Fell In A Concrete Jungle (Nicholas Ruffilo/ Bad Omens)

10: Breakfast

Authors Note: Thank you all for the 1k reads on this story. Please know when I share these milestones with you, it isn't a bragging point, it is me sharing my milestone with you as you all helped me achieve this. I couldn't do this without you.


~Gemma's POV:~

The next morning rolled in, sun peaking through the curtains had me squinting my green eyes as I blinked away the tiredness that surrounded me. Looking at the blanket on top of me, I furrowed my brow to see it was the quilt my mother had made me.
Looking at the futon that was pulled out in the room. I noticed Nicholas covered with a thin blanket I assumed he got himself as he rested on the futon, stepping out of his bed I nearly gasped at the cold floor—the luxury of my apartment was heated flooring, something I told my father I didn't need but somehow still ended up with regardless, never had too much say when it came to the designs of my apartment.
Memory of my father from the other night shattered any happy illusion I had of him as I tried my best to not remember. Seeing my bag in the corner, quietly grabbing it I dug through to see clothing of mine in there—Nick went back to my apartment last night? It must have been after I fell asleep.
Seeing a pair of leggings, I grabbed a sweatshirt from there as well before exiting the room—the compound was quiet, and after looking further into it—it felt like a good home for them, it wasn't overly luxurious like my fathers so in a way that impressed me more.

Changing into my clothes, I found an empty hamper in what looked like the laundry room before taking a seat in the kitchen—there was coffee made which I poured myself a cup of, only to have it sit in from of me as I sat at the wood table that sat in front of a window overlooking the yard in the back. My mind drifting in and out of focus when I would hear a noise. "Didn't think you'd be awake this early" Helen's voice said as the door closest to me opened, she carried a wicker basket on her hip as she wore jeans and dark grey shirt. Her hair was plaited on either side of her shoulders.

Watching as she went over to the sink that stood about ten feet away, she began pulling out what appeared to be fresh produce from her basket. "I usually wake up early, my father always had me awake before sunrise—this is me actually sleeping in" admitting that felt weird.
The routine my whole life was awake before the sun was up, even in the summer it meant getting up earlier and I was lucky if I went to bed at a decent time due to my parents scheduling and my father's lifestyle, any event they went to, I had to be there with a smile on my face. My mother would try to sneak naps in for me, but my father put an end to that real fast.

Helen nodded her head. "So then this is like a vacation then, sometimes these guys don't wake up until the afternoon but that depends on who had the nightshift, and who they have over—the singles sometimes like to see who is available in the jungle" her words had my stomach turning at that, they'd just sleep with someone who wasn't a partner?

Wanting to avoid the thought as a pit in my stomach formed at the thought of Nicholas, was him being my body guard in the way of him having a good time? The guilt tried to swallow me whole as I looked at Helen. "Do you have a garden?" the stuff she was grabbing wasn't in season as the colder weather was starting to seep in around.

"A green house, the guys never used it and when I found it, it was something I took over quickly. . . It's a nice escape and the fresh produce is always a bonus, sometimes I use it in the baking at the shop—are you interested in learning even in the future?"

"Yes" the words came out of me so fast before I could even register what I was saying, this felt like a whole new form of freedom I never thought I'd see. "I'd be interested, it could be fun and the last time I baked was with my mother" even if I missed her the memories of her still warmed my heart.

Gesturing for me to come over, I did, and she showed me how to properly wash them and even begin prepping. She had asked me to wash and cut some of the produce for breakfast she was making for the group-- telling me how she loved cooking for them, it felt like she was cooking for her family.
Grabbing a knife, I began cutting up the vegetables she wanted to use, admiring how vibrant they looked and how fresh they smelt. "I don't know if a knife in your hand a good look, princess" my eyes shot up as I watched Nicholas enter the kitchen—he wore dark jeans and a black shirt like the one he had leant to me the night before.

"Call her princess again and I will give Gemma full permission to carve you with that knife, now go wake the others up or else the only ones getting breakfast is Gemma and I" Helen said asserting what felt like dominance.

