Chibiyu: I just had an idea to add to this chapter. Yay!
Nick: *sigh* Why does this fail to surprise me?
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"It means Billy…i-it means h-he's going to k-kill you."
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KEV'S POV
Nick was shaking like mad and his knees buckled under him, me barely having enough of a warning to catch him and lower him slowly to the ground. His nails dug into my chest as he clutched my shirt but I didn't care. His bear flopped to the ground without a care. Something was wrong.
"Dad?" I called as I felt Nick struggling to breathe in between the wheezing and the sobs. Dad quickly knelt and forced Nick's face over to him. I felt my eyes widen in shock as I took in the sudden whiteness and unhealthy taunt of Nick' skin.
"Nick?" Nick didn't look up at his summons nor did he open his eyes. Dad looked to Dani and she nodded, taking Frankie in her arms and hugging the frightened boy. Nick continued to struggle for breath and he clutched onto me harder, as if his very life depended on it. "Nick, look at me." Nick did not. "Nicholas."That did it. Nick jumped slightly at the use of his full name and he opened his eyes, blinking hard and fast as tears spilled down his sick looking face. He looked at my dad, our dad, but his shakings did not die down.
Dad reached over and grasped Nick's right hand, the one right over my heart. "It's ok Nick." Dad whispered using his other hand to keep Nick's face turned towards him. "Just breathe. You feel Kevin's heart?" Nick nodded shakily but his condition did not get better. "Good Nick. Pay attention to it and try and breathe. Match Kevin's heart." Dad ordered gently as he held Nick's gaze. "Everything will be ok." Dad let go of Nick's chin andslowly ran his fingers through Nick's hair. Though Nick's shaking or tears did nothing to stop, I noticed that as the seconds ticked by, his wheezing lessened and he was breathing smoothly again. But his breath still came in short, terrified, panicked bursts and his fingers still clutched on my shirt. "You're doing great Nick. Keep feeling Kevin's heart." I focused on slowing my heart beat down to normal, which was difficult to do as horror electrified my veins when I had read the note and it grew when Nick collapsed. Gradually Nick's breathing grew longer and stronger and his fingers finally fell from my shirt and into his lap. He still shook like a scared puppy and he was still crying weakly and fear still dominated his eyes, but at least he could breathe without hindrance.
"It's going to be ok Nick." Dad promised. "We won't let him win." Forsome reason, those words were far from comforting for my brother. He pulled his head away from dad's hand and buried it in my shoulder, me blinking when I felt him do this. Since when did Nick like being close to anyone? But then I realized that Nick and I have been keeping up with the 'eye-closed' exercise as I called it and he has become more relaxed around me. But only me.
"Neal said that to me." Nick whispered and it was clear that his quiet words were for me and me alone. I held him tighter and angled my head so I was whispering into his ear like he was mine.
"Neal didn't mean it." I breathed and I ignored the confused stares the family was giving us.
Nick shook his head. "He did. At first. I didn't tell you something." The last sentence was a bit louder and all of us heard it this time. "When I was five, right before the...thing…happened, Neal changed again, but for the better this time. It lasted about two months before Billy got back into his head. Before everything changed permanently." Nick fell silent, still shaking but not crying anymore as he rested his cheek against my shoulder, me barely feeling his nose on my neck. We all were left silent for a moment as Nick again mentioned and avoided the age five incident. I leaned back slightly, Nick tensing when he felt me do so, but my back met the white wall instead of me falling back randomly-like Nick was expecting.
"Neal tried to protect you in that time, didn't he?" Dani whispered breaking the silence and Nick nodded. "He wasn't always bad." She said to herself and Frankie wormed her way out of her arms and slowly approached Nick, sitting down in front of him. Nick shifted and I knew he was looking at the youngest Lucas. We all watched the scene; Frankie kneeling on the light tan carpeting and holding Nick's gaze with emotions swimming in Frankie's eyes that I never saw before. The prominent one; determination.
"You saved my life so we are going to save yours." Frankie said, pointing to the note. Mom walked over and opened the single window-pane and took the note off and locking the window again. "We are going to stop him Nick."
