I hope you guys enjoy this one!! :D
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"Audrey! What are you doing here?" Alicia asked cheerfully, hugging a girl with pale skin, long black hair and bright eyes.
"I'm taking a short break from school... I need to earn my volunteer hours. Some of my college classes have required me to volunteer somewhere. I found out they needed some extra help here, so I thought, might as well, right? Heh..."Audrey answered with a smile. "Plus, I'm thinking of living here for a while, taking a long break from school... I mean, hey! I came from the other side of the country!" She added, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Cool! Move in with us! Hey, I hate to bring this up, but how's your sister? I've seen her around here and there but whenever I tried to talk to her, she'd ignore me."
"I honestly wouldn't know. My mom hasn't let me talk to her or my little brother."
"Oh... Speaking of her. How is she? Has she gotten better about things?"
"About what? The drugs? Pffft, no. She'll never get better, I've given up. After 18 years of trying to help her and getting a bunch of terrible shit in return, it was inevitable that I'd give up. How's Nicki? I've been trying to call him since he left me a weird ass voice mail, but his phone got disconnected after that."
"He's in the hospital. The idiot got himself run over."
"Was he high?"
"What do you think? I honestly don't even know why you care, you guys broke up."
"It doesn't mean he isn't my friend. We've been friends since kindergarten!Apart from you and your mom- he was the only one to help me cope with things. Plus," Audrey paused and began speaking with a lower voice, "after everything that happened, I still love him, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess." Alicia sighed.
"I am so glad your mom let me sleepover as much as she did, because if she didn't, I don't think I'd be alive. And I mean that in every way possible. You're like a sister to me, you know that, right?" Audrey said with a grin.
"Yeah. You're like a sister to me, too." Alicia smiled back. "How's Berklee?"
"Oh my god, it's great! A lot of work, yeah. But nothing I can't handle."
"I'm glad..." Alicia grinned cheekily. Her smiled then dropped quickly, "well, I'll quit bothering you and let you do what you came to do."
"You're not bothering me at all, Ally. I missed you."
"Umm... Look, I'm heading to the hospital with my mom later to see my idiot brother. Do you wanna come?"
"Yeah, I wanna go. But I don't think Nicki will be happy to see me at all." Audrey spoke softly, her head hanging low as she stared at her feet.
"I think Nick will literally jump out of his bed with happiness when he sees you."
"Fine. I'll go with you guys. I'll see you later."
"See you later."
And with that, Audrey walked off to the main office.
"Hello? May I speak with someone about applying to volunteer here?" Audrey asked at the desk.
"Yes. Of course. But you'll have to fill these papers out, first." A lady with short, curly red hair answered, passing a clipboard with a few papers attached to her.
Audrey smiled and took the clipboard softly, "thank you, Mrs. Borges."
"You're welcome, Audrey. It's nice seeing you again, by the way."
Audrey sat down in one of the waiting chairs and began filling the form out.
After two minutes, Audrey walked back up to the desk and turned the form in.
"Well, the principal is busy right now, but Ms. Clark said she'd help you out instead. I believe you remember where her office is, right?" Mrs. Borges asked.
Audrey nodded, "I was in there so much, how could I not remember?" She laughed nervously as she walked over to the councilor's office.
Audrey sighed and rapped on the door softly. "Come in." Said the voice from inside.
She quietly opened the door, walked in, and sat down in the seat in front of the woman's desk.
"Oh my goodness, Audrey! Hello!" Madison beamed.
"Hey, mom," Audrey greeted with a smile.
"How have you been? What college did you decide to go to out of the five?"
"Berklee College of Music! I told you like twenty times!"
"Congratulations! And I know, but with Nick on my mind.." She sighed as Audrey giggled. "What're you here for? What do you need?"
"It's nice to see you too. I would like to volunteer here."
"Oh. Alright. Did you fill the application?"
"Yup! The lady at the front has it."
"Cool! All I have to do is explain things, then."
