“It’s not losing the hair that’s bothering me. It’s everything settling in. It’s looking in the mirror and not recognizing the man looking back at me.” He swallowed, and looked at Nick’s reflection.
Nick didn’t say anything, he simply let Jake vent his frustrations. He glanced around the countertop and then bent down and opened the cabinet beneath the sink. He rummaged through and pulled out what he was looking for. He didn’t look at Jake he simply plugged in the electric buzzer, and he poured peroxide over the blade, before flicking it on. Jake looked at him startled by the sound of the buzzer.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jake said, turning to face him. His eyes widened as Nick let the head of the buzzer glide through his long locks. “Stop it! Nick, I can’t let you do this!”
Nick ignored him and let the hair fly onto the counter. He combed it through the rest of the hair with ease, never flinching. Jake watched him, tears slipping down his cheeks as he guided the buzzer throughout his head. Once his head was completely shaven, he shut the buzzer off and turned to Jake.
“It’s only hair.” He placed the buzzer on the counter and ran his hands over his head, it felt like peach fuzz. He turned and faced Jake. “It’ll grow back. Want to give it a go?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept a steady eye on Jake.
Jake lifted his hand to his head turned and looked in the mirror. He fingered the strands of hair and eyed Nick’s hair. He looked like he had cut his hair to join the military. He bit the inside of his cheek and quickly faced Nick. “Fuck it!” He exclaimed and then repeated Nick’s words. “It’s only hair.”
Nick smiled at him and reached for the buzzer. He stood behind Jake and they both stared into the mirror and Nick began to buzz Jakes hair. Since Jake kept his sides very short to begin with, it was an easy task. A few strokes over the top of his hair where it was longest, then and Nick changed the blade on the buzzer to even out the length across Jake’s entire head. Once he was done, Jake ran his hands over the soft fuzzy hair. Nick stepped back and let Jake access himself.
“What do you think?” Nick asked, rubbing his own shaven head.
“You become a barber or something in Seattle?” Jake asked and then grinned at him as only he could. “I’m a sexy son of a bitch, bald.”
Nick chuckled slightly and gripped Jake’s shoulders. “I’d ask you if you want to go cruising to pick up chicks, but you went and got yourself a ball and chain.”
Jake laughed and turned to face him and punched him in the shoulder. “Thanks man. I actually like it.”
“Anytime.” Nick said and then ran his hand down his head. “Going to take some time to get used to.”
“We look like we just joined the army. You should tell my sister you’re going to war, maybe that would light a match under her ass.” He pondered the idea, seemed like a no brainer to him.
“If I have to pretend to be something I’m not, then what’s the use?” Nick said as he began to clean up the mess from the haircuts.
“I know my sister Nick, she’s had a crush on you since she was thirteen. I don’t know what’s holding her back.” He frowned, because he was stumped. By now he thought for sure they would’ve come to their senses. He leaned back against the counter. “Maybe it has something to do with why she went to Seattle.”
Nick looked up from sweeping up the stray hairs on the floor. “Well, unless she tells me about her little excursion, I’ll never know why she never came to see me when she was there. The only one who she thinks knows about that is Luke.”
“Maybe I can get her to tell me about it.” He shrugged, his eyes lit up like a fluorescent bulb. “I’ll tell her it’s my dying wish.”
Nick smacked his leg with the back of the broom. “You’re an ass.”
Jake smiled. “I’m kidding. “ Nick eyed him suspiciously. “I swear! Geez, you people need to lighten up a little. But seriously, maybe I can get her to open up.”
“How do you plan on doing that? If she hasn’t told you yet, why would she tell you now?” He chucked the dustpan into the waste basket and they made their way out of the bathroom.
“You leave that to me.” Jake said very sure of himself.
“Fine. But no talk of dying wishes or any morbid shit.” He said pointing a warning finger in Jake’s direction.
“Scouts honor.” He assured him and then turned around quickly as the door opened.
Cara and Sam walked into the room laughing. Both girls stopped short, and their laughter diminished when they locked eyes with Jake and Nick. Jake grinned at Cara, as if shaving his head was the most natural thing.
“How long were we gone?” Cara asked no one in particular, as she dropped her belongings and stood before Jake. He searched her eyes, trying to figure what she was thinking and wondering if in fact she knew what caused the sudden hairstyle change. She lifted her hands, her eyes questioning him.
“Go ahead. Maybe a Genie will pop out.” He laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist as she lifted her hands to stroke his head.
She laughed slightly. He knew once she touched his head so gently, and proceeded to place feathered kisses along his hairline, that she knew. He watched her smile wide. “I love it.”
“Yeah?” He asked looking into her eyes, seeking her approval. She didn’t harp on the fact that he was losing his hair, or that he had probably been on an emotional rollercoaster while she was gone. She just accepted it, as if he had just done it on a whim.
“I really do. You look so rugged and bad ass.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to his.
