Author's Note: Hey everyone! Here is your update of Hope. Enjoy! :)
Warning: This chapter deals with some drug use and we don't condone drug use of any kind and that if brief, non graphic drug use makes anyone uncomfortable, you may want reconsider reading this chapter.
Forgotten Hope Chapter 49
NPOV
If someone asked me how it felt when Chloe left, I would never be able to explain. It was my fault she left. I had driven her to leave. I had told her to leave. But even knowing that would not stop the pain from overcoming me, drowning me. And what made it worse was that I couldn't make myself void of emotion. The moment I walked out of the house, leaving Alice, Jasper and Chloe there, I broke down.
It wasn't the kind of break down where you let go and let yourself cry. This was so much worse. My tears wouldn't even come out. It was as if I didn't deserve to let my pain out through the tears. Everything stayed inside of me... no pain was able to escape. I guess I deserved that for doing that to Chloe…
When I stopped shaking over the overwhelming pain and could get my mind out of the pit of despair it had fallen into, I headed back to Davis' and prayed to every power out there that they would be gone before I got there. I couldn't hurt them anymore and I sure as hell couldn't face them again.
Fate must have been on my side, because when I returned to the house, all traces of them were gone. Well… except for Chloe's necklace, which I was sure was now imprinted perfectly on the palm of my hand.
I didn't know why I couldn't let go of it. It was as if my entire world would come crashing down the moment I let it go. It was the last piece of Chloe I had. The only piece I would ever have again. I would never let go of it.
Even if she moved on, found a great guy who'd take care of her, love her, and deserved her more than I ever did. Even if she became the happiest person in the world, healed from all the emotional scars me and that bastard Bryce had left on her. Even if she became a world famous writer, had kids, a perfect family, and forgot I even existed… I would always be hers.
I even held onto it as I walked toward the diner to meet Greg. I did, however, slip the necklace into my jean pocket so Greg wouldn't see it. I could hold it in my pocket.
I only had to wait a few moments for Greg to arrive at the diner. Honestly, I had been hoping he would have been hit by a truck on his way to the diner. But I guess he didn't deserve such a quick death.
Greg plopped down across from me at the table and threw me a smile I knew all too well. It was his victorious smile. He knew he was winning.
"Hello Nicholas," he greeted me pleasantly. To anyone else in the restaurant he probably looked like a good guy, sitting with his leg over his other and a friendly smile on his face. I'm sure he could convince the world he was the next Gandhi if he wanted to. Maybe once he got bored of winning his game with me, he'd move onto that as his next game: becoming the world's savior. He would get a lot of power out of that title.
"Hi," I mumbled, not pretending to be polite like him. I picked the bag up off the floor and dropped it on the table, shoving it toward him, hard. It almost flew onto his lap, except he caught it right before. I guess he still had fast reflexes. He still fought a lot.
I didn't bother being subtle with it, like a real drug deal would be, because I wanted him to know that I wanted nothing to do with this crap.
"Relax," Greg chuckled in amusement. "Sit back and take a few breaths, man. We're going to eat first. I want to spend some quality time with my old pal."
I sure didn't want to spend any quality time with him. I opened my mouth to protest, but Greg beat me to it.
"You got somewhere else to be? New girlfriend already?" he said with a dark smirk. "I figured you'd wait at least a day or two to move on, but I should have known my old bud Nick is a player. You probably couldn't wait to get back in the game. That old girlfriend of yours was a bore."
My nostrils flared in fury and I fisted my hands, gripping the necklace in my pocket tighter than ever. I knew I couldn't keep my mouth shut with that twinkling evil in his eyes, though.
"Don't talk about her. Ever." I growled at him viciously. I knew that would just be throwing gasoline on Greg's fire, though. It'd egg him on. But I couldn't not defend Chloe. She would not be disrespected around me.
"Hey, hey, I'm not trying to be negative about the girl or anything," Greg stated calmly, putting his hands up defensively. "She was definitely hot, I'm just saying she probably wasn't…well…fulfilling your needs like other girls could—"
That was too far.
I shoved my chair back violently as I stood, ready to beat the living hell out of him.
