Page 60 of Never and Always
Nick had just turned twenty and was back from college for the summer break. He’d heard some of the guys he used to hang out with were back, too, so he thought he’d go see them at the usual hang out, an old garage on the edge of the city. It was deserted and near the park. Perfect for what they used to get upto.
Bob Shelby was the ring leader and the guy to get your buzz from. Name any kind of drug and he could get it for you. Nick was never into drugs the way he was, he could stop when he wanted to for longer periods of time. Bob couldn’t and even became a dealer. Nick didn’t know how he managed to get himself mixed up with such a crowd, but he was well into the mix bythen.
What was ironic was Nick’s father was a very notable police detective, who was well known all over the city for the work he did in the community. As a Marine, he’d won several awards and medals when he served his country. He was a man ofhonor.
Except for Glenn, immediate family, and the loser friends Nick used to hang out with, no one knew Nick had a drug problem. It started when he was seventeen at the party where he metBob.
While Nick had always had the greatest respect for his father, he never listened to him. His father thought he had the skills for the Marines and encouraged him to try it after college because Nick was so hell bent on having the college experience and being away from home, living life. But Nick thought the old man was just trying to relive his glory days throughhim.
His mother worried night and day that that wild streak Nick had would land him in trouble, and it nearly killed her when she found out he was intodrugs.
It was actually Glenn who told her, but it wasn’t for malicious reasons. Glenn ended up telling both his parents after a particularly bad night when Nick ended up in the hospital after trying something he wasn’t used to. He still, to this day, didn’t know what the hell it was. Glenn saved him, though. If not for Glenn, Nick was certain that he wouldn’t be alivetoday.
While Nick was away at college, Bob had been arrested several times, but he’d never been placed in long-term custody because the cops didn’t have enough evidence on him to pin him down for possession orsupplying.
Unbeknownst to Nick, they were watching Bob. Watching and tracking, and waiting for the perfect time to grab him. And what was worse was Bob had gotten involved with the big guy, the serious drug lords who didn’t mess around. And if you crossed them, it meant sure death for you. That was why Nick’s father had been adamant that he had no dealings with Bobwhatsoever.
At twenty, Nick thought his old man had lost his mind, trying to tell him what to do. He’d been away from home and was an adult who didn’t need his parents to tell him who he could be friendswith.
That hellish day Nick didn’t even stop at home for an hour before he made his way to meet Bob, who’d messaged him about an opportunity to make money that night. Nick was with Glenn when he got the message and Glenn immediately saw the danger init.
Nick didn’t, and despite his parents’ forewarnings and Glenn’s worries, he went to meetBob.
Little did he know that Bob would have some new friends who were bad news. New friends he’d pissed off in the worst way possible by not doing what they wanted himto.
Nick arrived when they were at the height of their argument, and his attempts to defend Bob immediately made him a target. He didn’t know that the new friends were stacked out withguns.
The main guy raised a gun to him the minute Nick voiced his defense of Bob, ready to killhim.
Even now, Nick could remember staring at the cold steel of the gun and thinking it was going to be his last few seconds on Earth. But as the gun fired, the bullet never caughthim.
He remembered being shoved out of the way so hard his shoulder felt like it dislocated, and it was only when he hit the ground that he saw his father there,too.
He was on the ground with blood pouring out of his chest, his own gun raised in the air as he’d fired it at the guy who tried to killNick.
Nick’s father had managed to shoot him and his squad had moved in on the rest of guys, who mostly surrendered after seeing they were heavily outnumbered.
The scene was chaos, people were everywhere, but Nick zoned in on his father, who had saved him and had taken a hit doing so. He’d never moved so fast in his life. Nick rushed over to his father feeling panic and worry weigh down on him like a fifty-ton truck had dropped on hisshoulders.
Nick tried to pick him up off the ground but his father protested and insisted on staying down. The bullet had caught his father right near his heart and there was too much blood gushing out of him to stop it. The movement had caused more toflow.
His father being the tough guy he was tried to talk to him through the searingpain.
He said, “Look after yourself and mother for me, son. And please stay out of trouble. Drop thesepeople.”
“This is all my fault,” Nick had said. “All myfault.”
“Don’t you dare blame yourself!” his father shrieked, grabbing onto him. “Don’t do it. That is an order, boy. A father’s duty is to protect his family. I love you. Now promise me you’ll do as Iask.”
“I promise,” Nick toldhim.
His father smiled at him, ripped off his dog tags from around his neck, and handed them to Nick. The minute he took them, he saw his father’s eyes roll back in his head and the life leave his body. That was when his worldchanged.
Nick would never forget that moment as long as he lived. It was one of those moments in life where it scarred you and left its mark with the memory. His punishment was to relive the dayforever.
It was Glenn that notified his father that Nick had gone to see Bob. Glenn got scared for him and did the only thing he felt he could do by alerting hisfather.
Glenn saved him, but Nick’s life came at a price that would never berepaid.
