NINI
We meet Soph and Dia outside the bar, the two waiting for us with Darrel in their shadow. I greet them both with a hug, while Caden nods in Darrel's direction. We then all enter through the door together, Caden's hand placed protective on my waist.
The moment we're inside, people start coming to talk to him. They all cheer his name, congratulate him for the win or just ask him how he is. Caden stops and makes small talk with every one of them, introducing me to all in the process. Dia and Soph make themselves on their way to bring us some drinks, with Darrel obviously following them, so it's only me and Caden remaining.
I don't know any of the people Caden introduces me to. I mean, I recognize them of course. Most of them are still wearing their hockey hoodies with their names on their backs, and I know I have heard those names before. Cheered in the cafeteria, other people wearing their hoodies as fans...It's hard not to know them. However, this is the first time we actually talk to each other.
Every one of Caden's friends is surprised to see me here. And all of them act like they expected him to have someone else with him as a plus one. Involuntarily my mind wonders off to Tessa. It's clear she's the one they would find more fitting for Caden. Her fame and beauty, the way she always seems to be picture-perfect and ready for photos...Just the most fitting plus one for a captain.
Caden also must have noticed the way the guys look at me, since every time they give me a surprised or confused look, his hand rests tighter on my waist and he sneaks a glance in my direction. Every time our eyes meet, he looks at me like I put the stars in the sky. He looks at me like I am the one who was always supposed to be here with him as his plus one and like no one else matters. Once, as one guy even mentioned Tessa's name, Caden bent down to me and kissed me. And damn it felt good.
I'm meanwhile done with small talks. Too much. Not interesting. All just looking at me like I don't belong here. Caden's only friend who seemed to like me was James. And apparently Jacob, who spotted us in the crowd and is now making his way towards us.
"There he is! Congratulations, All-Star!", he says and as soon as he's close, he gives Caden one of those bro hugs. Caden lightens up a bit, making it clear the guy is actually his best friend and not just someone he has to do small talk with.
The moment they let go, Jacob looks at me and smirks: "Hey, Nini. A pleasure to see you here", he winks at me, then throws an explaining look in Caden's direction.
"It's nice to see you too, Jacob", I say, to which the guy smiles. He then goes with his hand through his overly golden blonde hair and points with his eyes to a table somewhere outside the dancing floor.
"That's our place", he says, and we both follow him towards the table. On the way, I spot Soph, Dia and Darrel who were just coming back from the bar and lift myself up on my toes to wave at them, for them to know where to go. They notice it and nod, making their way to us. As they arrive, Soph greets everyone and Dia waves a bit. I can see Jacob tense for a second, then swallowing the nothing in his throat and acting like nothing happened. No one else seemed to notice it, not even Caden, so I just let it go and sorted the memory as Probably important but I don't understand it in my mind.
The moment we're all sitting down on the couches, Dia covers her ears with her black headphones, that match the black pleated skirt she's wearing. Her sweater is blue, since I've made the two girls wear the hockey team's color for today. Her Converse are the same color.
"So, you girls went to one of my man's games?" Jacob asks, to get a conversation going. I nod and Soph does it too, only she also answers: "Yes, we did. And I must say it was such a lovely experience. We're really glad we were able to come."
Okay, so my bestie already activated her let's be diplomatic mode.
"We really liked it", I say, to help her out. "It was my first hockey game ever and I didn't know it could be so cool."
"It was the best game I had in a while", Caden, who is sitting next to me, one of his arms around my shoulders, whispers in my ear. I look up at him to meet his eyes, and he continues: "You were in the public."
"I'll always be in the public, if that would make you happy", I whisper to him. He bends down and gives me a kiss on my lips. I can see Soph smiling at us and Jacob closing his eyes, faking being disgusted.
"Okay, wow. Going full in already", he says. Caden and I chuckle and let go of each other, yet he holds me a bit closer than before.
"You know me. I always like to enjoy the moment", Caden adds smirking. Jacob smirks brighter in return.
"I bet you do."
My cheeks turn red, which makes Soph chuckle and Caden kissing me once more.
"Anyway, now I finally have someone to share embarrassing Caden stories with", Jacob adds excited, his eyes looking amused at his best friend.
