Chapter 6
Natalie's POV
Even as I stared at what remained of my safe haven, it's like I couldn't move or operate correctly. It felt as if the me that I was building up had died in that fire along with all of the things that I held dear to my heart. And now standing here in the aftermath, was the old me. The woman who forgot just what type of man her ex-fiance was. Because behind all of that beauty that made up William Richardson, was nothing but pure evil. Something that I had witnessed first hand. Many times.
"Natalie." Aiden stated quietly as I pulled myself from the dark side of my mind that I had been trying to keep at the back of my mind. But, even I knew that there was no possibility that I could run away from what I once was. "Natalie, let's get you two out of here before the paparazzi come." Aiden added as he reached out towards me while I flinched away from him.
"Please, don't touch me." I quietly held onto Raigh-lee while pressing a kiss to her forehead. Noticing my slight change of attitude, Aiden nodded quietly while holding out his sleeved arm.
"I'm not that guy. I promise, but it's okay if you hold onto my sleeve. I don't want to lose you." He stated firmly as I looked up at him while he smiled. "I want to take you two to a place where it's safe, okay?" He questioned as I quietly nodded while grabbing onto the sleeve of his arm before he guided us out of the building and back into my car. Once we were on the road again with Aiden behind the wheel, I watched the buildings fly by in a blur. "What's his name?" He asked after a few minutes of silence while glancing over at me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked while looking over at him as he sighed quietly before turning his attention back to the road. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm never usually like this but." I stopped myself with a sigh. I was having an internal battle with myself. I either wanted to go and hide or I wanted to just ball my eyes out from the fear of knowing that he's pursuing me again.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it but I want you to know that you aren't alone in this world and no matter how screwed up this world is, not all of us are the same. So, if you need somebody to talk to, I'm always here and so is Lucy. She's her own therapist." He stated with a smile upon his face as I laughed at his reference. He was referring to the times Lucy used to give out advice to anyone who willingly asked for it. I saw it first hand once when David came home from work, angry. Let's just say, David realized that Lucy had some words of wisdom and quite a bit of craziness in her. Quietly laughing, I looked back over at Aiden who glanced over at me with a smile upon his lips.
"Okay, thank you." I quietly stated while looking back at Raigh-lee who was quietly sucking on her pacifier while looking around the car in complete interest. Sighing, I turned my attention back to the window as we sped through town.
[~~~]
I wasn't surprised when we pulled up in front of Lucy's house because her house was a safe haven. Quietly getting out of the car, I barely had time to close the door before I was engulfed in a hug by too many people.
"My baby. Are you okay?!" The familiar voice questioned as I pull away from them to get a good look. Standing before me in all their worried glory was my family. My mother, father, and older brother who all looked me over for what I was assuming to be burns or marks. "Oh darling, I was so scared that something happened to you and my baby." My mother mumbled with tears brimming the rims of her dark brown eyes. She quietly wiped her nose with the tissue that she had covering her mouth as her dark brown curls blew over her shoulder.
"Was it him again?" The tall light skinned man asked as he stood beside my mother, looking down at me with a protective glint in his light blue eyes. Of every human being on the Earth, I was hoping that I didn't have to deal with him or my father but, I guess there are other things in plan for me. "How come you haven't put a restraining order on him yet?" He added while running his hands through the short dark brown curls upon his head. As usual, he was dressed in a dark gray Armani suit with a look to kill on his face just like our father. In fact, those two were exact replicas of each other except our father had a slight darker skin tone.
"There's no point in doing that. He knows too many people." I stated while glaring up at the individual towering over me as Aiden quietly appeared next to me with a very quiet toddler in his arms. "You act like I haven't tried to do that. I've tried several times but it's like a big laugh to him, Noah." I stated through gritted teeth as our father stepped away from our mother before stepping between us.
"I think Natalie has had enough problems for today, Noah. We are here to make sure that she and Raigh-lee are okay and we are here to also protect her from that demon. Hounding her with things like that are not going to help her case." Our father stated sternly with a frown on his face as he glanced from Noah to me before his eyes drifted over to Aiden who was closer to me than I had realized."Aiden Sampson, it's nice to meet you in person. I've heard a lot about you from your parents and also your sister. It has come to my understanding that you took her in yesterday. Thank you for watching out for my daughter because watching was all you did right, son?" My father asked as I finally realized what he was getting at. Quickly looking up at Aiden, I was surprised to find him looking down at me.
"Watching was all that happened. Nothing else except me protecting her. I know my boundaries, sir." He stated while switching his gaze to my father who gave a faint smile before nodding his head.
"It's a little...chilly out here. Why don't we all go inside for some warm tea?" Lucy questioned while descending the stairs in a sweater and jeans. "It's good to see you again, Mister and Mrs Atkinson. If you follow my husband, he'll take you to the kitchen and make you something to drink." She stated while stopping at the bottom of the stairs as my parents hugged Lucy before ascending the stairs and disappearing into the house. "Good to see you too, Noah." She added as my brother took one look at her before fleeing up the stairs and into the house. Both Lucy and I knew that Noah had a crush on her but we weren't going to let him know.
"You know her family?" Aiden asked as we started heading towards the stairs while Lucy looped arms with me before looking up at her twin.
"If course I do. We've been best friends for eight years. They know who I am and how I am, so I'm not worried. Now, let's go talk about that nuisance and recovering some lost goods." Lucy stated as we continued to ascend the stairs.
//////\\\\\\\//////
Hello darlings!
First I want to say thank you all for getting this book to 1,000 reads! I really appreciate it! :)
And secondly I want to say that this chapter is jumbled up, I know.
Lastly, I wanna post this picture because it's gonna be everywhere in this book soon. *cues evil laughter*
Also, the hunk is who I visualize as Natalie's older brother. Natalie and her family are biracial. Just wanna state that before people become confused or angry cause I didn't state it before (trust me, that happens).
Thank you all for reading!
Andrea ❥
P.S. You're all beautiful in your own way, don't let anybody tell you different.