F*ckin' Perfect

Chapter 19: Skeletons in the Bedroom

Nic's POV

 I drove Natalie and myself home from the warehouse, the ride quiet, yet it felt right. Natalie's hand was in mine the entire time, gripping it tightly. I felt emotionally stable after the weekend of unrest and all I wanted to do now was curl up beside my cupcake and fall asleep for as long as my body would allow. Before we left, I managed to thank Layla for bringing Natalie to the warehouse and ignoring my stupid demands.

"Any day," was her response, which made me smile and punch my best friend's arm. Everything around me now felt lighter with Natalie back at my side, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of my head about this deal with Madelyn. As soon as we got in the car, I knew I would have to tell Natalie about the deal, and I didn't like it one bit. However, I would just have to pull my shit together and be a woman about it.

"So what do you want for lunch? I didn't get to have any since I was worrying about your ass and I know for a fact you haven't eaten, plus Mom's probably home so she could make us something," my girlfriend suggested, making me smile at her.

"You know I will eat literally anything. I was that kid in elementary school that would eat anything if it was presented as a dare. Went to the nurse's office at least once a week for eating something I shouldn't have." She chuckled lightly, music to my ears as I pulled into the driveway of her house.

"I can see that. I was the kid that would run away from boys chasing me with worms." I smirked, leaning over to her for a brief moment.

"I was the kid that chased girls with worms, then ate it when one of the boys dared me to." She scrunched up her face, which I took the moment to steal a kiss before climbing out of the car.

"Ew, gross." I chuckled and nodded as I took her hand.

"Yeah, I know. Just so you know, worms are no longer on my menu." She laughed, gripping my hand tightly.

"That's good, because I would not be able to kiss you anymore if they were."

"We can't have that, now can we?" She shook her head, pursing her lips a bit as we walked in the door, only to be met with the stern face of a mother. We went silent, waiting for the lecturing to begin.

"Why aren't you two at school?" Natalie went to answer, but I interjected, not wanting her to get in trouble over me.

"It's my fault, Mrs. Sharp. I needed someone to knock some sense into me." I gave Natalie a thankful smile, which she returned before her mom smiled widely.

"Good, otherwise I'd have to ground Natalie, and no one wants that. Now, you girls want some cookies and sandwiches?" At the offer of food, I was instantly nodding my head while my girlfriend chuckled.

"We'll be in my room," Cupcake mentioned, which her mother just nodded at, before dragging me down the hall to her room.

"Can we sleep after we eat?" She nodded at the notion I presented and I noticed the dark circles under her eyes, making me feel guilty.

"And after you answer all my questions," she demanded, which I sighed at but nodded.

"Okay, that's only fair." I gave her a small smile as we sat on her fluffy bed. It was seconds before her mom walked in, two plates in hand; one of which had four sandwiches and the other covered in cookies. We thanked her, which she just smiled at and nodded, then left us in the room with the door shut. It didn't take long for us to devour the sandwiches since I hadn't eaten since Sunday morning. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, which Phil scolded me about, but didn't force anything into me.