Scars [An Exclamation Point Fan Fiction]

PART 12

"Nate? What are you doing here?" I ask standing up.

"I came to see you." He says walking towards me. "I miss you so much" He strokes my hair and pulls my waist closer to him.

"Nate no." I say pushing away from him. He takes one hand from my waist and grabs a fistful of my hair.

"Yes Nikki." He lets go of my hair and throws me to the floor. I hit my head when I land. Next thing I know he's straddling me, and punching me. I open my mouth to scream, but his hand covers my mouth. I can already feel bruises forming on my shoulders and legs. I cry out at the pain, and make another attempt to scream but he slaps hard across the face.

"Nikki! Show's over! Let's go grab some food!" A voice yells walking towards the hallway. Nate jumps off me and runs away. Courtney and Dylan, two other dancers in the teen category, walk up to me.

"Oh my God." Courtney says covering her mouth. Dylan pales. They run over and kneel by me.

"Nikki talk to us." Dylan says. "What happened?" I stare at them unable to speak.

"Help! Somebody! We need help!" Courtney screams through her tears.

Crowds of people run into the hallway.

"Call the medic!" A producer yells.

Paul comes over to my side. "Nikki I'm here." He says. I look at him and burst into tears. I lean up and wrap my arms around him. I look up and see blood on his shirt. I hear a scream right as everything goes black.

I wake up in a bed. I keep my eyes closed and listen to the whispers and sniffling.

"How is she?" Paul whispers.

"She has a slight concussion, but from her CAT scans it shows it's not her first. Her left wrist is slightly fractured and bruised. She needs to stay for a couple of days at least. The bruises should heal in a few weeks."

"What happened?" Lyndsay asks, her voice breaking.

"We're not sure. We'll have to wait until she wakes up for her to tell us. Unless someone else can tell us something.

I hear Paul sigh. "I think I know." He says. "But I don't understand." He tells them I was abused by Nate before I left. He says Nate was in New York so he doesn't know how he could've been here.

Dylan speaks up. "I know how. A guy came up to me and told me his name was Nate, and was a good friend of Nikki's so I told him she walked into that hallway. His voice breaks. "Oh my God, it's all my fault."

I hear footsteps walk out. I wait a few minutes ans slowly my eyes flutter open. I look around the room and see Paul facing the wall. His breathing is hard, and I realize he's crying.

"Paul.." My voice croaks out.

He wipes his face and turns to see me. He tries to act like he hasn't been crying. "Hey beautiful." He says gently stroking my cheek.

"What happened?" I ask.

"You passed out. I caught you before your head hit the floor."

"I saw blood." I remember. "I pass out when I see blood."

"That was your blood." His voice cracks. "Your nose and lips were bleeding pretty badly."

"Who screamed?" I ask.

"Courtney. She's still pretty shaken up."

"You told the doctor. About Nate." I whisper. "Why?"

"Baby I had to." He says quietly. "They can find him and take him away from your life forever." He leans forward and kisses my forehead. I wince. Paul backs away. " Do you need me to call your doctor?" He asks, his voice shaking.

I shake my head as I fight back the tears.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers. He sits in the chair by me bed and pulls it closer. He lays his head on the bed and softly starts crying. "I'm sorry. I wish I had protected you." He says. I lift my hand and stroke his hair.

"Paul.." I croak. "There's nothing you could've done."

"I tried to find you." He says lifting his head. I see his cheeks stained with tears. "I wanted to hear what you thought of the song."

I smile gently. "I loved it." I whisper. He smiles back at me. "Paul I need something." I say.

"What is it? What do you need?"

"Come closer." I whisper. He leans closer. "Closer." He's close enough for me to reach. I put one hand on his neck, the other on his chest and slowly pull him in and kiss him. I pull away smiling.

A nurse walks into the room.

"Hi honey." She says. She smiles at Paul. "Sorry sweetie visiting hours are over. You go get some rest."

Paul nods and softly kisses me goodbye. "I'll be by tomorrow." He says walking out the door.

The nurse smiles at me. "That boy is crazy about you." She says. I start to blush. "He sang to you and refused to leave your side until you woke up." She smiles at me. "Doc said you should be able to go back tomorrow night, as long as your up for it." I smile and nod my head. "Well get some rest. I'll be back to check on you later." I close my yes quickly falling back to sleep.