“Oh my God oh my God oh my God,” she panted, struggling to get out from under him. “Did it?” she asked, already knowing the answer. Reluctantly, Sean pulled back enough to allow her to move. As she moved away he turned slightly. He looked down at the condom in his hand, then back at her.
“Oh, fuck,” she said, seeing the truth in his eyes. It was unnecessary, though, because she could very clearly feel the proof.
“It’s alright, Nicki,” he said gently. She stared at him blankly. Alright? No, it was not alright. It was most definitely not alright. She reached for her clothes. Shit. Where was her shirt? Oh yeah, in the living room....
“Where’s the nearest pharmacy?”
“Why?” he asked, his voice darkening, following her into the bathroom.
“I’ve got to go.” She cleaned herself off the best she could, then shimmied into her clothes. When was the last time she’d had her birth control shot? Shit, she couldn’t remember.
“Nicki, we need to talk about this.”
*
“No. No, we don’t,” she insisted. “This was stupid. So fucking stupid....” She mumbled almost incoherently as she attempted to slide between him and the door frame. He trapped her there, forced her to look at him. He saw terror in her eyes. Terror and anger and regret, and none of those things belonged there. Her body trembled; the pads of his fingers against her neck confirmed a rapid heartbeat.
Christ, she looked like a caged animal in full-on panic mode. “Yes,” he said, gently but firmly. “We do.”
There was a knock at the door. Sean growled as Nicki made another move to slip by him. “Leave it,” he said. This was much more important.
“Sean. Hey, Sean, I need to talk to you, man.” Nick’s voice called through the door.
“Oh, fuck,” Nicki muttered again.
If it had been anyone else, Sean would not have even considered answering the door, but the rage he felt at Nick for what he’d done wouldn’t let him ignore it.
“Go into my bedroom, close the door, and wait for me,” Sean commanded. “We are not finished.” For a moment he didn’t think she would, then she nodded her head and went. Sean pulled on a pair of jeans and answered the door.
“Nick.” The kid looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He was wearing the same clothes Sean had seen him in two days earlier; there were dark circles under his eyes, his skin was pale, and his pupils were no more than pinpricks. Sean narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Can I come in?” Nick asked, shifting his weight nervously from side to side.
Sean stepped to the side, giving him room to enter. As he did, Sean sniffed, instantly registering the lingering scents of alcohol and weed smoke, but judging by the kid’s eyes, he’d gone more hardcore than that. Sean was pretty sure if he rolled up Nick’s sleeve he’d see a few holes that hadn’t been there a few days ago.
Nick looked around briefly, his eyes widening when he spotted the bank of electronics. When he turned back to Sean, he found a hard, intense look that warned him not to even think about it.
Nick cleared his throat. “I’m looking for Nicki.”
“Lose her, did you?”
Anger flashed in Nick’s eyes, but the kid apparently had managed to spare enough brain cells to tuck it away. “She didn’t come home last night.”
Sean was about to point out that there probably wouldn’t have been a problem if he had bothered to be there for his sister, but before he could, Nicki stepped out of the bedroom. She took one look at her brother and the shape he was in. “Ah, fuck, Nick. No.”
“Nicki?” he said, surprised to hear her voice.
“You promised, Nick,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“What are you doing here?” Nick said, his voice growing stronger. When she didn’t answer, he looked at her, then Sean, then back at her as it became clear. “Fuck!”
“I buried our mother, yesterday, Nick,” Nicki said, her own voice taut with the strain. “And I did it alone.”
“So you came to him? To him!?” Nick’s eyes were wild.
“Where else was I going to go? Where were you? Damn it, Nick! Not again! I can’t go through this again!”
“Did you fuck him, Nicki? Did you?”
Faster than he would have thought possible, Nicki lunged toward Nick and pushed him. Hard. “Fuck you, Nick. I so don’t need your shit right now.”
Nick reached out to grab her but she was much quicker than he was. She spun around and bobbed up behind him, kicking him in the back of his knee once, taking him down to the floor.
“Enough!” Sean bellowed. He reached out and pulled her away from Nick, out of striking distance. She tried to shrug away, but he held onto her arm in such a way that each struggle twisted her into a painful position. He leaned down and spoke quietly in her ear. “Calm down, hellcat.”