Greg quickly stood as well, grinning from ear to ear. So damn proud of his self… "Hit a soft spot, did I? And so defensive about it. I must be right," he said in a soft voice, which I'm sure was supposed to sound like sympathy.
I knew I had to take a deep breath when the images of me killing him right here and now in this diner came rushing through my mind. If I killed him here, though, then I'd be wanted in Texas, too. That would ruin everything for me... I would have nowhere left to hide.
Why was running away becoming my life?
I took a deep breath, running my thumb along the chain in my pocket. I had to calm down. I could do this for Chloe.
I slowly sat back down into my chair, just then noticing all the glances we were getting from the rest of the restaurant. Great, just what I needed, people noticing me. I was still a wanted murderer. Would Forks have publicized their search for me nationally? I couldn't risk it.
Greg noticed too and smirked. "You have to control that temper of yours, Nick, it'll get you into trouble," he commented, sitting back down.
I ignored him. There probably had never been a time I hated Greg so much.
Greg saw that I was letting go of everything he said and called the waitress over. He did his usual flirting with her, like he had done back in Forks, and then ordered us both double cheese burgers with fries and beer. The waitress didn't even question my age. Greg had worked his magic on her easily.
Greg took the bag off the table and set it down on the floor beside him.
"So, have you heard from your friends in New York?" he asked me casually, but I could see his eyes burning through me, searching for the truth. I hoped he hadn't somehow seen them here and that this was just a trick question.
"Of course I've heard from them. They've been calling and texting all day," I said nonchalantly. It wasn't unusual for them to do that. I had just upped and left on them. They would wonder where I had gone and call….
Greg cocked an eyebrow, still watching me carefully. "Fair enough," he replied simply. I knew the hidden part he had left out at the end though: Fair enough, but if you try any funny business with them, I'll make you regret ever being born.
I already regret being born, Greg, no worries there. You have succeeded in your life goal, I hissed at him mentally.
An hour dragged on endlessly as we ate dinner. Greg, of course, had to make smart ass comments the whole time to get on my nerves. The moment his last fry was gone, I was ready to get down on my hands and knees and thank God. I could not have waited any longer with him.
Greg stretched lazily after his plate was empty and dropped his napkin on his plate.
"Well then, I'm ready to go if you are?" Greg said, pulling a couple bills out of his wallet and slapping them down on the table.
Oh, how generous of him. He was actually paying a bill. In Forks, they were so manipulated by him that they didn't even ask him to pay. The manager didn't even complain because he knew it would only lead to trouble. If he spoke up, he'd probably end up in an alley, beaten to a pulp. It had happened in Port Angeles.
I didn't speak. Instead, I stood and led the way out of the diner, leaving the bag for him to carry. I wasn't going to be caught carrying that stuff.
"Come on, my car's over here," Greg waved me over to a shiny, black car. It was definitely new. None of the cars we had in Forks were that new. We blended in with the town with our older cars.
"Like it?" Greg asked, running a hand over the hood.
"It's nice," I commented shortly, walking over to the passenger's door.
"I thought so. It's just like the one I used in New York to play the role of the rich, sophisticated friend to Alice. It worked like a charm. Shiny things take all the attention of air-headed whores like her," Greg said smugly as he slipped into the car.
I felt a spasm rock through my body as I held back all the anger that came rushing through me with his malicious comments. He was trying to anger me. I knew that. It was all a game. Only a little longer and then he'd be gone…
I heard a strange noise come from behind me and spun around. It was like a strangled growl or something. My eyes scanned the bushes around the diner suspiciously. What kind of animals did they have in Texas that could make a sound like that?
I wasn't going to stick around to find out. I opened the car door and sat silently in his car, staring straight ahead at the road.
Surprisingly, the drive to wherever he was bringing me was not as bad as our dinner. Greg had his music blasting so loud that the car was shaking with the bass. It was almost relaxing actually. The music was so loud that it drowned out the sound of my thoughts. All I could hear was the music. I would have closed my eyes and relaxed if I hadn't been with Greg.
Greg pulled up to a ratty, old looking motel. His car looked out of place parked in front of the room he must have been staying in.
I followed him out of the car and headed into the motel room with him. The inside looked about as great as the outside. I wondered if Greg was actually staying here or if he was just using it to show me how to test the cocaine.
