Here's My Heart

Chapter XVI

Nash POV

Laura was mad at me. Two days after her panic attack , she wanted to try having sex again but I told her no. I didn't want her to have another panic attack that was caused by me. It's been a week since that happened and she's been ignoring me since. Avian has gotten extremely close to both of us. He loves the show Ben 10. He's really grown on me. Today Avian, Jeremy, and I were on our way to visit david. He was still in the hospital and he hated it. He complained about it whenever he had the chance. We were currently turning onto the street the hospital was on. Laura had gone out for the day with Ezra and Alice. "Why didn't Laura want to go with you?" Jeremy asked me. "She's still mad that I won't do that thing with her. She thinks she's ready for it again but I don't want to try again until I know she's ready." I explained to him, making sure that I phrase it so Avian didn't understand what we were talking about. "If she wants it; let her have it." He told me with a smile. "You're so fucking dense Jer. I don't want to send her into another panic attack! It's only been a month and a half since Alex took that choice from her! She's not ready!" I yelled, tears welling up in my eyes. "I can't watch her go through another panic attack. I can't continue to watch her suffer like this." I said, my voice thick with emotions. "You guys seriously need to sit down and talk." He said, pulling out his cigarettes and lighter. He offered me one and I took it. He lit his and mine and we started puffing our problems away. "Those are bad for you." Avian said in a sad voice. I bent down and picked him up. "I know they are, but they help me with my problems." I told him gently. He nodded and laid his head down on my shoulder. We walked into the hospital after putting our cigarettes out. We walked to David's room and to no one's surprise, he was arguing with a nurse about staying here. "-just leave now?!" He yelled at the poor nurse. She looked at him in fear "S-sir you have to stay h-here until we know you're okay." She told him. "David, you can leave tomorrow. I just talked with your doctor." Jeremy told him. The nurse ran out of the room in fear. "Jesus Christ David! Way to give the poor nurse a heart attack." I told him with a smile. He laughed and seemed really happy. "I can't stay long. I have to talk to laura. It's urgent." I told him. "What did you do wrong?" David asked me immediately. "What makes you think I did something wrong?" I asked him in shock. "She was here before and when I asked her about you, she avoided the question." He explained with a laugh. I shook my head and he laughed even harder. I pulled my phone out and messaged Alice, asking her to help laura get dressed. "Are you going to be the one to pick me up?" David asked us. I nodded. I'll even be nice enough to drive my car." I told him. He laughed.
We stayed at the hospital for about an hour before Alice messaged me to tell me that she was heading to our house. "Avian?" I said, gaining his attention. "Do you want to stay here with David and Jeremy ir do you want to go home?" I asked him. "Kelly will be here in a few too and I know how much you like him." David added with a smile. "Can I stay here?" Avian asked me. I nodded. "I'm going out with Laura for a few so whenever you want to leave just tell Kelly and he'll bring you and Jeremy home." I told him. He nodded and I took that as my cue to leave. As I walked out I sent Kelly a message, asking him to bring some crayons and a coloring book. He read it but didn't say anything.
When I got there, I quickly ran into the building, getting dressed in a nicer outfit. It was a long sleeved black button up and some grey jeans. I got my shoes on and waited at the door. The girls walked in and immediately ran into our room without even acknowledging me. I smiled at their enthusiasm and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my hair. By the time I was done the girls were all walking out of the room. I let out a small gasp at the sight of Laura. She had curled her hair and was wearing a beautiful red dress. She was wearing dress boots with it and she looked absolutely beautiful. She had a small pout when she saw me. The girls left after saying goodbye. Laura looked at me expectantly. "Are you hungry?" I asked her. She nodded but didn't say anything. I grabbed the house keys, my car keys, my wallet, and my phone. We left the apartment without saying anything. I led her behind the building over to my car. It was a dark blue 2008 Toyota Camry. I loved it and it ran well. I didn't drive it often because I preferred walking but I used it for special occasions. I unlocked it and Laura got in silently. Her being quiet was really pissing me off. I got in and put the key into the ignition. "Where do you want to go?" I asked her in hopes of getting an answer. She shrugged her shoulders. I pulled out of the parking lot and started driving. I drove towards a city that was about 25 minutes away. "Would you talk to me Calliope?" I begged, getting desperate. "What do you want me to say?" She asked with a ton of attitude. "What did I do wrong?" I asked her. I really wanted to make things right between us. She glared at me. "You rejected my request!" She said loudly. "You had a panic attack right after and started