Brace Yourself

Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

As the sun rose, and the alarm went off, Nicole slowly rolled over to her phone and turned the alarm to silent, to have a lie in before she needed to get ready. "Being pretty requires a few more minutes of beauty sleep", she thought to herself. Her mother bursted through the door, and scolded her for laying in, whilst the whole family was already up. After having a brief argument with her mum, she grabs her phone, puts on some Taylor Swift, and runs into the shower, to do her daily routine.

After her 20 minute wash, she throws her towels on the floor, and starts brushing her flowing blonde hair. An hour passes, and she's just finished applying all her makeup, and strolls downstairs to grab her bags, and get picked up by her boyfriend, Ricky. Ricky was the star player of the basketball team, so he was the perfect man in all the girl's hearts. Nicole steps outside, and is swept up by Ricky almost instantly. "Hey babe, you're looking as fine as ever", he said, whilst carrying her over to her car. "You're looking great yourself, hun. You've got a game soon, haven't you?" "Yep, it's this Sunday, you coming?" "I'd love too, but I've got a dentist appointment, and if I miss it, I've gotta pay. I'm really sorry, hunny, but I just can't afford to miss my appointment." "Fine, whatever. I thought I'd be more important, but do what you need I guess".

The school day had ended, and it being a Friday, it meant one thing, pub night. Nicole every week since joining college went on a drinking frenzy, with all the girls she studied with, and would joke about the nerds around the college, with all of her friends. Towards the end of the night, Ricky stumbled into the bar, looking absolutely out of it. Nicole wasn't sure whether Ricky was still angry from earlier, so she hesitantly walked over and asked "Hey man, y'alright?" Ricky just stared at her, blankly. Clicking her fingers in front of his face, she asks again "Ricky, are you okay?" "No, I'm not fucking okay. Why on Earth would I be okay, when I've got to deal with you?" It seemed as if the entire world stopped, and the only people even active were Nicole and Ricky. "I'm the problem? I've done nothing wrong. If you're going to cause drama, just leave". Ricky starts yelling at Nicole, and is dragged out of the pub. "Sorry you had to see that, I really have no idea why he did that". Sarah, one of Nicole's best friends grabs her shoulder, smiles and says "No worries, he's an arrogant douchebag, we wouldn't have expected any less". They continue the rest of their evening, but the entire time there's a bad vibe around all of them.

Sunday begins, and she'd heard nothing from Ricky since Friday, despite trying to ring him multiple times, and sending him texts. She finishes her routine, and her mother calls her downstairs, to get ready for her appointment. By this time Nicole thought her life couldn't get worse, but she really had no idea what was coming up for her.