"Make yourself at home," Greg chuckled as he plopped down in one of the chairs around a small table at the side of the room.
I watched Greg as I sat down on the edge of the mattress in the middle of the room. The room was so small that I was actually only a couple feet away from Greg from here.
Greg took out a package of the white powder out of the bag I had brought and pulled a knife out of his jeans pocket. I stiffened out of instinct, watching him closely as he sliced the package open and then put his knife back in his pocket.
"What do you know about coke?" Greg asked me, interested, as he prepared a few lines of the white powder. He took a second to peer up at me, though, seeing if I was going to answer him.
I obliged, since I knew it would be easier. "I don't know. It gives you energy."
Greg snorted quietly and leaned back in chair. "I'm almost ashamed to say you were in my gang. You must have done it before?"
"A few times, but I'm not an expert. I just remember that it made me awake and alert suddenly," I explained in a surprisingly calm voice.
Greg hummed in thought, nodding as he perfected the white powered lines.
"I'll give you a quick lesson. You are right, really. Cocaine increases energy, mental alertness, heartbeat and temperature. Cocaine is used by many professionals because it helps keep their energy boosted. This stuff is a lot more powerful than a cup of coffee to keep them up for a night shift or something. This means it's for a lot more than partying. You can make some good money off of it," he told me informatively, before continuing.
"As I hope you know-but if you're 'nice, happy life' clouded all your previous knowledge, I'll tell you again-cocaine can be taken pretty much three ways. There's injection, snorting, and smoking, right?" He gave me a quick, very sarcastic glance to make sure I had known.
"Mm-hmm," I replied with a roll of my eyes. Stupid, cocky bastard was pushing my buttons again…
Greg smirked and continued on, "Personally, I would recommend snorting. It's the easiest. And that's what we'll be doing today. I'll join you, so I can tell you if it was good cocaine or if we got ripped off and have to do something about it, and then you'll know what the good stuff feels like for future reference."
Two parts of what he said right there struck me cold. The 'we' part and the 'future reference' part.
"Hold up," I said firmly, causing Greg to cock an eyebrow at him. "Can't you just test it for purity or something? Can't you use…something to do that? Like a machine?"
"What do you think we are, CSI?" Greg laughed coldly. There was the trademark look of amusement on Greg's face. Wow, hadn't missed that look…
"Sure, you can test the purity, but that'd take an unnecessary amount of time when you can just train yourself to know what's best," he explained, wiping the cocaine off of his credit card that he had been using to make the lines.
I would rather take the time to test the purity in any way that didn't require me having to use the cocaine. My life was bad enough right now as it was. I really didn't want to become a coke addict, too.
I decided to be frank with him, even if it might turn out with me on the floor covered in blood…
"I'm not doing coke," I said flat out.
I saw Greg's normally composed face turn into a bit of a snarl. It almost had me bringing on my amused expression, but I thought it wouldn't be the best moment to do that.
"I understand that you may be slower and less bright than the rest of the human population, but I didn't think I would have to spell everything out to you, Nicky," Greg spat at me.
His hard hazel eyes flamed with rage, burned into me, warning me not to push him. "We talked about this earlier. Do you not remember? It was this morning! Are you that dumb? I know you didn't finish high school, man, but come on! Smarten up."
I ignored the pang in my chest that came along with his words. Chloe thought I was smart... and Chloe was usually right, but...
Greg took a breath and blinked, letting his eyes harden into cold stone before speaking. "I am being patient with you and giving you an opportunity, okay? Most drug dealers would have beaten the shit out of you by now, and any other gang leader would have killed you for leaving. I didn't. Now show some respect," Greg instructed me forcefully.
At those words, I was officially back in the gang world again. Back in the Punishers. He was using his manipulative tricks on me, trying to twist my thoughts into thinking that I owed him something. He hadn't killed me. He hadn't beaten the living daylights out of me, yet. This meant I should be respecting him and obeying him. This was Greg's world. I was out of the world where equality and freedom reigned.
I wouldn't fall back into his manipulative ways, though. I knew what that could do. Looking at Mack was all I needed to realize what could happen if someone gave Greg all the power he wanted. You become a useless pawn in Greg's cruel, heartless schemes.
