IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!!!

The Way I Loved You.

Chapter 10.

Miley jumped out of the bed and slipped on her satin dressing gown. She threw Nick his boxers and jeans as she did the tie on her robe. "Come on. Brandi, Noah and Jackson will be home soon. I don't want them to know what we just did," she said softly. She opened the curtains after Nick had slipped on his boxers and stood up. Miley had her back to him as she stood in front of the mirror. Nick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck as lightly as he could, teasing and taunting her. She moaned and twisted her arm back to run her hand through Nick's hair. "Are you ashamed or something?" he whispered into her ear.

Miley played with the curls at the back of his neck and turned to face him. "Not that I'm ashamed. But honestly ... do you want your brothers to know that you just had sex with me?" Miley asked. Nick's eyes widened and he shook his head vigourously. "So if they see us naked, they'll know we had sex. So we have to get our stuff from downstairs," Miley said. She kissed his cheek softly and took his hands. "I love you," she whispered softly. Nick smiled gently. "I love you too," he replied. He brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek fondly while he stared into her eyes. Miley smiled and buried her face into his chest, but she quickly removed it.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked and stroked her hair. "You stink of sweat," she replied. Miley intertwined their fingers and giggled. "Well, you kept me going for a pretty long time, babe," Nick said to Miley. He stroked her palm with his thumb and kissed her forehead. Miley smiled and whispered, "We should go and get our clothes." Nick smiled and pulled her down the stairs. Miley giggled as he pulled her into the living room. She slipped off her robe and pulled her dress on over her underwear. Nick watched as her slim and slender body slipped into the dress. She tried to reach the zipper, but failed. "Nicky, can you get the zipper for me?" she asked as Nick pulled on his shirt. He walked over to her and slowly pulled up her zipper.

"Miley ..." he whispered softly in her ear. He heard her moan quietly as he slid his hand up her thigh and in between to her legs. She turned around and took his hand from underneath her dress. "Nick ... we don't have time for that right now. I think we should tell Abigail right now," she said. Nick smiled and slid his hands down her sides. "What, don't you think we could stay here for a bit longer?" he asked. Miley smiled and slapped his hands away playfully. "Dream on, lover boy. I need to tell my little girl that her daddy's here to stay," she replied. Nick smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. He gently pressed his forehead to Miley's. "I love you," he whispered softly. "I love you too," Miley replied. Nick kissed her cheek quickly and pulled away.

Nick took her hand and grabbed his phone, which had slipped from his pocket. He slipped it back inside his pocket. He looked at her and took her hands. "You ready to tell Abigail?" Nick asked gently. Miley nodded. She couldn't speak. Her throat was blocked from the lump forming at the back of her throat. She had no idea how Abigail would react. She just knew one thing. Always expect the unexpected with Abigail Gray.

--

Abigail was sitting on Joe's lap. "Uncle Joey?" she asked innocently. Joe looked at her with squinted eyes. "What are you up to, Miss. Abi?" he asked. Abigail giggled. "Uncle Joey, I'm not up to anything," she replied. Joe ruffled her brown curls and smiled at the little girl staring up at him. "You look just like your mom, kid. Except those eyes. They're just like -" Joe began, but Abigail cut him off. "Daddy's. I know. Grandma told me," she said and smiled at her uncle. Joe nodded and smiled at his niece. "That's right, kiddo," he said.

"Mommy said Daddy won't ever leave us again. Was she telling the truth?" Abigail asked. Joe looked at her face and the look of fright and worry etched on her face. He knew that Abigail had grown attached to her father, and didn't ever want to let him go. But Joe knew he couldn't lie to the little four year old sitting before him. "Abs, I don't know. I highly doubt that he'd leave you now. He loves you with everything he has," Joe said. Abigail smiled. "Does the Wicked Witch know that Daddy loves my mommy now?" she asked. Joe chuckled. "I think so, little girl," he said.

