. There was a bottle of whiskey on the counter, and by the looks of it, Cara was three quarters deep into it.
He blew out a breath and bent down to begin to pick up the larger pieces of glass when she walked into the open space from the bedroom. Her hands full of more of Jake’s clothes. She stopped in her tracks when Luke stood up.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She slurred and gave him a nasty glare before dumping the clothes that were cascading out of her arms onto the overflowing couch. She was wearing one of Jake’s T-shirts and nothing else.
“Be happy I’m here, otherwise the neighbor across the hall would have the cops here.” He said evenly. “Jesus, Cara what the hell are you doing?”
“Look, I don’t need a babysitter. So if you could just leave, I’d appreciate it. And while you’re at it tell the old geezer across the hall to do me a favor and call the cops.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you want? You want to be in a holding cell while we all say goodbye to Jake?”
Cara looked at him, but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She had nothing to say in response to his comment. He sensed her retreat and walked over to the bottle of whiskey.
“Are you using a glass or are we just chugging from the bottle?” He said as he lifted the bottle, eyeing the fiery liquid himself.
“Help yourself.” She said and turned away. She focused on the mess of clothes and busied her hands moving them around.
Luke took a swig of the bottle and cringed as the alcohol burned its way down his throat. He shook it off and took the bottle with him as he made his way towards her. He offered her a swig of the bottle and she eyed the bottle before meeting his gaze. By the look in her eyes, Luke was willing to bet she was pretty far gone. She took the bottle from him and threw her head back as she chugged the whiskey as if it was second nature. His eyes widened as she polished the bottle off, handing the empty bottle back to him.
Broken Pieces (The Riverdale Series) Page 11