"Or you find someone else to become your drug dealer in Texas because I'm not in your gang anymore," I suggested lightly with a shrug.
Greg didn't take my lack of obedience kindly. His lips pressed into a tight line and then he shrugged, getting up from the chair. "Sure, why not? And when I head back to Forks looking for a new drug dealer to station here, I think I'll drop by and visit Chloe. She's probably pretty lonely right now… needs some lovin' maybe—"
The words were quickly cut off by my fist hitting him in the mouth. I had warned him once about talking about Chloe.
I knew on the outside I looked tough at the moment. My knuckles busted from the punch I had gotten in. My face was hard as rock and my eyes weren't blinking as I stared down at him.
But inside... it felt like some natural disaster had ripped through me. The mere thought of him ever going near or touching Chloe was too much for me to handle. My heart was pounding, rumbling like an earthquake, a tornado of thoughts swirled around in my head, and a blizzard of cold settled into me as I imagined all the terrible things he could do to her. And I couldn't protect her from him because I was all the way over here, trying to protect her by being away from her.
Greg straightened himself up and wiped his mouth smoothly, not wiping off his devilish smile with the blood, though.
"I'm guessing you'll be taking the position then? That way I won't have to go venturing to New York," he said cockily, knowing he had picked the perfect words to blackmail me into staying. How deep was I going to get sucked into this? How far was I going to go to protect them when I wasn't even positive I was protecting them? I couldn't do anything though! I couldn't say no because I knew Greg wasn't bluffing. He wanted to be in control of me and he would do anything to keep the power. I remembered what had happened when he took Alice...
I bit my cheek and nodded stiffly. Goodbye, life I had hoped for….
"That's my boy, Nicky," he grinned, slapping my bicep encouragingly like he was an old friend.
Greg pulled a short straw out of the inside pocket of his jacket and sat back down at the table. "Ready to party like the old days?" he inquired with a crooked smile on his face.
Well, hell, wasn't he having the time of his damn life… I would have been lying if I said that I wasn't thinking of a hundred different ways to murder him and get away with it. I mean, who would come after me for murdering Greg Gagnon? No one. The cops would probably throw me a party.
But could I really take a life again? Even if it would be doing the world a favor? I wasn't sure... What would Chloe think?
"Since you've done it before I'm assuming I don't have to explain how to snort," Greg mumbled, not leaving it up to me to ask if I had actually not known. I wouldn't ask him anyways. He probably knew that.
Greg leaned over and I watched as he placed the straw in his one nostril and pressed the other nostril closed with his other hand. He then snorted the coke, sat up, and took a few quick breaths in through his nose.
"Your turn," he said slyly, getting up off the chair and taking a few steps to the bed. He lazily kicked his shoes off and fell on top of it.
My eyes slowly traveled back across the room and to the three lines of white powder on the table. Cocaine.
My heart starting racing at just the sight of it, and I took a deep breath. Why was I so panicked? I had done this before. I had done plenty of different kinds of drugs in Forks. I could do this and learn. I just had to shut myself off. Just don't think or feel or…anything.
As I walked toward the table, though, I knew that there was no way I could do that. I wasn't that person anymore. It had taken me months to even consider I could ever be anyone except that guy back in Forks. But now I realized that after everything I had been through in New York, that guy had been slowly stripped from my being. Every situation, every argument, and every stupid mistake I had made in New York and then worked out and solved with Jasper, Alice and Chloe... it all had taken a part of the old me out of me.
That was why I had been struggling to remain emotionless. I had been losing the part of me that I hated. I had become a guy who actually had some redeeming qualities. I didn't know how far I had come until now. Not until the moment I was going to give it all away and take back my old self.
I felt my heart right now. I felt it. Not the literal heart that beats in my chest, but the heart that held the people, emotions, and memories that I cherished. I felt it warm me. I could feel warmth and emotion. That was something I couldn't do before.
I sat down in the chair, my eyes still glued to the powder.
