Pieces (Riverdale #1) (21 page)

     
“Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Thanks for the
haircut.” He nuzzled Cara’s neck and she squealed happily.

     
“You seem like you’re feeling better.”

     
“I am.” He said his face buried in her
neck as the door clicked closed behind Nick. “Thank you.” He whispered to her
as he took both her hands in his.

     
“For?” She asked as she pulled his arms
back around her.

     
“Thank you for not making a big deal out
of me losing my hair.” He gave her a halfheartedly smile.

     
She simply shrugged and rubbed his head
tenderly with her hands. “I love you it doesn’t matter if you have hair long
enough to braid or none at all. It doesn’t change what’s in here.” She said
laying her hand over his chest.

     
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to
the tip of her nose. “I’m going to need a variety of hats.”

     
She laughed. “We can get all different
kinds.” She said as she took his hand and led him over to the bed. What about a
fedora?” Her eyes lit up and she smiled at him. “You’d look so sexy in a
fedora.”

 
    
He
laughed at her enthusiasm and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, staring
down at the lips. “A fedora it is.”

     
Nick took the stairs two at a time to the
first floor of the Lanza home. He walked through the kitchen, no sign of her.
He knew she was upset, he could tell by the pained look in her eyes. When he
made it into the living room he could hear her muffled cries. Turning towards
the staircase that was in the front foyer of the house, he found her sitting on
the bottom step with her head in her hands. He moved towards her, kneeling in
front of her.

     
“Sam?”

     
She looked up startled by his voice.
Quickly, she wiped at her cheeks. “What are you doing here?” She said as she
stared at his head.

     
Well did he really expect her to be
pleasant? Aside, from the night they went to the karaoke bar she was nothing
but cold and distant to him. He sighed exasperatedly, but scolded himself as he
did so. Even though his patience was running thin with this cat and mouse game,
the real reason he came searching for her was because he knew she was upset
over her brother, he saw it in her pretty blue eyes.

     
“You ran out of the basement looking
upset.” He shrugged. “You want to talk about it?”

     
“I’m fine. I don’t need a knight and
shining armor.”

     
He balled his hands into fists at his
sides, as he rose to his full height. He wanted to shake her and demand she cut
her ice queen routine with him, it was getting old.

     
“Lucky for you, I left my white horse in
Seattle.” He said through gritted teeth.

     
“Amongst other things, I’m sure.” She
said, rolling her eyes, and wiping her cheeks with her shirt sleeve at the same
time.

     
His brows furrowed at her comment. “What
the hell is that supposed to mean?” He shook his head. “You know what I don’t
even care. You seem fine, so I’ll just get out of your hair.” He watched her
for a moment, watching her eyes dilate into narrow slits as she peered at him
angrily. What the hell did he do to her?

     
“Nick Foti runs away again, shocker!” Her
voice was rich with sarcasm and dripping with anger.

 
    
He
took a dangerous step closer towards her. He didn’t know what he wanted to do
more, strangle her or kiss her, either one would surely silence her.

     
“I get that you’re hurting.”

     
“No you don’t. Your brother isn’t
suffering from Cancer, mine is.”

 
    
Nick
felt as if she slapped him across the face with brass knuckles. They may not
share the same blood, but he loved Jake like they did. He took a step back from
her, and his jaw ticked. He had enough of her antagonizing him. He turned
around disgusted and headed towards the front door.

     
Sam hurried after him, grabbing him by the
back of his shirt. He went to shrug her off of him but she clenched her fist
with the fabric of his shirt.

     
“Get off of me.” He said even tempered.

     
“No! You don’t get to just walk away from
me whenever you feel like!” Her control was slipping, and he heard it in her
strangled voice.

     
Nick turned to face her, and her eyes were
full to the rim with fresh tears. “What do you want from me?” He asked gruffly.

     
She shook her head, as she bit down on her
lower lip. “I don’t know.” She whispered shaking her head. “Why’d you do it?
Why’d you shave your head?”

