A/N- Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day everyone! If that is not a thing in your country, then Happy Monday! Thank you for the review, favorites and follows! I'm getting more pumped for this story and hope you all enjoy it. As you read this chapter, the italics are Nolan's you at the bottom!
Disclaimer: I do not own Revenge, nor do I profit off of this story. This is merely a figment of my imagination! Also, all mistakes are mine.
Third POV:
"No her name is Emily Thorne." Nolan feels his heart skips a beat when he hears her answer.
"Kid, you're right, forget the police, I know who you're talking about." He goes over to the girl, and when he holds out his hand, she flinches away, and puts more distance between them. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I know your mom, and she and I were friends."
"Why aren't you friends anymore? Did you take her crayons without her permission and not give 'em back?" She asks, her innocence contrasting with her bloody appearance.
"No, we had a little argument, and then she disappeared."
"I haven't seen mommy in a long time, neither; I've been bad." Nolan leads her to the kitchen and pours her a cup of water from the tap. She is hesitant to take it, but eventually does as they sit at the table. A few coughs are followed after a mouthful of water.
"What could you have possibly done?" He wonders out loud.
"I didn't make good grades and when I was sick I din't do my homework or chores." She notifies him, "I can only see mommy every now an' then."
So she's in a school, I just need her name to find Emily.
"Do you remember when the last time you saw your mom?"
"It was my birthday."
"And when was that?"
"July tenth."
Jeez, she has gone four months without her mom.
Nolan feels a pang of sympathy for the girl, "If we can get back to an earlier subject, what is your name?"
"Arrayah Carole Campbell."
He hides his grin; she named her after his beloved Aunt Carole.
Pulling a Victoria, Ems, clever.
"Pretty, wonder where she got that. I'm Nolan Ross." Nolan compliments, but trails off as he sees headlights shine through the flimsy curtain.
"Arrayah, go upstairs, quickly." Nolan ushers the girl up the steps, "I'll tell you later, hurry!"
Arrayah quickly hurries up, and hides in a closet. Nolan makes his way to the door, and opens it. A burly man and broad-shouldered woman are making their way up the sandy path. "Sir! Oh please, sir! Our daughter ran off, have you seen her?" The woman cries, showing a picture of a much happier Arrayah.
"I'm sorry, but it's only me here. May I get some contact information in case I do see her?" Nolan asks, faking concern. The couple obliges and hands a piece of paper with their name and number.
"Have a good night, and good luck finding your daughter!" Nolan yells as they pull away.
He closes and locks the door, and as soon as he believes the coast is clear, he closes the curtains tight and turns off the light. He creeps up the stairs and when he gets to the top, he calls for Arrayah. She crawls out of the closet.
"Arrayah, there is a couple looking for you, a big, brown headed guy and a red-headed woman."
Arrayah knows these people and shudders, "That's Uncle Willis and Aunt Martina, and they hurt the worst."
"Arrayah, we are gonna have to leave, okay? If there is any trace of you being here, I don't want us to be around! "Nolan quickly says. He runs to the room he was going to stay in, and packs what he brought in a borrowed gym bag he found.
"You have another house?" Arrayah asks in astonishment.
"This isn't mine; it's actually your mother's home." Nolan can't help but smile at the mention of Emily.
"Really? Where's her room?" Arrayah asks quietly, following him into the room.
"This one actually." Nolan says, going to the bathroom to get his toiletry bag and lays it on top of his clothes.
"Okay, Arrayah, can you get into this suitcase?" He asks, hoping to get out of there as fast as he could.
"Why?" Arrayah ask, fear being very evident in her voice.
"If anyone is out there, I don't want them to see you." He reassures her.
"How do I know that you aren't taking me to them, and you are just trying to keep me from seeing it?"
"I promise I will leave the zipper unzipped a little so you can breathe, and I will get you out after a few miles out of the Hamptons and you will be in the back seat." Nolan reassures, ushering her into the suitcase. As promised he leaves the zippers a little open, and he is careful going down the stairs with his bags. He gets to his car and gently puts the bags in the backseat, and goes to the driver side and pulls away. He has no idea why he is being too paranoid; maybe it's because he now how faith that Emily is still alive. He keeps talking to Arrayah as he drives, to calm her nerves, along with his. As promised, he allows her out when he was far enough out on Montauk Highway. Arrayah seems relieved, but suspicious of him. She lies down in the seat, just to be safe, and because she was tired.