It reminded me of the moment on The Matrix when Neo had to pick between the pills. He was picking the future of his life. But at least he had the choice. He didn't have a guy saying that if he picked wrong one, the love of his life would pay the price. I couldn't choose, even though both options were sitting in the front of my mind;
Choice One: Life in New York with the people I loved, but endanger them the entire time and hurt them or:
Choice Two: Life in Texas where I would protect them from life in jail and from Greg, even if the life in Texas had nothing that I wanted or needed.
I took in a deep, ragged breath and grabbed the straw. I couldn't be selfish.
My mind raced as I lifted the straw to my nose, images of the old me rushing through my mind. The parties, the girls, the hangovers, and the fights… Hell, I could almost smell the alcohol in the air. I was so close to that life.
But then other images raced through my mind, battling against the memories of my old life. I could see myself giving Alice a piggy back at Spencer's cottage, laughing and teasing her. I could see Ali's bright, vibrant smile glowing at me, shining some light into my dark soul.
I could see Jasper and me in the park jogging, tossing the football, getting him ready for his football games. I could… I could see…
I could see her... Chloe. Her shy gaze from the first time I saw her, to the whimsical smile she would surprise me with now and then the full blown, joyous smile she wore. I could see the way she looked at me, even with all of my imperfections, like I was her Prince Charming. One of those Romeos from the books she reads. I could see the love…oh God, the love…
I needed it so much.
"Nicky," Greg shouted from the bed, ripping me out of the memories.
This was my life now. I had to protect her... had to keep that smile on her face.
She would never love me like that for real… I had been kidding myself. Once I had told her who I really was, she would have begged me to leave her alone. She was so good... I could never live up to that level of goodness.
All that Hope I had been holding onto was ridiculous. Who could love a murderer?
No one.
With that thought, I placed the straw in my nose and took a deep breath in. I shivered as I felt the powder come into me, and I took a few breaths in.
"That a boy, Nicky. Take another," Greg coaxed me, now standing right behind me with a hand squeezing my shoulder tightly.
I didn't care that it was Greg telling me to do it. I did it anyways. I did it because I knew this was the inevitable. I was born to be this person… I had false hope that maybe I could be someone different, but I knew better now.
This was my fate and I'd suck it up and live with it...
JPOV
The wheels in my brain went on overload when I saw Greg go into the diner with Nick. Our theory had been right and now I had to do something about it.
I was sitting in our hotel room now with a pad of paper, trying to get my thoughts out. I was trying to configure a plan that could work. I needed to put everything we had seen and heard together. If I missed one vital piece of information, my plan could be ruined and I couldn't risk that.
I recapped what we had witnessed earlier. Eventually, Nick and Greg had come out of the diner and Greg had led Nick to his car. They had left together, so I knew Greg wasn't done with him. Maybe they were going to try to sell the drugs. I wasn't sure.
I had been listening for information, but they hadn't said anything helpful. Greg had just been talking about his stupid car and calling Alice a whore. I had almost lost it right there and then. I was about to jump out and beat the life out of him when Alice grabbed my arm and shook her head, looking furious, but still composed enough to be thinking straight.
And then luckily for us, there was a cab sitting in the plaza parking lot. We jumped straight in it and told the driver to follow Greg's car. The cab driver didn't ask any questions and followed it obediently. We followed and watched as Greg pulled up to a room in an old, crappy looking motel. Typical Greg kind of place.
I had told the cab driver to loop around the block, giving them time to get into the motel, and then he drove us back to it and I hopped out of the car.
The next part of my plan wasn't as easy to do. I had to face Alice.
"Darling," I whispered hastily to her, keeping myself blocking the door so she couldn't exit the car. "I know we're doing this together, but this part I have to do alone because it's dangerous. I'm just going to listen to what's going on and then I'll meet you back at the hotel, okay? I'll text you every so often so you know I'm okay."
Alice looked panicked for a moment, but then blinked a few times and sighed. "Fine, but if you have any fun without me I'll be very disappointed," Alice smiled mischievously, leaning over to kiss me. I met her half way.
There was a great sense of relief that played through my mind. I hadn't expected her willingness. I knew she always wanted to help and that was why she did it, but sometimes she just didn't know when she was getting herself into danger.
"I won't, I promise. I love you," I said, throwing a wink at her and standing up straight.
