And then there was Nick. I hated the fact that I still loved him. He was like an addiction that I was quickly learning to break. In spite of everything, the anger, the abandonment, the betrayal, and above all the fact that I loved Holly immeasurably more than I had ever loved him, there was still something there. Just one kind word, and I was hooked, or used to be. And it was killing me! He had arrived in my life like a cyclone during the summer I had taken a job as a waitress to spite my mother instead of going to collage. After graduating from high school, at the top of my class, surprising everyone but myself, it had been a year of heavy drinking, light drug use, one night stands, and other reckless behavior, as my shrink would say. My grandfather had died the year before, so I spent as much time as I could hiding out in his now empty home by the lake, trying to feel his loving presence in my life. Nick loved me, and I thought his love was going to save me. Through three volatile years, we had loved, and fought, and used each other to forget the pain of our families and the outside world, for a time. That was before he disappeared from our hotel room in Vegas, leaving me for the next five years with only a note that said, ”I love you, but I can’t do this.”

I was twenty-three and I wanted to die. My father coaxed me to move back into my old bedroom in their home and go back to school. I had done well, losing myself in my studies. I had even allowed myself to be recruited to the police academy in my senior year. Everyone thought it was because I was a Peck, but really, I just wanted to do something that mattered with my life. And then he returned, riding that damn bike of his back into my life with no warning, just as suddenly as he had left. He was now a fucking decorated war hero, and quickly becoming division fifteen’s golden boy. I’m sure my mother had something to do with this, but I knew I would never be able to prove it. We had tried again, or rather, he had worn me down, using a considerable amount of boyish charm, and finally Tequila, to get back into my bed. After the disaster with Perek, and then nearly losing my badge, I need him, truly needed him. And he had disappeared again, without a word, only to reappear six months later acting like it was nothing. I fucked up, cheating on him with his superior officer, as I tried to exact revenge in a fit of jealousy and pain. The sex had been terrible, and left me feeling empty and raw instead of vindicated. In truth, Nick had left me long ago. And now, he was trying to use the guilt I felt about that incident to manipulate me. He had assaulted the one person who saw right through my bullshit, and loved me the way I love her. I couldn’t believe how angry I was! After all that had happened between us, he thought he could just waltz back into my life and demand me back from Holly? No way! I wanted him gone, but I knew I had to be careful. Rumors of the assault along with rumors of our relationship were quickly making the rounds of the department. People were taking sides. I knew I would eventually have to make a stand, if only for Holly’s sake. Holly suggested we discuss the matter with Oliver and Celery over dinner next week. She invited them to come over and watch the game, and I was appalled to discover that Celery was a hockey fan!