Chapter 137
He deactivated the alarm and unlocked the door, making his way in, the scent of lemon and oranges assaulted his nose. He flipped the light on and set his bags down. God it felt good to be home. Walking around, he started to open the windows to air it out; the scent of lemon and oranges was already a bit overwhelming and nauseating. Making his way into the kitchen, after taking a quick look at what was left in the cupboards; he read the note left by the people who’d cleaned his house before tossing it in the garbage. He had so much to do before Veronica got there, shopping, and additional cleaning, not that his house was messy by any means, the cleaning company always did a good job, but there were other things.
Heading back over to the door, he grabbed bags and headed up to his room, throwing them inside before pounding back down the stairs and out the door and over to his neighbor’s to pick up his mail. After thanking Mrs. Tanaka, Nick brought his bags of mail and two large boxes back to his house, shutting and locking the door. It was late and he was defiantly too tired to go out anywhere, he couldn’t wait to sleep in his own bed.
Nick made his way back up to his room again and inside. Tossing the bags and boxes on his bed, he quickly stripped, grabbing some boxers and a jersey and his deodorant from out of one of his bags, he made his way into the bathroom and then into the shower. Groaning softly, he let the water pour over him, sighing softly, his thoughts again drifting to Veronica.
In a matter of days she would be there and he couldn’t wait. He’d had several dreams where she came to visit him, but for some reason, his house was missing and they ended up staying at a Burger King. He’d woken up for days with cravings for hamburgers. Grabbing the bottle of shampoo, he squirted some into his hands before working it into his hair. He had to stop thinking about her, the more he thought of her, the slower time went.
A short time later he made his way out and into his bedroom, flipping the TV on and then dropped the towel, pulling his boxers and then jersey on before flopping down on the bed. Setting the bags down next to the bed, he reached out and grabbed one of the boxes, looking at the return address, he smiled. It was from Veronica, so much for not thinking about her. He turned the box, trying to find the best place to try to open it. After trying unsuccessfully to open it from various corners, Nick was forced to get out of bed and find a pair of scissors. Making his way back over, he sat back down and started cutting at the box and tape. Finally he managed to pry the box open. Peeking inside, he saw a couple of brightly wrapped gifts.
Reaching in, he grabbed the small package first, tarring it open to reveal a CD. Pulling the rubber band off, he opened the note that had been attached.
Nick,
Merry Christmas!! It sucks kinda that you’re gonna be opening this a month late, but better late than never right? Anyway, so yeah, merry Xmas, I hope yours was nice. I got you a little something, it’s not much though. The cd that this was attached to I burned, it’s a lot of my favorite songs and stuff, I know you’re a singer and all and this is a big no no, but I’ll take the chance.
The other gift is well…kind of silly I guess, but I was at the mall and I saw the shop and I thought, this would be really cute thing to make for Nick. Granted I’m sure you’ve gotten tons of these and probably several of the same, I thought it’d be nice anyway. If you don’t like it, you can always give it to charity or something. J
Ok so that’s it for now, I hope you like it. Take care and I’ll see you in Feb!
Your friend,
Veronica
Nick stared at the “your friend” part and frowned, he supposed he had his answer to if he felt more than friendship towards her, how she felt. Sighing a bit, he turned the cd over and looked at the track listings, smiling. There were a lot of 80’s songs, a lot of songs on there he too loved and there were a few that he didn’t know. Slipping off the bed, he headed over to his stereo system, putting the cd in pressing play before walking back over to the bed. Sitting back down, he reached into the box and grabbed the other wrapped gift. This one was very soft and squishy; he had a good idea what it was.
Tarring at the paper, his eyes widened at the stuffed bear, a slow smile spreading over his lips. It wasn’t a typical bear; this bear was dressed in blue jeans, a red t-shirt and glasses. On his feet, a pair of mini timberlands. There was a note tied around his neck, Nick pulled the letter off and opened.
