Westlife Romance - Part 54
"Wait!" Nicky called out as he ran after Annette. He grabbed hold of her arm, causing the girl to turn around and stare at Nicky with angry eyes.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"Please," Nicky pleaded. "There must have been some misunderstanding..."
"No, there was no misunderstanding," she continued. "Your band mates have been nothing but rude, degrading, unprofessional, and sexist. I don't have to take any of this. I don't care how famous you are!"
All Nicky could do was stand there and listen to Annette berate him. "If my band mates did or said anything to hurt you, I'm sorry. I apologize on their behalf. I'm sure they never meant to hurt you intentionally," Nicky began. "But please don't go..."
Even though she was still fuming, Nicky's words appeared to soothe her somewhat, and she gave Nicky's request some thought. Despite all this, Annette was still skeptical. "He's just like the rest of them," she thought to herself, "what makes you think that he'll be any different?" Once again, her heart hardened, only to be met by Nicky's pleading gaze. Seeing Nicky's eyes made Annette feel uneasy; it made her feel vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, she clutched her fists and stared Nicky in the eyes. "I've made up my mind...and I'm not going to change it."
Nicky's heart sank as he heard those words. He couldn't believe that he had failed to persuade Annette to stay. "What did the lads say to make her so angry?" he wondered. He was brought back to reality by the sight of Annette walking towards the door. He was determined to try one last time to get her to stay. There was no way that they could find a replacement at this time. "Annette!!"
Annette rolled her eyes at the sound of Nicky's voice. "What is this guy so persistent??" she asked herself. Before she could say anything, she heard a groan of pain. Turning around, she found Nicky on the floor, his hands clutching his head. "Very nice try, Nicky. But I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that," she chuckled. She had to give him credit, Nicky was imaginative.
When Nicky didn't respond to Annette's remarks, she only laughed some more. "Okay, Nicky. You can stop now. You're not going to change my mind like that..."
Again, Nicky didn't respond. "Annette...help...me..." Nicky gasped, his voice coarse. By now, Annette was growing concerned. She walked slowly up to Nicky and knelt beside him.
"Nicky...this isn't funny anymore..." she said softly. As she held onto Nicky, her hands brushed his blond hair. It was soaking with his sweat. She quickly placed her hands on the blond singer's forehead. Again, it was dripping with cold sweat. Nicky began to tremble. "Nicky!!" she said in a panicking voice. "What's wrong? Oh my god!!" This was totally unexpected turn of events, and she was caught off guard. "Let me go and get help!!"
As she got up, Nicky grabbed her arms to prevent her from going. "My...pi...pills..." Nicky struggled with his words. They were so soft that Annette barely heard them.
"Pills?" Annette asked. "Where are they?"
"Blue...bag..." Nicky writhed in pain, in complete agony.
Annette hurriedly searched the blue bag and finally grabbed the bottle of pills. She got some water and helped Nicky with the medication. It took several minutes before Nicky finally settled down. He was breathing heavily and still sweating.
Annette's face was pale with shock. She had no idea what had just happened.
Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it.
"Thank you," Nicky finally said with a faint smile.
Annette stared at Nicky and managed to return the smile, but immediately grew serious again. "What happened, Nicky?"
"Uh...nothing. Just been too stressed lately," Nicky lied. "Doctors gave me some medication to help me cope with the stress of touring."
Annette was not convinced. "That was no stress, Nicky. You scared me to death!!"
"I'm sorry..." he answered sheepishly.
"Do the others know about this?" she asked.
Nicky looked terrified as he heard that question. "No!!"
"What?" she asked in shock. "They don't know???"
"Look, Annette. It's nothing serious. I don't think they need to know."
"I disagree. You need to let them know about this," she argued.
"I said no, okay?" Nicky answered, his voice rising. "It's my problem, and I'll deal with it myself!!" Nicky got up and cleaned himself up quickly. "I guess I should leave you alone do finish packing you things, Annette..." he said quietly before leaving the room.
Annette sat there in shock. She couldn't believe that no one knew about Nicky's illness. She wanted to leave this place...but she knew she couldn't. Despite their brief encounter, Annette could tell that Nicky was a nice person. He was the only one who has treated her with any respect so far. And now that she knew about his 'secret', she couldn't just leave him like this, especially if none of his friends knew.
...to be continued....