Chapter 21: About to lose control

Hi everyone!
I don't know about you, but for me quarantine and home office don't seem so fun anymore, well, if you ask my dogs they'll tell you they are having the time of their lifes with me at home the whole day.
But remember, it's necessary we all stayed at home if we can.
Hope you are all well and taking care of yourselves and your families.
And now, what we are here for...

Amalia watched them from afar.

She had been following Nick since, weeks ago, he had said no to her. She did it because she needed to know why he was trying –again– to move away from her.

It hadn't been difficult for her to find the reason.

It was a girl.

Sabrina Spellman.

At first, she had laughed thinking it would be only another passing flirt of him.

It wasn't the first time Nick spent time with some random girl. She thought it was going to be like the other times, that he would get what he wanted and then go back to her as he always did, but then the days passed and he didn't come back.

And then, she saw the way he looked at the Spellman girl.

The fool had fallen in love with the girl!

And that complicated everything. She knew this time it would be more difficult to get him back to her. But she knew very well what threads to pull.

In the end, she would get what she wanted. She always did.

And she wanted him.

Nick had to realize it. Sooner or later he would come back to her because he couldn't escape from her. He could try, of course.

He had tried before. But it never worked.

He was hers.

And the sooner he understood this, the better.

Amalia kept watching them stealthily. She hated to see the way he looked at her, touched her, kissed her. It made her blood boil with rage. She needed a plan to separated them and soon.

She watched as Nick said goodbye to Sabrina. He hadn't noticed that she was looking at them, that she had been watching them for weeks, attentive to their movements. He left but she continued in her hiding place looking at the girl. She had a love-struck smile on her red lips and Amalia wished she could erase it. Oh, she thought, very soon I would.

A plan was beginning to form in her mind and she would soon put it into action. She simply needed to be patient for a little longer.

The reward in the end would be worth it.

Nick.

But first she had to get rid of the Spellman girl.

When he kissed her the ground under her feet disappeared.

Sometimes, his lips were soft and tender.

Sometimes, his lips were more demanding and hard against hers. And she loved it.

She loved knowing that she wasn't the only one losing control. It made her feel powerful, the knowledge she could have that effect on him.

The air became heavy every time they were alone. And she didn't know until when she would be able to bear the temptation.

"We better go back" Sabrina said with a ragged breathing "or the guys will wonder where we are"

Nick's breath was hot against her lips and she was dying to kiss him again but pulled away begrudgingly.

He nodded and took her hand in his. They went out of their hiding spot and returned to the busiest part of the bar were the music was loud and the air heavy.

It was just another busy Friday's night at Dorian's.

When they arrived to the table they shared with their friends. If she could consider Prudence a friend, Sabrina thought, certainly Dorcas and Agatha weren't her friends but now that the two girls and Prudence were back on good terms they were a sort-of-a pack she had to endure.

She didn't miss the look Prudence gave her or the giggles from her sisters, a part of Sabrina was somewhat exhausted of how annoying they could be when they were together.

She didn't miss the daggers Dorcas's eyes threw at her when she believed no one was looking at her.

"Oh, look who's back" Prudence said "Where were you, lovebirds?"

"Prudence" Ambrose said with an enigmatic smile on his lips, he was sitting with one of his arms on Prudence's chair "Don't be so nosy. Let them be"

"Well, I could but at least they could have cleaned up the evidence before showing up here"

Sabrina and Nick looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Confusion all over their faces.

"What do you mean?" Sabrina asked.

"Nick still has some of your lipstick on his lips" she said signaling her own lips.

Sabrina looked at Nick, indeed at the corner of his lips there was a bit of red lipstick, she rushed to take a napkin from the table to remove it.

He held his breath when her fingertips brushed his lips.

"Oh please, get a room"

Sabrina closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to control her temperament before she looked at Prudence. Her brown eyes threw daggers to her roommate.

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Can you stop being so annoying, Prudence?"

"I'm just saying what everyone thinks and don't dare to say"

"Prudence, stop" said Nick. He was upset, she could tell by the tone of his voice but she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't afraid of anything.

"Why don't we dance a little, Pru?" Ambrose suggested to her trying to prevent that the fight escalated to something more difficult to contain. Prudence reluctantly rose from her seat and took his hand.

"Come on girls" she said to her sisters "let's leave the lovebirds alone"

Sabrina grumbled.

"I can't believe I ever thought Prudence could sympathize with me"

Nick put a hand on her knee and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"Ignore her"

"I live with her, it's kind of hard to ignore her"

Nick let the air out of his lungs. He would have to talk to Prudence.

"Would you like to go dancing?"

She shook her head.

"Can we go? Prudence already killed my mood"

"Sure" he stood from his chair and extended his hand towards her.

On the way back to her residence, Sabrina couldn't stop thinking, but she wasn't thinking about Prudence's annoying attitude towards her. She was getting used to her harsh comments. But that didn't mean they didn't annoy her.