"That's a promise." I told him, hugging him briefly before loosening my hold on him but Nick didn't move. Again, that surprised me.
Nick looked at all of us in turn. "Why are you risking your life for me?" Mom sighed and walked over to Nick, kneeling so she could look him in the eye. Her eyes were soft but saddened by the fact that Nick had to ask these kinds of questions. Saddened that he didn't really know what it was like to be apart of a real family.
"You're family now Nick and we protect family." Mom said, smiling down at Nick when he looked up at her. I wish I could see Nick's eyes; his reaction was in his eyes as he remained silent.
"You're not only family though Nick. I barely know you and I can see that." Dani whispered, smiling softly down to him and Nick shifted so he was looking at her.
"You're our brother Nick and we all love you." Joe stated, sitting as well and placing his hand lightly on Nick's shoulder. Everyone nodded at Joe's words and Nick blushed slightly as he ducked his head and hid his face on my shoulder. I couldn't tell if he was embarrassed by Joe's words or if he didn't like the fact that everyone was starring at him and waiting for him to say something.
"Thank you." He whispered and Joe looked confused but he gave Nick the chance to explain. "For meaning everything that you've said and for giving me a chance."
Mom knelt down and gently took Nick's face in her hands and lifted it so his gaze me hers. "We didn't do anything Nick. You gave us a chance. Thank you for trusting us like that." Nick smiled small at Mom before looking away, obliviously embarrassed now that everyone was looking at him with kind eyes. It was impossible to tell what was going on in his mind with his eyes turned away from everyone. "Why don't you stay in Joe's room tonight Nick?" Nick looked over to Joe and nodded after he looked back to the window. Everyone saw the fear still dancing in Nick's eyes, everyone knew that him being alone was not the best idea tonight.
He slowly got out of my arms, only to be intercepted by Joe. His eyes widened in surprise and he yelped as Joe stood up and as his feet left the ground.
"Joe! Put him down!" Dani scolded and Joe smirked, setting Nick on his feet carefully.
"Don't do that." Nick told him and Joe shrugged.
"Only breaking the tension." The non-existent tension. Way to just be a goofball Joe. I shook my head and led the two down the hall and opened the door for them.
Mom walked in and hugged them both, Nick hesitating for a moment before returning the gesture. Mom couldn't hide her smile and I couldn't hide my shock. That is, I couldn't hide it until Dani whacked me in the back of my head. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to wake us up." Mom whispered before shooing everyone out of the room and closing the door.
Dad took Frankie to his room and Mom gestured for Dani and me to follow her. She stopped outside our room and sighed. "We need to contact the police and make sure this family is watched and protected. I won't be able to live with myself if Billy manages to hurt one of us." I nodded and walked into the room, grabbing the phone and I was about to dial when I heard the two ladies speaking.
"Sandy, Nick will talk more when he is ready. I know that wasn't everything either but we need to give him some space and just do whatever we were doing before. It seems to be working." Dani whispered but I still heard her quite clearly.
"I know sweetheart, but I can't stand seeing one of my sons in that much pain." Mom sighed and I heard her saying goodnight to Dani. I quickly dialed the number and started talking to the operator. Dani walked in and hugged me from behind. She was worried about this. We all were.
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JOE'S POV
I watched Nick stand by the door, exactly where he stopped before and I was afraid to blink because I may miss him move. I walked over to him and he looked sadly up at me. I opened my arms and looked at him, waiting to see if he trusted me enough or if he wanted this kind of contact. He stared at me for a moment before sighing and walking into my arms; thanks was in his eyes and trust was in his body language as he relaxed into my arms. He didn't hug me back like he did mom, but I knew that in time he would.
I pulled away and tried to catch his eyes but he purposely lowered his head so his eyes were covered by the shadows the lamp shade casted all around the room. But the lamp shade wasn't to blame. After all I was the one who thought the alien lamp and matching shade was awesome with the little UFO design and I bought it for Kevin's house. I am surprised he kept it actually. I slowly sat on the bed and patted the space next to me. I watched Nick stare at me for a minute before slinking over and sinking down besides me. Though he was close to me, he seemed so far away right now. His whole body was shut off from me; his thoughts locked away in his mind just as his emotions were hidden behind the barricade in his heart. I knew the emotions were there, yearning to break out and show themselves-no one is that calm after reliving key parts of your history with your dead brother and your brother's psychopath friend.
