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(A/N): I sincerely apologize for ditching this book, I've got about four more in the works. They will not be published until they are proofread and corrected! I hope you enjoy Near's chapter! There's also a surprise plot twist!!
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Learning to love is hard, especially after being led down that road the hard way. I became an orphan at Wammy's after the abuse I went through at my old home. My mom prayed for us to have a safer home from my father who was a horrible alcoholic, someone who would be very violent after one too many drinks. So she left me in the hands of the Wammy house caretakers, only to find out my dad killed her in an argument a few nights after I was left here. After that, he began to be on the lookout for me, so I did what I could and hid.
I was the outcast of the group at Wammy's. I stayed to myself and barely spoke, but there was an exception: Nate River. Near. One of the few young boys who began to care for me after knowing why I was put in the orphanage. My mother did what to she had to do to protect me. I know she loved me, I mean, she sacrificed her safety for mine, and to her, I will be forever grateful to the angel who is always sitting on my shoulders. My beloved eomma.
Being a young Asian-American girl in a prestigious orphanage was hard. Everyone envied me because of how naturally intelligent I was. I was always at the top five of the class in Wammy's, alongside Near, Mello, and Matt, of course. Those three were my support on my worst days, but there was one who stuck beside me through everything, thick and thin: Near. I remember the day he first confessed to me like it was just yesterday...
~Flashback~
It was just like every stormy night when I had a nightmare. That nightmare. I woke in a pool of sweat, tears streaming down my face, my eyes red, puffy, and irritated, and my hair a chaotic mess as I snuck out of my room and climbed up the stairs, silently thanking God that my roommate, Millie, didn't hear me leave the room before following the long corridor, to the last door on the left. Near's room.
I sighed, knocking softly before opening the door and seeing Near curled up in the bed with a book in hand. He looks up, instantly marking his page, setting his book down and rushing to me upon seeing me in a such disheveled state, pulling me gently into his arms, on his bed, rubbing my back in soothing circles and combing his fingers through my hair, calming me down instantly, hearing my silent sobs turn into soft sniffles.
"(Y/N)? Was it the same nightmare?" Near's soft voice spoke, echoing in my mind. "Y-yes. It's been haunting me for weeks now. W-what if h-he f-finds me and tr-tries to kill me like he did with my e-eomma?" I stuttered, full-on sobbing at this point as Near calmed me down with one simple sentence, "He will never find you here, not on mine or Roger's watch. I love you, (Y/N). I always have. Ever since I first saw you, you made my heart feel things I never thought I could feel. You contradicted those theories I had of never feeling love, but with you, I do."
