Nina

“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.” Niki runs around the front room like she’s lost her ever-loving mind.

“You okay?” I plop down on a bar stool in the kitchen.

“I can’t find my keys.” She’s lifting up papers, looking under canisters.

“Niki.” I try to get her attention.

“They gotta be here somewhere.” She takes her purse and is about to empty the contents.

“I have them,” I say loudly.

“What?”

“I’ve had your car since last weekend. Remember?” I hold out the keys for her.

“Dammit!” She yanks them from my hand. “I’m fucking losing it, Nina.”

“What can I do?” I get up and go around the kitchen island.

Coffee always helps.

Reaching into the cabinet, I grab one of her mugs.

“Get your greedy paws off my mug.” Niki comes over to smack my hands.

I jerk away, protecting myself and the mug. “It’s for you, you coffee whore.” I hold up the mug and point to the saying on the front and grin like a Cheshire cat.

“Well in that case, carry on.” She runs to the back to do God knows what.

Leaning against the counter, I break out my phone to text Kyle.

Me: I miss you already.

Kyle: Me too. Have you guys left yet?

Me: Getting ready to.

Me: You miss you already?

Kyle: Funny. I do miss the me I am when I’m with you.

Me: Good answer.

Kyle: I thought so.

Me: Well, have a great day.

Kyle: See you in a few hours.

Me: xoxo

It’s been almost a week since I found out the whole truth about his family. As hard as it was for me to hear, it was harder for him to tell it.

I made a promise to him, that I would be there, that I would stand by him and help him move forward, and I meant it.

If I thought he was truly in love with Tristan I would have backed out of going, but after following him to his cabin I realized it wasn’t about Tristan, or even Trinity. It was the sudden loss of his dad all those years ago.

“I hope you’re ready because if we don’t leave now, we are going to be late.”

“Me. Sitting. Ready.” I hold out her coffee for her. She grabs it and downs half of it. “You’re welcome?”

“I swear there’s drugs in this shit.” Niki walks over to the Keurig to make a cup to go.

“It’s called caffeine.”

“It’s called get in my belly now.” She adds a little creamer to the cup while it’s brewing. Always in a hurry. “Oh hey! I totally forgot.”

She reaches across the island and grabs her purse. “I tried to get this fixed…” She rifles through her purse. “Here it is!”

She pulls out a cell phone with a cracked screen.

Please. Don’t let it be.

“Where did you get this?” I grab the phone and try to power it up.

Dead.

“It was on your bed.”

Shit!

I forgot I dumped out my bag when I was gathering up things to take to the new house.

“Did you turn it on?” I ask. Closing my eyes, I chant a little prayer.

Please be dead.

Please be dead.

Please be dead.

“Oh my God, Nina.” She sighs with exasperation as she puts the final touches in her coffee. “It was on your bed. I couldn’t find mine. I thought that,” she points to my phone then waves her phone in my face, “was this. I wasn’t snooping.”

“Niki,” I say very calmly. “I didn’t say you were, but I need to know, did you turn it on?”

“Of course I did. I thought it was mine.” She bends over to slip on one heel and then the other. “We have to get going.”

“How long was it on? Did you see—”

“Okay so maybe I read some of the messages, but only from the notifications.”

“Fuck the text messages.” I’m really starting to freak out. “How long was it on?”

“Nina, it’s okay. Gavin didn’t see them either. I saw it. Thought it was mine. It wasn’t and eventually it died.” She holds the door open for me to leave. “End of…”

I can’t breathe. My vision is blurred. What if?

“Nina?” Niki is by my side. “You’re white as a ghost.” She’s rubbing my back and saying something, but I can’t make it out.

Brandon.

“Niki.” Eyes wide, I turn to face her. “He’s going to find me.”

“Who?”

“He used to track me all the time.” I fight back the memories. I can’t fall backwards. I won’t.

“Oh shit!” She takes the phone from my hands. “Okay. Okay. Let’s think about this.” She begins pacing. “I turned it on last Thursday, you know, the day you took overnight clothes to the new house. When it turned on it pinged like a million times with messages from Brandon, but they were all apologies. It died Saturday, or at least that is when I noticed it.”

“Niki—”

“I don’t think he’s coming for you. In one of the texts he wished you well at school.”

“Do you really think that? Because—”

“I do. He knows what town I live in. He knows you have no one else. We would be the first place he looked and he hasn’t.”

I want to believe her, I really do. Everything she is saying is fact, but I still can’t help the uneasiness that is setting in.

“Listen, if you have the slightest doubt, we are heading up to the police station right now. Fuck court.”

“Oh shit! Court!”

I grab my purse and phone and head toward the door.

“Nina?” Niki stops me. “I love you and seeing you like this is killing me. After court, we are going to the police station and filing a report. Just to be on the safe side. For peace of mind.”

“Okay.”

“Now that we closed this door, let’s go slam mine shut.”

She’s right. In order to open one door, you have to shut the other. I think it’s about time I said my goodbyes.

