Chapter Five
Light was flooding in through the windows when Sami finally woke up the next morning. The sleep clouding her mind eventually cleared up and she realized that Lucas' arms were still wrapped around her and that her chest was flush against his back. She thought about the night before, remembering how he had held her the entire time and let her cry herself to sleep. She couldn't remember another time someone had done that for her. She rolled around to face him, propping her head up with one hand. He was lying on his side, facing her, his arms still stretched out towards her.
It was at that moment she realized she loved him. She had suspected that she did for a while now but it was then that she understood how deep her feelings went for him. She thought about how much time she had spent over the past few years feeling angry, bitter and unloved. But she didn't feel like that around Lucas. He showed her that someone did care about her, he had saved her.
And talking about what happened with her mother had hurt a lot. But Lucas had been right, it hurt worse to keep everything inside. And now that she knew she could confide in Lucas, it didn't hurt as much. It was still incredibly painful but she knew with time, it would get better. Especially if Lucas was going to be there for her the entire time.
She heard footsteps outside the door and for a minute she thought that the robbers were coming back. Then she heard the person mumbling to themself and recognized the familiar, feminine voice. She got off the bed and went over to the door. She knocked on it loudly.
"Nicole!" Sami called, "Nicole, can you let us out of here?"
Nicole was silent for a moment, "Sami? What are you doing here? And who's in there with you?"
"The robbers locked me and Lucas in here last night." Sami explained, "Can you get us out right now?"
Nicole sighed reluctantly, "Fine. Just let me go find a spare set of keys."
Sami smiled and went back over to the bed. She woke up Lucas and he sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "What's going on?"
"Nicole went to get a key. She's going to let us out." Sami informed him and Lucas grinned as he heard Nicole unlocking the door. Nicole pulled the door open and leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what were you doing in the house in the first place?" she demanded, crossly. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with her hair pulled into an unkempt ponytail. There were small dark circles under her eyes as well.
"Brady invited us." Lucas shot back. Sami ignored Nicole and touched Lucas' arm.
"Is your head okay?" Sami asked him and he nodded in response.
"What happened to his head?" Nicole asked, still looking irritated.
"The robbers broke a vase over his head." Sami told her.
Nicole noticed the stained shirt behind Lucas and stopped looking so annoyed. For a split second, Sami thought she saw a flicker of concern in Nicole's eyes but then quickly decided she had imagined it.
"Oh." Nicole stared at the floor for a minute, "Hang on, I'll go get you a shirt from Brady's room." she mumbled, quickly leaving the room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying a dark blue shirt. As Lucas pulled it on, Nicole cleared her throat loudly.
"All right, you can leave. Like, right now. Go get his head checked out at the hospital or something." Nicole tapped her foot impatiently.
Lucas smirked at her, "I didn't know you cared, Nicole."
Nicole looked offended, "I don't. I just want you to get out of my house. What do you take me for?"
"I refuse to answer that without a lawyer present." Lucas retorted, beginning to make his way over to the door. Sami and Nicole followed him down the hallway. The three of them were making their way down the stairs when they heard a high-pitched shriek.
"All right, Brady Black, why don't you just ram your head a little bit further up your ass!" Belle screeched loudly, to Sami's surprise.
"I thought Belle was going to be staying in Milan with Chloe for a couple more weeks." Sami turned to Nicole, confused, "Is she back already?"
Nicole shrugged, hiding a smile, "I guess she had a not-so-fabulous time with Chloe. According to Belle, being a famous opera star has really gone to Chloe's head and she is now an incredibly big bitch. And according to Belle, she was cheating on Brady so I think he just called her and dumped her."
"And I'm sure this brings on feelings of unbearable sadness for you." Lucas remarked sarcastically.
"Oh, yes, my heart bleeds for this awful separation." Nicole struck back, just as sarcastic.
Nicole, Lucas and Sami reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Brady and Belle standing near the front door. Belle turned and noticed her sister, then frowned in confusion.
"Sami, what are you doing here? Oh, hey, Lucas. Were you here spending the night with Nicole?" Belle asked.
Lucas looked harshly grossed out, "That is one of the most disgusting suggestions I have heard in a long time. It was all Brady's fault. He invited me over and then I got hit over the head with a vase and locked in a bedroom with Sami."
"I wish I could get locked in a bedroom with Shawn." Belle sighed dreamily, "Then he'd have to have sex with me."
"Lucas and I did not have sex." Sami glared at her sister, "And we have to leave right now because Lucas needs to go to the hospital and get his head examined."
Nicole burst out laughing, "I knew that all along."
Lucas took a step towards her and she squealed and backed away, "Don't! I had to sleep standing up in a pantry with Brady. It was squishy and uncomfortable and I'm too tired and sore to deal with you."
"They locked you in a pantry?" Lucas looked amused by this, "I guess the bedroom wasn't so bad after all. Although, I'm never going to want to eat here again after knowing you and Brady were locked into that pantry for the entire night."
