Your Face

Your Face
Chapter 15
By Crystal

Two weeks later.

Nick, just a few days out of the hospital, went back to his own, empty house. Nothing seemed right anymore and because of it, he merely drifted around, mostly to his bed and the bathroom - when he needed it. For nearly a week and a half there were reporters on his front lawn, family and friends and managers ringing the phone off the hook and an outpouring of support from fans across the globe. But none of it affected him. He felt barely alive.

It was on this day that, even though he didn't notice, the phone was quiet, the lawn and driveway vacant and the world quiet. There was a quiet stirring, but he was unaware.

Rain fell softly outside, as it had done that day he was sent to the hospital. As he sat in the living room at the large bay window overlooking the water, he could only remember. Only remember.

The soft knocking on the door was, at first, going to go unanswered, but Nick soon heard the stirring. As he turned his head to the front door he knew that, this time, it couldn't be ignored. He got up, slowly at first, then increased his speed as his heart raced and all the color returned to his face.

The door came open and he was face to face with what had haunted him for the past two weeks. And for a minute, the believed himself to be dead.

"It's you."

Georgia took in a deep breath and smiled. "Hello. I brought these for you." She held up a bundle of baby yellow flowers and looked shy. "I, uh, I wanted to thank you for praying for me."

Nick took the flowers, slowly, and met her gaze. "You heard?"

"May I come in?"

It was the first time in weeks he felt alive. It was the first time in his life. "Of course." He shut the door behind her and followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch next to her.

"I heard you. It was the sweetest voice, the sweetest and kindest words anyone spoke about me. I know this will sound crazy, but I was in this field with… gosh, it sounds so silly…"

"A field of sunflowers?" he asked.

Her face widened and she nodded her head. "That's when I heard it." There was a long pause of quiet before tears slid down her face. "You were there with me, weren't you? I mean, you felt it all too?"

"I was somewhere."

"And you saw the things? The golf, the… the wedding…"

"All of it."

"Oh my." She tucked her head down and exhaled. "I thought I was crazy. I almost didn't want to come back once you left, but then you prayed and… I almost didn't. But when I saw you crying with your mom when you were leaving the hospital… God, I sound like a raving lunatic." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed quietly. As if it were second nature to him, Nick closed the space between them on the couch and embraced her. As the tears poured out of his eyes he held her. Neither knew what to say or what to make of what they had experienced, unknowingly, with each other.

"I'm sorry." Georgia stood up and wiped away the tears. "I didn't mean to barge into your life and cry. I got your address from the hospital and I wanted to thank you. I'll leave now." As she picked up her purse to leave, Nick took a hold of her shirt sleeve. She turned around, slowly, and looked at him. He stepped in closer and opened and closed his mouth twice before he found his voice.

Once he found the words and a stable voice to speak, he no longer had any doubts, any curiosity or any fears. "I suppose that if we're going to end up married someday, we might as well get to know each other first. Hi." He extended his hand. "I'm Nick."

Smiling through her tears, she took his hand and shook it. "Hi Nick. I'm Georgia."

"Could I interest you in a cup of coffee?"

"Please do…. So, how long do you think we have before, you know…"

"All our life."

The end..