I affectionately refer to him as “Nick bear”
Nick blinked, Nick bear? Was this bear supposed to be him? Looking back into the box, he noticed that there was something else at the bottom that he hadn’t noticed before. Reaching in, he grabbed the manila folder and pulled it out; flipping it open to reveal what appeared to be a birth certificate. He pulled the certificate out and chuckled, it was a birth certificate for the bear stating that the bears’ name was Nickolas Gene Carter and that he was born on December 23, 2005. Shaking his head, Nick set the certificate down and picked the bear back up, chuckling softly. It was a cute bear, he was sure he’d gotten something similar, at the time he didn’t know such thing existed. Well this one wasn’t going to charity that was for sure.
He went to set the bear down, when suddenly he got a whiff of something familiar. Stilling, he inhaled deeply, he was sure he recognized the scent. Slowly he brought his gaze to the bear in his hands, bringing it up to his nose, he inhaled deeply, his eyes widening. It smelled like Veronica, she’d sprayed the bear with Freesia. Smiling widely, he crushed the bear to his chest, hugging it gently; it almost felt like she was there. Wait, hadn’t she said in the note it was something she made for him, Nick looked back down at the bear again. Had she actually made it for him?
Smiling a bit, he set the bear down on his lap, putting the box down beside the bed before grabbing the other, this box was slightly smaller than the other, but not by much. Grabbing the scissors, he pried that one open and looked inside, this box was filled with bubble wrap and there was something that the bubble wrap was wrapped around. Reaching in, he grabbed the package, unwinding the wrap and setting it aside, fighting the urge to start popping the bubbles. Nick tore the note off of this package and opened it.
Nick,
Happy Birthday! I guess I could’ve waited until I came to see you to give you this, but I’m impatient. So here you go, I hope you can use it. You got me the stuff to feed my talent/hobby, so I thought I’d return the favor. I know you don’t really do much of it anymore, but maybe this will inspire you.
Take care, and I’ll see you in a few weeks!
Veronica
Tarring the paper off, he stared down at the gift. It looked like a suitcase of sorts, turning it up on its side; he flipped the latch up and opened it, gasping softly. It was an art set, and not a cheap one, this was a top of the line set. Nick looked over the contents, there were pencils, chalks, paints, brushes, acrylics and all kinds of things. It had to be insanely expensive, and Nick knew that Veronica didn’t make much at her job, she’d told him on several occasions at how she had to cut a lot of corners with things and how she really had to be careful with how she spent money, it was one of the main reasons she needed to find a new job. He was deeply touched that she would spend so much money on him.
Slumping back against the headboard, he looked back in the box, biting his lip as he noticed there was something else. He grabbed it, this wasn’t wrapped with bubble wrap though, he tore the paper off to reveal several different drawing pads with different types of paper for different drawing tools. Again it appeared that she had spared no expense and had bought the high quality paper.
Nick closed his eyes, letting his head rest back against the headboard. She never stopped surprising him; her generosity was something so unexpected. She kept giving and giving of herself and had somehow made such an impact, such a difference in his life without him even realizing. Slowly he brought his head down, staring at the art set and paper, and then over at the bear.
An idea slowly formed, just as the smile that now played over his lips.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey all! I have a small favor to ask. As readers of this story, I'm hoping that maybe there's some things that you wanted to know or have happen that didn't. What I'm asking of you is to think about what kind of extra things associated with the story you'd like to have. Not necessairly things to have happen in the story, but something to go along with it. Be it maybe an option to write with questions to me, or ya know, something like a suppliement from the characters. One of my friends suggested reading some of Veronica's poems, and that's a possiblity. So yes, if you have anything you'd like to see from any of the characters in the story, be it Lynne, or Veronica or Nick or any of the guys, I would ask that you please email me with your suggestions through my author page here on the site! I look forward to hearing your ideas.
Enjoy!
PS. Also if anyone would like to see the bear let me know, he really does exist!
Enjoy!
PS. Also if anyone would like to see the bear let me know, he really does exist!