Laughing, Nicholas nodded his head as he gave her a thumbs up above his head before heading out down the hallway—his laugh echoed in my mind as something I never heard before. The sound of it felt rewarding, but also I never seen him so relaxed like when he is around his group. "I never seen him so relaxed" I said finishing off cutting the vegetables which she accepted, before I began working on cutting some strawberries since she had picked a small basket of them for the meal.

Helen smiled as she began cooking the eggs and meats. "He tends to be relaxed around us, all of them are-- we are serious, and we know when the time is right, but we try to keep work and life separate. No work before breakfast is the rule, unless it is a very serious job—which you were, I'd wake up early to pack a bag for Nicholas to eat on the road, but he never complained too much" he would break that rule? Part of me hated my father for it, he was so demanding and part of me wished I was never this burden.

Silently working on the strawberries, I entered my own mind once more trying not to think about the fact my father was engaged to Leanna but somehow even in my dreams that was something my mind couldn't seem to let go—the dream consisted of the proposal and my mother's cries echoed through the halls of the building, I tried to find her but no matter where I went the cries echoed and part of me was sure some of those echoes were my own.
"Good morning ladies" Noah sauntered his way over kissing Helen on her cheek which earned a smile from her. "This smells amazing, thank you for cooking" he thanked Helen before turning to me, "thank you" he smiled at me before getting himself some coffee.

"Oh you don't need to thank me" I said feeling awkward, I wasn't doing the hard work.

"Nonsense, you're helping, which means you helped contribute to the first meal of the day" said Noah as he stepped to the table, taking a seat at the end as he began scrolling on his phone.

The others joined not long after, and before we knew it we all were munching away on the breakfast, Nicholas sat across from me as I sat between Helen and Jolly, there were still empty seats but they mentioned they liked all being close to one another as it was a time they all were together before tackling their day. "So, what are the plans for the day?" I asked taking a sip of my own coffee enjoying the warmth on the cold morning.

Noah seemed unhappy at the thought of his work. "I have a meeting with your father, he said he sent someone to check on you last night and wasn't impressed when no one was home."

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked softly, my father not being impressed was never a good sign and he would let people know when he was unhappy.

"No, I'd like for you to go to the café with Helen today, you can relax there for the day—after last night I think a calm day for you might be good, plus your father requested me and no one else" that usually meant he only wanted the leader and would refuse to talk to Noah unless it was just him and Noah.

I could only nod my head as we finished up breakfast, all of us cleaning up and then getting ready to head out. Noah gave Helen one last kiss before heading towards his car. Nicholas gesturing for us to follow as he led us to his car—it was so weird seeing him drive a car since I was so used to his bike and part of me even preferred his bike.

Getting to the shop, Helen opened, and customers began to flow through. Nicholas would help her when he felt it was busy and I couldn't help but watch as he moved—his muscles in his arm flexed when he would type something on the screen and the smirk on his face wasn't the same as the ones I'd seen, this was warmer and inviting as Helen would talk to customers, it sounded like she knew them for years. After about an hour, Nicholas took a seat at the booth with me, sliding a warm cup of what smelt like hot cocoa over. "Thank you" I said accepting the cup in my hands.

"You can relax here; we may be on a sketchier side of town but trust me after what happened last time—Noah assured this place got the safety it needed" part of me didn't want to know what lengths Noah had to go to but at the same time my heart swelled knowing he loved Helen that much to make sure she was constantly safe.

"If I am safe here, you can go out and do stuff if you need" I suggested to Nicholas.

A moment and he seemed tempted before sitting back in his seat, "I don't think that would be the best" he said sipping his coffee, his blue eyes scanning the guests who would come in now for their lunch hour. "Plus, after last night I don't think you being alone is such a good idea" he admitted, his blue eyes falling on me as my heart thumped in my chest.

Shrugging I swirled my finger around the rim of my mug, the pale moon color of my nails almost throwing me into another trance. "Part of me should have seen it coming, I knew they were seeing one another I just never thought he would marry again. . . I thought he loved my mother more then that" my mother did everything for this man and he hardly did a thing for her, thinking more about it, he hardly did anything for me as well beyond keep me on a tight leash.

Nick sat back; his arm draped over the back of his seat as he watched me. "He's not a good man, Gemma" his voice was so low if he were to say it any lower I most likely would have missed it.

Sighing, I nodded my head feeling my heart shatter within me. "I think I might be seeing that now."