Talking to strangers

Chapter 39: Unearthed

N POV

It had been a week since the big show down between Sasuke and I. To say I was feeling better was a bit of a stretch.

I was still in a ton of pain but my face didn't look like it was stung by a thousand bees anymore and I could walk around with out feeling like my lung was gonna burst.

So stable. I was stable.

Just like she promised, I was at Hinata's condo being pampered. I'm talking food, massages and just none stop care and attention. And as much as I loved and appreciated it I was starting to feel like a giant baby.

There was a huge weight of guilt sitting on my chest. She was always taking care of me, I mean even before we became this close, she picked my random drunk ass up from a bar and made sure I was taken care of.

And what have I done? Given her some pep talks? Taken her on a few dates? Call her pretty? There had to be more I could do then sit in her bed all day like a lazy sack of potatoes.

So while she was at work, I got my sore ass up and cleaned her condo. I did more cleaning than I think I'd ever done in my entire life. Not gonna lie I thought I was gonna pass out a few times, the whole bleach fumes and my already aching body did not make for a fun combo.

During my adventures as Mr clean, I discovered something that brought me back to that infamous night. A small box tucked under her bed. It was purple decorated with white lace trim.

It looked important and I tried to fight the inner voice in my head that told me to open it, but man was that guy convincing.

I told myself one little peak wouldn't hurt and boom the box was open.

So there I was crossed legged on the wooded floor staring at a picture on top of a bunch of various other items in the box.

It was of a young Hinata, and an even younger girl who looked too similar to her not to be her sister and that guy. The very same guy Lee had on his phone.

I close the box immediately.

I was right. I knew there was something more to what happened that night. When I asked Hinata about it she got so quiet and her eyes would look almost scared. Then it was excuses or she would say she'd talk to me about it another time.

I wanted to respect her privacy, but I couldn't get this out of my head and with our discussion about confronting our demons, I couldn't help but suspect this had to do with it.

And I was right.

This guy had to be a family member. He was connected to her dark past that she had been running from for years. I wanted to help her, just like she did me, but with so little information what could I do?

And more importantly was this okay?

I'm sure she had her reasons for not wanting to tell me about him. Yet a part of me felt like she was putting this on the back burner because she was too scared, that maybe she needed a little extra push.

After all she did agree to challenge this.

Then it hit me. Rock Lee. I had his number from the hang out at Sakura's that night. He said he wanted us to work out together one day and I agreed.

Hinata never went into great detail of her past. All I knew was her father was abusive and kicked her out at a young age. Maybe just a little info from this guy, could help me understand what exactly she was up against, so I could aid her through this process.

This time I was the one who was going to help her.

I reached into my pocket and dialed Rock Lee's number.