Nicole

Chapter: 07

After they had talked, Christopher excused himself, saying he had a meeting to attend. Nicole stood up and made her way up the stairs. As she entered the hallway, she saw Axel come out of his room. They both stopped and looked at each other. Then, Axel sighed and walked past her, down the stairs.

Nicole's hand went up to the pendant at her throat. It was an A lacing with an N, dangling at the edge of a golden chain. She always wore it, not knowing what it meant. Touching it, she realized it was another thing she wanted to ask her mother but forgot about it. Her eyes watered with tears but she blinked them away, walking to her room. She put her hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it but then she heard a voice.

"Nicole?" It was a young and innocent voice. Nicole turned around to see Nathan, standing at the door of his room, looking at her. "Can-can I talk to you?"

"Right now?" Nicole asked, biting her lip. After that long talk with her father, she wanted to be alone with her thoughts and emotions to figure everything out.

"Well, I—" he started but then stopped himself, seeming to think better of it. "No, it can wait."

He started to close the door but then, Nicole said, "Nathan," he looked at her. "I can talk."

She had only just met everyone and she didn't want to push them away. This was the family she had longed for and treating them like that wouldn't be fair.

Nathan grinned and moved to give her way into his room. Nicole walked in and he shut the door behind her.

Nathan's room was so far the most incredible thing she had seen. The walls were painted green and on them were posters of the movies that were based on books. Nicole recognized a few of them like Harry Potter, The Maze Runner, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and The Mortal Instruments. There were some other similar ones but Nicole didn't recognize them. His bedcover was bright green, like his eyes. There was a bookshelf against the wall which was filled with books. Nicole didn't think there was a space for another book but Nathan had put books on top of the layers they were making. There were books on his nightstand, his desk, and even his bed.

"You're a reader?" Nicole asked, gazing around the room in amazement.

"Yep," he said with pride in his young voice.

"Wow," Nicole said genuinely. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, about that," Nathan walked forward and sat down at the foot of his bed. "Axel thinks you're not trustworthy. The email you sent... he thinks that either that wasn't you or you were lying."

Nicole blinked, "No, it was- it was me and why would I lie?"

"I don't know. And I don't think you were lying either I just..." He sighed.

"Look, Nathan, it's me. I'm your sister. I would understand if neither of you remembered me because I don't remember any of you either. I would understand if you didn't believe me—"

"Nicole, I do believe you. I mean, Axel says you may be lying but he doesn't realize the resemblance between you and him. You've got the same blue eyes as him. And the way Dad said you look like your mother—"

"Our mother, Nathan," Nicole told him. "She was our mother."

"Was?" Nathan asked in confusion. Nicole sighed and bit her lip. She didn't want to have that whole conversation again. She was already having a hard time dealing with her emotions. "It's okay," Nathan said, looking at her intently as if he had read her thoughts. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

She smiled at him, "I don't know what I was expecting, Nathan. But I wasn't expecting someone like you."

Nathan was amused, "Was that a compliment or...?" Nicole chuckled.

"Don't worry. It was a compliment," he grinned and she returned it the same way.

~~~

Nicole spent the rest of the day in her room, wandering over her thoughts and the answers that she had recently gotten. Her head was spinning and she felt tired. More tired than she had ever been.

She missed her mother. She wanted her desperately by her side. She wanted her to comfort her and explain to her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. The more Nicole thought of her, the more her heart ached for her.

She wouldn't have come out of her room at all if her father hadn't knocked at her door and asked her to come down for dinner. Even though she wanted to be left alone, it had been a while since she had a good meal. Ever since her mother's death, she had been living on painkillers and coffee. There was a bitter taste in her mouth because of the painkillers.

Nicole took a shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a sleeveless top. Her dark brown hair was damp, reaching her forearm. She looked at herself in the mirror and was surprised when she saw her reflection. Her skin was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked weak.

Nicole didn't realize how the lack of food had affected her body. Her muscles ached and her head was throbbing. But she shook her head, pushing those thoughts away, and grabbed the concealer to cover up her dark circles.

After that, she made her way downstairs and into the dining area. It was only a yard away from the living room, separated by nothing. There was a glass table and six chairs. She saw her father sitting at the head of the table, Nathan and Axel at the right, Isabelle on the left, and the seat next to her empty. Nicole sat down on the spot, looking at everyone.

Nathan was grinning at her, Isabelle had a small smile, her father was looking at her intently, and Axel had an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'm glad you joined us for dinner," her father said.

Nicole looked at the food and her mouth watered. There was spaghetti, garlic bread sliced on a tray, salad, and a few sauces. She took her plate and put the spaghetti, careful to not add too much. She grabbed her fork and took the first bite. It tasted amazing although Nicole was careful to not show it on her face. She didn't know why but she didn't want to show any signs of emotion around Axel.

"Do you like it?" She heard Isabelle's delicate voice ask carefully. She turned to her and nodded.

"I love it," she mumbled low enough so Axel wouldn't hear her. Isabelle grinned.

"I made it," she said, surprising Nicole.

"You did?" she nodded. "It's amazing." Isabelle smiled and returned to her food. Nicole was suddenly struck by how beautiful she was. Her hair was straight, sleek and so dark that it appeared black. It hung around the frame of her face, outlining her features, making her eyes look greener, her nose smaller, and her cheekbones more prominent.

"I checked your grades, Nicole," Christopher said and she diverted her attention to him. "I was surprised to see all As and A-pluses." At that, Nathan and Isabelle both turned to her with surprised expressions, while Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, uh... I didn't have any distractions," Nicole answered, and Christopher furrowed his eyebrows, nodding slowly.

They are the rest of the dinner in silence although it wasn't awkward unless Nicole and Axel's gazes met. Once they all were done, Axel stood up and muttered, "I need to talk to you," to his father and they both left the dining area.