Branded

Chapter 14

When I get upstairs, Nikki is in her room. I can hear her crying and talking quietly. She must be talking to her dad. I carefully place my ear against the door and listen.

"... not getting better are you?" she says quietly and holds in sobs. I can hear her choke a little before speaking again, "I'm sending some more money soon, I promise. I'll come home as soon as these damn visas are up. I love you too, daddy. Bye"

It's silent for three seconds before I hear her burst out crying. I enter her room quietly and just wrap my arms around her. She jumps a little before throwing her arms around me and crying harder. I don't say anything because there's nothing I can say. Her father is dying and it doesn't seem that he will get better. They've always had such a close relationship. I've never experienced something like that with my father.

It takes a while, but she eventually regains control of herself. She wipes the tears from her face and looks up at me, "Well that was embarrassing."

"Oh, hush you" I say giving her another hug, "You needed to get that out. Holding it in all the time is bad for you."

"I know, but when it comes out, its always so bad." she sniffs and wipes her eyes again.

"Its not good is it?"

She holds in sobs before quietly speaking, "They don't think he'll live to see my next birthday. Its spreading and he's only getting weaker."

Nick stands up and walks over to her closet. She pulls out all the money she'd been saving for her college fund and starts to count it all. She doesn't meet my eyes as she shoves all the money in a bag, "I'll be back in a little bit."

She throws on Michael's jacket, but I stop her, "Nikki, don't do this. You know I'll give you some to help you."

Nick jerks her arm away and shakes her head before leaving. There's nothing left to do, so I take a shower and go to bed. I imagine the events of the night between Calum and I before finally drifting off to sleep.

~Nikki's POV~

It's cold out and it has just started to rain. At least the rain will wash away the rest of my tears. I hold my bag close to my body and walk with my head down. I walk to the nearest store and get a money order with the rest of my college fund. I hide the money order and go to the diner.

The owner is just about to close up when he sees me. He asks if everything was okay, and I tell him I just need to go in for a while and have a cup of coffee. He knows about my father's condition and hands me the keys, "Lock up when you're done. I have spare keys at home, but keep these ones safe."

I thank him and he leaves. Once I'm inside, I lock the door behind me and go the bathroom. I use paper towels to dry my hair and Michael's jacket. It's freezing in the diner, so I hurry to make myself a pot of coffee.

I light a candle before I sit in Michael's booth and write out a letter to my father. I have two envelopes: one for his letter, the other to send the money order so that his medical bills will start to be paid.

I no longer hear the trickle of coffee into a pot so I walk over to the counter. I get an uneasy feeling and look up. Michael is standing in the diner window looking at me. He smiles a little and waves a tiny bit. I point towards the side door and hope he knows to meet me.

I unlock the door and let him in. He's soaking wet and shivering a little bit. I smile at him, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please," he says closing the door and locking it, "What are you doing here so late?"