"Are you ok?" I inquired, reaching out to him and gently gripping his shoulder. His muteness put me off slightly as I could not see the answer racing behind his shadow sheltered eyes. I watched Nick revel in the reticence for a while longer before taking a breath and plucked again at his teddy bear's fur.
"I'm scared." Nick finally whispered his tone suggesting his shame in the fact he was portraying fear. "Scared that Billy will stick to those words on that note. Scared that you will die for me."
I squeezed his shoulder in what I hoped to be a comforting way and I gently put two fingers under his chin and turned his head towards me. "Billy won't get us. And if the worst does happen…then we will happily die for our brother."
Nick shook his head. "I'm not worth dying over." Nick mumbled and I almost lost his words. I turned to face him quickly, Nick's eyes going wide as he realized I heard what he had said. I pushed him back on the navy blue bedspread, making sure his head collided with the pillow and not the wood headboard before I climbed on top of him and forced him to look me in the eye. Nick seemed very shaken by this but right now I didn't care.
"You don't get it, do you?" I whispered, keeping my voice calm and keeping it from sinking into cold anger at his blindness. "Forget whatever Billy and Neal told you in the past Nick. You are worth so much to us. You. Are. Our. Family. Now." I told him, forcing those words out with the sheer desire for Nick to understand. "You are worth it. We will risk anything, anything to keep you safe." His eyes never left mine and the fear never died but he blinked and I saw a shred of understanding enter his orbs. "We love you Nick. We won't let anything happen. Billy isn't going to touch us."
I climbed off of him and helped him sit up but I kept a firm hold on his arm as we both sat Indian-style and face each other. I allowed his eyes to search mine-I barely blinked and I held onto the emotions that my words held. I let him see the truth behind my speech and I let him see how I saw him: as a loved brother. He looked down a few seconds later, refusing to lift his head again.
"I'm not sure if I want another brother." Nick whispered, these words meant for my ears though I wished I hadn't heard them. I know why Nick said them but it still hurt to hear that even after al this, Nick still didn't want to be here with us. He looked up and shook his head frantically at my distraught face. "No, I didn't mean it like that!" He told me, his eyes widening as he processed how I took what he said. "I…I like being here Joe." He told me and my mouth closed.
"So then what did you mean?" I asked, wiping away the hurt from my face and from my heart.
Nick looked down again and he examined his hands, his fingers tapping on the metal casing around his broken finger. "I meant that I won't be able to take another betrayal from someone close to me. From a brother. I don't want to face that again."
"Remember when I told you that we will never intentionally hurt you?" Nick nodded to my sudden question. "I didn't just mean physical hurt Nick." The teen looked up at me and I smiled at the realization in his eyes. "Kevin, Frankie and I will never hurt you and mean it like Neal did." I told him as I flicked my raven hair from my eyes. I needed to talk to Stella about getting it cut again.
"Thank you Joe." He smiled at me and I smiled back when I saw it reached his eyes. I pulled him into a hug and nearly jumped out of my skin in joy when I felt him lean in and put his arms around me as well. He pulled away a bit too soon for my liking but I was far from disappointed. "I'll take the floor." He said, getting up but I pulled him back down again, laughing as he crashed into me.
"Nope. Come on Nick, we've slept together before!"
His eyebrows raised and he shook his head. "I don't think that could have sounded more wrong." He chuckled lightly but I noticed how his eyes darkened. I need to watch my words and avoid saying things like that from now on. I don't want Nick to be reminded of that night when he was nine.
"Not what I meant!" I told him, shoving him playfully as I have seen Rose do to him. He just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. ""Unless you want it to be like that…" I wiggled my eyebrows and Nick's eyes widened comically. "Kidding!" I assured him, putting my hands in the air.