Abigail smiled, and her smile grew wider when she looked at the door. "MOMMY! DADDY!" she screamed. She jumped from Joe's lap and ran over to her parents. Joe stood up and smiled. He looked at Nick, who smiled and nodded. Joe smiled back and said, "I'll leave you alone with Abs." He slipped past Miley and out of the room. Nick picked Abigail up and walked over to the couch with her and Miley. "Abi, sweetie, remember that time I told you about your mom and I?" Nick asked softly.

"Yeah, Daddy," Abigail said angelically. "Princess ... how do you feel about me and your dad being that way with each other ... again?" Miley asked. Abigail smiled widely. "REALLY?! Mommy, does that mean Daddy can live with us now?!" Abigail exclaimed. Miley smiled and looked at Nick. "If your dad wants to," she replied and stroked Abigail's hair. Nick smiled back at Miley and then looked at Abigail. "You know I'd love to live with you and your mother, Abs," he said to the small child sitting on his lap.

"When are you coming?!" Abigail asked excitedly. "I think we should find an apartment or something first, Abs," Miley replied with a smile. Abigail jumped down from her father's lap and started dancing with joy. Nick watched in awe at the way the little girl danced. "Wow," he murmured. "One of the things she got from me. Co-ordination," Miley said. She giggled and smiled at Nick. "Oh yeah?" he asked and smirked at her as he began to tickle her. Miley laughed and jumped up before running off. "JOE! WATCH ABIGAIL!" Nick yelled. Joe walked into the room, and Nick ran out after Miley. He soon caught up with her outside.

Nick grabbed Miley's waist and picked her up, spinning her around. He fell back onto the grass with her, and landed on top of her. He smiled and looked into her eyes. "Hey," he breathed. Miley smiled and brushed a curl out of his face. "Hey," she whispered back and looked into his eyes. Nick leaned in softly and was about to kiss her, but he was interrupted when he heard squealing. He turned his head and saw Lilly happy dancing on the pavement. "OH. EM. GEE! NILEY! NILEY!" Emily squealed and ran inside.

Nick and Miley laughed, and Nick turned back to Miley. He slowly leaned in closer to her. She felt his breath tickling her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Miley's breath caught in her throat as Nick spoke softer than before, simply breathing the words out huskily. "Where were we?" he breathed. His lips were centimetres from hers. She could already feel her lips tingling from the kiss that was soon to come. He was about to place his lips on hers when there was a scream. Nick groaned and snapped, "What now?" He turned his head and saw Noah, Brandi, Mrs. Stewart, and Mrs. Gray all standing in a line, staring at the couple.

"Nicholas!" Mrs. Gray squealed. Nick stood up as his mother ran over to him and engulfed in a hug. "My baby got the girl!" she said. Nick groaned. "Mom, we were kind of in the middle of something," Nick said. He turned and saw Miley had stood up, and was talking with her mother and sisters quietly. She glanced over at him and smiled before turning back to her family. "Nicholas ... you got the girl," Mrs. Gray whispered to him and looked at her son proudly.

"Mom .. I haven't felt this good since before graduating high school. It feels amazing to know that she's finally mine again. I can have her and Abi to myself. No distractions. No Jake, no Mikayla, no nothing. Just me and my girls," Nick said softly as he stared lovingly at Miley. Mrs. Gray smiled. "Sweetie, I'm happy for you," she said softly and hugged him again. Nick smiled. "Thanks, Mom," he replied, and he wandered over to Miley and slipped his arms around her waist from behind. "Babe, I have an errand to run. I'll be back later," he said. Miley turned his arms and smiled. "OK," she said. She gave him a peck quickly on the lips and he smiled. "Bye, babe," he said and ran over to his car.

--

Mrs. Gray walked into the house with Miley and Mrs. Stewart, and Brandi and Noah. "Oh, Miley. I'm so happy for you," she said as they all walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Stewart helped her best friend get coffee cups from the cupboard as Noah put the coffee machine on. Miley smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Gray. I just ... I can't believe it's really happening. This time yesterday, I was planning to go to Tennessee to get away from him. But now I can't stand being apart," Miley said. Brandi looked at her sister and smiled.

