Ones Temptation

NIKOLAUS

The second I heard Arabella say no I rushed in. I watched as Jasper followed her in. I found out her plan through Aurora. She wasn't tough to crack. I don't allow myself to think about anything. I rip Jasper off and start beating the hell out of him. A voice rips me from my actions.

"Nikolaus," Arabella speaks softly. Her voice reminding me of the day she said she'd always be mine.

I look up at her. Her lipstick is now smudged and her clothes are half on her body and half off. I take off my jacket and hold it out to her.

"Here. Put it on, it's cold outside."

She pushes it away looking up at me.

"I didn't fucking need you," She puts on her own jacket.

"Are you fucking serious Arabella? He was going to fucking rape you!"

"I had it fucking handled I would've found a way out!"

She turns to the door and starts walking to it. But before she can walk out I grab her arm pulling her into my chest. Her eyes meet mine as I look down upon her.

"I hate you as much as I fucking hate you but l'll make something fucking clear. I'll be there in your shadow. I'll always be fucking watching you. The stars always shine upon the person you want it to. I'm your fucking star," I grit out letting her go.

I walk out and head to my car suddenly pissed off. I sent her more old things while she wasn't home. She'll probably figure out i'm the one behind this shit but I couldn't give a fuck anymore all I knew was I wanted her. No.

I needed her.

...

ARABELLA

I stare as he drives away.

'The stars always shine upon the person you want it to. I'm your fucking star.'

How the fuck did he know about the star? Unless he was the fucking one sending all this bullshit. I walk out leaving Jasper on the ground. I didn't give a shit what happened to him at that point. I get into my car and speed home. I park into the driveway and get out running into my house. I slip on a blanket.

"Shit," I groaned, picking myself up.

I look around.

Bags,blankets,pictures. All littered on the floor. One black letter lies in the center. I pick it up and rip it open.

Dear Arabella,

Remember in first grade when I skinned my knee and I wouldn't stop crying? But then you came over and you kissed it and it felt like all the pain went away. You wiped my tears and told me not to cry because you were gonna catch me each time I fell. Or the time where your dad was so drunk he tried stabbing you but I dove in front of you and took the cut? We had our first kiss that night. But the next morning you left with your dad to go skating at the ice rink. . .then boom. Everything crashed. You were in a coma for a few months. No one thought you would survive. I visited you everyday and told you everything. How my day was. The bullshit my mom told me. All of it. When I heard you woke up I was so fucking happy. Then you returned to school. And you remembered everything. . .except me. The guy you said you loved. The one you said you'd protect. The guy who took your first kiss. The one you fucking told you'd marry no matter the fact we were only 9 and 10. You fucking forgot about me. You gave others everything you promised you'd give me. I will watch you every second of every fucking day. You were once my star the same way I was once yours. But now. . .you're nothing. You were always a figment of my imagination.

Yours truly, your dark star.

I put the letter down and look at the pictures. A lump the size of a fucking ball rises in my throat. Pictures of me and a little boy. Holding each other. One of him kissing my forehead. We looked inseparable. I grab the blanket and inhale it. Cigarettes and cologne. But not any cigarettes.

Marlboro.

No one fucking smokes Marlboro except Nikolaus. It may be the most common brand but most people like vaping and juul. But Nikolaus likes the original lung killer.

I throw down the blanket and run outside. I realize I forgot my keys a short second later. Fuck it. I run the short distance to Nikolaus place. Slowly things start falling into place. The little boy now has a face. It was Niko. It has always been fucking Niko.

I run up his porch and knock breathing hard. A short second later Niko opens the door shirtless.

"I-I remember. . .everything. All of it. You were the little boy. The one I promised everything to. The one I kissed in my room when I took care of your wound. I was the one who saved you when your mom's boyfriend tried breaking a bottle of your head. You were the one I promised to marry," I pause taking a breath, "You were the person I laid awake thinking about after I woke up after coming home from the hospital. I thought you were a dream. But you never were. It was always you Niko," I breathe out laughing, finally feeling a weight lifted from my chest.

"Well that's too fucking bad. I don't want or need you. I never fucking did. Get lost," he tightens his jaw and slams the door in my face.

I step back from the sudden gush of air.

I had him for a second. And I lost him just as fast.