Wrapped

Chapter 40

~Nick

I lay in bed, looking at the ceiling. I don't feel like doing anything. My body feels like it just gave up. I don't know why or how, I have no emotional feelings anymore.

My so - called father got me back to school before the day ended. My mom didn't suspect anything. I barely said a word to her. I've only shrugged or made a 'hm' sound to answer any of her questions. It's actually making me feel bad in the slightest, but I can barely think about how I'm being such a rude child.

The only thing I remember are the images of what my father did to me. Every time I close my eyes, I can see his hands on me or his creepy smile. Why is he even like this? Obviously he couldn't be my real father, because what parent would do that to their child?

After I got home from school, I went straight to plug my phone in to charge it, and I got a couple text messages from Zack saying, "Things are going to be different, like good different". Or, "You're going to have a great surprise coming your way".

I have no clue on what he is talking about. What are his messages meaning? He might be planning on doing something, what if he comes back and visits me again? But, how? I doubt he doesn't have a whole lot of savings because of missing work and whatnot.

I've tried calling him a couple minutes ago, but it was Pierce that answered. I was actually stunned because we haven't talked since I left. He told me that Zack was busy and he actually missed me. My stomach grew butterflies as a smiled appeared. I would have never thought that Pierce would actually miss me. But, he told me that Zack will call me right when he gets on his break, which made me stare at the clock for the rest of the day.

As the seconds ticked by, I thought about how thoughtless I was. I could have told my dad 'no', or even could have tried to push him away, but I didn't, I let it happen to me. Am I just used to being used like that? Why am I so weak?

I wish I could stop thinking about my father, but I can't. His smile was burned into my eyes, his voice saying 'Daddy is only showing his love,' replayed in my head over and over, the places where his fingers traveled still felt numb, and the areas where his lips connected with my skin are still stinging like sunburns on my skin. I hate feeling like this.

"Nick?" I heard a soft voice say. I shot up from my bed and saw my mom standing in the doorway, gazing at me, "Are you feeling okay?"

I seem to be hearing that a lot lately. "Yeah," I said, putting on my best smile I could, "I'm fine."

She furrowed her eyebrows, obviously seeing through my smile, "You sure? You haven't been real talkative today, did something happen at school? Did those twins bother you?"

I shook my head and looked down at my hands. I wanted to really tell her the truth, she deserved to know. Why wasn't I saying anything? "Nothing happened, I'm fine," I repeated sternly.

Before my mom could reply, my phone started to vibrate, signaling me that there was an incoming call.

I looked at the caller ID and saw Zack's name, a small smile came across my face. Now I have a chance to ask him about the texts he had sent earlier.

Glancing back at the doorway, I found that my mom had already left me to be alone.

I press the 'talk' button instantly and held the phone to my ear, still smiling widely, "Hey, Zack."

"Hey, baby," his voice purred through the device, "Sorry I couldn't talk a while ago, I was at work."

"It's fine," I grinned and leaned back against the headboard of my bed, "You must be busy because of missing a week of work."

"Yeah. . ." He trails off, making me feel a little bit bad because he came out here to see me. "But, uh - um, why couldn't you talk earlier?"

I felt myself freeze and my mind filled with the thoughts of my father. Should I tell Zack? I do trust him, but what if he thinks I'm gross? I don't want him to leave me because of all the mistakes that have already happened after I moved. What if this is the last straw for him? What if he can't handle the thought that we're far away and I could be doing stuff that involves cheating on him. But, the thing is, I would never cheat on him on my own will.

"I was with my dad," I say quietly, tears stinging my eyes because of the awful memories.

"Oh? He's in Florida with you and your mom?" He chuckles through the speaker. "What are the odds?"

"Yeah . . . but my mom doesn't know about that," the thought slipped out of my mouth before I could even process what I even said.

"Wait, then how could you have been with him? Did something happen; because you sound really. . ." He pauses for a quick second, "not like you."

I frown and lay on my side in my bed. I bite my lower lip and think about how I should really explain everything. Before I go too long without talking, I whisper, "Can I be completely honest without you freaking out?" He makes a 'mhm' noise and I sigh. "Well, he pulled me out of school, and it's like he's been like, creepily stalking me.

"Anyways, he took me out of school - "

"Lori let you go to school?" Zack asked worried with a little bit of anger lurking in his voice.

"Yes. But, he took me to his house and he was being really creepy," I let a couple tears leave my eyes, causing my voice to be shaky. "Li - Like making me call him 'd - daddy'."

"Nick, babe, you don't have to tell me this if it's hard to. I understand that you had nothing to do with it, and I'm glad you're safe now," Zack says through the phone, sadness filling his voice.

I smile, I'm actually happy that Zack understands, but he still sounds so sad. Maybe he's making assumptions about what happened with me and my father, but he probably won't get too upset about the whole situation. "Are you sure, Zack? Be - Because I can tell you all that happened."

"No, no, I don't want you to do that, it's okay, really," He says and sighs, making me feel more worried than how I should. "I need to go, I need to make dinner, sorry, I will call you back as soon as I can, alright, babe?"

I smile and wipe my tears away. "Alright, I love you, Zack."

"I love you, too, Nicky," and with that, he hung up.

I close my eyes while still smiling. He's never called me 'Nicky' before. It's cute, and I like it. Maybe he's actually not all that upset about the whole thing anyway; isn't this great.

A few minutes before I drift off the sleep, my door opens abruptly. I open my eyes and see my enraged mom glaring at me. What did I do? Was I not allowed to talk to Zack while I did?

"So, you didn't mention to me that Richard took you out of school. Tell me what happened, now, Nickolas."

My eyes widen with guilt filling the pit of my stomach. She's never mentioned the name Richard before, only when I was a little child. Oh, it's my dad's name. And she never says my full first name unless she's angry.

Wait, how could she have known about my father taking me out of school?

Did Zack literally tell on me?