Secrets: The Blood and the Chains (Editing in Progress)

Chapter 21

"I'm gonna be an uncle!" he says excitedly. I chuckle a bit.

I wake up to someone shaking me. I groan and hug Shawn. She snaps in my face and I open one eye.

"What?" I grumble, my voice husky from sleep and exhaustion. 

"Siva, I think someone is trying to get in the dorm," she whisper yells in my face. I hear the sound of the door nob jiggling and someone trying to jimmy it. I quickly get up and walk over to the door. I grab the wooden bat from the big basket thingy with various umbrellas and what not in it. I look through the peek hole and see a guy with a hoodie on. I can't see their face. 

I hear the click of the door unlocking. I step back and the door swings open. The guys eyes go wide as I swing the bat and hit him in the head, knocking him out cold, before I can even see the guys face. I quickly turn on the light and go back to the guy. 

"Oh shit," I say when I realize it's Cole. He groans but otherwise does nothing. Then his hand flies out and grabs my ankle, yanking me off my feet and making me slam into the ground. "Dude, I think you gave me a butt concussion," I grumble as I roll to my other cheek as to not put pressure on my bruise. 

"I think you gave me a head concussion," Cole growls. Shawn gets up and comes over, offering a hand to him first. Strangely, I don't care at the moment that she didn't come to me--her mate--first. 

"Cole, are you okay?" she asks him. He nods as he gets up with her help. He comes over to me to helps me up. 

"Truce, man?" he asks. I nod quickly and rub my bruised cheek. 

"That really hurt. Maybe I am getting fat," I mumble.

"But if you were fat you'd have more cushioning and you wouldn't have a bruise," Cole says. I raise a brow. 

"That... is a very valid point. Anyway, what are you doing here? And haven't you heard of knocking, or the doorbell?" I ask. 

"Siva, Cole is my brother. I already told you, he comes here all the time," she says. I nod slowly in realization. 

"That makes more sense, but two questions. Again, the bell or knocking. And also, Shawn said you have a daughter," I say. 

"Okay, one, I was hoping I could come in quietly but I lost my key. And two, she's standing behind you. And dude, put some pants on," Cole replies. I turn and see an adorable little girl standing there with a pink back pack on her shoulders and a very tired look on her face. I grab some sweatpants from the ground and quickly put them on before I walk over to her. 

"Cole, what did you do to her? She looks so sad," I say, walking over to her. I hold my arms out to her as I crouch in front of her and she smiles and hugs me. I pick her up and walk over to the bed. I set her down and let her get comfy. She quickly falls asleep between the pillows. I smile at her and turn to her da. 

"I know, I feel bad. And I'm sorry for showing up at," he stops to check his watch, "two thirty in the morning."

"Whatever, but you're sleeping on the floor," Shawn says. He nods and walks over to the closet. He grabs a blanket and pillow and sets up on the ground. 

"Cole, do you want your daughter back?" I ask him. 

"She can sleep up there," he shrugs as he takes his shirt off and lays down. I shrug and move her closer to Shawn. I lay down on my back and the girl hugs my arm. I chuckle. 

"What's her name?" I ask. 

"Nicola," he replies. 

"That's a pretty name." 

"Thanks, her mom picked it out." I close my eyes, holding Shawn's hand but sadly I don't return to the good dream I was having before. I can't even remember it though, just that it was a cartoon of some sort....

I wake up to a cold hand, a little girl still latched onto my bicep, also using it as a pillow, a half empty bed, and the sound of someone throwing up. I squint my eyes, and realize Cole is trying to get me awake. 

"What?" I ask. 

"What's wrong with Shawn, she's puking her guts out," he asks with a worried expression. I blink, uncomprehendingly, then I realize whats going on. I slide my way out of Nicola's grip and hurry to the bathroom. 

I walk in and see Shawn hunched over by the toilet. I walk over and hold her messy hair for her as I rub her back. 

Eventually, she stops and closes the toilet seat, flushing it and sitting on top of it. I kneel in front of her and put my hands on her knees. 

"You okay?" I ask, looking into her green eyes with a worried look. She nods with watery eyes. "Why don't you go eat something. Maybe you just need something in your stomach," I offer. She nods again and stands up. After brushing her teeth and throwing away her tooth brush she walks out of the bathroom and we find Cole making food. 

He turns around with a plate in his hand and hands it to Shawn then he dishes out another one and hands it to me and does the same for Nicola and himself. 

"Thanks," I say before digging in. I chow down while watching Shawn. She barely touches it. I reach over and rub her back and give her a reassuring look. 

After we finish our food, we decide to clean up a bit since the room is super messy. Shawn and I fold up the bed so it's a couch then we pick up a bunch of the dirty clothes off the ground and shove them in a laundry basket. I decide to take the laundry down to the laundry room while everyone else keeps cleaning. I take the elevator down to the lobby and walk in the back down a hall way and enter the laundry room. Shawn had given me directions to get down here since I've never been before and I'm surprised I found it. 

The room is really big and luckily everyone gets their own washer, but we still have to pay some cash. I walk to the eighth row and to number 871 and open it. I dump the laundry in and fill it with soap and select the settings and start it. I leave the basket and go back up the elevator. 

I walk into the apartment and I almost fall over when Nicola latches onto my leg. I look down at the girl and she gives me a mischievous smirk. I smirk back at her and pick her up in my arms. 

"Hi Nicola, how are you?" I ask her. 

"I'm good, how are you?" she replies in a tiny voice.

"I'm great! Hey, do you want to go to the park?" I ask her. She smiles big and nods vigorously. "Okay, let's go get ready," I tell her as I set her back down. She runs over to Cole and yanks on his shirt. He smiles down at her and helps her get ready. I walk over to Shawn where she's at the sink washing the breakfast dishes. "Hey, we can do those when we get back. Let's go to the park," I tell her. She nods and goes to get ready.