"What if they set out a report for me?" She asks; Nolan thought she was asleep since she had been quiet for a while.
"I don't think they will. The people you lived with don't want attention drawn to what they're doing. The police will investigate, and may find something they don't want to be found." Nolan openly tells her, "But they won't find you, I will have you disguised." Not to mention you won't leave the apartment till I find Emily.
They make it back his apartment in about three hours, thanks to traffic. He asks Arrayah to get back into the suitcase, just until they are in his apartment. She doesn't argue at the request, she's too tired. He takes the suitcase and bag to his apartment while the valet takes his car to the parking garage. As soon as he is in the apartment, he unzips the bag and cradles the sleeping girl out.
"Arrayah, you need to wake up for about ten more minutes, okay?" Nolan shakes his arms to wake her up. He figures that she needs to be cleaned up before he lays her down.
"Why?" She buries her head in his shirt and coughs a little.
"Well, you're are all dirty, and need to get cleaned so you don't get sick. I'll even see if I have anything for that cough." He uses what Aunt Carole used to say to him as child when he would spend weekends with her and she tried to coax him into a bath.
"But I don't have any clothes." Arrayah says, waking up a little bit more.
"I will fix that tomorrow, but tonight, I will loan you some of mine."
"Okay, where's your bathroom?" She asks, while struggling a little to get down.
Nolan walks her to the bathroom and gets her a towel out of the linen closet on the way, "You can start running the water and I will get you some pajamas." Arrayah nods and walks to the big oval tub, sets her towel on the table next to it, and begins running the water, adjusting it just a little bit, just like she had been taught. She gets a look at herself, and barely recognizes herself. Her blonde corkscrew curls are matted, and look like they have dirt, sand, and blood. Her skin has the same things caked on, and under it are bruises, and cuts that littered her body. Her night gown is ripped, and dirty; Daddy will be mad when he finds her. She glances back at the door and shudders. What if he's just like Daddy and his friends; will he hurt her too? Will he make her cry, and punish her for it later? Nolan seems like a good guy, but so did Daddy. It all changed a while ago, maybe two years ago? She can't remember some of her memories are blocked and fuzzy. Her thoughts are interrupted by Nolan coming back.
"Let's see if these work. I'm very sorry for the lack of girly soaps; I don't get a lot of overnight visitors. Dang me for not getting some from the house." Nolan laughs, nervously as he lays the clothes and rubber bands on the counter, "I don't have any medicine, but are you hungry? I don't have much here; I can order anything you like."
"I don't want to be much trouble." Arrayah informs him and coughs into her torn sleeve.
"Kid, you will not be any trouble. Do you like pizza or Chinese?" Nolan reassures her.
"I've never had Chinese food. Is it good?" Arrayah tilts her head with the question.
"I think we should stick with pizza, since you've never tried Chinese. I don't think we should try any risqué food this late would be such a bright idea." Nolan states.
"Okay."
"So pepperoni or cheese?"
"Doesn't matter, you choose." Arrayah is playing it safe by letting him decide.
"Okay, so I will just go halfsies on the pizza, it should be in within the next hour or so." Nolan says, walking out of the bathroom, closing door with him. Arrayah can hear him ordering, and decides to get into the bath. She strips and lies in the water. She is amazed by how much dirt and filth was on her. She almost thought that the nasty, crooked scar the runs from her belly button, over her ribs and under her arm disappeared, but it was there, hiding under all the dirt. She lays back in the water after cleaning, well mostly wincing from the water and soap getting into her cuts and the pressure on the bruises. She ignores the pain from the bruise on her back. She feels herself drifting away, into very pleasant dream, where her Mommy was running to her in an open field. Daddy isn't there, only she and her Mommy.
Nolan is getting worried about Arrayah, she had been in there for a long time, and he doesn't think a little girl would take that long.
"Arrayah, are you okay in there?" He asks gently through the door. He doesn't' get a response. He knocks and asks again. He doesn't get a response. He goes for the door knob, hoping it's not locked.
"Arrayah, you okay?" He keeps his eyes closed, knowing she would want some privacy, as he opens the door. He doesn't get a response, and feels sick to his stomach. He looks over at the tub, and sees Arrayah asleep. He sighs with relief. The tub is overflowing though, and there is water all over the floor. He goes over and turns the water off and goes back to linen closet for a towel.