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and tell you stories about me and Brady's steamy pantry sex, I just remembered I have to go somewhere." Nicole replied, pushing past Brady. She didn't bother closing the door behind her and she could make out what Belle was saying.
"Ew, you didn't really do it in a pantry with her, did you?" Belle sounded disgusted, "I'm so sorry, Brady."
After Nicole had knocked on the door to Rex and Shawn's apartment a few times, Mimi answered the door. She gave Nicole a little smile, then led her into the living room. Phillip, Patrick, Rex and Shawn were already there. When Phillip saw Nicole, his eyes glittered furiously.
"Who invited her?" he demanded, glowering at Nicole.
"Rex and I invited her." Mimi said defensively, her chin jutting out stubbornly, "Since we're doing this to cheer up both Sami and Brady, I thought she should be involved, since she's so close to Brady. Besides, you let me invite Patrick and he barely knows Brady and Sami. Why should Nicole be any different?"
"Patrick is here to amuse us." Phillip countered, then squinted at Mimi's brother, "You don't look like you were born a woman."
"I wasn't. Why would you think that?" Patrick questioned in an insulted tone.
"Do you really eat drywall?" Rex asked, holding back laughter at the expression on Patrick's face.
It finally sunk in what was going on and Patrick glared at his younger sister, "Mimi!"
"You'll probably want to cheer Belle up too." Nicole cut in, "She got back from Milan and supposedly Chloe was being awful to her. Although, she didn't seem anywhere near as depressed as Sami or Brady are. I think that's because she's still in denial about Marlena killing herself."
"Belle's back?" Shawn's eyes lit up, "Great, then we will definitely cheer her up too." suddenly his eyes narrowed as he drew his attention back to Nicole, "But while we are doing this, you need to realize that we are also trying to help get Lucas and Sami together. So, you better be nice to Sami. No more sick jokes like that one you made at the pub yesterday."
"I can do that." Nicole said breezily. Sure, I'll be nice to Sami, Nicole thought wickedly to herself, But Lucas is still fair game, "Oh, and Lucas kind of got his head smashed in, so we should wait until he gets back from the hospital to put this plan into action."
"He got his head smashed in?" Mimi shrilled, "Is he okay?"
"Okay, so I exaggerated a little bit. He didn't really get his head smashed in. He's fine." Nicole assured her, "He and Sami are probably just going to go get it looked at by a doctor and after that, they'll go home and you guys can go get them. I'll take care of Brady."
"All right." Mimi looked relieved, "Then I guess we should get everything ready."
Light was flooding in through the windows when Sami finally woke up the next morning. The sleep clouding her mind eventually cleared up and she realized that Lucas' arms were still wrapped around her and that her chest was flush against his back. She thought about the night before, remembering how he had held her the entire time and let her cry herself to sleep. She couldn't remember another time someone had done that for her. She rolled around to face him, propping her head up with one hand. He was lying on his side, facing her, his arms still stretched out towards her.
It was at that moment she realized she loved him. She had suspected that she did for a while now but it was then that she understood how deep her feelings went for him. She thought about how much time she had spent over the past few years feeling angry, bitter and unloved. But she didn't feel like that around Lucas. He showed her that someone did care about her, he had saved her.
And talking about what happened with her mother had hurt a lot. But Lucas had been right, it hurt worse to keep everything inside. And now that she knew she could confide in Lucas, it didn't hurt as much. It was still incredibly painful but she knew with time, it would get better. Especially if Lucas was going to be there for her the entire time.
She heard footsteps outside the door and for a minute she thought that the robbers were coming back. Then she heard the person mumbling to themself and recognized the familiar, feminine voice. She got off the bed and went over to the door. She knocked on it loudly.
"Nicole!" Sami called, "Nicole, can you let us out of here?"
Nicole was silent for a moment, "Sami? What are you doing here? And who's in there with you?"
"The robbers locked me and Lucas in here last night." Sami explained, "Can you get us out right now?"
Nicole sighed reluctantly, "Fine. Just let me go find a spare set of keys."
Sami smiled and went back over to the bed. She woke up Lucas and he sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "What's going on?"
"Nicole went to get a key. She's going to let us out." Sami informed him and Lucas grinned as he heard Nicole unlocking the door. Nicole pulled the door open and leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what were you doing in the house in the first place?" she demanded, crossly. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with her hair pulled into an unkempt ponytail. There were small dark circles under her eyes as well.
"Brady invited us." Lucas shot back. Sami ignored Nicole and touched Lucas' arm.
"Is your head okay?" Sami asked him and he nodded in response.
"What happened to his head?" Nicole asked, still looking irritated.
"The robbers broke a vase over his head." Sami told her.
Nicole noticed the stained shirt behind Lucas and stopped looking so annoyed. For a split second, Sami thought she saw a flicker of concern in Nicole's eyes but then quickly decided she had imagined it.
"Oh." Nicole stared at the floor for a minute, "Hang on, I'll go get you a shirt from Brady's room." she mumbled, quickly leaving the room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying a dark blue shirt. As Lucas pulled it on, Nicole cleared her throat loudly.