About twenty minutes later, Audrey and Madison were still talking.
"So, Alli told me Nicki's in the hospital and that you guys are visiting after school. Do you mind if I come?"
"Of course I don't mind if you come. You're family. Would you like to go with us or will you be meeting us there?"
"I might as well go with you guys, right? If you don't mind."
"Again, I don't mind, Audrey."
"You know... I might as well take my own car. Just in case Nick's not so happy about me being there..."
"Audrey?" Nick asked, trying not to smile, his voice making his glee evident, his chest heaved and his breath hitched.
"Hi, Nicki." Audrey smiled brightly, walking over to his hospital bed and sitting next to his arm, facing him.
"How do you manage to pop in whenever I need you?" He asked with a smile, trying to get his arm out of the leather strap that was holding him down. He gave up once he realized it was useless.
He looked over at the rest of the people who'd come to visit him.
"Can you guys give us a minute?" He asked politely. Travis was shocked Nick didn't bluntly tell him to fuck off.
Alicia, Madison, and Travis obediently walked out of the room.
As soon as they did, Audrey released his arms from the straps' tight hold.
Nick smiled and instantly sat up, softly touching Audrey's face.
"You're not mad at me anymore?"
"It's kinda hard for me to stay mad at someone I love."
Nick grinned widely, "you still love me."
"I never stopped. You helped me get through a lot. You were like the light at the end of a very dark tunnel." Audrey spoke poetically, laughing after saying that.
Nick's wide grin became a small and gentle smile as he began to lean forward, placing a careful kiss to her now rosy cheek.
Audrey blushed softly and nervously smiled.
"I'm sorry about everything." Nick apologized. "But you have to believe me. I didn't--"
"Don't worry, I believe you. I never doubted you for a second. I just needed some time to myself... I'm sorry for abandoning you."
"You didn't abandon me. Stop saying sorry, you did nothing wrong. I was the one who messed up..."
"You made a promise, remember? You wouldn't go back to doing..." Audrey's eyes shifted toward the window, "that stuff..." She sighed.
"I know... But without you around I couldn't handle myself..." Nick teared up.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault. I'm a mess. I bet you kept your part of the promise."
"I didn't. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about... her. I felt like shit... So, I went back to using stuff because I couldn't live like that and keep up with school. I lost a lot of sleep and I'm so stupid."
"Hey, hey. You're not stupid. I'm the stupid one. I'm a college drop out and you- you're still there! You're still putting your life together and I'm helping in pulling mine apart. I am so glad you're here now. Look, I want to get the hell out of here. And I'm going to need your help because they won't let me out. Will you help me?"
Audrey nodded frantically.
"Good. You're going to have to stay over night."
"I don't mind."
Nick smiled, "I love you. I don't care what happens, I will always love you." He whispered, pulling Audrey down. "I'm sorry I wasn't around to help you stay away from the pills and your mom, but I'll make up for it." He apologized. And the next thing he knew, he was kissing her softly.
Nick's family walked back in and cleared their throats, looking around awkwardly.
Nick and Audrey quickly separated.
"Jesus. I told you to stay out for a while!"
"Well we couldn't stay out there any longer without getting kicked out. We were already warned five times." Madison lectured, definitely not amused.
Nick scoffed.
"So this is a story all about how my life flipped turned upside down-"
"Oh... That's my phone... I'll be back in a few..." Audrey stepped out awkwardly,
"Hello?" Audrey answered her phone not bothering to look at the contact name.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH--"
"Hello, mother, what do you need now?" Audrey sighed, listening to her mother insult her and then come up with a list, hanging up and putting her phone on vibrate when she was done.
"Sorry..." Audrey mumbled as she quickly walked in.
"Who was that? I heard the screaming from outside!" Said Alicia.
Audrey sighed and looked at her, "who do you think it was?"
"Oh... Sorry..."
