Here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoy! R&R. I do not own these characters. Rachel Vincent does. (: Thanks

Chapter 3

I crept out of my room and motioned for Nash to follow. It was ten o'clock and we'd been waiting for my dad to fall asleep for an hour. We'd sat in silence most of the time. The bright side was that the images hadn't come back again. As quietly as I could, I opened the front door, grabbing my jacket and my shoes on my way out. Nash followed suit. I was planning on walking him home and then coming straight back. He'd denied it at first, but eventually gave in.

"You don't have to walk me home," he whispered as I tugged my jacket on, then put my shoes on correctly. His breath created white clouds in front of him.

I shrugged. "It's the least I can do for making you sit in my room for an hour."

He grinned as we walked down the driveway. "You'll be walking back here alone."

"I'll be fine, Nash."

He was silent for a moment. "Tell me again why you won't forgive me just yet," he said finally.

I stopped walking and turned toward him, and he did the same. "Because…"

Nash cocked an eyebrow. "Because is not an answer, Kaylee."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll make you a fair deal. I will tell you why I am not entirely ready to put my trust back in you after I talk to your mom," I compromised.

He sighed in frustration. "What do you need to talk to my mom for?"

"I'll tell you after I talk to her. I thought I already told you this."

He groaned. "How long is that going to be, Kaylee?"

I raised a shoulder in an attempt of a shrug. "It depends on the soonest I can see your mom."

"She's home until midnight. You know that."

I nodded. "Well, then I can talk to her when we get to your house." I knew that my reluctance to give in was running his patience short, so I did something to help comfort him a little. I laced my fingers through his and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I thought you didn't trust me," Nash said.

I looked at him and our gazes locked. "Until I can give you a real reason, let's just stick with this okay?" I replied and held up our hands.

He nodded. "Okay."

We walked in silence the rest of the way to his house, and I soon as I stepped over the threshold of his house, the smell of chocolate chip cookies hit me.

"Nash, is that you?" Harmony, his mom, called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, mom, it's me. There's someone who wants to talk to you," he replied and shot me a look. I grinned and he wandered into the kitchen to drag Harmony out.

"Kaylee," she gasped, then embraced me in a hug. "It's been a while. I never see you anymore."

"I know, and I'm sorry. The past few months have been a little… crazy," I said.

Harmony managed a small laugh. "I know." Over her shoulder, I saw Nash wave to me, then turn and walk to his room.

"I need to talk to you about something," I told her in a voice just above a whisper as soon as his door closed.

Harmony's face twisted into a look of concern, her blue eyes darkening. "Come sit down with me and we'll discuss it, okay?"

I nodded and we took a seat in her living room. I took a deep breath. "Is Nash… is Nash better now?"

Harmony's expression clouded over. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… how is he doing? Is he cured? What happened when he went into withdrawal?"

Harmony's eyebrows rose. "He's cured, Kaylee. He has been for about a week. It wasn't that bad of an affect on him. I mean withdrawal was, but it didn't have permanent damage to his system. Withdrawal… where to begin with that story. For one, he was extremely moody and slammed his door every chance he got. The pain was unbearable for him, Kaylee. But he eventually got better. Slowly, little changes every day," she explained.

I looked away. If Nash was cured… could I trust him again? "That's good."

"I don't want to guilt you into anything, but let me just say that he misses you a lot, Kaylee. Whenever I ask what's on his mind, he always says that he just wants you back and he made the biggest mistake of his life. You have no idea how much it hurt him to have you leave that day. It just made his withdrawal that much worse. He loves you lot. I just want you to make the decision you think is right, not what other people want. He misses you a lot, just remember that. He'd be riding cloud nine if you were in his life again," Harmony admitted.

I wrung my hands together. "What about all of his emotions from his memories?"

She tilted her head to the side. "As far as I know, they're still gone. But, who knows? I guess only him and Avari."

I nodded and stood up. "Thanks, Harmony. I just need a few questions answered. I appreciate your time."

She grinned and stood as well. "Any time, Kaylee, any time."

