Golden Slumbers - The Beatles
Nicole had woken in the middle of the morning, feeling overwhelmingly hot. Grasping for the hoodie, she quickly realised that she had forgotten to take off her double t-shirt layer before going to sleep. After removing the extra items of clothing, it was clear that Nicole's eyes weren't to shut again anytime soon. She cocked her head to the side to take a look at Nathan, who was fast asleep and breathing steadily. His hair had grown longer, so now full curls rested flat against his forehead. She took a lock into her fingers, twirling it slowly. Nicole couldn't remember when his brief insomnia had subsided; the more she thought about it, she realised that she had been the first to fall asleep for the past couple weeks. She couldn't remember the last time she watched him sleep.
She let out a scratchy cough; the heat had parched her throat. She took one last gaze at Nathan before swinging herself out of bed. She needed water.
Anthony was also wide awake. He hadn't slept at all. All he could do was think about how much pain he had caused his siblings unintentionally for years, especially his sister. All he wanted was for them to be together again, but he hadn't realised that he had assumed wrong about what had happened between them and their father. That assumption had caused so much damage to their family; Anthony was praying it was reversible.
He had been listing through ways to apologise when Nicole flicked the living room light on. She immediately saw Marcus sprawled out on one half of the sofa, snoring softly. She saw Anthony a few seconds later, sat up on the other half of the sofa, his eyes fixed on her.
'Hey,' Anthony wasn't sure whether to smile or not; he flashed her a small smile for good measure.
'Hey,' she replied softly. Nicole turned back and reached for the cabinet, taking a glass before pouring herself a cold pint of water.
'Couldn't sleep?'
'No, I needed water,' She took a large sip, letting out a cough to allow her throat to settle. 'Lex kick you out?'
'Yeah, she's really mad at me. I don't blame her.' Nicole stood at the sink, sipping on her water as she watched her brother think. He didn't know which apology to go for, so he kind of improvised. 'Nic, I'm really sorry, if I'd known, I wouldn't've been such a dick.'
Nicole looked down for a moment. 'I know, Ant, I know,' She walked over to him before taking a place on the sofa beside him. 'I should've told you back when it happened. I just...you know I don't talk about these things.' A few moments of silence went by, Nicole's fingers wiping the condensation from the glass. 'I told Nath about Mum last night. I've never actually talked about her death before that.'
'God,' Anthony sighed deeply. 'I didn't realise you were still dealing with that.'
'Grieving's not a one time thing, Ant.' Nicole stared at her glass of water. 'Everything changed after she died. The small things upset me, like photos and lemon carlota. I still can't get through Golden Slumbers without crying.'
'I'm so sorry Nic.'
'It is what it is,' she told him, flashing him a small smile. 'Hey, neither of us have yelled yet. That's progress, right? I mean, when was the last time we sat in a room together and didn't start shouting at each other?'
Anthony shook his head, sighing. 'Way too long ago, Nic.'
~
Anthony had planned to get back to Milton Keynes by two in the afternoon the following day. He had an appointment booked with a client at the office, an important client, so it was vital that they got back in time. Lexi was the first to awaken at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. She walked into the living room, trying to keep her yawns quiet, and found Anthony and Nicole lying on the sofa, fast asleep. She had never seen the two in a quiet rom together. Lexi had caught Nathan's eye at breakfast as the siblings laughed over old memories. They flashed each other wide smiles.
After breakfast, Nicole and Marcus went to pull the car up front and Anthony went to pack up his stuff. Nathan and Lexi were left to clean up the dishes. Lexi had argued to let Nathan let her do the dishes, though he had refused. So Lexi was stood at the side, chatting to Nathan who rinsed off plates to place them in the dishwasher.
'He likes you,' Lexi told him, hoisting herself up onto the kitchen counter. 'Not because of your enchiladas or your high earning job, but because of the way you handled last night. You didn't chat shit, you stuck to facts. You're smart, chico.'
'It wasn't my place to talk,' Nathan was relieved to hear that he hadn't been seen as a pushover. 'I didn't know much about Nicole's childhood until last night, and even still, I only know the basic outline; abusive father, dead mother.'
Lexi's smile withered. She knew Nicole had never truly recovered from her late teens, and she knew she was a long way from it.
'Hey,' Lexi rested her hand on Nathan's shoulder. He looked back at her, his hands still under the running tap. 'Listen, Nic's gonna hate me for saying this, but she isn't not telling you about her past because she doesn't want to, it's cause she can't deal with talking about it. She's never told anyone, even we don't know the full story.'
Somehow, Nathan's confusion was growing as he gained a greater insight into Nicole's past. He reached over to switch the tap off, turning around so he could face Lexi as she spoke.
'She'll speak when she's ready,' Lexi continued. 'Until then, chico, be patient, be loving, be understanding. Nic's life isn't normal, and it will be a pain sometimes, but the craziness around her is what makes her so great.'
Nathan couldn't agree more.
'Lex,' He leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms. 'If you don't mind me asking, why did you go off on Anthony last night?'
'Cause he's never been understanding about Nic. He's always jumped to conclusions about her. I hope last night got to him, he needs to change.'
As the Newmans pulled away, Nathan and Nicole stood in the doorway waving. Nathan watched the car turn down the street before reaching for Nicole's hand, using his other to tilt her head up.
'You okay?' The hood of Nathan's hoodie came up way too big on Nicole's head, it practically hung over half her face. Her long locks had been tucked down the back of the hoodie unevenly, so some strands of hair were falling out. Her face was still blotchy.
'I'm okay.'
Nathan tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, moving his fingers to stroke her cheek slowly. 'Nic, I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but, I know there's so much more to you than you let on. It's okay if you want to forget, but it's also okay to hurt. You're going to feel shitty sometimes, that's life, I just need you to know that you can come to me with anything. Even if you don't want to talk, I'm here.'
Tears were teasing Nicole's eyes, she was so overwhelmed. She simply rested her hands on his shoulders and reached for his lips. 'Is that everything you want to say?'
Nathan chuckled, moving his hands to his girlfriend's waist. 'I think so.'