"Yeah. Whatever. I'll be back, I need to get my mom a few things from the grocery store. I'll be back in a few. If I'm not back by 4 o'clock, call the cops." And with that Audrey stormed up.
"Um... What's going on?" Travis asked Madison quietly. He was definitely out of the loop with the situation.
"That's not something I can tell you because it's her decision whether she'd want you to know or not."
"I'm back..." Audrey said with false excitement. "Woo..." She continued as she made her way over to the hospital bed. "Where is everyone?"
"They left." Nick answered softly.
"Oh... I was gonna ask your mom if I could crash at her place for a few days. I got in a big fight with my roommate so I decided to take a few weeks off from school and stay here for a while... Well, I'm thinking of moving down here when I'm done." Audrey explained her disappointment.
"What's the fight about?"
"She's been acting like a bitch to me and I couldn't take it anymore so we got in a fight and that was the end of it. I told her I wanted to move out so she flipped out."
"Why would she flip out about that?"
"Because she told me she loved me. But I didn't accept that."
"Oh..." Nick said awkwardly. "You can crash at my place!" He suggested, grinning.
"You do realize that 'your place' is mainly considered your mom's place, right?"
"It's not like she'll say 'no' to you moving in. You know my mom loves you. Plus, you're a great influence on me so it'll be a bonus to her. We can share a room." Nick wiggled his eyebrows.
Audrey chuckled, and quickly pulled her jacket sleeve down once she noticed it was running up.
"What's that?" Nick asked, his joking demeanor quickly leaving him as he spotted the purple mark on her pale arm.
"Nothing." She anxiously answered.
"Don't tell me it's nothing. You have a bruise on your arm and you have a jacket on in 100 degree weather. What happened?" Nick demanded.
Audrey quickly looked around at her surroundings.
"Nothing, Nicki, I swear to God."
"I've known you since I was seven. I know when you're lying. You've been gone longer than you said you'd be gone. You said you'd be back around four and you got here at eight. Tell me what the fuck happened. Now. Or I'll get really pissed and find out for myself once I head over there."
Audrey sighed and took her black leather jacket off. There were burns, bruises and cuts all over her. Her black "Nirvana" tank top was shredded. If the shirt weren't black you'd be able to see the blood stains.
"Audrey. You're eighteen years old, you're a legal adult. You didn't have to deal with your mother's shit back then and you definitely don't need to now. You need to tell the police."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Audrey shook her head, "I can't..."
"Tell me why you feel you can't."
"I've talked to Andrea and Justin. My mom hasn't done anything bad to them and they really want to help her get better. They told me she is getting better--"
"You need to stop giving that woman chances."
"I'm not giving her any chances!"
"That's not what it sounds like to me!"
"I want my siblings to have a good relationship with her. Because it's not something that I ever had with her. And I feel like shit everyday because of it. They've always had a good relationship with her and I don't want to ruin that just because she's done a whole lot of stuff to me."
"She won't learn if you don't do something. She might end up doing something to Andrea or Justin if you just sit back and hope for the best," Nick lectured. Audrey sighed in response.
"It's their decision now. I don't live there anymore. I know my mom won't do anything to them because I'm the only one she hates." She stated as she once again, took the straps off his arms/wrists.
"Lay down with me." Nick ordered. Audrey nodded and did as commanded.
"You can catch some sleep here for a few hours but you're gonna have to wake up a little early so you can tie me up again and stuff... Don't want you getting in trouble."
"I'm curious." Audrey stated after a few moments of silence.
"About...?"
"How'd you end up here in the first place? I heard you got run over but what exactly happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I'd told you." Nick chuckled darkly.
"Well, I won't be able to decide if I believe you if you don't tell me," Audrey paused and her mean looking eyes softened. "When have I ever doubted you?" She asked sincerely.
"Never..."
"Exactly. So shoot whatever you want in my direction."
"There was this girl I was dating..." Nick began, studying Audrey's facial expressions and reactions before proceeding with his story. Audrey nodded, signaling for him to continue speaking.