"Mile, I can tell by the way he looks at you that he loves you. He loves you like he loves his life. I doubt that I've seen him this happy since you graduated. He's ecstatic to get you back. I can see it in his eyes. After high school was a bump in the road. But it's given you strength and independence. And now, you can give Abigail good advice when she meets her first love. And now, Nick has the chance to scare him away," she said. Miley smiled at her sister and hugged her.

"Thanks, Brands," she murmured into her older sister's ear. Brandi smiled and hugged her back. "Anytime, baby girl," she murmured back. The kitchen door burst open, and the girls pulled away to see Joe carrying Abigail. "The little monster wants her mom," Joe said. He handed Abigail to her mother. Abigail buried her face into Miley's neck. "Abi? Sweetie? What's wrong?" Miley asked. "I'm tired, Mommy," Abigail muttered. "Baby, let's go to bed," Miley said to the young girl in her arms. She carried her up the stairs and laid her down in the bed. She kissed Abigail's forehead and put her favourite teddy bear beside her. "Baby, do you want to change into your pyjama's?" Miley asked. Abigail shook her head as her eyes drooped closed, and the little girl fell into a deep slumber.

Miley smiled at her little princess and stood up. She shut out the lights and began walking down the hallway again, but she stopped outside Nick's door. One look wouldn't hurt, she thought to herself. Miley pushed the mahogany door open and slipped through the crack before closing the door quietly behind her. She looked around and smiled. It was pretty much the same as it had ever been. Except, now, there was a large cardboard box sitting in the corner with a blue notebook sitting on top. She walked over and turned the lamp on as she picked up the notebook.

Miley opened it slowly and read the first page. In Nick's neat cursive was her name. Miley was written neatly and romantically written. She smiled and stroked the picture of her and Nick that he had stuck down beside her name. She opened the next page and gasped. There was the lyrics to a song, with his cursive at the top of the page as the title. She read the words, Still In Love With You (Yes it's a JB song which I don't own). She scanned the lyrics as tears came to her eyes. She slowly flipped over the page and read the words of a song called Tell Her (Jesse McCartney song. I don't own). Miley quickly flipped through the book. Songs called Can't Have You, The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Breakeven. The list went on. (The first song is JB and the other two are The Script. I own none of them.)

Miley stared at the pages as she flipped through the book. At that moment, she realised Nick had been just as hurt by the break-up as she had been. That was the moment that she realised that Nick Gray had been living it tough for 4 years as well. "What are you doing?" Miley spun around at the sound of a voice behind her, and she saw Nick. "Nick ... why didn't you tell me?" she asked. Nick sighed and sat down on the bed beside her. "I knew you'd find out eventually about the songs," he whispered. "Nick? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. Nick ignored her question.

"I suppose you want the whole story, so I'll give it to you. From the day you left onwards," he began. He took a small breath and continued his story. "I don't want you to get creeped out, Mile. But this is how I felt. The day you left – the day I went to get you back – I was broken. I went to your house and your parents said you were gone. You had left. I didn't know what to do, so I came back here and locked myself up. I wouldn't talk to anyone, and I wouldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I wouldn't leave my room at all. My family started getting worried about me. The day you left, I wrote a song. The song is the first one in that book. And so every day since the day you left me here in Los Angeles, I've written something about you. Sometimes it's a song, sometimes it's a poem. Sometimes it's a simple letter I'll never send. They all were pleading for you to take me back, and about how much I love you. I know it sounds desperate ... but I couldn't live without doing something to vent my feelings and emotions. And then I moved to New York. I had barely even said goodbye to my family. I just said a quick 'bye' and left for the airport with my bags. I was acting immaturely, but I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle knowing that I was living anywhere near something to do with you. I couldn't live with it. So I decided to run away from my problems and moved to New York. I got there and ... I don't know. I didn't know if I was crazy or if it was just my emotions playing up on me. But it seemed like every girl I met had your face implanted over their own. I stayed in my apartment most of the time, though. Usually I just sat in front of the piano, writing songs and biting my tongue to stop myself from screaming. The tears stung my eyes every night. I never slept. I just sat up crying every single night for three years. Then Joe came to visit me. I didn't know he had been going to visit you in Tennessee with Abi. He knew that you didn't want anything to do with me, so he told me to move on and get over you. He put everything I had ever written about you in a box and took it back here with him. It's all in that box the notebook was sitting on. I kept the notebook, and everything else is in a bag. I met Mikayla. Joe told me to go for it. So I did. I thought I loved her, but it was nothing compared to how I felt for you. I thought I had moved on. I thought I was over you. And then ... then you came back, and all my old feelings came flooding back to me. I fell for you all over again. Mikayla tried to stop it as much as she could, I knew that. But I couldn't help loving you. I tried as hard as I could to make it seem like I was over you, but nothing worked. And then I realised I couldn't do it anymore when you said you were moving back to Tennessee. So I ended it with Mikayla. Now the songs aren't break-up ones or ones about heartbreak. They're all just about ... falling in love with the girl you're meant to be with."

