Always next to you

Chapter Twenty-Eight

AIDEN

Life is full of twists and turns, but my life as Aiden Stark is a dangerous roller coaster—the kind you find in horror movies that suffocate you slowly till your face turns blue from exhaustion.

My mind considered this every minute of the day as I made my way to Nicole's apartment. After Jonas came to my office to tell me everything Oliver said, the pieces were finally coming together.

However, the situation made me think of Nicole's safety. If another family war started, no one around me would be safe. Thanks to the news articles, Nicole was already exposed, so I rushed to her side.

Nothing prepared me for the sight I saw in her apartment. Not only did her apartment look like she got robbed, my cousin Halo was hugging her.

What was he doing here? I haven't seen him since Jessi's birthday last year. He left home after Jessi did and completely disappeared. The only time we saw him was on Jessi's birthday.

Jessi would never forgive you if you ignored her on her birthday. Even when we fought all the time, Halo and I had to pretend we liked each other on Jessi's birthdays. She demanded nothing but Queen treatment.

Safe to say, Halo is my long-time rival. Our family would have given him the company if he wasn't such a rebel. Halo glared at me as I held on to the collar of his hoodie.

Nicole wasn't the type to let anyone in her apartment. Where did they meet? Was he really the guy I saw with her at the cafe?

"Are you going to let go?" Halo asked.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and let him go. Before I found out he was Halo, I assumed he was the one that hurt Nicole. Her computers were smashed and her face was swollen. She had been crying.

This was supposed to be a safe building. Who did this to her?

Halo rushed to Nicole's side and checked her body.

"Noir, are you hurt anywhere?" He asked.

Noir? Who the fuck was that? Do they have nicknames for each other now?

"I'm fine," she replied with a forced smile on her face. "You didn't have to bother-"

Nicole passed out and Halo caught her in time before her body hit the ground. My eyes saw red as I rushed toward them.

"What did you do to her?!" I yelled. "Nicole, can you hear me?"

Halo ignored me and carried her to her bedroom. I followed him and saw that there were clothes everywhere. Halo tried to avoid them but failed.

I helped him push the clothes to one corner so he could put her in the bed safely. As I pushed the pile, I noticed the clothes were greasy. What the hell happened here?

Pushing the thoughts aside. I rushed to her bathroom to get a bowl of water and a towel. If she passed out, she would wake up soon. I hated Halo, but he was good with stuff like this.

We barely talked to each other, but we both knew what to do.

"Nicole, please wake up," I said as I placed the wet towel on her head.

She opened her eyes and I could see the sea of sadness behind them. This was the first time I noticed this about her. Nicole looked hurt and broken.

It made me even more curious about what happened. I was happy she was awake, and she tried to smile for me even though she was so weak. It hurt me to see her this way.

"I'm sorry," she croaked out.

Her voice cracked as she talked. With every word, you could feel her exhaustion. I could tell she had been crying for a lot longer than just tidy. Was this because of me?