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Chapter 12

The rest of the day seemed, to Nick at least, to be going in slow motion. He was beyond relieved that it wasn’t Ali’s body that they had found, but at the same time, he knew that the image of the young woman in the morgue would haunt him for a long time. He also realized, for the first time, how vulnerable he was when it came to Ali. He had always known how much she meant to him, but he never really realized what he would be without her.

Nick lay down on his bed again; finally back at the hotel after the ride back from the morgue and a long chat with AJ and Granger about the investigation that would start the following day. They would start searching in the small town of Nefedowa where they were staying, and then expand the search and cover the small villages outside of the town. Nick didn’t know what kind of methods they would be using; only that Granger had mentioned something about dogs.

He sighed and dug his hand into his pocket, digging out Ali’s bracelet that he had brought. It had become a symbol to him, and every time he looked at it, or felt it, he was reminded not to lose faith that they would find her eventually.

Tara, the officer, had met them in the lobby when they had gotten back from the morgue. Nick just couldn’t help but feel very intimidated by her. She was always asking him questions that, to him, seemed very strange to be asked by an officer. Most of them were about Ali, and a lot of them were asked with a certain tone in her voice. Like;
Do you think she thinks about you as just a friend? Yes!
Do you really believe she’s still alive? Yes!
Have you ever looked at her in a way one shouldn’t be looking at his best friend?

What??

~*~

*August 2003*

Nick quickly made his way up the stairs to Ali’s apartment, hoping that she would be home. He was going to London the next day to work on some solo stuff, and he wanted to spend the evening with his best friend, hanging out in front of the TV and talk. He reached the front door and was relieved to find it unlocked.

After spending so much time with Ali, he was used to just walk right into her apartment without knocking, as she did when she came to visit him.
He quietly walked through the front door.
“Ali?” He said, while he made his way into the kitchen, only to find it empty. He walked through the kitchen and into the small living area.
“Ali?” He said a bit louder. Just then, he heard noises coming from her bedroom, and he turned around to follow the sounds.

“Hey, there you a---“ He opened the bedroom door, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scenario taking place on the bed.

Ali was definitely there, and definitely not alone.

In front of him, on the bed, was Ali with some guy Nick had never seen before. And they were definitely very busy. Ali was sitting on top of him, and as Nick entered the room, she quickly let out a small squeal and covered herself with a sheet.

“Oh my god…” Nick turned a deep shade of purple as he realized what he had just walked in on. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to take his eyes off the bed. It was like he was glued to the floor. For a few seconds, no one said anything. Nick was looking at Ali, Ali was looking at Nick, and the guy underneath Ali, was looking very confused.
“Niiick!!!” Ali shouted as she finally became aware of the situation.
Nick still didn’t respond.
“Nick, get out!” She yelled again, while covering her face in her hands.
“I just…” Nick finally stuttered.
“Get. Out!”
“Sorry, I just---“
“NOW!”
“Fuck…” He mumbled under his breath as he quickly walked out of the room.

A few hours later, he was sitting in his yard, by the pool, his feet in the water, and his face still a deep shade of red. He could not believe he had just walked in on Ali.
And she was completely butt naked. He had seen her breasts.
And they were nice…

“Oh god…” He said to himself as he realized what he was thinking. “No! They were not nice. They weren’t even that big. I should definitely not be thinking about her like that, and definitely not her breasts.”

“Are you talking to yourself again, Carter?”
Nick froze. ‘oh no…’ He turned around to see Ali slowly walking up to him.
“Hi.” She said shyly.
“Hi.” He replied, feeling very uncomfortable.
Ali sat down next to him, dropping her feet in the water, just like Nick.
They both fell silent.

“Nick, about that thi---“
“Ali, I’m really sorry---“
They both said at the same time a few minutes later.
Nick laughed a little. “You go first.”
Ali shook her head. “No, you first.”
Nick sighed. “Alright… I’m really sorry. I should’ve knocked. I’m just so used to walking straight into your apartment and your bedroom, or whatever. Can we just forget it ever happened?”
Ali looked down at the water, making circles with her feet on the surface.
“How can I forget Nick? You saw me having sex with this random guy. You saw me naked! I’m trying so hard not to die out of embarrassment right now, you know---“She paused. “ Nick? Are you checking out my breasts?”
“What? Noooo….” Nick jerked his eyes away from where he obviously had been looking.
Ali brought her hand up and covered her eyes. “Oh my god… You were looking…”
“I was not!”
“Yes, you were!”
“Was not!”
“I can’t believe you!”
“Ali!”
“Niiick!”
Nick stood up from where he was sitting, rolling his eyes.
“This is so stupid, Ali. Ok, so I saw you naked. I’ve seen you naked before…”
“I was five!”
“Yea, well… you know.” He shrugged and walked towards the French doors that led to the kitchen. Ali followed closely behind.
“Nick!” She grabbed his arm just before he disappeared inside. “Look… I… I’m just really embarrassed, ok? And it’s not the fact that you saw me naked. It’s who you saw me with. I don’t want you to think that this is what I do when you’re not around. I don’t usually have sex with random guys. It just happened this one time and---“
“Ali…” Nick interrupted her. “You don’t have to explain. It’s really none of my business. Just… be careful, ok?”
Ali nodded and looked down. “You still love me, right?” she pouted.
Nick smiled a little. “You know I do. You’re my best friend. I’ll always love you, no matter how many stupid things you do.”
“Thanks Prick!”
“You’re never gonna stop calling me that, are you?”
Ali giggled. “Not a chance.”