"We went to an abandoned place to get high with a couple of our buddies... It was a party and stuff... So, I guess I got pretty fucked up because I got knocked out. When I woke up and looked around-- there was blood everywhere-- dead bodies everywhere. Once I spotted the chick I went in with... I noticed she'd been stabbed in the side... But she was still alive and she... She..." Nick struggled to continue with explaining his experience.
"She was eating one of the guys we went in with."
Audrey's eyes went wide.
"I called for her and she turned, looked at me, and started walking to me. I got scared, pushed her off, and hauled ass as far as I could from the place until I got run over." Nick paused for a moment. Still studying his long time lover's facial expressions. "I knew you wouldn't believe me." He spoke softly, looking up at the ceiling with the saddest look on his face.
"I do believe you. I'm just trying to let it all completely sink in before I say anything else..." Audrey spoke, barely above a whisper.
"You don't need to pay attention to me... It's as everyone says it. I was high and I'm fucked up. You don't need to believe me. Much less listen to me." He whispered. "But you do... Believe me?" He asked after the temporary noiselessness. Audrey nodded.
"If you believe it, I do, Nicki."
Nick cuddled up to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"I need to get out of here and find out what the hell Calvin put in my shit."
That was the last thing Audrey heard before she'd fallen asleep in Nick's arms.
"Babe, wake up." Nick murmured as he shook Audrey awake.
"Huh?" She yawned a bit loudly, her eyes tearing up slightly at the sudden wave of light they were rudely exposed to.
"You've gotta get up, the nurses will be checking up on me any minute now..." Nick spoke with a panic. If the nurses saw them like that, Audrey would be the first suspect for his "unexpected" disappearance.
With another yawn, Audrey stood up, tied him back up to the bed, and sat down in one of the chairs, knocking out as soon as her bottom touched the seat.
Nick chuckled, "you haven't changed at all..."
"Alright..." A nurse sighed as she walked into Nick's little corner of the hospital room, avoiding another patient's bed, gripping a metal toilet bowl of some sort.
"I'm supposed to piss in that?" Nick asked, scanning the bowl with his eyes.
"Yes. Now, make it quick."
"Aren't you going to untie me?"
"Nope. There's a reason you were tied up. Why should I untie you?"
"Oh, I don't know, I'm not a chick, I need to be able to aim or else I'll piss every where."
The nurse sighed, her frustration was building up. She set the toilet bowl down on the ground and unstrapped one of Nick's arms from the bed.
"I would also like some privacy." Nick requested. He knew he was asking for way too much, but that didn't stop him from getting things done his way.
Audrey chuckled to herself. The nurse looked around as if she were pleading for help.
"Why don't you ask her to leave the room? She's invading your privacy just as much as I am!" The nurse exclaimed whilst pointing her finger at Audrey.
"She's my girlfriend and we've been best friends since we were in kindergarten. There is no such thing as privacy between us. We tell each other everything. She can watch me take a piss all day, every day and it won't be a problem. You, however, are making me feel very uncomfortable." Nick ranted.
"But-" the nurse began, only to be rudely interrupted by Audrey.
"Look, there's no point in arguing with Nicki. He'll keep bugging you until he gets what he wants, he's stubborn like that." She stated calmly, smirking at Nick once she glanced at him.
The nurse looked around once more and sighed. "Fine. But don't even think about trying anything stupid." She warned, unstrap ping one of Nick's arms, handing him the toilet bowl and walking out of the room.
"You're not actually gonna take a piss are you?"
"No, but if I was going to, it wouldn't be a problem, right?"
Audrey shook her head, "nope. Wouldn't be a problem at all."
"Okay, then." Nick spoke, getting up quickly. As a result, the toilet bowl fell to the ground making a loud noise. In turn, the patient's heart monitor started racing, Nick rushed back to his bed, and nurses came flooding into the room.
Nick and Audrey watched as one nurse closed the curtain and heard them try everything they could to keep the patient alive. But, evidently, the old man didn't make it. Nick waited until all the nurses were out.
