The Midnight to His Dawn

Playlist for this Chapter: Snow on the Beach by Taylor Swift, Midnight Rain by Taylor Swift.

The moment my dad's name flashed across my phone screen made me grimace at how I hadn't thought of any of them.

Nico finally gave me back my phone and when I turned it on, I was beyond shocked to see the hundreds of missed calls and messages from everyone back home.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Nico whispered to me and I glanced at him briefly but shook my head.

"No.. This is something I need to do on my own." I said and he nodded slowly, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze and continuing with eating his breakfast.

I decided to call Ava first, since she was already aware of the situation I was in, and would be able to calm mom and dad. She was quite pissed at me because I'd been MIA for more than week now.

She calmed down a bit when I told her that I didn't have my phone on me and everything that went on, so she told me she'd explain everything to mom and dad so that they'd calm down before I talked to them.

I called Abby and Cole in the meanwhile and we chatted for an hour or so. They were also mad at first but calmed down later on. Apparently my dad was going to file a police report but they had convinced him not to.

In the evening, Ava gave me the green light to finally call dad when I was siting in on of Nico's gardens, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view.

Taking a deep breath, I braced for the worst as I dialed his number and waited for him to pick up. One ring, two rings, then three until the call connected.

"Dove? Dove sweetheart is that you?" His worried voice flooded my ears and I exhaled slowly.

"Hi dad, it's me.."

"Oh my god, my sweet girl, how are you? what happened? I called so many times but you wouldn't pick up! Where are you?" His questions fired at me.

"Dad, calm down I'll tell you everything." I said an heard him take a few breaths.

"Okay, alright. Go on."

"I'm... I'm in Italy... With Nico..." I said finally and heard him draw a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm completely fine dad, I'm perfectly alright, you don't need to worry." I told him.

"That's good to hear, you gave us quite the fright." He said and chuckled nervously.

"That... Nicholas King... are you with him?" He asked after a moment and I sighed.

"Yes dad, I'm with him.. But before you say anything, I have to tell you that I'm an adult now and I can make my own decisions, because it's my life and I want to life it myself." I said firmly.

"I know dear.. It's just.. I'm very worried for you.. He's a dangerous man." I could sense the worry in his voice and I couldn't blame him for looking out for me.

"I know dad, but I choose to be with him because I love him. A lot. I've never loved anyone like I love Nicholas because he makes me feel alive and so loved." I said and heard him exhale.

"I know dear, and I'm happy you found the one you love but... is it worth it? The constant danger, the threat?"

I drew in a breath and smiled. "Yes dad. It is worth it. Every single second I've spent with him, it's worth it all. I know the dangers and the risks, I knew them when I told him I loved him because there's no one else for me dad." I said and heard him take a deep breath.

"I trust your judgement dear... Just... be safe. Please." I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

"Thanks dad, I will. How's mom?"

"She's fine. She wanted to talk to you but she's at work right now. I'll tell her to give you a call when she returns."

"That's sounds nice. I miss you guys a lot."

"I know sweetheart, we miss you too. How is Italy treating you? Are you happy?" As soon as he said this a smile broke out on my face.

"Yes dad, I'm very happy and Italy's just amazing! I even met Nico's family and their so nice and welcoming, even his cousins and friends."

"That's good to hear. How's... Nicholas?"

"He us... he got hurt a few days ago... But he's doing much better now." I said with a shaky voice when Nico's injured self came into my mind.

"Oh. Well I hope he recovers soon. Anyways, it was nice talking to you dear. I have a class in ten minutes so I have to head out, but take care and call me okay?"

"Okay dad, I will."

"Oh and before you hang up, please call Liam."

"Liam? Why should I-" But he cut me off.

"Please sweetheart. For me?" I took a deep breath and thought for a moment before answering.

"Alright, I'll talk to him. I got to go now. Bye."

We said our goodbyes nd hung up, while I contemplated on whether or not I should call Liam. Nico won't like it, obviously, but I owe t to Liam after walking out like that.

So I stared at his name on my phone before finally pressing call. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings, and he picked up suddenly.

Silence. All I heard was breathing on the other side. Breaths that spoke volumes even in this silence.

"Dove?" He finally spoke and I hummed in response.

"Liam. How are you?" I asked.

"Dove I-... I'm okay, I think... Where are you?"

"Italy." I answered without hesitation and heard his deep sigh.

"You're with... him?" I heard the pain in his voice which he tried to hide.

"Yes."

"I thought so... I uh-... I wanted to apologize. For that day. I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to but I had no choice because I was so worried for you." He said desperately.

"It's... It's fine Liam... They had to find out some day. It's okay."

"Oh um... okay... did you talk to your dad? He was really worried."

"I did, before I called you."

"That's good to hear. How are you?" He asked.

"Good. I'm good." The awkwardness was evident as we waited for the other to talk.

"What are you doing right now? He asked.

"I'm uh.. I'm in the garden."

"Oh. Is he uh... Is he with you right now?" He asked me and I looked around.

"No, he's working right now."

"Right... And everything's good?" I heard him say quietly.

"Yeah. Everything's great." I said as a shadow loomed over my head.

"Okay..." He said and we both delved into silence as I waited with baited breath for the one behind me to say something.

"Put it on speaker." He whispered in my ear and I complied, putting my phone on speaker just as Liam's voice came through.

"Do you really love him more than you loved me?" He asked and I sucked in a breath as Nico came to sit beside me and pulled me into his lap, looking at me with such intensity that I forgot there was someone talking to me.

"Do you, Dove?" Liam asked again and I clutched my phone tighter and looked deeper into Nico's eyes.

"Yes." I exhaled. "I love him like nothing else."

I saw something flash in Nico's eyes as his hand came to rest on my thigh.

"And do you regret loving me?" He asked after a while.

"No." I said and Nico's grip on my thigh tightened dangerously as his eyes darkened.

"Then why did you run off with that man?" He hissed.

"Because my love for him overruns anything and everything else. Because I can't breath when he's not around. Because I've given him my everything and so has he." I said all the while looking at Nico. His eye twitched slightly as he looked at me intently.

"Then did you really love me or was it all fake?" He asked.

"I did. I really did love you at a time. But then I realized we just weren't meant to be. I craved the darkness Nicholas had. No matter how good I was, I couldn't deny the fact that I had a dark side too." I said and paused for a moment before speaking again.

"That darkness consumed me in the year I wasn't with him. But I've accepted it. I got a taste of the forbidden fruit and now I want more than I could ever have."

"I'm like the midnight to your dawn. And I do think of you from time to time. I don't regret loving you from the sidelines all my life, but I want something else. I need someone else. And as much as it hurts to say this, it's not you Liam. You deserve someone who'll love you with their whole being, like I love Nicholas."

"Bullshit Dove! I don't want anyone else but you!" I heard his desperate voice through the speaker, dissolving into the peaceful air around us.

"I'm sorry Liam. Goodbye." I said and dropped the call.

And just like that I drew the line.

Where he was sunshine, I was midnight rain.