Alice concentrated for a moment, looking me deeply in the eyes. Her lips began to move slowly, but nothing came out of them.
I paused, not shutting the car door. What was wrong?
Her lips moved again, but she slammed them shut and her eyes flashed with frustration.
Slowly, I realized what she was trying to do. She was trying to say it. She was trying to say 'I love you' back to me. I wouldn't lie... it stung a bit that she couldn't say it to me. But if there was one thing I had learned in the last year, it was to have hope for the future. One day, she would be able to say it again.
I pressed a finger to her lips and shook my head. "Later, darling," I whispered gently to her, because I knew she was more frustrated about not being able to say it than I was.
She huffed, but let it go, sitting back into the seat of the cab. "Be careful, Jazz," she called to me quickly as I shut her door for her.
I nodded and watched as the cab drove out of the parking lot. Once she was out of sight, I walked quickly, but quietly to the door that Greg and Nick had gone into.
This was the only way I could hear them. I knew I risked them coming out here and finding me, which would not turn out well, but I also knew it was the only way I would be able to find out what was going on. I pressed my ear tightly against the crack at the bottom of the door and hoped that no one would see me and come asking questions.
"...cocaine can be taken pretty much three different ways. There's injection, snorting, and smoking, right?" I heard Greg say from inside the room. Thank God this place was crap and I could hear them through the thin wood.
I heard Nick mumble something and then Greg continue to talk about cocaine. What I heard him start to say did not sound good. He was talking as if Nick would be doing coke. I took a slow breath in, keeping myself from running in and stopping him.
The next part of the conversation did give me some Hope, though. Nick started to retaliate. He didn't want to do the drugs. I smiled a small smile at that. He was still my best friend from New York.
But not to my surprise, Greg wouldn't take Nick's suggestion. That was when another piece of the puzzle fell in place.
"We talked about this earlier. Do you not remember? It was this morning! Are you that dumb? I know you didn't finish high school, man, but come on! Smarten up." Greg's breath was quick and hard. That was not a good sign. He was angry. Usually Greg stayed calm even when he was mad, but not this time.
"...giving you an opportunity, okay? Most drug dealer would have beaten the shit out of you by now and any other gang leader would have killed you for leaving. I didn't. Now show some respect," Greg spat.
He said opportunity. What opportunity was he talking about? It had to do with the cocaine, but what about it? Was he trying to give Nick drugs to get his mind off of New York and us? I hoped not...
"Or you find someone else to become your drug dealer in Texas because I'm not in your gang anymore." This time it was Nick and I honestly wanted to hug him for it. He had answered my question perfectly, giving me new information.
Greg wanted him to become his new coke dealer in Texas. The happiness from knowing the new piece of information faded quickly when I thought of what might happen. Nick being a drug dealer for him... We couldn't let that happen. Dealing was dangerous and I wouldn't be surprised if he became addicted to the drugs in the process. I would not let Greg do this. Why the heck was Nick going along with it? He may have done some drugs here and there before, but he was never big on them and I'm sure he didn't want to be now.
Greg's devious, rough voice came through the door next. "Sure, why not? And when I head back to Forks looking for a new drug dealer to station here I think I'll drop by and visit Chloe. She's probably pretty lonely right now… needs some lovin' maybe—" The last words were cut off and I heard someone grunt. My guess was Nick had done something... hit him or tackled him or something.
That was what he had against him? He was threatening Chloe? That could be it. It probably was. Nick would never want anything to happen to her. But why didn't he just come to me like I had done to him when Greg had been threatening Alice? Did he think we wouldn't be able to protect her?
He may be right... We hadn't been able to protect Alice...
I heard a car hit the rocky pavement of the parking lot and I jumped off of the ground. I hoped the person was just pulling in for a moment, but they parked and sat in the parking lot for a minute, getting out of their truck and lighting a cigarette.
I mentally cursed the man and pulled my cell phone out. That was enough information anyways. That was all I needed. I knew what was keeping him here and why. I knew the basic idea. I could form a plan now. I needed to form a plan now. I needed to stop this before it was too far. I needed to stop Greg.
This time he needed to be stopped for good.