She was thinking in something else she couldn't take out of her mind in the whole week.

She was unsure about the state of her relationship with Nick.

Sabrina had thought that the only thing stopping him from asking her to be officially his girlfriend was the fact she hadn't broken up with Harvey yet, but it had been over a week since she ended up her relationship with Harvey and Nick still hadn't asked the question.

She couldn't help but feel a little insecure. Maybe he didn't want her to be his girlfriend.

"You are unusually quiet tonight, Spellman" Nick commented when the residence came into view "Is it because of Prudence? I can talk to her so she stops bothering you if that's what you want"

Sabrina denied, that was not what was hovering in her head at that moment, Prudence's words had bothered her, yes, but the status of their relationship bothered her even more. She couldn't continue with the doubt, she had to ask him and live with the consequences.

"Nick," she stopped and he did too, she looked into his eyes "are you my boyfriend?"

Nick didn't answer a t first. He put his hands on her shoulders, he was looking at her too, straight in the eyes.

"Well, I hope so" he said with a tiny smile on his lips.

She smiled too before kissing him in response.

"Why didn't you say so?" she asked when pulled away.

"I was waiting for you to be ready. I didn't want to push you to do something you didn't want"

She leaned her head to his chest, her arms hugging him.

"Why I wouldn't want to be your girlfriend?"

He shrugged.

"You are so silly" Sabrina said with a smile on her lips "and you are too good with me"

Nick stroked her hair with one of his arms still around her.

"And you are too good for me" he admitted.

Sabrina separated from him a little and lowered his head to kiss him again.

"You are a good person, Nick" she said with her lips brushing his.

He denied.

"I have misbehaved in the past, Sabrina" he told her with downcast eyes.

She stroked his face, he couldn't help but lean on her warm touch.

"Sabrina, I..." He started to say, he felt the words on the tip of his tongue but maybe it was too soon for her to listen them.

He tried to express with actions what he still didn't feel capable of saying out loud.

The kiss was deeper than the previous one, his lips parted hers to explore her mouth. She moaned in the middle of the kiss and her hands clutched tightly to his shoulders. When they separated, they were breathing hard.

She stared at him. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her lips parted trying to catch as much air as she could. She liked to see that he seemed as shaken as she was.

"I'd better go... or I'll have to kiss you again"

She wanted to tell him to stay. To kiss her again. She was about to do it.

"Don't do that" Nick said to her when she nibbled her lower lip thinking about having his mouth over hers again "Heavens, Spellman, you have no idea how much I want you"

She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way but he spoke first.

"Sabrina… I better go" he said after a sigh.

She nodded reluctantly.

"Call me when you get to your apartment" she asked as she did every night when they separated.

"I will. Goodnight"

"Goodnight"

Sabrina leaned against the wall of the residence and put a hand on her chest, her heart still beating fast because of Nick, a smile spread on her lips thinking that he was her boyfriend now.

"Boyfriend" she tested the word on her lips smiling like a little kid on Christmas morning "He is my boyfriend"

Nick waited outside the residence building with his back leaned against the wall.

This time, he wasn't waiting for Sabrina.

He was waiting for Prudence and couldn't help noticing the irony because not so long ago it was her who waited for him to ask about his intentions towards Sabrina.

Now, it was his turn to speak with her.

"Prudence" he said walking towards her as soon as he saw her leave the building "I need to talk to you"

"What would it be, Nicky?" Prudence asked. She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a defiant attitude, she seemed to know why he was there.

"You know I hate that you call me that"

"All the more reason to keep calling you like that… Nicky"

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Can you stop being so annoying, Prudence?"

Prudence looked at him with a raised eyebrow waiting for him to explain himself.

"Stop teasing Sabrina, will you?"

"I didn't know that Sabrina needed someone to speak for her" she looked him straight in the eye "Oh, she doesn't know about this"

The grimace on his lips did not go unnoticed to her.

"Stop trying to change the subject" he said angry at her "And stop bothering her"

"Oh please, Nicky, don't be so serious! I'm just kidding, friends tease each other, don't they?"

"I know you, Prudence" he told her.

"And I know you" she remembered him.

He took a deep breath.

"I thought we were friends"

"That's what you thought we are? How silly of you, Nicky" she told him.

"Whatever, please stop bothering Sabrina, will you?"

"And if I don't want to, what will you do?"

"Prudence…"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"When did you get so boring? Committing does that to you?"

"Prudence…" he insisted.

"Look, Nick. I'm kidding, really, you don't need to take things so seriously"

"You have to realize that what you find fun sometimes isn't fun for the others"

Prudence shrugged.

"Did she ask you to speak to me?" she insisted.

"She don't need to"

"Look, I wouldn't bother you... if you weren't so easily bothered"

"You aren't going to stop"

"You know me so well" she replied with a smirk "And now, with your permission, I'm late for my class"

Nick shook his head. Prudence would never change.