"No, Jacob, no..." Caden begins, panic growing in him. Soph and I enjoy the show, leaning with our backs deeper in the couch. The two continue.
"So, one time, Caden and I were in Sri Lanka", Jacob begins and I can't hide my surprise.
"What were you two doing in Sri Lanka?" I ask.
"My parents' twentieth wedding anniversary. They wanted to go skydiving in Sri Lanka", Jacob explains as if it were the most normal thing on Earth. He doesn't mind my raised eyebrow and continues: "Anyway, so we took Caden with us, since he's my best friend and all, and we rented this jet ski one day."
"No", Caden interrupts him. "No, no, no. They don't need to know that, Jacob."
Jacob only smirks brighter and continues: "Yet, little Big Shot here didn't want to only go on the jet ski. He bought himself a huge pink flamingo floatie and tied it to the jet ski..."
"Oh, here it goes", I can hear Caden mumble.
"And then made me ride the jet ski, so that he can chill on his little flamingo."
"That sounded so messed up", I say, to which Jacob grins.
"I even have some pictures", he volunteers. Caden quickly snaps the phone out of his best friend's hand before he can show me the pictures. As my man isn't looking, I mouth Email them later to him, to which Jacob smirks.
"Gladly", he answers out loud. Caden got a hint of what happened since he now begins to torture Jacob in return.
"Oh yeah, should I tell them about the time you printed I love Olivia on a T-Shirt and went with it around town."
"Who the hell is Olivia?" I ask, and Soph also looks interested.
"Taylor Swift's cat", Caden explains, throwing me and my bestie a mischievous look.
"Oh my gosh", Soph lets out and I begin to laugh.
"You actually have such a T-Shirt?" I ask Jacob, yet he only nods proud.
"Olivia Swift isn't just a cat. She's an icon."
"Sure is", Caden replies sarcastically. "I'll email you the pictures later", he adds to me, clearly as a payback to Jacob.
"Still don't regret it", Jacob says.
Soph and I can't stop laughing, and even Caden joined in. Our laughter is interrupted by Dia's voice, who asks: "Do you like Taylor Swift?"
Worried, Soph and I immediately turn to look at her, knowing she doesn't usually speak to strangers. Yet we notice that she gave her headphones off her ears and is now wearing them around her neck. My bestie and I share a look. Dia never does that. Like never. Only when she's with us four, me, Soph, April or Nessie, that's the only time she's not wearing headphones. Apart from that, never. Not even when she's alone with her boyfriend. So this is a pretty big moment.
Jacob must have also noticed it, since I can see a swift in his mood. He's more careful, more gentle, and leans closer to her so that he doesn't have to yell across the table.
"Yeah, I'm a huge Swiftie."
"Really? Me too. What's your favorite song?" Dia continues asking, not making any move to put her headphones back on. Soph and I stare like frozen the scene.
"I don't know. Probably Cruel Summer. Or anything from Lover."
"Oh, I'm more of a Midnights girl."
"That's also a good album. Which song do you like most from it?"
"You're on your own kid. Or Midnight Rain. Or Paris. I can't choose. You?"
"Question. Definitely Question."
"That's exactly what I was listening to right now."
"Really? How cool. What else do you listen to?" Jacob asks, coming closer to Dia. She tenses a bit, her hands ready on her headphones to put them back on, yet as soon as Jacob is closer to her and whispers her something that makes her smile a bit, she relaxes and lets her hands fall freely on the couch. She then takes her phone from the pockets of her skirt and the two start scrolling through one of Dia's playlists.
Soph comes closer to me til her mouth isn't one inch away from my ear.
"What just happened?" she whispers, and I raise my shoulders.
"I literally have no idea", I say, since that's the truth. Dia is a very shy person. This is the longest conversation I've ever heard her have with a stranger.
"Wanna go dancing?" I ask Soph and Caden, in order to give Dia and Jacob some privacy. The three of us stand up, followed by Darrel, and walk away from the table, leaving them alone there to continue their talk.
"You know she has a boyfriend, right?" Soph asks me on the way.