     
“Because
your
brother started losing his hair today, and since I can’t trade
places with him, it was all I could do. Should I have asked for your
permission?” He stared at her, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on
him. He swore he saw affection in those cold eyes of hers. He must’ve been
kidding himself.

     
“I want to hate you. I want to hate you
more than anything.” She said frustration weighing heavy in her voice. She
lifted her gaze and stared into his eyes. Her hand was still clutching the
fabric of his shirt. He looked down at her hand and took it into his. Slowly he
pried her fingers off of him, one by one. He let his hand linger on hers for a
moment before dropping it to her side.

     
“Careful sweetheart, I might start to
believe that you actually don’t hate me.” He forced himself to turn around and
without another glance or a second thought he walked out of the house, slamming
the door behind him.
 
She drove him
crazy, bottom line.

The days began to roll into weeks.
One week he’d be fine, the next he’d be weak and feeling the effects of the
chemo. He was in and out of the hospital much to his dismay. He hated not being
able to go home after a dose of the drugs, but his reaction was so severe it
was in his best interest to stay in the hospital afterwards. He was scheduled
for one more dose, and then the first round of chemotherapy would be complete.
The doctors would run tests and see how well his body fought the cancer; from
there they would determine if he in fact needed a second round.

     
Cara prayed to any God who would listen,
that once the first round was done they’d see improvement. She wasn’t sure if
Jake would be able to stand another round, and the worse part of it, was that
the doctors already warned the family he would be admitted throughout the
duration of the second bout. She feared being confined to a hospital would
break his spirit or lessen his will to live.

     
Alone in her thoughts, she could admit she
was falling apart at the seams. Her fun-loving Jake was too ill most of the
time to be himself to enjoy life. The light that danced in his eyes was dim and
it crushed her heart. Still, despite feeling like shit most of the time, he put
a smile on every day and tried anything in his power to make her laugh. He was
relentless in making sure she was happy and not letting life pass by her.

     
She wanted to do something for him, and
have it be something he was passionate about. She knew that before he was sick
he wanted to go into business with Luke in restoring motorcycles and that’s
what sparked her idea. She grimaced as she pulled into Lanza Automotive, she
had been trying to avoid Luke. She didn’t want to deal with rehashing why she
was perturbed with him and knew that he was one not to let go of things. She
reminded herself she needed Luke to help her execute her plan, and with Nick
there as a buffer she’d get through it.

     
She got out of her car and padded towards
the garage. She saw Nick bent over the engine of a car he was working on.
 
“Hey Nick.” She said a little louder than
usual, so he would be able to hear her over the radio that was blaring.

     
He looked over his shoulder and wiped his
greasy hands down the front of his already stained white shirt. “Cara, what
brings you by?” Concern etched his confused face. “Is Jake okay?”

     
She smiled, and swallowed hard against the
lump in her throat. She didn’t blame him for asking, it was hard not to assume
the worse when you were at the mercy of a disease.

     
“He’s fine. Deb is with him. I wanted to
stop in before I went to work. Is Luke here?”

She
said as she scanned the garage looking for him.

     
“He’s in the office. I’ll go get him for
you.” He said as he scratched the top of his head. His hair was starting to
grow in unlike Jake’s. She smiled sadly and motioned toward his head. “Are you
going to let it grow out again?”

     
“No. I was waiting for Jake to come out of
the hospital so he could shave it off for me again.” He winked at her. “I like
it. It took some time to get used to, but the ladies love it.”

     
She laughed, shoving her hands into her
pockets. Nick knocked twice on the office door.

     
“Luke, Cara’s here to see you.”

     
“Well to see the both of you.” She
corrected and watched as Nick stepped closer, crossing his arms against his
chest.

     
“My ears are all yours sweetie.” He winked
at her as Luke opened the door to the office and stared at Cara.

     
“What’s wrong?”

     
She took a deep breath, it was useless, it
would always be the first question anytime someone saw her, she concluded.

     
“Nothing is wrong.” She said and her eyes
drifted between Nick and Luke. “I want to do something for Jake.” She pulled
out a piece of paper from her pocketbook and extended it to them. Luke grabbed
for it instantly, and unfolded the paper staring down at the drawing.

