Beautiful Boy

don't

amara haven

When I checked my phone, I had four missed calls from David.

I walked into the house quietly, only to be met with him in the kitchen, making breakfast.

He turned at the noise and looked relieved when he saw me, "Thank god, you're okay. We didn't know where you were."

"I was at the view point," I shrugged.

"Any reason?" He asked.

"Not really," I lied.

"Leave a note next time, okay?" He said.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, "Actually, about that..."

He motioned for me to continue.

"I'm going to stay in San Francisco for a while," I said, "But I'm going to live with my sisters."

"Oh," he frowned slightly, "That's okay, we'll miss you, but I think it'll be good for you and your sisters."

I nodded, "Thank you for everything, really, it means a lot."

"Of course," he walked around the counter to give me a short, sweet hug, "Does Nic know that you're staying here?"

"Sort of," I muttered.

"Actually, could you go tell him that breakfast will be ready soon for me?" He requested.

"Oh, yeah, sure," I nodded.

I didn't particularly want to, but David had done so much good for me, the very least I could do was save him the trouble of waking Nic.

I walked up the stairs and hesitated as I got to Nic's door.

I took a breath and knocked lightly.

"Mhm," he called from inside.

I cracked the door open enough to slip in and lean against the wall.

"Breakfast will-" I began.

It surprised me that everyone seemed to be up before eight, but I assumed it was because Nic had a six hour drive to complete.

"Amara, I'm sorry," he interrupted, standing up, "I was rude, I was upset and tired and I didn't mean anything I said."

"It's fine, Nic," I muttered.

"Please come back to LA," he pleaded.

"I can't," I shrugged apologetically, "I know that we loved it there but my life is here."

"I can't do this without you, Amara," he muttered.

"Don't do that," I shook my head, "You know you can call me whenever you need to, but I'm not changing my mind."

"But-"

"You have Vicki, and Spencer, and all your friends in LA," I said.

"But they're not you," he looked down at the floor.

I sighed. He was being difficult.

"I'm sorry," I said, touching his arm, "You'll be okay."

His eyes were glossed over when he looked at me, making me feel slightly bad.

"I need you," he repeated, making my heart flutter just a bit.

"You don't," I promised, just as he went to speak, Daisy and Jasper sang loudly about breakfast, running down the stairs.

I quietly laughed and Nic shook his head with a smile.

"I'm always here for you," I said, closing the conversation.

I left the room and trailed downstairs with Nic behind me.

"So, I heard a bit of noise last night, are you two okay?" David asked as we entered the kitchen.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"Yeah, it was just a small fight," Nic shrugged.

I bit my tongue to refrain from starting another fight.

David nodded, "Okay, well breakfast is ready if you two could set the table."

"Of course," I agreed.

Nic rolled his eyes.

I ended up doing most of the work, but I chose to ignore his ill-tempered mood.

After breakfast, Nic threw a few things in his car and we all gathered on the driveway to say goodbye.

It was a blur of hugs and goodbyes, but I didn't miss the way he held me tighter for an extra second.

Part of me felt bad about staying, but another part of me knew that I needed to be there for my sisters.

And who knew, maybe Axel would be a good resource while Nic was gone.

~

I sat on the bed in Nic's bedroom, my phone and the slip of paper with Axel's number, hesitating.

I mustered up every ounce of confidence I had and grabbed my phone, typing the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Amara from the view point," I replied.

"Ah, yes, her royal smartness," he said.

I chuckled, "Anyways, uhm- I have a few things to move back into my house and I was wondering if you'd want to help? I'll pay for coffees after."

"What a treat," he teased, "But sure, I have nothing better to do. Just text the address."

"Okay, cool, see you soon," I muttered.

"Yep, see ya," he replied.

I sent him the address after hanging up, then walked down the stairs and noticed David staring off into the abyss.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

"Nic seemed a little sad, right?" He replied.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"I hope he's okay," he sighed, "I don't know how well he can be trusted alone."

"Yeah," I agreed, "But he has Spencer and Vicki."

He nodded, "I suppose you're right."

"Well, I have a friend coming over to help me get some of my things," I said, "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Of course, Amara, you're like family," he smiled sadly.

After Dad died, I'd noticed that David had sort of taken the Father figure role in my life and I couldn't have been more grateful for him.

~

Axel was very helpful and very friendly, I could tell that David, Kinsley and Valeria all liked him immediately.

He had that trait, he was likeable.

It took us around half-an-hour to get everything from the Sheff's and then unpack it back into my house.

We were sitting in a café after, having the coffee I promised.

"I'm just gonna run to the bathroom," I said, standing up.

"Don't trip," he remarked, an inside joke about my clumsiness during moving.

I rolled my eyes as I walked to the corner of the café.

I couldn't help but wonder about Nic, obviously hoping he was okay, but just curious about how his drive was alone.

I tried to ignore my nagging thoughts to focus on the present, and Axel, but that didn't stop them.

I hope he's okay.