"Let's get out of here." He said, grabbing Audrey's arm and limping out of the room whilst making sure nobody saw them.
Along the way of heading out of the hospital, Nick found some clothes and put them on. With that done, they ran and limped out of the hospital and into Audrey's black bug. (Her car, obviously.)
Once she turned the car on, they jumped.
Audrey forgot she'd been listening to Suicide Silence full blast on her way to the hospital. "Heh... Whoops..." She laughed nervously, turning the volume down.
She quickly changed the mode and plugged her phone into the aux cord and started playing k-pop. Nick groaned, "uuuugggghhhh....."
"Hey, quit whining. I had to listen to your gangster rap whenever you drove me to and from school, so calm the fuck down. I'm happy so I'm gonna listen to EXO all I want. Unless you want to listen to Mitch Lucker's beautiful voice~!"
"Uuuggggh... Just put Die Antwoord since we both like that shit."
"Ah... Compromising, huh?" Audrey raised a brow, smirking at Nick. "Fine." She smiled, changing the song from "Call Me Baby" by EXO to "I Fink U Freaky" by Die Antwoord.
Nick sighed and slumped down in his seat, not bothering to put his seat belt on.
"What's wrong?" Audrey asked, concerned.
"I'll tell you soon, just drive."
"Okay.... Speaking of just driving."
"Oh my god, no." Nick whined once more as Audrey changed the song to "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" by the Deftones. Man, was Audrey feeling that song. Nick chuckled as Audrey poorly tried to sing that song in a low note. Pretty soon, she gave up and decided to sing the song in notes she could hit loudly without having to yell. She sang an octave higher. By this time, they were far from the hospital and they had listened to this song atleast five times. Nick saw this coming. When they were in high school and Audrey would drive them to and from school sometimes, if she even heard one tiny bit of this song, she'd go crazy.
"Can I use your phone for a second?" Nick asked, interrupting Audrey's jam session. She smiled sweetly and nodded.
Nick grabbed Audrey's phone and texted a friend of his.
"Do you mind meeting me at the diner we usually meet at? It's important." He sent.
"OH SHIT!! I LOVE THIS SONG!!" Audrey screamed when she heard the Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood" come on the speakers.
"OH MY GOD SO DO I!" Nick mocked.
"Oh, shut up." She laughed. "So, where are we heading?"
"The diner."
"Cool." She spoked and jammed to "Song 2" by Blur.
Once they arrived at their destination, they sat in Audrey's car listening to music while they waited for Calvin. Once Calvin answered with "on my way," they stepped out of the car and into the diner.
"Hey." Nick greeted nervously once Calvin stepped in and sat down in the booth Audrey and Nick sat in.
"Hey. Your mom visited me. She said she was looking for you. Does she know?" Calvin asked anxiously, not up for small talk.
"What? No! No, she doesn't know! She was just looking for me! All she knows is you're a friend!"
Audrey stayed quiet, analyzing the scene that was playing out in front of her.
"Please, leave my mom out of this!" Nick begged before Calvin could say anything else.
"Why'd you want to meet up?" Calvin sighed, keeping his head low so no one would see his face.
"I want to know what you put in my stuff."
"I didn't put anything in there. I gave you the stuff straight up." Calvin answered, furrowing his brows. "Why are you asking?"
"I saw something... Something terrible... And... I just can't stop thinking about it. I think I'm going crazy!" Nick cried.
Calvin sighed once more and hugged Nick, comforting him awkwardly.
"Look. If you want, you guys can come back with me and I'll hook you guys up-- help you forget about everything." Calvin offered quietly.
Nick nodded and Audrey sighed.
As Calvin, Nick, and Audrey drove to a secluded area in Calvin's car, Audrey whispered to Nick.
"It's a trap."
"It's not. I trust Calvin. We're friends. He's not gonna do anything to us."
