I finally let go, and Nathaniel pulled me away slightly so I had a better view of his entire face. I choked on a happy sob upon seeing his hazel eyes again. I didn't think I'd get to see them again.
"I love you!" I blurted out.
Nathaniel's eyes widened, before softening and breaking out into a huge grin. I've only ever said I love you a handful of times, whenever the mood felt absolutely right. Sentimental isn't normally my thing.
"I love you too," he breathed as he ruffled my hair with his thumb.
His eyes turned to look at Charlie, and I spun myself around as well to look at the little blonde.
"Oh so you're Emi's boyfriend!" he realized with a bright smile.
"Emi?" Nathaniel snickered, and my face grew red. I could literally feel his smirk on my back. "Uh yeah that's me. I'm Nathaniel by the way, and you must be Charlie."
"Mhm. So you promise to take care of her?"
"Of course Charlie. She's in good hands."
Again, I could just FEEL his smirk.
"Oh I get it!" Katelyn laughed lightly.
Nathaniel cupped me against his chest, standing to his full height. With his free hand, he reached out and Charlie deposited Katelyn into his palm. He brought his hands together, and Katelyn immediately scooted closer to me.
I looked over Nathaniel's fingers, peering down at Charlie with a thankful smile and a little wave.
"Thanks kid. For everything."
Charlie beamed up at me, also offering a small wave.
"By Emi! I'll miss you!"
"I'll miss you too," I said softly as Nathaniel turned around, heading back inside the sports car.
The engine started just as he sat down, making Katelyn and I jump.
"Oh sorry about that little girlies," a familiar voice sniggered.
"Chad! Oh how I missed you and your dumb blonde locks!" I sneered playfully.
He looked down at us from the corner of his eyes with a small smile. He was about to say something, but I cut in first.
"But seriously Chad, thanks."
He turned a light shade of pink at the cheeks, before coughing and muttering a small "whatever" under his breath. He set the car in motion and left the quiet suburban neighbourhood, merging onto a main road.
"You know I helped too!" a faintly feminine voice called from the backseat.
Nathaniel lifted me up by my waist, keeping Katelyn safe in his other hand, and moved me over so that I could see who was speaking. Aiden and another boy with dark skin and ridiculously perfect hair sat in the back. I waved to Aiden with a small, somewhat awkward smile, and he gave me a two fingered salute in return.
The other boy, who I guessed was Adham, beamed at me with star struck eyes, not unlike his dangly star earrings.
"Hi I'm Adham, aka Chad's handsome man! Ah omg you are just the cutest thing! Nathaniel hold on to this one," he giggled.
"Uh Émelie, but I assume you already knew that," I laughed lightly, trying to distract from my slight discomfort at being called 'cute'. "Nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh you did, did you?" he smirked as his eyes turned to look at the front driver mirror.
I heard Chad grumble slightly from the front seat, and I couldn't help my own chuckle at his embarrassed expression.
Once Chad dropped Aiden and Adham off, he parked into the absolutely massive garage, filled with an assortment of other sports cars and convertibles. Chad and Nathaniel, still keeping Katelyn and I close to his chest, stepped out. Nathaniel followed Chad through the massive house, keeping us out of sight of the few wandering maids. We ended up in front of a door, which I recognized as Chad's bedroom, having been here a few days ago. Only a few days ago... jeez time sure goes slowly while being kept captive in a bird cage.
"Hey Ém your suitcase is still in here and uh.." Chad trailed off.
"We weren't sure if you were still in the mood to stay," Nathaniel finished quietly.
Even though he tried his best to sound neutral about it, I could tell Nathaniel was sad. I for one wanted nothing more than to go back home and sleep in my own bed, but there were some things we needed to talk about.
"Yeah I uh, I think that would be best. But can head home later tonight!" I smiled up at him, and he offered a small smile in return.
"Oof yeah no I need to get home like, now. The folks will be wondering where I am," Katelyn spoke up.
"Oh ok, well I could take you back," Chad offered.
"Oh I don't know if—" I started.
"Yes please!" Katelyn interrupted.
I quirked a brow at her, but decided not to tell her about Chad and I's history. That would only be throwing him under the bus and making Katelyn even more scared. Besides, he's proven pretty well that he's changed. We exchanged quick goodbyes and decided that I could sleep over with her tonight, as I was still suspended and didn't feel like confronting Todd just yet. Nathaniel handed her off to Chad and the two left.
"He's making up for the way he treated you," Nathaniel noted as he came to sit on the massive bed.
"Yeah I figured," I laughed lightly. "He is definitely... better," I admitted.
"Yeah," Nathaniel said softly, sitting back on the satin pillows and holding me a few inches away from his face. "Do you want to talk about... about... I mean I imagine it's traumatic t-to have to see him again you know."
"Yeah it wasn't great, I—" I hiccuped. "I don't know. I don't think it was as bad as when I was kept at that lab. I-I was much more alone there... here I at Charlie at least," I managed a small smile. "Actually I don't really want to talk about this, I need to tell you something else."
Nathaniel's brows furrowed, but he gave a slight nod.
"Ok...?"
"Well when you first brought up the kids, before Chad took you away, I had planned to... well in all honestly I had planned to break up with you at the end of the week," I said quickly.
"Wha—"
"Let me finish. I said I HAD planned!"
Nathaniel snapped his mouth shut, though he still looked like he wanted to speak.
"It's just that when you brought up kids it made me realize that it's virtually impossible for us. I had thought we could adopt, but that would mean that one of us would have to move and, I don't think you'd be able to make a life on Earth without an ID or social security number or... well without anything really. And I didn't think I'd be able to live here with you. Well I mean yeah I could but, that would mean having to rely on you for everything! And I thought that wasn't fair for either of us but, I had a lot of time to think while I was... away," I winced, the bruises on my sides throbbing with the phantom touch of Lewis' grip. "And I realized that maybe relying on you wouldn't be so bad. I love you, so much. And I'd do anything to make you happy. So if you're willing to try and make a life with me here, than I'm ready to give my life up. For you," I finished, looking up at him.
