Chapter 24

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Virtue: Because all I have is nothing if I don't have you to give it to.

Nicholas~

If it were up to me, she wouldn't wake up for a month until all signs of last night were gone from her body. I was most concerned about the slice that ran down her face, but I would fly in the best plastic surgeons in the world if that's what she decided she wanted.

I was in the kitchen, eating some fruit for breakfast and sending off texts to Isabella, when I heard Avery clearing her throat. I looked up from my phone, and my heart broke all over again at the sight of her bruises.

"Hey, baby." I lifted my phone. "I was just texting Isabella. They're all at your apartment putting everything back together as best they can." I was nervous, and I was pretty sure that she could hear it in my voice. She nodded, then sat down on one of the bar chairs. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Your body might have issues with the pain medication from last night, so it might be a good idea to get some food in you." I gestured towards the plate on the counter. "I cut up some fruit, and I have juice in the fridge, but I can go out and get you something else if you don't want fruit. Or I can-"

"Nicholas," she interrupted pointedly. I swallowed nervously, waiting for her to tell me to take her home to her friends. "Fruit is fine and whatever juice you have is okay, too."

I jumped up to get her some juice, and I was so anxious that I spilled mine all over the counter. "Shit!"

I quickly raced to get Avery her juice and fruit, then I went about cleaning up the mess that I'd just made. She was probably thinking how in the hell could I protect her if I couldn't even pour some fucking orange juice. When I was done, I turned to Avery and found her watching me with a small smile on her face.

God, the sight made me weak.

"Nicholas, I'm fine."

I let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, Imp, I can see that."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Nic-"

"Don't, Avery," I bit out. "Just...don't."

I let her soothe me last night when the sight of her batter body had done me in, but today and the rest of the days of my life, I was going to be strong for her, and that strength was going to start now with me ripping off all my personal scabs and bleeding for her.

Holding her gaze, I gave Avery what she'd been asking of me. "My mother was a crack whore," I told her. "Hell, she might still be. I don't know because I haven't spoken to her since I was eighteen and me, Chase, and Julian left Oakland." Her face softened, but I didn't stop, and she didn't interrupt me. "We grew up in the worst parts of Oakland, The Deep East to be exact. The neighborhood is everything you hear about in the news, everything stereotypical about poor and violent inner-city hoods. My mother, Donna, and I....my mother and I came to an understanding when I was ten that she'd quit pretending to be a parent and that I'd just take care of myself." The details of this story were hard to get out, but I did it. "I saw her with different men all the time, but I didn't really know what it meant until, one day, I came home from school and walked in on a full-blown drug-fueled orgy going on in our living room." Avery still didn't interrupt, but I could see sympathy creeping into her eyes. "I ran all the way to Chase's house because Chase's mom was the only caring adult that we had in our lives. From that day on, I spent as much time as I could at Chase's." Avery remained silent as I walked around the kitchen bar, then took a seat next to her. "Katrina is a money runner for a guy that we'd grown up with, named Federico Santiago. He's into everything...drugs, gambling, extortion, whatever. He's just your average well-balanced criminal. The day you found me with Katrina, she was there to inform me that Donna owed Santiago a couple of grand. For some unfathomable reason, Katrina thought I'd want a chance to pay Santiago, so that Donna could escape her debt unscathed."

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