He didn't understand her, but was not surprised, Prudence had always had a defiant attitude towards the world, she was the kind of girl who preferred to attack first before being attacked. But sometimes she had to realize that her attitude wasn't understood by others, not everyone was Agatha or Dorcas who knew very well how she was and were used to her harsh ways.

In the afternoon, after finishing her classes for the day Sabrina was laying in her bed, scrolling through old pictures on her phone. A sad sigh left her lips when she saw one of her friends from the last summer at the Carnival. They looked so happy together, she still couldn't believe how much her life had changed in the past months.

Her days in Greendale seemed like another life.

She missed her friends, they were so far away, not only physically but also emotionally.

A part of her had always been afraid that something like this would happen if she and Harvey ever broke up.

That her friends would take sides.

But she never thought she was going to be left alone. Sabrina always thought Roz was going to be on her side no matter what, but she wasn't. Roz didn't want to hear about her for sure, she wasn't answering her calls or texts.

Theo had talked to her but their chat had been a bit awkward, Sabrina knew he didn't want to take sides, it wasn't in his nature, but she also knew that it was hard not to do so.

And Theo had always been more close to Harvey than to her.

She was looking at the next photo when an incoming call entered.

It was aunt Zelda and Sabrina frowned. It was unusual that her aunt called her, normally it was aunt Hilda who called almost every day to know how she was doing or if she needed anything.

Zelda had more important things to do that chit-chatting about her teenage dramas.

Or that she thought so.

"Hello, auntie" she said, trying to imprint some cheerfulness to her voice. But she failed.

"Sabrina, hello" her aunt said "How are you? How are things over there?"

She frowned again confused by her aunt's sudden interest in her things. It's not as if she didn't care, she worried, but she usually let Hilda ask the questions.

"Everything is going well, auntie. A lot to study but I think I'm getting used to it"

"Ahh... I see" Zelda said "And have you talked to your friends lately? How are they?"

Sabrina felt more and more confused with each passing second. Why was her aunt asking about her friends? It was so out of the character from her, she had never done something like that before.

"Eh..." she hesitated "They are fine"

"And your boyfriend? The Kinkle boy... What was his name again?"

Sabrina stayed silent. She hadn't thought about how would be to tell about her break up to her aunts. It would be so much easier to talk about it with her aunt Hilda, she didn't know what to expect of her aunt Zelda. Also, the fact that she asked about Harvey was more than suspicious.

As it was the fact that she acted as if she didn't remember his name, even when she knew him since Sabrina and him were five years old.

"Auntie…?"

"Yes, Sabrina" The fake tone of innocence in her aunt voice did not go unnoticed to her.

"What's going on?"

"You tell me" her aunt said "You have no news to share?"

"You know" Sabrina exclaimed "But… how?"

"Your cousin is not very good at keeping secrets"

"Ambrose told you?"

"Not exactly. I'm sure it wasn't his intention..." In her aunt's voice Sabrina noticed that she was extremely pleased with the situation "So, tell me about this handsome new boyfriend of yours…"

"I'm sure Ambrose told you enough already"

"Not the juice details…"

"Auntie!" Sabrina exclaimed.

Zelda took a deep breath. Her tone of voice was different when she spoke again. She wasn't teasing anymore.

"How are you, Sabrina?" she asked "And tell me the truth this time if you please"

"Auntie… I'm fine…" she said but she felt that lump already forming in her throat again.

"Don't lie to me" her aunt said "I know you since you were a baby, you can't lie to me"

Sabrina sighed undecided about what to do. Although Zelda sometimes could be harsh, she knew how to be comforting when needed.

She closed her eyes, a decision made.

She was going to tell her aunt what was happening.

"Roz don't talk to me anymore, auntie" she felt the prick of tears in her eyes and tried to suppress her desire to cry with a deep breath "I don't know what to do…"

"Why she doesn't talk to you?"

Sabrina wanted to roll her eyes.

"Because I broke up with Harvey over the phone, because I cheated on him… because I didn't tell her what was happening between Nick and me" Sabrina enumerated the reasons why Roz wasn't talking with her.

"I see, well, I'm sure you had your reasons to hide this from your friend" Zelda replied "I just want to know if you regret what you did? Now that you are seeing the consequences"

"What? No, no. I don't regret it, I could never. It's just… it made me sad that my friends don't understand me. I mean, I didn't expect Harvey to understand me, I know I hurt him, but at least I hoped Roz did"

"She is your friend" Zelda said with soothing voice "she'll came around, but give her time"

"I don't know, auntie" Sabrina told her "I'm not so sure"

"Have you tried talking to her again?"

"Yes. But she doesn't answer my calls"

Zelda sighed.

"Do you think she'll talk to me again?" Sabrina asked with a small voice.

"You two were attached at the hip since you were five years old. You are going to get through this"

"I hope so, auntie. I don't want to lose Roz."

"You won't, Sabrina" her aunt said "Everything is going to be just fine"