Miley looked from Nick to the notebook, then back at Nick. "I ... I can't believe you wrote something every day," she whispered. Nick saw her eyes glance at the box briefly, so he said, "Miles, you can look in the box if you want. It was all for you anyway." Miley knelt down beside the box and opened it up as he knelt down beside her. The box had stacks of loose pages as well as old pieces of jewellery and old memories and pictures. She picked up one of the pages that had been neatly tucked into an envelope. "Can I?" she whispered to Nick. He nodded, and she sat back and opened up the envelope, and began to slowly read the letter.

Dear Miley,

I can honestly say that I am falling apart inside without you. You have been my oxygen for the past few years. I don't think I can live without you anymore. I know I was a dumbass when I told you I was too young for our relationship. I regret saying anything now. I can't believe I actually said that stuff to you. I regret it. And now you're gone. I blew it, I know. And even though I know you hate me and I know I don't deserve you, I still want to hold you in my arms again and kiss you. To breathe in your smell and to tell you I love you. Those days are gone, though. You're God-knows-where. I've been falling apart inside and out, Miley. I don't speak, sleep or eat. I only eat during about 2 day periods. I miss you, baby. You'll always be my baby, whether you're a metre away, or 1000 miles away. I love you, Miley.

Nick

Miley looked at Nick with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why didn't Joe tell me you were feeling like this? Why didn't he tell me that you were putting yourself through that crap because of me?" she asked softly. Nick wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know, baby. All I know is that Joe was keeping your best interests at heart. I know that he loves you, and he was simply trying to protect you from the truth. He knew that you would blame yourself if he told you how I was acting," Nick replied. He stroked her hair and breathed in her scent.

"It's all my fault! If I hadn't left, you wouldn't have -" Miley began, but Nick cut her off. "Miley. Stop blaming yourself. None of it is your fault. Sure, if you had stayed, we probably would've gotten back together. But that doesn't matter now. All that matters is that we're together now. With our beautiful daughter. The little girl we love. The past is over. It's finished. All that matters now is the present time," he said softly.

Miley smiled weakly at him, and without saying another word, they both leaned in and kissed each other.

A/N: READ! IMPORTANT! Hey, guys. I'm sorry it took a while. I'm kinda mad. After what I said in the last chapter about reviews and stuff, and telling me what you loved about the chapter, some people (not mentioning names) still simply said 'loved it'. Seriously? Are you kidding me? So I came to a decision. If people don't start leaving good reviews, I'm quitting FanFiction. If people love the story so much, why can't they leave me a simple review, telling me WHY they love it. I work for HOURS trying to get these chapters finished for you guys. It takes you SECONDS to leave the type of review I want you to leave. When someone just says, 'loved it', I feel like all my hard work was for NOTHING. So my final decision is that if even ONE person just says 'loved it' on their review for this chapter, then I'm seriously going to think about quitting. Make your choice. It's down to you guys now. So please review and tell me WHAT you loved about the chapter, and WHY it intrigued you and such. Thank you to those who tell me why they love it. It means a lot. So the people who don't – if you leave a review like your last one, then you'll have quite a few people mad at you, because I'll be considering quitting this site and focusing on YouTube.

Since this could possibly be the last chapter, then I may as well say goodbye. So ... bye, I guess. Thank you for your support. And if this isn't the last chapter, then ignore the 'bye' part and read the 'thank you' part.

Love, Charlotte xoxo