"Who? Leo? That idiot?! He doesn't even make her smile." I reply. It's true. Leo is such an annoying person, I don't even know how the two ever got together. Yet I don't tell it to her. She seems to like him, he probably likes her, I don't want to cause problems. Yet that doesn't mean I don't think she deserves more than that.
The four of us arrive on the dance floor, yet I really need to go to the toilet, since I just had a whole Cherry Coke.
"I need to go to the toilet", I tell them. "I'll be right back."
They ask if they should come with me, I only shake my head and tell them it's okay. I make my way through the dancing people around me and to the bar, since I have no idea where the toilets here are. There, I look at the first bartender, a woman probably in her forties I only saw from behind and shout so that I can get her attention.
"Excuse me!"
The woman turns around and I freeze. I literally freeze. Although it's been three years, I still recognize her. I would recognize her anywhere. Her eyes have rings around them from not sleeping. Her lips are covered in her dark cherry red lipstick, she always had on. Yet her eyes are the ones I remember most. The way they looked at me, like I would be a nothing.
She also seems to have recognized me. She stares at my face, my clothes, my hair, my everything. And her eyes get the same look as then. Like I don't exist.
"Nina?" my mother asks, her voice cold and dry, like the tone she used when she kicked me out of our house. I was sixteen, a child, didn't know where to go, didn't know what to do. I had to move to New York, since that's the only place I thought I could find myself a new life in and have people around, who don't know who I am. I was given to foster care for three years and changed a bunch of different families. I worked my ass off to get a scholarship and get accepted to Wrencore. I did that all, always living with the fear one day she will find me and ask me to give her back what I stole from her. Because when I left, I took some stuff with me. Stuff, she probably now wants back.
Before I can say anything, I run away and don't know where to go. My mother, Denise, since I never called her by the nickname, follows me. I try to find a place to hide, and the only place I find are the toilets. Which I could have found easily without the help of a bartender. Stupid, Nini! I lock myself inside. It's one of those toilets with only one cabin, that one can easily close and be left alone. That's what I do.
I can hear Denise shouting at me from outside. I can hear knocking at the door. I can hear her swearing, telling me stuff I've heard thousand of times before. I can hear her calling my name, Nina, a thousand times. I can hear her cursing me, telling me how she hoped she never had me. And at the same time, I hear nothing. I cover my ears with my hands and lean my back against the wall. The door still vibrates from the many times she knocks in it. I can feel it in my back. Along with the chill that goes down my spine. I close my eyes and tears start rolling down my face. They're burning me. Eating me from the inside. I tried to escape. I really tried. I didn't mind the nights I slept underneath the New York sky or the times I almost starved when I first moved here. I tried to forget them all. Because for once in my life, now, I was actually happy. I had a guy that loves me more than anything. Best friends that are always there for me and make me smile. A dorm room I call a home. The major I always wished for, in which I got the lead role. I was happy. So happy. Now it's gone.
The knockings stop and for a while, all I hear is silence. I take a deep breath and think that's it is all over now. Only it isn't. She begins to stomp the door with her foot, the vibrations in my back getting harder. She curses louder and tries to bang the door open. I cover my ears again with my hands and start crying. Yet this time, the hands don't cover up the sounds anymore. I can hear her screams; I can feel them in my bones. And I can feel my tears heavier than they ever were.
Only now, it's not only Denise's voice I hear. Also other voices, that are very familiar. Darrel shouting at her, Caden as well, and Soph screaming from fear. I can hear some banging, some punches, and something breaking.
And then, silence.
As Denise's voice stopped and doesn't say anything else, I can hear three soft knocks at the door followed by Soph's warm voice: "Hey, it's me. Can I come in?"
I want to open the door for her, yet before, I have to know one thing: "Is she gone?"
"Yeah, Darrel took care of her", she says, her voice still warm although it clearly states that Darrel used violence to do that.
"You can come in", I whisper and lift myself up to make space and unlock the door.
The moment she hears the key and sees the door open, Soph throws herself in my arms and holds me close to her chest. I wrap my arms around her and sink my face in her collarbone and start crying there. She slowly brushes my hair with her fingers, whispering in my ear how everything will be alright.
"Where is Caden?" I ask worried as I let go, hoping that Denise didn't hurt him.