screaming out 'No' right before you passed out!" I said in irritation. "So this is my fault now?!" She asked, practically yelling. "I didn't say that!" I yelled. "I don't need sex. I need to know that you are okay. I need to make sure that you're happy." I told her, my voice cracking at the end. She looked at me like I was psychotic. "Well I would be happy if you would have sex with me again!" She yelled. "You know what! I will have sex with you again! But if it goes bad; you have to talk to someone. I don't care if you talk to Jeremy or Alice. But you will talk to someone." I told her. "Why?" She asked me. "Because you need to talk to someone and if this is the way to do it, then I'm willing to agree." I explained. "Okay." She said, nodding. We continued driving until we got to a small pizza place. I found a parking spot and we got out. We walked in and there was a little bell that chimed. The place was very retro a sixties feel. We sat down at one of the booths and opened the menu. A guy walked over to us and greeted us. "Hi guys! My name is Brook and I'll be your waiter today! Can I get you guys something to drink?" He seemed naturally happy. "Can I get a vanilla milkshake?" Laura asked him. He nodded and wrote it down. "And can I get a strawberry shake?" I asked him politely. He nodded and went off to get them. We scanned through our menus and found something that we both agreed on. Brook came back with our drinks and handed them to us. "What can I get you guys to eat?" He asked happily. "Can we get the chicken bacon ranch pizza with some garlic bread on the side?" I asked. He wrote it down and brought it to the kitchen. "He seems to be very happy to work here." Laura tells me. I laugh and nod. "How's your milkshake?" I Ask her. "It's really good. How's yours?" She responds. "It's pretty good. Do you want some?" I offer her. She nods and pushes hers over to me. I push mine to her and take a sip from hers. Its sweet but not overly sweet. This place really knows how to make shakes. She lets out a small groan at the taste of mine and I laugh at her reaction. She blushes and hands mine back to me. I slide hers over to her and start sipping on my own again. We made small talk until our food arrived. I took a piece for myself and Laura got her own we ate our food and finished our drinks. I left the money and a tip for Brook. We left the restaurant. "Where do you want to go now?" I ask her. She shrugs until she sees a book store. She looks at me and I grab her hand, pulling her in the direction of the store. We go in and I'm immediately hit with the smell of new books. Laura runs off to look at books while I go over to the kids section of the store. It has Dr. Suess books but that's not what I'm looking for. I keep scanning shelves. "Mommy can we get that one?" I hear a child ask. I turn around and freeze in my place. This little girl looks just like my little sister did. And she's pointing at the book I was looking for. "Not today sweetie." The mother says. I go over and grab two of that book and buy them. The cashier smiles and tells me to have a good day. I walk up to the little girl. "Hello. My name is N-Logan." I tell her. She smiles. "I'm Cora but you can call me Core." She tells me with that same smile. "I saw you looking at that book." I said, pointing at it. "Yeah it looks really good!" She says with the same enthusiasm that my sister had when I bought her that book. "Well it's funny you say that. My little sister loves that book and you remind me of her a lot. So I got you this." I told her, handing her the book. Her eyes got really wide. "Thank you Logan!" She says loudly. She wraps her little arms around my neck as she cries in happiness. I don't know why, but I started crying too. I cried for my sister, who had her whole life ahead of her. Cora unwraps her arms from my neck. "Why are you crying Logan?" She asks curiously. "My little sister isn't here anymore." I told her, wiping my tears away. "You take care of that book, Core." I tell her. "I will!"she says excitedly. "Thank you so much!" Her mother says with tears of her own. "What was your sister's name?" She asks me. "Her name was Jamie stokes." I told her. She looked completely shocked. "Oh my god! I knew you looked familiar! I was your father's lawyer!" She said. Tears started streaming down her face once more. "Please don't get mad! I didn't want to defend him! He offered so much money that I couldn't refuse him!" I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything other than; "How much did he pay you?" "$500,000." She told me. "500,000 to keep my sister's death a secret." I said to myself. "I'm so sorry! I was pregnant with twins and there were medical complications! I needed the money! I quit my job after that! I swear! I work at a daycare now!" She pleaded. "Did your twins survive?" I asked her. She got a sad look. "No. That's why I quit. The guilt eats me up inside. I got money to lie to a judge and that money went to twins that didn't even live." She said with tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I need to go ma'am. Or should I say Carrie?" I said and left the bookstore. Laura had already payed for her books. We got into the car. I shook my head and put the key in the ignition, turning it. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.