No Good Nick (Part 3)

Part 11

Special update for y'all! Was feeling very inspired with my writing this weekend and wanted to share the love lol. Please check out the author note before you read :)

**** Authors note: suggested past child abuse and PTSD. Read with caution, please! If this is going to be triggering please skip! *****

Nick ran outside, running as fast as her legs could carry her. The air around her was freezing, she could see her breath. The ground was wet from recent rainfall, but she didn't slow down. She had to get far away... far away from her nightmare. Far away from her fears. Far away from the thousands of thoughts speeding through her head. Far away from the responsibilities that were constantly being thrown on her.

Her legs felt like twigs ready to snap, and her mind was racing. Her chest hurt from her heart beating so fast because of all the adrenaline... but she hardly cared. She just had to escape. Run. Hide. Escape. Run. Hi-

"Hide. Escape. Run..." Nick muttered.

Suddenly, the long street and dim streetlamps gone...

She was back in the kitchen...

But it wasn't Liz's well-stocked kitchen...

It wasn't the beloved kitchen at Franzelli's...

It was the Harbaugh's kitchen. She froze, looking around her. She found herself still muttering those 3 words like a scared little kid.

"You're gonna get it you little-"

She heard Sam's voice slur at her mere seconds before her cheek exploded and she was on the floor.

"W-what did I do?! Sam what did I do?!!" she yelled up at him, grabbing her stinging cheek and trying to scoot away. He had struck her.

"Don't play coy with me, Nicole," he growled, and he kicked her in the stomach. She gasped, curling in on herself. "You know exactly what happened. You think you can waltz back in here after the stunt you pulled?!"

He kicked her in the stomach again, and she felt herself crumbling into a ball, trying desperately to protect herself from his painful blows.

"Sam!! Sam stop!! Please, stop!" Nick heard other kids' voices, and some more thuds and groans. He'd hit them too. They tried to save her.

Sam looked at her again, and Nick found herself crying. How long had she been doing that? She felt another blow land on her stomach and she groaned, curling in even tighter.

"Next time you back out of a mission kid, and come back here threatening to end our little...side business...you'll be hurting a lot more than a couple of bruises. I can promise that... and we'll make sure someone makes your dad's life miserable in prison. We know a guy on the inside. You wouldn't want your dear old papa to get hurt, would you? Then you might be stuck here... forever."

Nick shivered, she didn't want that. She had to protect her dad. She needed him. And she knew full well that Sam and Dorthy carried out on their threats. Missed meals were always common threats, and those were always dealt out swiftly.

"I-I understand! I won't... I won't back out again! I swear!" she yelled at Sam, and he grunted and stumbled away.

"None of you rats are gonna eat until Nick shows up with some cash! Ya' hear me!" Sam had roared, and all the kids had fearfully nodded their heads.

She laid against the cool kitchen floor... she could feel some cheerios digging into her palm but she hardly cared. She was in... in so much pain. She breathed in sharply, wondering if a rib had broken.

I want my dad...

She coughed out a sob.

"Nick... are you okay?" Tyler.

"Nick.. answer me!" But it wasn't Tyler's voice...

"Nick!!" Who was that? He sounded far away...

"I swear... NICK!" J-Jeremy?

She suddenly became aware that she was sitting on the sidewalk- wet from the rain. She was shivering and sitting in Jeremy's arms, curled up in a little ball. Her eyes were wet from tears, and she found herself gripping onto Jeremy, hands shaking.

"I.." she licked her lips. "W...what happened? Where... where..."

She made it that far before breaking down into tears.

Jeremy too was crying, and held his little sister close to him, wanting to do nothing but protect her.

"Come on Nick... let's go home. You're safe... it's okay."

Jeremey carried a sobbing Nick home. He took her into the living room, leaving her only for a moment to get her a blanket. Then he sat by her for the rest of the night, as she cried and faded in and out of sleep.

***

The next morning, Liz and Ed came down to have their early coffee and breakfast before rushing off to work. They were shocked to find Jeremey watching a sleeping Nick, looking as though he hadn't slept all night. They had all tip-toed into the kitchen, leaving Nick to sleep.

"Please don't tell me you're stalking her or something weird like that," Liz muttered, starting to make her coffee. 

"No... I...I.." Jeremey looked down at his fingers, and it was then that Liz noticed the bags and the red eyes from crying.

"Oh... sweetie what happened?"

***

Agh yeah, this was hard to write. If anyone was confused, Nick's having some PTSD flashbacks. If this is triggering y'all please skip.

On to a lighter note...

So I have some cool news that I've been looking forward to sharing! I'm going to be releasing original writing of mine soon! I'm not lying with y'all when I say I've been working on it for years, because I literally have been drafting the entire world, characters, plot, etc. for almost 4 years now. And I know that self-advertising is usually hated on but I'm just really excited about finally getting it out and putting out an original instead of fanfic! I'll let y'all know when it's out so you can check it out if you want :) I'd really appreciate it. It's going to be called The world we live in now.

I won't say any more about that for now lol. I'm planning on some more chapters for Nick, there are still some things I wanna do with her in upcoming chapters, and I have my other fanfic for her as well! Don't worry, this story is going to get lighter :)

Take care of yourselves/others :))