Nick dragged his eyes away from Cara and Jake and focused on Sam. She was staring at him with an expression of shock, and something else that he couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“I just remembered I have something to take care of. I’ll see you guys later.” Sam stammered, quickly finding her way out of the room. Jake pulled away from Cara, and when they turned towards Sam, she had already shut the door behind her. Jake looked at Cara quizzically.
“What’s with Sam?” A hunch told him that his sister wasn’t taking his hair loss as easily as his girlfriend had.
Cara shrugged. “She was fine until a minute ago.” She glanced at Jake and lifted her eyebrows towards Nick.
Jake turned around and looked at his friend, expectantly. Nick rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. I’ll go.”
Jake grinned. “Of course you will.”
“I know what you’re up to Jake.” He shook his head and headed towards the door.
“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Thanks for the haircut.” He nuzzled Cara’s neck and she squealed happily.
“You seem like you’re feeling better.”
“I am.” He said his face buried in her neck as the door clicked closed behind Nick. “Thank you.” He whispered to her as he took both her hands in his.
“For?” She asked as she pulled his arms back around her.
“Thank you for not making a big deal out of me losing my hair.” He gave her a halfheartedly smile.
She simply shrugged and rubbed his head tenderly with her hands. “I love you it doesn’t matter if you have hair long enough to braid or none at all. It doesn’t change what’s in here.” She said laying her hand over his chest.
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’m going to need a variety of hats.”
She laughed. “We can get all different kinds.” She said as she took his hand and led him over to the bed. What about a fedora?” Her eyes lit up and she smiled at him. “You’d look so sexy in a fedora.”
He laughed at her enthusiasm and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, staring down at the lips. “A fedora it is.”
Nick took the stairs two at a time to the first floor of the Lanza home. He walked through the kitchen, no sign of her. He knew she was upset, he could tell by the pained look in her eyes. When he made it into the living room he could hear her muffled cries. Turning towards the staircase that was in the front foyer of the house, he found her sitting on t
he bottom step with her head in her hands. He moved towards her, kneeling in front of her.
“Sam?”
She looked up startled by his voice. Quickly, she wiped at her cheeks. “What are you doing here?” She said as she stared at his head.
Well did he really expect her to be pleasant? Aside, from the night they went to the karaoke bar she was nothing but cold and distant to him. He sighed exasperatedly, but scolded himself as he did so. Even though his patience was running thin with this cat and mouse game, the real reason he came searching for her was because he knew she was upset over her brother, he saw it in her pretty blue eyes.
“You ran out of the basement looking upset.” He shrugged. “You want to talk about it?”
“I’m fine. I don’t need a knight and shining armor.”
He balled his hands into fists at his sides, as he rose to his full height. He wanted to shake her and demand she cut her ice queen routine with him, it was getting old.
“Lucky for you, I left my white horse in Seattle.” He said through gritted teeth.
“Amongst other things, I’m sure.” She said, rolling her eyes, and wiping her cheeks with her shirt sleeve at the same time.
His brows furrowed at her comment. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He shook his head. “You know what I don’t even care. You seem fine, so I’ll just get out of your hair.” He watched her for a moment, watching her eyes dilate into narrow slits as she peered at him angrily. What the hell did he do to her?
“Nick Foti runs away again, shocker!” Her voice was rich with sarcasm and dripping with anger.
He took a dangerous step closer towards her. He didn’t know what he wanted to do more, strangle her or kiss her, either one would surely silence her.
“I get that you’re hurting.”
“No you don’t. Your brother isn’t suffering from Cancer, mine is.”
Nick felt as if she slapped him across the face with brass knuckles. They may not share the same blood, but he loved Jake like they did. He took a step back from her, and his jaw ticked. He had enough of her antagonizing him. He turned around disgusted and headed towards the front door.
Sam hurried after him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt. He went to shrug her off of him but she clenched her fist with the fabric of his shirt.
“Get off of me.” He said even tempered.
“No! You don’t get to just walk away from me whenever you feel like!” Her control was slipping, and he heard it in her strangled voice.
Nick turned to face her, and her eyes were full to the rim with fresh tears. “What do you want from me?” He asked gruffly.
She shook her head, as she bit down on her lower lip. “I don’t know.” She whispered shaking her head. “Why’d you do it? Why’d you shave your head?”
“Because your brother started losing his hair today, and since I can’t trade places with him, it was all I could do. Should I have asked for your permission?” He stared at her, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He swore he saw affection in those cold eyes of hers. He must’ve been kidding himself.
“I want to hate you. I want to hate you more than anything.” She said frustration weighing heavy in her voice. She lifted her gaze and stared into his eyes. Her hand was still clutching the fabric of his shirt. He looked down at her hand and took it into his. Slowly he pried her fingers off of him, one by one. He let his hand linger on hers for a moment before dropping it to her side.
“Careful sweetheart, I might start to believe that you actually don’t hate me.” He forced himself to turn around and without another glance or a second thought he walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. She drove him crazy, bottom line.