As soon as we park, we take off running for the door. “Come on, we can’t be late!” Niki hollers back at me.

“Hello?” I point to the bottom of my sundress. It may be smack dab in the middle of summer, but running across the parking lot is causing a bit of wardrobe malfunction.

“What?” She turns, running backward. “Oh!” She nods and pivots back around.

I swear that woman is lying about the amount of cardio she does. There is no way someone can book it as fast as she can, wearing those things she has on her feet. No. Freakin’. Way.

“Almost there!” she shouts, taking two steps at a time.

“Hell no!” I stop dead in my tracks and take the stairs like a normal human being.

“Hurry.” She waves me on.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

Hands on knees, I take a quick break before I take the stairs one at a time. I catch up to Niki in the security line.

“Purse, cell phones and all metal objects over here.” The deputy doesn’t even look up as he directs traffic.

Niki steps through first and causes the alarm to go off.

“It’s probably these.” Niki points to diamond studs that adorn each ear.

“Please step through and to your right.” The deputy directs her to the person who is working the wand so she can be scanned from head to toe.

I step through without a problem, but when I head toward Niki, I see the deputy scanning her nether regions and Niki with her hands on her hips, looking bored.

“I’m telling you, it’s a piercing.” She seems irritated. “Google it.”

“Miss, I’m going to have to call this in.” He tilts his head to the side and radios someone.

“Niki!” I whisper loudly. “You have a piercing?”

“Yes!” she whispers back. “Why are we whispering about it?”

“Because it’s down there.” I point my finger toward her hoo-ha.

“Nina, I really have failed you as a sister. Like seriously.”

“Miss,” the deputy interrupts. “You’ve been cleared.”

“Why, thank you, Deputy,” Niki replies as she begins to take off toward the stairs.

“Are we going to talk about this?” I chase after her.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“What made you do it? Is Gavin—”

“Oh, hell no! Gavin is a fucking beast in the sack.” Niki turns around to scold me for even suggesting otherwise.

“Miss Niki! Miss Niki!” A little boy comes running up. “I thought it was you.”

Niki swings around. “Tucker!” She beams at the sight of him. “How have you been, buddy? Enjoying your summer?”

“Miss Niki! I’ve spent the summer with my dad! Can you believe that?”

At the mention of Tucker’s dad, Niki goes pale.

“Tucker, buddy, I need you to stay with me.” A man with the most gorgeous steely blue eyes comes running down the stairs. “Niki.”

“Aiden.” Niki straightens her back. “I heard you have been having an eventful summer.”

“It’s been an adjustment.” He nods. “Listen,” he looks between the two of us. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Niki?” I reach out to touch her.

I don’t know much about last summer, but what I do know isn’t good. I tried to do some digging, but apparently Aiden Alexander has enough money to keep things out of the press.

“I’m fine.” She pats my hand. “Aiden, whatever you need to say to me, you can say in front of my sister.”

“Okay, just give me a second,” he says, reaching into a backpack and pulling out a coloring book and crayons.

“Niki, are you sure you want to talk to him? I can faint on demand. Call security. Pretend I’m going into labor.” I puff out my stomach, rubbing it for effect. “Things would be so much easier if Gavin was here.”

“Okay, don’t do that again. No kids until after marriage.” She squints at me. “How about no sex until after marriage, too. As for Gavin? He’s just running a little late. There is no way he would miss this.”

“Alright. I think that should keep him busy for a couple minutes.” Aiden has returned.

“What’s up?” Niki takes a step back, noticeably distancing herself.

“I wanted to apologize. For everything.” He looks between us again. “For not telling you that I was married. For slapping you. For what Carmen did.”

“That ship has sailed, Aiden. It’s too late.”

“I’m in therapy now. I wanted to make sure what I did to you didn’t happen to anyone else.” He takes a step, lowering his voice. “I didn’t mean to do it, but I was just so damn afraid of losing you, that I ended up losing control in the process.”

“Aiden, I accept your apology, but I don’t want you to think that if you wouldn’t have raised a hand to me, that things would have worked out. I was in love with my best friend and eventually, that would have become an issue.” She takes a step forward this time. Her confession gives her the closure she has needed.

“Thank you.” His smile is forced.

“I can tell you love Tucker, and that is enough for me. You stepping up and taking charge speaks volumes.”

“Niki, he is the greatest thing. I hate that they hid him from me all this time.” He shakes his head. “I’ve missed out on so much.”

“Aiden, we need you in here.” A younger man comes walking up, probably one of his attorneys.

“I’m coming.”

He reaches out his hand to Niki and she takes it. “You changed my life. Made me see that there is more out there. Thank you.”

“Goodbye, Aiden.” Niki gives his hand a shake before she pulls it free. “Let’s Judge Judy this thing.” She laughs.

“Yes, let’s do it.”

Seeing Niki talk to Aiden makes me realize that sometimes in order to move on from the past you have to face it. Running away is a fix, but not a solution.

Goodbye, Brandon.