Nola

I is for "I Promised"

"Daddy can I talk to you?" I ask.

"Nola, I don't want to talk about dad. I just need some time and space to think," he says over his shoulder to me.

I sigh and sit down next to him on the stairs.

"It's about Zeke..."

"Oh, sorry Nola. I didn't...I assumed...uh...what's up with Zeke?" Daddy asks.

I can't help but giggle at his flustered-ness.

"Zeke, he...Daddy, why did you hurt yourself?" I ask him.

He looks at me in shock.

"Daddy," I chuckle. "I've seen the scars on your arms. They're faint, but I've seen them, so why?"

Daddy sighs as he rubs one of the biggest scars on his left wrist.

"I was bullied a lot in school. My father knew and got me help. It stopped, but not forever," he starts as he continues to rub his arm.

"My senior year was the worse. It mostly happened before I met your father. But I got to my breaking point after I met him. I got cornered in the locker room," he says and then pauses for a moment.

I can tell how much it hurts him to talk about it, so I rest my head on his shoulder and side hug him.

He smiles, "the hardest part was that one of my brothers were there. He helped. Then when they dragged me into a shower stall and...umm...he didn't do anything to stop them. He hovered and listened to my screams."

"Did they?" I ask him.

He nods, "I never told anyone, but yea...they raped me. Well one of them. The other guy held me, so I couldn't resist much. I ended up really hurting myself. I almost died. My father found me in my bathroom unconscious."

I wipe a tear from my cheek as he finishes. He pulls me in for a hug.

"Zeke's hurting himself," I whisper to daddy.

He frowns, "does anyone else know?"

"Yes and no," I answer. "His parents and sister know he used to, but he did it again. Thankfully he told me. I don't know what to do daddy. I'm scared for him. He says he'll stop, but I don't think he's going to."

I start to cry, so daddy pulls me closer to him. He kisses the top of my head.

"Nola, you have to tell his parents. It's the only way to help him. Thankfully he has you. I wish I had your father sooner."

"I can't daddy," I tell him.

"Why's that?"

"I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone," I whisper.

"Well, you already broke that promise. And promises are meant to be broken if it's going to save someone's life. How would you feel if he died from hurting himself Nola?"

I pull away from daddy and look down. "I'd hate myself. If I could've saved him I don't know if I could forgive myself," I tell him.

"You know what you have to do Nola. You can tell him you'll help him tell his parents or you can tell them. You'll figure it out love," he tells me as he kisses the top of my head.

"Please don't leave daddy," I plead.

Daddy chuckles, "I won't. I love him. And I know he loves me. We just need some alone time to fix whatever's broken."

I smile and jump up to hug him.

"I love you daddy."

"I love you too. Now let's go find your father and suffocate him with our love," daddy laughs.

--Zeke's POV--

"Zeke calm down!" Taylor shouts at me.

"She won't answer me. What the fuck!" I say to myself as I pace back and forth in my room.

"Zeke just breathe. I'm sure she's fine," she tells me.

I continue to pace until my phone goes off. I rush to my nightstand and pick it up without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?! Nola?!" I ask.

"Zeke, it's Ezra," Nola's father replies.

"Where's Nola? Is she okay?" I ask.

"She's...fine. I need you to come to the hospital. Okay?"

"What?! Is she in the hospital?!" I ask.

"Zeke just come to the hospital. Room 311 on the third floor, okay?"

"Y-yea. I'll be right there."

Taylor drove me as fast as she could to the hospital. I freaked out the entire drive. What's wrong with Nola? Why is she in the hospital? Why didn't anyone call me sooner?!

"Ezra," I say as I rush over to Nola's father whom was waiting for me in the waiting room.

"Zeke sit down," he tells me.

I shake my head, "no! Where is she?"

"Zeke, she passed out at home," Ezra tells me. "She hit her head pretty hard off of the floor. I...I tried catching her, but it happened really fast. When she came to she...she couldn't remember who we even were..."

"She.." I start.

"She still doesn't remember everything. She's slowly gaining her memory back. Just please be patient and don't rush it force her to remember anything, okay?"

I nod my head. He then takes me in to see Nola, Taylor follows behind us. Fortune is sitting next to her in her bed laughing with her. Her grandfathers are sitting next to her bed lost in each others eyes.

Taylor goes to sit with Emmett and Ariana by the window. The three immediately start their usual gossip. My eyes finally connect with Nola's. She's as gorgeous as ever.

She shoots me a smile, acknowledging my presence. But then she goes back to her conversation with Fortune. My heart sinks. She really doesn't remember me.

Feeling like I'm going to be sick, I run out of the room. I hear Ezra shout something to me, but I just run into the bathroom down the hall. As soon as I enter the bathroom stall I puke in the toilet.

I hear someone come into the bathroom and then feel them hover behind me. I flush the toilet and fall onto my back and breakdown.

"She doesn't remember me!" I cry to them.