"I... gosh Ém I don't know what to say. That means a lot, how much you're willing to give for me. But, you don't need to. I can come to Earth with you and start a family."
"How?" I asked as I quirked a brow.
"Well my dad knows how to pull more than a few strings. If you recall he kind of pretended to be a human for over a year. Trust me, if I asked him, I'd have myself an ID and all those other little things in no time," he smirked lightly.
"What?! You could do that the ENTIRE time and you didn't tell me?!"
"Uh surprise?" he chuckled lightly. "I just, thought I'd tell you once we graduated or something. I need to finish school here but, after that, I'd love to move to Earth with you," he smiled as he brought me up and kissed the top of my head.
I blushed and caressed his upper lip, leaning into the touch. We are actually going to do it. We're going to start a family.
He kissed me for a long moment, and I tried to enjoy it, but it felt like something was eating away inside me... almost guilt.
"Hey Nathaniel?"
"Hm?" he hummed, pulling me away so I could see his face clearly.
"There is one thing I would like to talk about."
"Yeah of course, anything you want."
"Well Lewis had mentioned something about the trial pets and I can't help but feel guilty..."
"The trial pets... oh you mean the humans that were taken captive and given away to high rank gouvernement members?"
"Yeah, those are the ones. And as you know I was supposed to end up like them. But Lewis had mentioned that they were still with their owners," I grimaced at the word.
"Wait you mean when my dad and Avery shut down the authorities they weren't let go?!"
I shook my head.
"Oh... oh Ém I'm so sorry. I thought—if I had known..."
"It's ok, it's not your fault obviously. But I can't help but feel like I have to do something! I can't just let them be kept as pets for the rest of their lives."
"Well why don't we do something?"
I quirked a brow at him, beckoning him to continue.
"I mean think about it! You, me, Chad and Aiden! We've staked a human rescue mission before, why not again?! And this time Adham, and maybe even Katelyn, can help out too!"
I blinked at him, pondering the suggestion. It was a very, very vague plan. And we didn't know anything about the trial pets, not even how many there were. But if there was a chance that we could save even one of them, I wanted to take it.
"Oh hell yeah! Let's do it!"
Nathaniel and I only briefly discussed the possibility of saving the trial pets, before deciding that we could plan this later. For now, I wanted to enjoy my freedom again. We cuddled and watched a movie until nearly 9
o clock, when we decided I should head back home. Nathaniel brought me to our spot at the clearing before saying our good byes. Though he was very hesitant to let me walk back alone through the forest in the dark. Bury with my phone as a flashlight, I made it back down to the bottom of the mountain and headed to the parking lot.
I got into Todd's car, which was thankfully still there, and drove to Katelyn's. It was nearly midnight at this point, so I texted her and asked to come open the door so I didn't have to knock and wake up her parents. The door opened, and a tired looking Katelyn looked up at me with a soft smile.
"Hey Ém," she yawned. "Cmon in."
She let me in, and we quietly went up the stairs and into her bedroom. She shut the door behind us and turned off the overhead light, the pink lamp on her dresser and mushroom nightlight the only things illuminating the room. The two of us collapsed on the bed, and I caught her up with Nathaniel and I's talk.
"So once he graduates high school he's actually moving here? That's crazy!"
I was a bit surprised that she was more concerned with my love life than the humans being kept as pets, but I wasn't complaining. It was nice to talk about 'girl stuff' with her instead of the fate of several enslaved human beings.
"I know," I chuckled lightly, staring at the ceiling. "I love him so much."
"I'll admit that he's ok. But Ém, seriously what the heck is wrong with you?!" she snapped, still rather quietly as to not wake up her parents, and elbowed me in the side. I let out a small giggle as she continued to rant. "Like he literally kidnapped, and you said 'I love you' within a week of knowing him! That's literally stockholme syndrome... but worse!" she huffed.
"Yeah I guess we started out a little rocky. But we're good now! We're really good."
Katelyn sighed, and I could tell she was rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Fine, I guess you guys are kinda cute."
"Thanks Katelyn," I smirked.
"Ooo can I ask a few questions?!"
"Sure?" I answered skeptically.
"How do you guys have sex?"
I felt myself turn red and I coughed, rolling out of the bed.
"Oh my god Katy you don't—can't just ask people that!" I stammered.
She sat up in bed, looking back at me with a small smirk.
"Of course you can. Cmon we're best friends, best friends talk about that stuff all the time! Well at least I think so, never really had a best friend before."
I narrowed my eyes at her. I knew she was trying to play her little sympathy card. And it was working. I sighed.
"Well we—we don't even see each other that often, so we're more concerned with quality time than... sex."
"Oh?" she quirked a suggestive brow. "You didn't answer the question Emi~"
"We have sex like normal people when he's human size, there!" I huffed, crossing my arms and turning away. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and I didn't even know I could turn that shade of red.
"What about when he's giant?"
"N-nEXT QUESTION!"
Katelyn giggled, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Do you guys do like, vore roleplay?"
"Holy shit Katlyn, stop."
I turned off the lights and got into bed, keeping my back to her.
"Good. Night," I grumbled into the pillow.
"You didn't answer the question~"
And we're done the second book :D
Thank you for sticking around this long, it truly means a lot. And as you saw I purposely left a little loose end so that if I decide to (not a 100% guarantee as there's a couple other stories I'm working on), I will be able to write a third book. But regardless, I'm proud of what I've done with A Giant Mountain and these characters, and I hope you enjoyed it as well <3