     
“Jake drew this?” He asked as he lifted
his eyes from the paper and handed it to Nick.

     
She nodded. “He’s got a folder full of
them, but this one stuck out the most.” She shrugged her shoulders, not really
knowing why she chose the picture she did. “Maybe because its lime green like,
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma awareness is?”

     
“It’s a beauty.” Nick said as he handed
the picture of the stunt motorbike back to Cara. “What do you want us to do?”
He asked.

     
She smiled at Nick and slipped the picture
back into her pocketbook. “I don’t know how to build a bike like that and maybe
you don’t either. But I know you’ll try your hardest.”

     
“We’ll do it.” Luke affirmed, and looked
at her seriously. “I’ve already been looking into bikes, Nick has too. Right
after Jake told me he wanted to restore bikes, he was diagnosed. I don’t know
how to help him, so instead I’ve been putting my energy into making his dream a
reality.”

     
“Does he know?” She asked simply. She
didn’t know how to feel at the moment, and knew that she might be over reacting
and that her emotions were all over the place. She was happy, happy that Luke
took Jake’s dreams seriously. She supposed she should remind herself that when
the anger boiled inside her and she thought Luke had written Jake off as dead
and he wouldn’t be able to make his own dreams come true. But the truth was he
might not be able to chase his dreams. It was reality and she couldn’t be angry
with Luke for accepting things she was to afraid to.

     
“No. We didn’t want to tell him until we
secured a lot.” Luke said quietly.

     
“We want to have it set up for him just as
he envisioned. I went and spoke to Pete from the shop and he has been
insightful to what Jake wants to do.” Nick added as he studied her. “Are you
okay?”

     
She forced a smiled and nodded quickly.
“Jake’s going to love it.”

     
“We figured once we have the property we’d
tell him and he could keep himself busy with ordering bikes and parts and what
have you.”

     
“It’s his dream so he’ll be happy.” Was
all she could offer, she was unraveling and needed to hold herself together.
“So you guys will help me with the bike?”

     
“Of course we will.” Luke said.

     
She diverted her eyes to Luke’s against
her better judgment. When she saw the bags under his eyes and the pain in his
irises, she knew it was a mistake. Her eyes filled, and she looked away
quickly.

     
Nick must’ve sensed that she was at the
edge of her rope and placed his hand on the small of her back turning her back
towards her car. “When do you want us to have it finished by?”

     
She took a deep breath and jiggled her
keys in the palm of her hand. “Ideally, after his last dose of Chemo. I want
him to be able to ride it the minute he feels well enough.” She bit her lip and
turned to face Nick. “Look I planned this out in my head. I’ve gone over every
scenario and at the risk of you throwing my money in my face or ripping up my
check in front of my eyes, I’m asking you just to hear me out.” She reached
into her pocket and pulled out a check. “I want to do this for him. If I could
build the damn thing myself I would. But I insist that I pay for it. It means a
great deal to me, so please don’t do any of the things I mentioned. Take the
check and let me have some peace of mind.” She held it out to him, with a shaky
hand.

     
“You’re one in a million, Cara.” Nick said
as he kept his hands in his pockets and studied her face. “If anyone deserves
you, it’s Jake.” He sighed uncomfortably and lifted one of his hands and
grabbed the check. He stared down at it and then lifted his head and smirked.
“It’s not enough, you better add a couple of zeroes.”

     
She laughed and slapped his arm playfully.
The tears that threatened, fell and they fell out of relief rather than
sadness. “Thank you.” She said as wiped at her eyes.

     
“You’re welcome.” He looked over her
shoulder at Luke. He gave him a quick nod probably assuring him that she was
fine and not crying over something he had done.

     
“I’ve got to go to work.” She reached up
and kissed his cheek, before opening her car door. “Thanks again, I know you
guys will do a great job.”

     
Nick nodded and closed her door once she
was inside. He tapped the roof of her car signaling her to go and took a step
back. He watched as she drove out of the parking lot. He shoved the check into
his back pocket. He would never cash the damn thing.
 