"All right, you can leave. Like, right now. Go get his head checked out at the hospital or something." Nicole tapped her foot impatiently.
Lucas smirked at her, "I didn't know you cared, Nicole."
Nicole looked offended, "I don't. I just want you to get out of my house. What do you take me for?"
"I refuse to answer that without a lawyer present." Lucas retorted, beginning to make his way over to the door. Sami and Nicole followed him down the hallway. The three of them were making their way down the stairs when they heard a high-pitched shriek.
"All right, Brady Black, why don't you just ram your head a little bit further up your ass!" Belle screeched loudly, to Sami's surprise.
"I thought Belle was going to be staying in Milan with Chloe for a couple more weeks." Sami turned to Nicole, confused, "Is she back already?"
Nicole shrugged, hiding a smile, "I guess she had a not-so-fabulous time with Chloe. According to Belle, being a famous opera star has really gone to Chloe's head and she is now an incredibly big bitch. And according to Belle, she was cheating on Brady so I think he just called her and dumped her."
"And I'm sure this brings on feelings of unbearable sadness for you." Lucas remarked sarcastically.
"Oh, yes, my heart bleeds for this awful separation." Nicole struck back, just as sarcastic.
Nicole, Lucas and Sami reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Brady and Belle standing near the front door. Belle turned and noticed her sister, then frowned in confusion.
"Sami, what are you doing here? Oh, hey, Lucas. Were you here spending the night with Nicole?" Belle asked.
Lucas looked harshly grossed out, "That is one of the most disgusting suggestions I have heard in a long time. It was all Brady's fault. He invited me over and then I got hit over the head with a vase and locked in a bedroom with Sami."
"I wish I could get locked in a bedroom with Shawn." Belle sighed dreamily, "Then he'd have to have sex with me."
"Lucas and I did not have sex." Sami glared at her sister, "And we have to leave right now because Lucas needs to go to the hospital and get his head examined."
Nicole burst out laughing, "I knew that all along."
Lucas took a step towards her and she squealed and backed away, "Don't! I had to sleep standing up in a pantry with Brady. It was squishy and uncomfortable and I'm too tired and sore to deal with you."
"They locked you in a pantry?" Lucas looked amused by this, "I guess the bedroom wasn't so bad after all. Although, I'm never going to want to eat here again after knowing you and Brady were locked into that pantry for the entire night."
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and tell you stories about me and Brady's steamy pantry sex, I just remembered I have to go somewhere." Nicole replied, pushing past Brady. She didn't bother closing the door behind her and she could make out what Belle was saying.
"Ew, you didn't really do it in a pantry with her, did you?" Belle sounded disgusted, "I'm so sorry, Brady."
After Nicole had knocked on the door to Rex and Shawn's apartment a few times, Mimi answered the door. She gave Nicole a little smile, then led her into the living room. Phillip, Patrick, Rex and Shawn were already there. When Phillip saw Nicole, his eyes glittered furiously.
"Who invited her?" he demanded, glowering at Nicole.
"Rex and I invited her." Mimi said defensively, her chin jutting out stubbornly, "Since we're doing this to cheer up both Sami and Brady, I thought she should be involved, since she's so close to Brady. Besides, you let me invite Patrick and he barely knows Brady and Sami. Why should Nicole be any different?"
"Patrick is here to amuse us." Phillip countered, then squinted at Mimi's brother, "You don't look like you were born a woman."
"I wasn't. Why would you think that?" Patrick questioned in an insulted tone.
"Do you really eat drywall?" Rex asked, holding back laughter at the expression on Patrick's face.
It finally sunk in what was going on and Patrick glared at his younger sister, "Mimi!"
"You'll probably want to cheer Belle up too." Nicole cut in, "She got back from Milan and supposedly Chloe was being awful to her. Although, she didn't seem anywhere near as depressed as Sami or Brady are. I think that's because she's still in denial about Marlena killing herself."
"Belle's back?" Shawn's eyes lit up, "Great, then we will definitely cheer her up too." suddenly his eyes narrowed as he drew his attention back to Nicole, "But while we are doing this, you need to realize that we are also trying to help get Lucas and Sami together. So, you better be nice to Sami. No more sick jokes like that one you made at the pub yesterday."
"I can do that." Nicole said breezily. Sure, I'll be nice to Sami, Nicole thought wickedly to herself, But Lucas is still fair game, "Oh, and Lucas kind of got his head smashed in, so we should wait until he gets back from the hospital to put this plan into action."
"He got his head smashed in?" Mimi shrilled, "Is he okay?"
"Okay, so I exaggerated a little bit. He didn't really get his head smashed in. He's fine." Nicole assured her, "He and Sami are probably just going to go get it looked at by a doctor and after that, they'll go home and you guys can go get them. I'll take care of Brady."
"All right." Mimi looked relieved, "Then I guess we should get everything ready."