"He remained outside to tell the police what happened."
The police?! "The police is here?"
"Yeah, the woman assaulted you and threatened you. Then, as Darrel wanted to stop her, she threw a glass on the ground and wanted to hurt him with the broken glass. She punched Caden three times, then he punched her against a wall, she started cursing again until Darrel knocked her unconscious. We had to call the police", she explains. My breath is gone. She threatened Darrel. Hurt Caden. Darrel left her unconscious.
Soph must have noticed, since she slowly closes the door while she is still holding me tight. Outside, cops started checking the perimeter, and there are people gathering around our door. To block the noises, Soph cover my ears with her palms and brings me closer to her, while we both sink down with our backs leaning against the door.
"Who was that woman?" she asks after some seconds of silence. I look at her eyes, knowing I can't hide it from her any longer.
"My mother", I answer, my voice trembling.
"Why did she try to hurt you?" she continues asking, still in that whisper tone.
"Because I stole all her money", I answer, and let some tears roll down my face. Soph is clearly surprised, yet she doesn't let it show. She removes her hands from my ears and lifts up my chin with her hand. She then starts wiping out my tears with her thumbs and whispering again that everything would be alright.
I continue explaining: "Denise never liked me. She always thought I wasn't enough and that it would be impossible I was her daughter. She would constantly let me know how bad I am. My father, Sean, only gave her right. One day, when I was sixteen, they got bored of having me around. They kicked me out of their house. I was so scared and didn't know what to do. They gave me one day to pack my bags and leave. So, that night, I broke into Denise's money vault in the house. I took all the money in a sports bag, got a backpack with some clothes and ran to New York."
As I finish explaining, Soph looks at me with tears in her eyes. She has me in a hug and lets me cry on her again. After a while, she takes a bit of distance to look me in the eyes and says: "I am so sorry, Nini. I really am. If only I knew, I could have helped you. You were all alone with this secret and I could have done something, anything, to protect you."
I shake my head and whisper: "I didn't want you to think I am more broken than I am. I didn't want this to change our friendship."
"It doesn't", she says, her voice so honest it assures me it's true. "It only makes me want to make that woman pay for the pain she's caused you. See her suffer for what she's made", Soph continues, clearly giving off Alec vibes. She then says: "I could never look at you anything less than the amazing person you are. No matter what happened, you will always be my bestie. And I will always be there for you. No matter what."
I lose it and pull her even closer, until she's so close that her hair covers my face. Then, I start whispering, mumbling, the words "Thank you" thousands of times, until she understands how much I mean them. How grateful I am she's my bestie.
"I...", I want to begin yet we're interrupted by some knockings at the door.
"Your Royal Highness?" Darrel asks, a bit worried.
"Yes, Darrel?" Soph shouts back at him, so that he can hear her through the door.
"The police would like to ask Miss Elway some questions."
I gasp and hide my face in my hands. Tears start rolling again, knowing I'll have to give some answers I don't want to. Soph notices, since she tells her bodyguard: "We'll need a bit more time here, Darrel."
"Your Royal Highness, they insist", Darrel continues. I give up and want to stand up, yet Soph makes me a sign that it's okay.
"Then make them wait a bit. Tell them I said please", she continues. Even through the door, I can hear Darrel sigh. Yet he then says: "Alright, Your Royal Highness. I'll do my best."
I flash Soph a small smile and she pats the spot next to her on the ground. I accept her offer and sit down again, my head tilted on her shoulder. She takes my hand and curls our fingers, to let me know she's there for me.
We sit for a while there in silence, neither of us saying anything. It is exactly what I needed. After some time, I stand back up and say: "I think we really need to go now."
"Only if that's what you want", she says, looking at me honest.
"I'm not sure they could wait forever for us."
"Darrel can be pretty convincing if he wants to"
I chuckle, the first time ever since I entered this bathroom. Soph notices, since she now smiles softly.
"I'm ready", I say and she nods, standing up.
Before I open the door, she quickly stops me and says: "I just wanted to let you know, that whatever happens, you can always count on me from now on. If you need anything, I'll always be there for you. Just tell me."
I nod and mouth her a thank you.
Then I open the door.