One would think that Nick Gautier would be used to working at Kyrian's home after 3 years, but the grand estate still got to him. He didn't understand how Kyrian could live here by himself, albeit that Kyrian was away most of the time doing his Dark Hunter duties.
Nick was just finishing up washing the cars, which he still felt unworthy doing, when Ambrose suddenly appeared at his side.
"Ambrose?! What are you doing?! What if Rosa sees you?!" Nick couldn't help but flip out at the thought of anybody seeing his older self.
"Nick! Just listen to me and look at these." Ambrose extracted 5 books from somewhere inside of his coat.
Nick scanned the covers. "The Chronicles of Nick."
His eyes widened. What?...
"Ambrose, what is this?" Now Nick was worried. How was this possible?
"Listen, Nick. The writer is a demon. She somehow got into your head through your whole experience. We have to read these. This is your life and your thoughts, and I think that there are others in there. I think my thoughts are in there too, but we have to figure this out," Ambrose explained.
Nick couldn't believe this. His life in a book! By a demon. Was this really his life? Did he even want to listen to his life? His mistakes and regrets? He had to. They had to figure this out.
"Okay. We have to read it."
"Good, because I've already gathered a reading circle in the living room," Ambrose responded casually.
Nick's eyes widened as his jaw dropped to the core of the planet. "Why?! Who?!"
"Just Caleb, Kyrian, Ash, Kody, Death, Bubba, Mark, Menyara, and your parents."
Nick glared at the mention of Adarian.
"Why is Dad here?" He was enraged, but Death's training had been helping him control his demon side.
"He needs to know, Nick. We can do this." Ambrose squeezed his shoulder gently. Nick always forgot that Ambrose hated the man as much as he did.
"Okay, let's get this over with."
Nick walked out of the garage and into Kyrian's living room. Everyone was sitting around looking very confused.
"Nicholas Ambrosius Gautier! You had better tell me why I am here right now! I have a job to get to!" his mother, Cherise, yelled at Nick. She could never stop embarrassing him.
"Seriously kid, I have places to be," Ash yawned, casually inspecting his nails.
"Calm down, everybody. First things first, this is Ambrose. He's my tutor at school." Caleb couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something very familiar about Ambrose.
"Listen here, punk. I want to get out of here and away from you," Adarian said, pointing a finger at him and stealing glances at Cherise.
"Just listen to me, Adarian!" Nick shouted, surprising everyone.
Adarian was angry, but decided to hear the kid out. Maybe this would be good.
Ambrose handed Nick the books. "These books were made about my life, and all of you are in it. There may be surprises to some of you, and when we get there, I'll explain."
He couldn't help but stare at his loving mother because he didn't want her interrupting.
"Okay." Ambrose and Nick found seats; Nick on the floor by Ash's legs, and Ambrose next to Caleb.
"I'll read first." Nick lifted the book titled Infinity.
Infinity
Free will.
Some have called it the greatest gift bestowed on humanity. It is our ability to control what happens to us-
"Wow, Nick, I didn't know you were so deep," Caleb smirked.
"Hey! He can be a sensitive guy," Kody shot back.
"Not helping much, Kody," Nick mumbled, his cheeks burning red.
"Anyways!" Ambrose shouted.
"Right." Nick focused on the book.
Control what happens to us and exactly how it happens. We are the masters of our own fate and no one can foist their will on us unless we allow it.
Others say free will is a crap myth.
Nick's mom raised an eyebrow at his language.
"Sorry, Ma," Nick mumbled.
We have a preordained destiny and no matter what we do or how hard we fight it, life will happen to us exactly as it's meant to happen. We are only pawns to a higher power that our meager human brains can't even begin to comprehend.
"And we thought Nick was stupid! But he is a poet in disguise." Bubba and Mark laughed.
"You listen here, Bubba! My Nicky is a smart boy and I will not have you bad mouth him," Cherise yelled at them.
Bubba and Mark quickly composed themselves and mumbled their apologizes. Adarian couldn't help but give a small smile as his little Cher became aggressive.
My best friend Acheron-
"Aw, Nick, if I had known you were revealing your undying love for me, I would have gotten you something," Ash said sarcastically.
"Hey! I don't remember thinking this!" Nick said, blushing a deep crimson.
My best friend Acheron once explained it to me like this. Destiny is like a freight train rolling along a set course that only the conductors know. When we get to the railroad crossing in our car, we can choose to stop and wait for the train to pass us by, or try to pull out in front of it and beat that bad boy across.
That choice is our free will.
"Wow. I am extremely gifted at teaching smart-mouthed kids the deeper meaning of life," Ash, once again, interrupted.
"Guys! Come on! This is barely the prologue! Stop interrupting!" Nick yelled.
Everyone mumbled their 'fine' and let Nick continue.
If we choose to rush ahead, the car we're in might stall on the tracks. We can then choose to try to start the car again or wait for the train to plow into us. Or we can get out to run, and fight the destiny of the train slamming into us and killing us where we stand. If we choose to run, our foot could get caught in the tracks, or we could slip and fall.
We could even say to ourselves, "there's no way I'm dumb enough to fight the train," and hang back to safely wait. Then, the next thing we know, a truck rams us from behind, throwing us straight into the train's path.
If it is our destiny to be hit by the train, we will be hit by the train. The only thing we can change is how the train turns us into hamburger.
The corner of Adarian's mouth twitched up as he thought of the dark mind his offspring was gifted with. He wondered what his demon whispered to him when it wanted to have a little fun.
I, personally, don't believe in this crap. I say I control my destiny and my life.
Nothing controls me.
Ever.
I am what I have become because of the interference and secrets of one creature. Had things been done differently, my life would have been a whole other enchilada.
Soft chuckles were sounded around the room.
"Thank you, everyone. I am very hilarious," Nick said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
I would not be where I am today had things been done my way. I would have had a life worth living instead of the nightmare my life has been.
Nick and his mother were both confused. Nick thought his life was going pretty well at the moment and he loved it. Cherise thought she was giving him the best life possible. It suddenly dawned on Nick that these were Ambrose's thoughts.
But no. By keeping his deepest secrets, my best friend betrayed me and turned me into the darkness I have come to embrace.
Caleb couldn't help but think of himself. What if he would betray Nick in the future? The kid had actually began to grow on him.
Ash thought it was him. If anyone had a deep, dark secret here, it was him. He liked the boy. He would never betray him. Or would he?
Our fates and destinies were mashed together by a freak event that happened when I was a kid, and I curse the day I ever called-
Nick stopped at the name. No. That was his friend. He wouldn't, couldn't.
I curse the day I ever called Acheron Parthenopaeus my friend.
Nick looked sadly at Ash. He couldn't believe that his best friend was going to betray him. Nick felt like he couldn't trust anyone.
Caleb gave a sigh of relief. When he thought about it, he couldn't betray Nick.
Ash was actually hurt. That kid was by far the most annoying, but he cared for him. In his own special Ash way.
I am Nick Gautier.
And this is my life and how things should have been.
"That's it. Who wants to read now?" Nick queried.
"I will," Ash volunteered. Cherise glared at him as he grabbed the book from Nick.
A/N: Any part in bold text is a direct line from the books. For that reason, if anybody is against vulgar language, I must warn you that I can't really change anything. Read at your own risk. I also recognize that there are more than 5 books in the CoN series, but because of how lazy I am, I won't update the summary to include book six. But to clear up all confusion, Instinct will be included in this fanfic. Thanks for understanding.