CHAPTER 20: Goodbye

Nicole sat on the bed, taking in what she had said. She had just told the man who raped her that she would go to him. 'But it's for Jeff.' She reminded herself. She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. 'It's for Jeff.' She told herself in her mind over and over again. She kept reminding herself until she fell asleep.

*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Nicole woke up and quickly jumped in the shower. She threw on dark blue cargo pants, a white baby t-shirt and white adidas with blue stripes. She put her hair up in a tight bun and she grabbed a light jacket. She tip toed down the stairs, hoping to get out of the house without being noticed.

"Nic." She heard someone call. She froze and slowly turned.

"Oh hey Matty." She greeted, cheerfully. Matt raised an eyebrow, noticing how happy she was, or seemed to be.

"Where ya going?" Matt asked.

Nicole smiled. "Just for a walk."

"Oh, I'll come too." He replied, reaching for his jacket.

"No!" Nicole yelled quickly.

"Why not?" Matt asked curiously.

"Um..." Nicole looked around, thinking of any excuse. "Cuz, I kind of want to be alone."

Matt frowned. "Nic, it's not safe to be alone. You never know where that guy is."

"Matt, I'll be fine, I'm just going for a little walk." Nicole lied.

"Fine, but be careful." Matt said, giving in.

"Thanks Matty, I love you." Nicole said, smiling. Matt smiled and hugged her.

"Be careful." He repeated.

"I will, bye Matt." Nicole smiled again and walked out the door. She pulled a small slip of paper out of her pocket and read it carefully. She turned left at the corner and quickly walked down the street, turning into a small alleyway.

*~*~*~*~*

"Hey Matt, where's Nic?" Shane asked, looking in the guest room.

Matt looked over at Shane. "Oh she went for a walk." He replied.

"You let Nicole go for a walk by herself?" Shannon questioned, walking out of the bathroom.

"I didn't want to, but she keep promising she'd be careful. I can't run her life." Matt explained.

Amy nodded, walking up the stairs. "She'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Let's just hope she didn't do anything dumb." Shane said, walking into the bathroom.

*~*~*~*~*

Nicole took a deep breath, then knocked on the back door to the big brick red buliding. She crossed her fingers, hoping everything would go as planned. She waited and no one answered. She raised her arm to knock again just as the door opened.

She looked in the building as the door opened, but all she saw was black. It was totally dark. She slowly walked in, taking careful steps. After she had gone a few steps, the door shut. She jumped, twirling around quickly.

"Is anyone there?" She asked.

When she got no reply, she turned back around and continued to walk, feeling her way down a long hallway. She found a door at the end of the hallway, and she carefully turned the knob.

As she walked in, she heard a noise. She walked in the direction of it, and as she approached it, the lights turned on. Nicole gasped at who she saw.

"Jeff?!" She exclaimed.

He slowly moved his head, wincing as he did so. He looked up at Nicole and his face broke into a smiled. "Babygirl!" He said quietly.

Nicole kneeled down next to him, looking at him closely. She could see a cut on his left cheek, a fat lip and that his right eye was bruised.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" She asked as she tenderly touched his face.

"I'm fine." He replied, smiling. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and looked at Nicole. "Come here." He whispered, pulling her into a hug.

Nicole closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She breathed in Jeff's mystery scent, and tangled her hands in his hair, knowing that the moment wouldn't last long.

"How did you get here?" Jeff asked, looking at Nicole.

"I... um..." Nicole tried to think of an excuse, but she didn't have time to.

"I got her here." Nicole cringed at the voice and froze, too scared to turn around.

Jeff looked at Nicole, confusion showing in his eyes.

Nicole looked away, not wanting him to read her through her eyes like he always did.

"That's right Jeff, I got your little girlfriend to come here." The man confirmed. "It was actually quite easy."

Nicole closed her eyes and stayed in the same position she was in.

"How?" Jeff asked, his voice shaky.

"I just had to promise that..."

"No!" Nicole yelled, cutting him off.

"Don't you ever interrupt me again!" The man demanded, walking towards her.

Jeff stood up and stepped in front of Nicole. The man walked right up to Jeff and looked him in the eyes. Nicole looked up and noticed something. The only thing she could see on the man's face were... his eyes. Nicole looked at his eyes. Dark gray, they were piercing. 'I know them.' She told herself.

"Get out of my, boy." The man advised.

"No, leave her alone." Jeff said, not backing down.

"Ok, you asked for it." The man laughed and punched Jeff in the face.

He staggered back and grabbed his face. Nicole saw the man swing and she jumped up. "No!" She yelled.

The man stopped and looked at Nicole. He laughed and backed up. "Fine." He said calmly. "Just do what we agreed on and things will be fine."

Nicole looked over at Jeff, who again had a confused look on his face. "Can I talk to him for a minute?" She asked the man.

"Make it snappy." He said, walking away.

"What's going on?" Jeff asked, when the man was gone.

"Jeff, I.... um..."

"Spit it out Nic." Jeff coerced.

"I... um... can't do this." Nicole said, looking away.

Jeff placed his hand under her chin and turned her head towards him. "Can't do what?" He asked, staring into her eyes.

"This." She replied. She moved away from Jeff. "I can't be with you."

"You can't.. but why?" Jeff asked. "Nic, if this is about him, I won't let him hurt you." He assured, walking to Nicole.

"Jeff you don't get it. That's not it." Closing her eyes and sighing, Nicole continued. "It's just not something I can't do right now."

Jeff walked back up to Nicole and pulled her into a hug. Nicole attempted to pull away, but Jeff was too strong. Jeff held her tightly and whispered in her ear, "I love you babygirl, don't let this ass scare you."

Nicole didn't reply, she just let Jeff hug her as she tried to save everything about him in her mind. She loved him so much, so much that she was willing to risk herself for him. She was trying to remember every little thing about him, she never wanted to forget him. She tried to memorize his signature scent, not even she knew what colognes he mixed to get it, but she knew she loved it. She closed her eyes and pictured Jeff in her mind, trying to remember everything, from his multi-colored hair, to his piercing emerald eyes, to his strong muscular body. "I love you." She whispered, so quiet that Jeff didn't hear.

'Don't let go, please don't let go." She thought to herself.

"Times up." Nicole opened her eyes and saw the man. She also saw what he was holding in his hand.

Jeff turned around when he heard the voice. He was met with a chair to the head.

Nicole gasped in horror as she watched Jeff fall to the ground. Before she could check on him, the man dragged him to the door. When Nicole realized what was going on, she ran to the door. She got to as the man got him outside. She looked at him, blood pouring down his face from the shot to the head. She tried to get outside when the man shut the door.

"No!" She yelled, pounding on the door. She pounded until she couldn't anymore. She let the tears fall from her eyes as collapsed into sobs on the floor. She continued to cry until she heard someone coming to the door.

Standing up, she ran to the door. When she got to the door, she reached for the doorknob. She pulled the door open as the other person pushed it open.

"Hey sweetheart, coming to welcome me back?" Nicole let more tears fall as her hopes for being with Jeff again fell with them.

A/N: Aw... LOL Hope you guyz like! 20 chapz! I'm surprised if written this much already. Thankz sooo sooo much for the reviewz! I have almost 50 for 20 chapterz! I'm really glad you guyz enjoy it! Keep reading and reviewing! :)Nicole***