These Different Times (Nick Clark FF)

47.

Once we were sure that Luciana was being taken care of and were confident that they weren't going to murder her when we left, Nick and I returned back to our bunkhouse with Alicia, seeing that Maddie still hadn't come back. 

"Will she be okay?" I asked, looking at the two siblings, "Your mom?" 

Nick shrugged, "I don't know. She's not the most open person so she's not going to let us know, is she?" 

That was true. Madison Clark is a closed book. 

Alicia didn't look up from the table but she did speak, "Is Luciana okay?"

"They're treating her," Nick said. 

"Yeah but they've handcuffed her," I muttered, toying with a piece of string on my jeans. 

She finally looked up, "Are you serious?" 

"It's just a precaution," Nick shook his head, "One which will be unnecessary. She's going to be fine."

"We know," I whispered, kissing his cheek and we looked up when the door opened, their mom slipping in before making sure that she closed it behind her. 

Our eyes followed her as she moved over to sit on one of the bottom bunks and I gave Nick a small shove for him to go and sit by her, give her comfort of some sort. 

Both him and Alicia did just that, they moved to sit closer to her, one at the bottom of the bed and the other sitting across from the blonde, who gave them a weak smile and took a drag from her cigarette. "I'm okay," she said, nodding as if to try and prove her point, "I'm okay." 

I sat quietly, only looking up when I heard her say my name and she was beckoning me over, which I wordlessly did, perching on the bed beside Alicia. 

"You asked me if I had a plan, Nick." Maddie said quietly and he shook his head. 

"Mom, no. Don't. That was before. You do-"

"It was the right question," she interrupted, looking as if she was bracing herself for the reaction of whatever else she was about to say, "We're going to stay here." 

"What?" 

"We're going to make it our home," she told us, "Even if we have to take it over." 

Nick, who was holding her hand, let go and looked at the two of us. 

"Mom," Alicia said quietly, "That's insane." 

"No it's not. It's our fate. We suffered getting here. Travis died getting here." 

I looked down at my hands again as she continued.

"We need to accept it. Need to be stronger. Now," she gazed at Alicia, "Tell me how it happened. I want to know everything." 

**

"Taylor. Tay, come on. Wake up, babe." 

I let out a grunt before cracking open an eye; seeing Nick hovering over me and after looking out the window to confirm that it was indeed still dark outside, I buried my face back into the pillow and groaned, "What?" 

"Come on," he whispered, making sure to keep quiet for the sake of his mom and Alicia who were, much to my annoyance, still in a deep sleep, "Wake up for me, Beautiful."

"Nick," I huffed, turning back so I was on my back again, "What? It better be a good reason or I swear..." 

"Get up," he instructed, "We're going to watch the sunrise." 

"What?" I gaped, "Nick, you're being ridiculous and my ankle hur-" 

"I'll give you a piggyback," he whispered, leaning down to brush his lips against mine, "Please, Tay." 

Sighing, I nodded, watching him get up from the bed to grab a shirt and his pants and when he crouched down in front of the bed, I couldn't help but smile. 

"Hop on." 

I slowly stood up, wrapping my arms around his neck before doing the same with my legs. My head nestled into his neck as he started walking towards the door and I found it hard not to fall back asleep with the rocking motions of his body. 

As if reading my mind, I heard Nick speak up, "You better not fall asleep." 

"I won't," I promised, kissing his neck softly, "'m just resting my eyes." 

"Lies." 

Giggling to myself, I closed my eyes once more and the two of us walked in silence until Nick came to a stop and looking up, I saw he brought us to a tree that had the perfect view of the rolling hills surrounding the ranch. 

"Here we go," he hummed, crouching down again to let me get off his back and he sat down heavily beside me, lifting his arm so I could cuddle up to his side, "Shouldn't be too long." 

We sat quietly for a few minutes until I looked up, resting my chin on his shoulder, "What's this really about Nick? You didn't just come out here to watch the sun come up." 

"We're going to leave." was all he said, "As soon as Lucianna is well enough. Me, you and her are going. Alicia too." 

"And your mom, right?" 

His eyes flickered down to mine and he let out a sigh, "I don't know if she'll come with us." 

"We can't leave her, Nick." I whispered, "Alicia would never go for it. And I wouldn't feel comfortable with leaving her either." 

"We can't stay here," he argued, "I refuse. Refuse to sit here and live with the people who tried to kill us." 

"I know it's not ideal," I said, kissing his shoulder, "But maybe, just maybe, this is the safest place for us right now. It's better than being out there, right? Not knowing where we're going or how we're going to get there. But at least in here, we're safe. You have your family back! And that's amazing." 

"And I have you," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine and I felt a grin creeping onto my features. 

"You have me," I agreed, granting him a kiss, "So...can you give this place a chance? For me?" 

"I'd do anything for you. You know that." 

I nodded kissing him again, "Then do this for me." 

He sighed and nodded, "Okay. For you."