Chapter Eight

Nathan's POV

"When are you going to tell Nicole?" Zac asked.

"I don't know man," I said. "Maybe as long as possible," I continued.

"You gotta be kidding me," Zac said in disbelief.

"You're not stalking her only to hide your feelings at the end," he continued.

"Yeah, so here's what we're going to do." Collins chirped in. "We'd all go out tomorrow, around 4pm, then Zac and I would leave you guys to spend the time together," Collins suggested.

"But..." I began but the boys would hear none of it, but I managed to get their attention. "You guys should relax. What if she's getting over a breakup or something?" I asked.

"That one too is there. Okay, we'd take it slow," Zac said.

"I agree with this one. So we're doing it my way," I said, smirking.

"Yeah, but if you delay, we'll just sell you out," Collins said.

"Why are you guys like this?" I asked.

"You like us as we are," Collins said.

We all laughed after that. The guys were staying over so we decided to call it a night.

Before we headed to our separate rooms, Zac said, "Make sure she feels comfortable around you and trust you."

"Okay, I've got it" I said.

As I passed by my room, I heard her crying softly. I knocked and waited for her to respond before going inside. I climbed onto the bed. I hugged her from behind and whispered into her ears. "Pour your heart out and let everything out."

She leans into me and sighs.

"We've been together for two year and half. In the beginning, he was so nice and everything a girl would like to have in a guy. He was good looking, so caring. He was very generous even though he wasn't filthy rich. He was a good listener, always supported and motivated me beyond anything I could imagine. He made me happy. All of a sudden he changed to a psycho. He began doing things that weren't right. He started hanging out with the wrong set of people. He got arrested a few times for trafficking, drug possession, street fights, and others you can name. He sometimes came home drunk and in a bad temper. Any wrong move from me and he would just hit me with anything he lays his hand on. I once found a box I never seen before under our bed. Out of curiosity, I opened it, finding huge sums of money, some drugs and a gun. When I asked him about it, he hit me till I felt weak. I almost passed out untill he had had enough of beating me, he almost killed me." she narrated.

I couldn't believe she had been through a lot. My mind cringed when I thought of the seeing her with bruises and cuts.

"Where was Clara then?" I asked her.

"Clara was here, where we're now staying." she replied.

The tears continued to flow, and I hugged her tighter, allowing her cry. I don't want to let her keep her emotions bottled in her.

"I kept on living in fear of him. I did things his way to avoid abuse. Clara made me aware of the red flags, but I turned a deaf ear to her advices and pleads. I was afraid he might kill me if I broke up with him. I still loved him even though he was poison and with all that happened. I was thinking he would change but I was wrong. Eventually he broke up with me, threw me out of his house and said he never wanted to see me ever again. He said I was worthless and I don't deserve any love in this world." she laughed, with tears still running down her cheeks.

"I was torn and broken. I moved in with Clara after that incident. I couldn't move on for months. I stayed hidden from the outside world, at some time I loved being alone. I was depressed. I had nightmares most of the time. The only people that were around me were Clara and Dan. And now that I'm picking myself together, he's after me." she ended.

"Look at me Nicole." I released her, and made her turn to face me. "Think about the good side. Nothing is going to happen to you and he's not worth your time and tears. Think about all the people that care. Clara, Dan, Zac and Collins, and then me." I said, kissing her wet soft cheek. I resisted the urge to press my lips on hers.

"What if he comes back after me? Maybe he's here to kill me." she said, fidgeting with her fingers.

"He's not going to do anything to you. Please take that bad thought out of your mind." I said, lifting her head with my hand.

She still looked beautiful with tears running down her cheeks. She hugged me, staying in the same position for a minute. I stood up when she let go of me, picked out a hoodie from my wardrobe and handed it to her. She looked puzzled.

"I'm taking you out." I said.

She nodded and put it on. I grabbed my car keys as we left the room. I figured the guys would be sleeping, so I didn't want to bother them. When we go for the car, I unlocked and opened the door for her, then moved to the driver's side and got in. I started the engine, then drove off.

I turned on the radio, making the ride lively. She smiled and started humming along. "Make sure she's comfortable around you and trust you." I recalled Zac's words. I've got her trust, and I'm sure she's comfortable around me since day one.

The conversation earlier had some of my questions answered. Why she had disappeared some time ago and her past. I can't tell if she'd be ready to go into a relationship, but I guess I'd have to give her time and continue loving her. I didn't tell her where were going, but I hoped she'd like it and get her mind off of certain things. I joined her, enjoying every minute of it.