NURA

Chapter 9

Nura

Dec. 2013, New York

"Curly!" Megan announced, and Nura walked toward him, taking the red, shiny box Megan was holding out for her, and then skipped back to her seat next to Stefan, feeling incredibly excited as she started to open it. She didn't celebrate Christmas but still couldn't help but get excited over presents. But then the smile slipped from her face as she finally managed to tear it open, and her eyes fell on the contents inside.

She brought a shaking hand up to her mouth as she took the book out gently with the other, afraid that she would somehow rip it if she wasn't careful.

She closed her eyes, hugging the book to her chest, desperately trying not to cry. She felt completely overwhelmed as her brain spun while trying to figure out who could be the giver. She knew that it was nearly impossible that it was just a coincidence since this book was incredibly rare and now considered a collectible piece.

Nura only ever told Aria about it, but she knew that it couldn't be her, even if she somehow had the money to buy it, since the girl wasn't even participating in the game, and Nura was sure that Aria hadn't told anyone else about it as the girl wouldn't even talk to her, let alone someone else.

And then she remembered that day and the person standing at the bar, waiting for his drink while Nura was telling the story, attempting to coerce Aria into finally speaking with her.

She opened her eyes and looked across the room where she knew that Nate would be because even if she had stopped trying to catch his attention, Nura still always knew where the man was; her heart still hung up on him even as her brain urged her to move on. And there Nate was, staring at her intently, and it was then that she knew she was right.

They looked at each other for a long time, Nura's heart beating so fast that she thought everyone could hear it. But then she felt Stefan's hand on her arm, drawing her attention to him, and by the time Nura turned back around, Nate was already up and moving away with his back to the crowd gathered around the tree.

He soon disappeared down the hallway where the private parties were usually held, and on an impulse, Nura quickly excused herself and followed him slowly while trying not to attract attention to the two of them.

She entered the darkly lit room and found the man sitting on one of the couches, his back to the door and his head in his hands.

"Why did you buy me this?" Nura said barely above a whisper, but it sounded entirely too loud in the quiet of the room, and at the sound of her voice, Nate jumped to his feet and turned around, looking startled to see Nura there.

"Do you not like it?" he asked after a beat, as Nura just stared incredulously at him for a few moments, trying to figure out if the man was joking.

"I do. But that's not the point. Why would you buy me something like this? Me?" she asked again, feeling more confused than ever before. The man had spent the last year ignoring and shunning her, making his opinion on her 'kind' very clear without actually saying the words, and now he goes and buys her the most perfect present that Nura had ever received, not to mention the most expensive one.

It just made no sense.

"I wanted to give you something meaningful," Nate said, answering her question and creating a thousand more in the process.

"But why? Correct me if I am wrong, but I never thought you cared for me that much, so you can understand why this sudden generosity would confuse me.

I can admit that I had fancied you for a while, but you have made it abundantly clear that you are not interested. And that's fine. You have a right to like or dislike whomever you want, but why would you then go and do something like this for me after spending the entire last year pretending that I do not exist?" Nura asked him, her voice rising a bit at the end of her speech without her meaning to do so.