Arrayah wakes when she hears the door close. She looks around and sees all the dirty water in the floor and begins to panic. Nolan will be mad over this, and he will turn her in. She unplugs the bathtub, and tries to get out, but slips, and falls down hard, hitting her head on the porcelain tub. She hears Nolan coming back, and grabs the oversized towel on the table next to the tub. He comes back to find Arrayah crying and coughing, sitting in the middle of the puddle of water.
"Hey, did it hurt that bad when you fell?" Nolan asks, getting on his knees to try and be level with her. He tries to get her to hold still so he can look at the small gash caused by the bathtub. First-aid training kicks in and he grabs a hand towel to apply to her head, but she moves away, crying.
"No, I made a mess, and you're gonna call them to get me!" She sobs, quivering in fear.
"It's only water, it can be dried quickly. I would never call them to get you." He reassures her, "How about you go and get dressed in my room, you let me clean that cut, and then we will clean this up?"
Arrayah is hesitant about it, but agrees anyway. She patters to Nolan's room and slips on his clothes. After she leaves, Nolan thinks back to what her face expresses, full fear of punishment and speckled with bruises and cuts all over it, and the new gash wasn't doing her any favors. When he finds the scumbag that did this to her… it won't end well for said person or persons.
When she comes back sniffling, Nolan holds in his laughter. She is wearing an oversized tee-shirt and a pair of his boxer shorts. They are too big on her and she looks like she will walk right out of them. He motions her to sit on the tub ledge, where he is already seated. He asks for her trust, and that he is only looking at her cut. It isn't too deep, maybe some Neosporin, or something along those lines, and a big band aid. He goes over to the first aid kit he keeps and gets the needed supplies. He patters the ointment on her cut, and puts the band aid on; making sure her hair didn't get caught in it. He then gets the rubber bands from the counter and ties off the tee-shirt and shorts. He decides to lighten the mood with a game.
"Have you ever floor skated?" He asks, laying down another towel. Arrayah shakes her head, wet curls uncoiling gently.
"No…" She says suspiciously and wipes her nose with her wrist.
"Okay, floor skating is usually done when you are waxing or mopping, but I think it can work with towels and water. It's easy; you put your feet on the towel and just scoot around. You hop on another one when it gets too soggy." Nolan explains and demonstrates.
Arrayah tries it, and it's kind of hard with her small legs, but she gets the hang of it. By the end of it, he has managed a small smile and chuckle out of Arrayah. To him, it's a small victory, but it's short lived because of a knock on the door.
"Stay here, Arrayah, and be very quiet." Nolan puts his finger to his lips to exaggerate his point. He goes to the door and checks the peephole, only to see it was the pizza guy. Nolan opens the door.
"That will be fifteen dollars and fifty two cents. Dude, what happened?" The guy, a teen with shaggy hair, laughs.
"A friend of mine flooded the bathroom." Nolan pulls out the amount, tip included.
"Sorry man. Thanks for ordering from us, though!" The guy gives him the pizzas and leaves.
Nolan goes to the kitchen and lays the pizza boxes on the counter.
"Pizza's here!" He calls. Arrayah comes out of the bathroom carefully. She gets to the counter and sits on a stool.
"How many pieces?" Nolan asks, opening the box of pepperoni.
"Just one, please." Nolan picks up one and lays it on a plate. He gets her a glass and fills it with water, "Sorry for nothing better, I usually eat out every night."
"It's okay, thank you." Arrayah says, taking a small bite of pizza. Nolan gets three slices and a glass of water. Arrayah seems taken back by the amount he eats.
Arrayah makes it through one and a little bit more of another slice before she begins falling asleep at the counter. Nolan smiles and picks up, and carries her to his bedroom. He pulls back the sheets and tucks her in. He goes back the kitchen, and finishes a fourth piece of pizza and downs another glass of water. He puts the leftovers in the fridge and puts the plates and glasses in the sink. He makes a pallet on the couch out of spare blankets and a pillow off the bed. It takes him some time to fall asleep, but it eventually comes to him with great difficulty.
A/N- As promised, this is longer, and I think the next several are about the same length as this one. How would you all feel about a game, just a simple game? It would involve finding symbolism throughout the story. Those who find them first, get a sneak peak at the next chapter. Let me know what you think. Expect a new chapter next Monday, and I hope to see you all then! :)