"I guess I should get going. Dad's sleeping, and I wouldn't want him waking up and grounding me again."

"Okay, well I'll see you soon, right?"

I nodded. "Of course. Can I come back in the morning? I have some unfinished business with Nash."

Harmony raised an eyebrow, and then smiled before I really had time to register the look before. A set of dimples shown, and it reminded me of both Tod and Nash. "Sure."

I waved at her before I left. The cold air stung my lungs as I walked back home.

"Hey, you," my dad said as he shuffled in the kitchen the next morning for his regular cup of coffee. "You're up early. And you're eating."

I stood up and rinsed my bowl of cereal out in the sink, not saying a thing.

"Are you doing something?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "Well… you're probably not going to be happy, but it's for the best," I replied.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Where are you going?"
Hesitantly, I said, "Nash's."

My dad's face grew red. "Why are you going there?"

I gave him a bright smile. "He's better, dad. Nash is all better."

He attempted a small smile. "Kaylee, I don't think-"

"Dad. I'll see you later, okay? I'll be back, I promise," I added for reassurance.

He sighed in defeat. "Okay, Kaylee. Be careful, though, okay?"

I nodded. "I will, dad. See you later." I walked out of the front door and shoved my arms through the sleeves of my jacket. It was weird, now that I thought about it. I was up early and eating breakfast. In other words, a rare occasion for me lately. I mean on weekends, yes, on weekdays, I was up early, but not eating breakfast.

I walked quickly to Nash's. The wind whipped my hair around. The coldness of it stung my cheeks. I shivered and hugged myself to try and keep warm. I knocked on Nash's front door, and, five seconds later, Harmony opened it.

"Kaylee, you look freezing," she said with a small laugh.

I nodded. "I am," I replied.

"Come in, come in," she told me and pulled me inside. The warmth of the house felt so good that I sighed in relief.

"Is Nash awake yet? I really need to talk to him," I exclaimed..

She shook her head. "No, but you can go wake him up if you want. And when you do, tell him that I made pancakes."

I half-smiled. "Okay." I walked to Nash's and room and carefully opened the door. I closed it behind me and leaned against it for a minute. It's weird how people always look so harmless when they're asleep. So innocent. I full on smiled at the sight of Nash in his boxers under his covers.

I stepped forward and sat down on the edge of his bed. I rested a hand on his cheek. I moved my hand and twisted my fingers lightly through his hair. He stirred and I giggled quietly. I leaned down and lightly kissed his cheek. That woke him up entirely. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. I stood up and he looked at me with wide eyes.

"Kaylee?" Nash croaked.

"Hi," I said.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes again. "What are you doing here?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Do you not want me here?"

"No, I do. It's just… it's so early."

I glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 9:53 a.m. "It's almost ten. I need to talk to you."

"About…?"

"I talked to your mom yesterday. She… she told me you're cured. And that's why I was holding back. Because I needed to know that you would be a steady support. I needed to be able to know that you could be mine again. And to answer your question, yes, I do forgive you," I explained quietly. I raised my eyes to his and saw him smiling.

"I wanted to tell you I was better, I just didn't know if you were still upset. I didn't know if you wanted to talk to me. And last night... some part of me was telling me not to. To wait and see what would happen," he admitted and stood up.

"How did that work out?" I wondered with a smile already knowing the answer to that.

He shrugged. "Great so far."

"Good to know. Your mom made pancakes. She wanted me to tell you that."

"Are you leaving already?" Nash asked.

I shook my head. "I'm just going to let you get dressed. I'll wait for you." I walked out of his room before he could say anything else. I couldn't control the fact that I couldn't stop smiling. I used all I had in me to keep a straight face as I sat down beside Harmony at the dining room table.

"Is he awake?" Harmony asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, he's getting dressed before he comes down."

"Okay. Are you hungry?" she says to me.

I shook my head. "No, I already ate. Thanks though."

Nash sat down in front of me and grinned at me.

End of chapter 3… it took me a while to get it to sound the way I want it to. I ask that you guys please tell me what I should change or edit! Thanks!