Nico Vaughan, the junior class "Nice Girl" wants to be free from her abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend.
Valen Henford, the school's resident "Rich Guy meets Bad Boy" wants to spend his senior year with the girl he's been in love with for years.
W...
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"But I know that I love you so These are the seasons of emotion And like the winds they rise and fall This is the wonder of devotion I seek the torch we all must hold. This is the mystery of the quotient Upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall... It's just a little rain..." (Led Zeppelin).
|◁ II ▷|
I wait as Rikkard and Rachel get in the car silently, my gaze on Nico as she stares out the window, one hand on her stomach and the other gently touching her busted lip. Wrath boils in my gut, and I flex my hands on the steering wheel, trying to get them to stop shaking.
West will deal with it. West said he'd take care of it. Nico doesn't want to press charges. She needs me right now.
It still doesn't make me content and calm to sit back and let West handle it.
I drive home, dropping Rachel off at her house on the way. Before she leaves, she gently hugs Nico, telling her it'll be okay and that she's there for her.
When we get back to my house, I carry her inside. Rikkard follows, trying his best to carry his, mine, and Nico's bags inside while on crutches. I set her in my bed, letting Rikkard take care of the bags, my mind selfishly preoccupied.
Nico immediately curls into my bed, her cries starting again as I lay beside her and hold her. I just stay beside her, calming her the best I can.
"He—he—" She tries her hardest to speak, and I try to shush her before she becomes determined and tries again, fueled by her anger. "Valen."
I quiet, unsure what to do with a silently crying Nico trying to explain what happened.
Listen.
"Sam followed me into a store. He told me he knew it was fake. He told me I had to go on one date with him. I got mad, and he kissed me, and I hit his stomach, and he just got even angrier, and I said something that set him off," Nico pauses, taking a shaky, deep breath as her eyes fill with new tears. "He hit me. When I fell, he kicked me. And the employee wasn't a girl!"
She stops making much sense after that, and her bawling becomes heavier. I try to soothe her until her sobs become labored and gently drift into loud and long exhales.
I call West as soon as I'm sure she's out, knowing she's a heavy sleeper. He doesn't answer, and the frustration I had pent up to be there for Nico starts clawing at the bars of my self control.
I take a deep breath and text him, explaining what Nico told me and how it probably isn't even the second time he's bothered her recently. I try to explain it the best I can, as efficiently as I can, and without conveying any rage I feel towards Sam or any frustration I feel towards West and his zero updates so far.