And that brought me to the hotel room with a pad of paper on my lap and a pen moving quickly across the paper. I had made plenty of plans when I had been in the gang, but they were different. They were all about fights. It was all strategy for fights. That was what I had been good at. Fighting until the death and making the plans for those fights. This was different. It wasn't a physical fight against someone... if only it was that easy. I had to ruin Greg. I needed to get into Greg's mind and form a plan like him.
Even if the last thing I would ever want to do was be in Greg's mind. It was like the devil's lair.
Another thing I didn't really want to do, but had to do to fix this, was go into my old life. I needed to go back to Forks. I needed to go see people from my old life.
"Do you think Nick tried the drugs?" Alice whispered, breaking me out of my thoughts. Her head was beside my crossed legs, as she had been laying silently, possible dozing a bit. I hadn't known she was still awake.
I reached over and stroked her silky black hair with a sad smile on my face. "He may have, darling," I admitted wearily. If he thought it would protect Chloe, I think he would do anything Greg asked him, just like I would do for Alice.
Alice frowned and shifted herself closer to me. "I don't want him to be alone..." she murmured.
"I know," I sighed. "We'll figure this out, though. He won't be alone for long."
Alice nodded and gazed at the ceiling silently for a minute. "Chloe thinks he doesn't love her, I know it. But Nick does love her! That's why he's doing all of this. Don't you think we could tell her? Just so she doesn't have to feel alone, too? She looked so miserable, Jazz. Like she was sick. Or dying. We have to tell her," Alice pleaded, giving me a look of devastation. She was torn between this.
I knew what she meant. Chloe had no idea what was going on. She just thought Nick left and now she was back in New York thinking he wasn't ever coming back to her. It was wrong, especially since we knew that wasn't the story.
It wasn't our place to tell her, though. She would want answers that only Nick could give. She would want to come here and beg him to come back and that would only cause problems. Greg would not take kindly to that. It might even endanger their lives. Greg would be furious if he thought Nick had contacted any of us. And Nick might even do something drastic if he saw Chloe here again and thought she was in danger.
I couldn't let that happen. Nick trusted me to protect Chloe. I know he didn't tell me that, but I knew it was the case. We looked out for each other that way.
I explained it all to Alice and apologized.
Alice huffed and I saw anger flash through her eyes. "I don't understand this! Why can't he just leave you guys alone? I hate him!" Alice growled at the ceiling, glaring at it so heatedly that I was surprised it didn't light on fire. "I hope Nick gets fed up and shoots him or something…" I heard Alice say under her breath viciously.
I fought the urge to smile, because I knew we had all thought those same thoughts at one time. Many, many people probably wished him dead. It was wrong, though. It was just fighting fire with fire and lowering ourselves to his level. He did things to hurt people and we couldn't fight back in the same way.
"Alice," I murmured softly, looking at her.
"I know," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "That was mean, but it was truthful," she stated honestly with a shrug.
I shook my head with a chuckle, "Well, we're going to try and do this without anyone getting killed, okay?"
"Okay, but I won't complain if Greg happens to get hurt in the process…" Alice mumbled with a devilish look on her face.
I rolled my eyes at her, but still smiled, glad I had kept her here with me. There wouldn't have been any smiles if she hadn't been here. I would have probably been working myself crazy to fix this and made a mistake in the process.
"Go to sleep, love, you're violent when you're tired," I joked, putting a pillow over her head playfully.
Alice took it off of her face and stuffed it under her head, looking up at me softly. "Will you go to sleep soon?" she asked with a concerned gaze.
I hesitated to answer that question because I doubted that I would sleep. Every second I left Nick with Greg was a second I would regret. With Greg there, anything could happen, especially with Nick's temper. I hoped Greg hadn't hurt him after Nick had tackled or hit him for the Chloe comment earlier. I had left before I could find out.
"I'll sleep when I finish this," I answered honestly. That might mean I wouldn't sleep at all, but that was the best I could give her.
I was going to figure out a plan. I was going to fix this. I knew Nick would have done the same for me. He had sacrificed himself for me so many times and now it was my turn. I wasn't letting him go without a fight.
APOV
I was laying so that I could stare up at Jasper as he worked on the plan. As he got more into it, his face became harder and harder, changing to stone right before my eyes.