"I know." Nick told me but his eyes were still wide, starring at me like he couldn't believe I was real. "Kevin wasn't lying when he said you were the weird one." He stood and pulled me up as he pulled back the covers. I am going to kill Kevin for that…ok maybe not kill but main or severely injure. Or just tackle him later.
"Come on, neither of us want to sleep on Kevin's floor. It's harder than a rock." Nick rolled his eyes and looked to how his feet sunk into the carpet. I met his skeptical gaze with a smirk. "Ok that's not true but seriously, do you want to be down there, all by your lonesome after tonight?"
"Or you could take the floor." Nick taunted and I crossed my arms, plopping down on the bed and pouting like a two year old. Nick smirked and shook his head. "Fine, you win. But only because you may start crying and throwing a temper tantrum if I don't." I 'sulked' at that as I feigned hurt. I was glad Nick was happy to joke around with me. I pulled him down and this time he expected it so he just sat down in front of me.
"You want to be closer to the wall?" I gestured to the white wall that the bed was pushed up against and Nick eyed the window, seeing how it was in the far corner of the room. He nodded, wanting to get as far away from the outside world-from Billy- as possible. We switched places and I lay down, pulling him down with me. I was never more thankful for Kevin putting a double King sized bed in every room. Nick scooted so his right arm was touching the wall and he lay on his back, starring at the boring ceiling. I reached over and turned off the alien lamp on the bedside table before settling down as well.
We both bolted up as laughter was heard outside. Nick scooted to the corner of the bed so he was enclosed by the walls on two sides. I scooted over and held him tightly, not missing how he held on to me as well. I strained my ears and we both jumped out of our skins when Kevin opened the door and whispered that the police were on their way. I nodded, suddenly glad that we were on the second floor.
"He won't try anything Nick." I whispered to him, feeling him shaking again as I pebble hit our window. Kevin started and glared, going to sit in front of Nick so he was shielded on all sides.
Billy laughed again. "Come out Nicky…come out and pah-lay-ah!" Billy mocked, stretching out the last word as much as he could. "Or Joey or Kevy or Frankie or Mommy or Daddy, I can play with you all!" He screamed and Nick burrowed closer to me, his eyes open and wide with inhuman fear. Kevin walked to the window and opened it.
"Leave him alone you bastard!" He shouted, me looking at Kevin in awe as Kevin never swore. "You've done enough!"
"Kevy! Hi!" Billy yelled and Nick pulled out of my grasp and slid off the bed, staying out of sight form the window. I followed him quickly.
"He's drunk." Nick whispered to me, his eyes still holding the fear that made me believe the world was ending.
"I want Nicky to see this! I know he's there! Hi Nicky!" Billy cooed and Nick shut his eyes and took a shaky breath before opening them but he was starring at nothing. He was listening.
"Leave us alone Billy!" Kevin again shouted and Nick stood suddenly, looking at the single paned window.
"I can't! I have a promise to fulfill." Kevin paled and Nick suddenly bolted across the room and slammed into Kevin. Both of them hit the wall and tumbled into the semi-opened closet door right as an earth shattering bang silence the night. I screamed as the wall just feet from my head chipped groaned. I looked up to see a circle hole, the height of Kevin's head and I mentally followed the bullet path. My heart stopped. If Nick hadn't known what was coming…Kevin would be dead with a bullet in his heart.
"Oh poo I missed!" Billy laughed and I didn't move but I answered him.
"You bastard! You almost killed him!"
"That was the plan Joey." Billy laughed again but his laugh was cut short as the sounds of cars and sirens approached. "Whoops, gotta run! See you later Nicky!"
And then he was gone and everything was silent minus the thundering of blood rushing in my ears and the dread filled pounding of my heart. And then I heard it and I vowed that I would kill Billy if it was the last thing I would ever do.
No one makes my little brother cry.
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Chibiyu: PLEASE READ THIS! Ok, I've been wondering is anyone else bothered by the POV markings I put up? I know one person is and I kind of am too and I was wondering if you guys would like me to keep them or scrap them and let you figure out who is the narrator. Please drop me a review or PM to tell me!
Until Next Update!