Audrey huffed and crossed her arms. "If we die. I'm blaming you, Nick."
"I love you, too, shnuckums."
"I don't understand why you need any more of that shit."
"I need to forget."
"Bullshit."
"Get out of the car." Calvin ordered, stopping in a secluded area in the canals.
Audrey and Nick did as told.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this..." Calvin began, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handgun, stepping out the car.
"Cal. Please don't do this. We're friends. We've been friends since high school. Remember?" Audrey pleaded, putting her hands in the air, daring to step closer to him.
"Yeah, but then you left us behind to fend for ourselves. We had a plan Audrey. And you fucked up." Calvin spoke aggressively.
"Do you see what I had to resort to?" He asked.
"Look, Cal," Audrey began, stepping forward.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Calvin screamed. Audrey immediately stopped as Calvin shot a bullet right next to her foot. "The next one is going straight through you." He threatened.
"Cal. She didn't leave us to fend for ourselves. She went on with her life while we decided to fuck up." Nick said.
"No. No, no, no, no." Calvin uttered.
Audrey seized this opportunity to tackle Calvin to the ground.
The gun slid far away from them as the two wrestled. Calvin ended up on top and began choking Audrey.
Nick didn't think twice. He grabbed the gun and without hesitation, shot Calvin in the stomach.
Audrey gasped and pushed Calvin's body off her. She got up and was immediately hugged by Nick.
"Are you okay?" He asked, stroking her hair.
"Y-Yeah... Uhhhh.... Thank you..." She cried.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."
"I-It's okay. We're okay."
After a few minutes of recovering, they dragged Calvin's body to his car and Nick called Travis.
A few more minutes later, Madison and Travis showed up -even though Nick specifically requested for Madison not to be involved.
"Seriously? I told you not to ring her alo-"
"Now is NOT the time for this shit!" Audrey interrupted Nick.
"What happened?" Travis asked.
"I killed Calvin..." Nick admitted. "I killed Calvin..." He repeated until it sunk in and he began crying.
"Why'd you kill Calvin?" Madison asked sternly.
"Weweredefendingourselveshewasgonnakillus." Audrey explained quickly. Madison nodded, instantly believing Audrey.
"Okay... Um.... Where is he?" Madison asked.
Nick pointed to the car. "He's there." He stated.
Madison and Travis walked over to the car. "He's not here, Nick."
"What?" Nick asked, limping over to the car and checking all over it. "But it was here! He was right here! I swear!"
"Dead bodies don't just get up and walk off." Madison stated.
"But he was here!!" Nick yelled.
"I know, babe... Let's just go..." Audrey mumbled as she hugged Nick.
"Let's head home... We'll figure all this out over there..." Travis spoke. "C'mon." He finished as he walked over to the truck. They all nodded and made their way to Calvin's truck. Nick and Audrey sat in the back while Madison and Travis sat in the front.
They saw Calvin walking toward the truck from behind them when they'd already gotten situated. Madison, Travis, and Audrey immediately stepped out of the car. Well- Audrey tried but Nick pulled her back in.
"What?"
"He'll kill you!!! Get back in the car!!! Mom!!!" Nick screamed from inside the car.
"Calvin? Are you okay? We can help you. Talk to us. What happened?" Madison asked, concerned, ignoring her son's warnings.
Calvin didn't answer, he just moaned and limped toward Madison and Travis.
When Madison got a little too close, Calvin tried to bite her.
Luckily, Travis pushed him off before Calvin could do anything else.
Nick quickly jumped to the front seat, switched gears to reverse and stepped on the peddle.
Madison and Travis got out of the way as Nick ran Calvin over.
Nick sighed but everyone jumped once they saw Calvin stand up again. He switched it back to driving forward, stomping on the peddle.
Calvin was basically riding on the good of the car until Nick slammed the brakes and Calvin flew off. Madison, Travis, and Audrey went over to investigate. Nick did the same shortly after.
They all gawked at Calvin because-- some how-- he was still alive.