He was so serious about it, but I was glad... it meant that he would have a plan for us. Hopefully, when I woke up, we'd be on our way to the next step. Whatever it was, I'd do it. I had to do this for Nick and for Jasper... for Chloe, too.
And... maybe a little bit for myself.
My eyes grew heavier as I stared at him, and soon I was asleep.
I was suddenly in a bedroom, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. There seemed to be really tiny colored dots moving around on it. Fast. Like the fluttering of static on the TV.
ThumpThumpThumpThump.
I could hear the rapid heartbeat in my head. My heart was racing. I placed my hand on it and it felt like it sped up. My breath was coming in quick gasps as I panted to keep up with my heart.
This felt like I was having a panic attack. And I was having a vision. And I was oddly aware of it.
I moved through my head a little to try to figure out where I was. Finally, I sat up and got out of the bed to look around.
When I turned to look at the bed again, I gasped.
Nick was lying on the bed-okay, yes, this was his room at Davis' house!- in only boxers. It wasn't too weird... he was like my brother.
I watched as he lay there, like I had been a few moments ago. His hair was wet with sweat and he looked... well, like total crap. His breathing was heavy and every so often, his hand would clumsily grab at his chest, where his heart was, and he'd squeeze his eyes shut.
I touched my own heart, feeling it pounding, too, and wondered if somehow I was tapping into what he was feeling. I had never done that in a vision before...
"You're fine, you're fine, you're fine..." he barely whispered through his breaths. "Just a few more minutes and then you'll be able to sleep..."
He was reassuring himself, I realized. Oh, God. Poor Nick...
He rolled over, clenching the sheet under him. After a second or so, his hand reached out to run over the space on the sheets next to him. He shut his eyes tightly, again, as if he was trying to just disappear.
I crept closer, not being able to help myself. He looked like he was just... freaking out. I wanted to help him, but how?
My hand reached out to touch him, but before I could, he had suddenly rolled over, flipping himself to the side of the bed.
I jumped back, startled at how fast he had moved. He grabbed his cell phone just as quickly, opened it, and then froze.
I looked over his shoulder as he stared at the picture of Chloe on his phone background.
He stared at it for a while, taking in slower, deeper breaths. Like seeing her had calmed him down a little, somehow.
I watched as he grabbed a necklace off of the nightstand and looked closer to see that it was a charm of an elephant on a gold chain.
He held the elephant against his heart as he stared at the picture on his phone.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. So sorry… You do deserve the necklace… You deserve everything… You deserve so much more… I'm so sorry for all of this...I wish I could tell you that..." he whispered, and my heart broke for him.
I felt tears spring to my eyes as I crept closer. "Nick," I whispered, but he didn't seem to hear me.
"Nick!" I said louder.
"Alice."
Nick?
"Alice!" Louder this time. Not Nick. Jasper.
"Jazz!" I yelled as I came out of the vision, wiping my wet face.
"Alice! I'm so sorry... your pills... what happened? What did you see?" he asked, his eyes overflowing with concern.
"N-Nick," I spat out, grabbing Jasper's arms for support as I stared up into his eyes. "He did the drugs..."
Jazz's face hardened, half disappointed, half angry. I wondered if the anger was for Nick or for Greg.
I realized I was shaking as I sniffed and took in a breath. "It was so weird, Jazz. I could feel what he was feeling. It was so... surreal. I don't know. It was just..." I shook my head and swallowed. "Jazz, we have to help him. Now. We can't leave him... Greg's trying to just... break him. I can feel it. Please, Jazz..." I knew I was rambling, but I was still shaken up from the vision of him looking so... helpless.
Jasper was nodding. "Don't worry. We're not giving up on him, ever. I promise," he said sternly. "I think I finished the plan."
Author's Note: Cliffhangerrrrr! What's Jasper's plan? Is Greg gonna break Nick before Jasper can stop him? Will Alice ever be able to say I love you? Who knows! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter though. I may be putting some pictures up on the blog sometime soon so check that out or watch my twitter to see if I mentioned anything on it.
Of course thanks to my beta for editing this chapter and revising the end bit so it worked better. I don't know what I'd do without you, woman! ;)
Hope you all have a great day/night and review!