He looked back to where Luke had been
standing, to notice he had disappeared back into the office. He rolled his neck
before he made his way back to working on the alternator he was installing.

     
Deb smiled down at Ava, who stood beside
her on a stepstool, so that she could reach the counter.

     
“What else should we add?” Deb asked as
she sliced a banana.

     
“How about strawberries, I bet Uncle Jake
likes them.” Ava said excitedly.

     
“Uncle Jake loves strawberries.” Jake said
as he walked into the kitchen. He winked at his niece before smiling at his
mother. It pained him to see her so tired and worried, but he knew there was
nothing he could really do about it. It was her nature to worry and fret over
everyone and everything.

     
“Uncle Jake! We’re making you a smoothie
so you can get big and strong!” She exclaimed proudly.

     
“You guys are the best.” He sat across
from them at the breakfast nook, watching as his mother desperately tried not
to run to him to assist. He laughed to himself, knowing it was eating her up
alive. “I’m feeling good mom, go back to smoothing it up or whatever you call
it.”

     
“Do you want to rinse the strawberries,
Ava?” Deb asked as she dried her hands on a dishtowel.

     
“Sure.” She looked at Jake. “Don’t worry
Uncle Jake, I’ll make sure I clean them good so you don’t get any germs.”

     
“Ava? You know what would make me feel
better?”

     
“What?” She asked wide-eyed.

     
“A kiss, from my favorite niece.” He said
and pushed back his stool. It took a lot of his energy but he managed to bend
down and when she ran to him, he gripped the counter so he wouldn’t topple over
and scare her. She pressed her lips to his cheek, emphasizing it with a
smacking sound.

     
“Do you feel better?” She asked hopefully,
her arms still wrapped around his neck.

     
“So much better,” Jake said before
tousling her hair. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she ran back to
the sink. Jake made his way back into his seat and watched his mother set Ava
up at the sink with the strawberries. When Ava was settled his mother turned to
face him.

     
“How are you feeling?”

     
“Not so bad.” He lied. It had taken him
twenty minutes to climb the stairs. He couldn’t sit in that room another second
though. There was only so much daytime television a man could watch. Thankfully
Nick had given him a journal, he passed most of his time writing and sketching
when he felt strong enough to hold his head up.

     
“My son the warrior,” She said lovingly as
she reached out and stroked his cheek. He flashed his mother a smile and tipped
his hat to her. Today it was a Yankee hat. He had a nice size collection he had
to admit. It actually didn’t bother him anymore that his hair was completely
gone. He was a little sad that he had lost some of the hair on his eyebrows. He
loved to wiggle them, but not so much anymore.

     
“So I crawled up the stairs to ask for
your help with something.” He watched his mother’s eyes widen in fright. He
chuckled, “Sorry mom, I was kidding. I climbed I swear.”

     
Deb clutched her chest as if her heart had
jumped out of her body. “Jake, don’t joke like that!” She scolded
halfheartedly.

     
“Okay, okay.” He repositioned his hat
before splaying his hands across the counter. “Brace yourself mother.” He said
jokingly, although it probably wasn’t a bad idea considering what he was about
to say.

     
“Oh just tell me already, I’m getting
grayer by the minute here.” She looked at him expectantly.

     
Jake shrugged his shoulders, here goes. “I
want to ask Cara to marry me.” The words left his lips and he couldn’t help but
smile at the sound of them.

     
Deb did indeed brace herself, as she
gripped the counter and stared at him. Instantaneously her eyes filled, just as
Jake assumed they would. He was used to the emotions that ran wild in this
family. In fact he gathered would have the same reaction as their mother,
genetics and all.

“You
want to ask Cara to marry you?” She asked.

     
Jake eyed Ava over his shoulder, he didn’t
want her to spill the beans, but she was too busy splashing water all over
herself to pay any attention. He looked back at his mother and leaned forward.
“You heard me. I’m going to ask Cara to marry me.” He smiled confidently.