Chapter Twenty-One
The days began to roll into weeks. One week he’d be fine, the next he’d be weak and feeling the effects of the chemo. He was in and out of the hospital much to his dismay. He hated not being able to go home after a dose of the drugs, but his reaction was so severe it was in his best interest to stay in the hospital afterwards. He was scheduled for one more dose, and then the first round of chemotherapy would be complete. The doctors would run tests and see how well his body fought the cancer; from there they would determine if he in fact needed a second round.
Cara prayed to any God who would listen, that once the first round was done they’d see improvement. She wasn’t sure if Jake would be able to stand another round, and the worse part of it, was that the doctors already warned the family he would be admitted throughout the duration of the second bout. She feared being confined to a hospital would break his spirit or lessen his will to live.
Alone in her thoughts, she could admit she was falling apart at the seams. Her fun-loving Jake was too ill most of the time to be himself to enjoy life. The light that danced in his eyes was dim and it crushed her heart. Still, despite feeling like shit most of the time, he put a smile on every day and tried anything in his power to make her laugh. He was relentless in making sure she was happy and not letting life pass by her.
She wanted to do something for him, and have it be something he was passionate about. She knew that before he was sick he wanted to go into business with Luke in restoring motorcycles and that’s what sparked her idea. She grimaced as she pulled into Lanza Automotive, she had been trying to avoid Luke. She didn’t want to deal with rehashing why she was perturbed with him and knew that he was one not to let go of things. She reminded herself she needed Luke to help her execute her plan, and with Nick there as a buffer she’d get through it.
She got out of her car and padded towards the garage. She saw Nick bent over the engine of a car he was working on. “Hey Nick.” She said a little louder than usual, so he would be able to hear her over the radio that was blaring.
He looked over his shoulder and wiped his greasy hands down the front of his already stained white shirt. “Cara, what brings you by?” Concern etched his confused face. “Is Jake okay?”
She smiled, and swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. She didn’t blame him for asking, it was hard not to assume the worse when you were at the mercy of a disease.
“He’s fine. Deb is with him. I wanted to stop in before I went to work. Is Luke here?”
She said as she scanned the garage looking for him.
“He’s in the office. I’ll go get him for you.” He said as he scratched the top of his head. His hair was starting to grow in unlike Jake’s. She smiled sadly and motioned toward his head. “Are you going to let it grow out again?”
“No. I was waiting for Jake to come out of the hospital so he could shave it off for me again.” He winked at her. “I like it. It took some time to get used to, but the ladies love it.”
She laughed, shoving her hands into her pockets. Nick knocked twice on the office door.
“Luke, Cara’s here to see you.”
“Well to see the both of you.” She corrected and watched as Nick stepped closer, crossing his arms against his chest.
“My ears are all yours sweetie.” He winked at her as Luke opened the door to the office and stared at Cara.
“What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath, it was useless, it would always be the first question anytime someone saw her, she concluded.
“Nothing is wrong.” She said and her eyes drifted between Nick and Luke. “I want to do something for Jake.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocketbook and extended it to them. Luke grabbed for it instantly, and unfolded the paper staring down at the drawing.
“Jake drew this?” He asked as he lifted his eyes from the paper and handed it to Nick.
She nodded. “He’s got a folder full of them, but this one stuck out the most.” She shrugged her shoulders, not really knowing why she chose the picture she did. “Maybe because its lime green like, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma awareness is?”
“It’s a beauty.” Nick said as he handed the picture of the stunt motorbike back to Cara. “What do you want us to do?” He asked.
<
br /> She smiled at Nick and slipped the picture back into her pocketbook. “I don’t know how to build a bike like that and maybe you don’t either. But I know you’ll try your hardest.”
“We’ll do it.” Luke affirmed, and looked at her seriously. “I’ve already been looking into bikes, Nick has too. Right after Jake told me he wanted to restore bikes, he was diagnosed. I don’t know how to help him, so instead I’ve been putting my energy into making his dream a reality.”
“Does he know?” She asked simply. She didn’t know how to feel at the moment, and knew that she might be over reacting and that her emotions were all over the place. She was happy, happy that Luke took Jake’s dreams seriously. She supposed she should remind herself that when the anger boiled inside her and she thought Luke had written Jake off as dead and he wouldn’t be able to make his own dreams come true. But the truth was he might not be able to chase his dreams. It was reality and she couldn’t be angry with Luke for accepting things she was to afraid to.
“No. We didn’t want to tell him until we secured a lot.” Luke said quietly.
“We want to have it set up for him just as he envisioned. I went and spoke to Pete from the shop and he has been insightful to what Jake wants to do.” Nick added as he studied her. “Are you okay?”
She forced a smiled and nodded quickly. “Jake’s going to love it.”
“We figured once we have the property we’d tell him and he could keep himself busy with ordering bikes and parts and what have you.”
“It’s his dream so he’ll be happy.” Was all she could offer, she was unraveling and needed to hold herself together. “So you guys will help me with the bike?”
“Of course we will.” Luke said.
She diverted her eyes to Luke’s against her better judgment. When she saw the bags under his eyes and the pain in his irises, she knew it was a mistake. Her eyes filled, and she looked away quickly.
Pieces (Riverdale #1) Page 21
