...Chapter 6...
The next morning, Nicole woke up screaming, then suddenly the door busted open, and she felt someone wrap their arms around her, but she tried to fight it. "No! Leave me alone!" she screamed. "Please! No!"
"Nicole! It's me, you're okay." she kind of heard, then started to calm down. "It's just a bad dream, Babe... I'm here and you're fine."
She slowly opened her eyes and saw that Kozik was staring at her full of worry and concern. "I'm sorry." she sobbed, holding onto him as tight as she could.
"It's okay." he said, rubbing her back.
"Please, don't leave me." she whispered.
"I won't, Baby... I don't plan on it."
"Please don't let him find me."
Kozik raised his eyebrow. "Who? Don't let who find you?" Nicole didn't answer, she started shaking as she was sobbing into his chest.
Moments later, Happy ran in the room, and saw Nicole crying her eyes out. "What the fuck happened?"
Kozik looked up. "She had a bad dream."
"But she's okay?"
Kozik slightly shook his head, but said "Yes."
Happy nodded, getting the hint that there was something else wrong, and that Kozik didn't want to say in front of Nicole. Plus he felt that something had to be wrong, because he's never seen her this upset before. "I'll be out in the livingroom."
"Okay, Brother." Kozik told him, then Happy walked out, shutting the door behind him. Kozik took a deep breath and turned his attention to Nicole, rubbing her back. "You're safe, I promise."
About ten minutes later, Nicole calmed down, and took a deep breath. "Sorry 'bout that."
Kozik wiped her tears away and shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for... do you want to tell me what happened?"
She slowly nodded and took another deep breath. "While I was locked up, there was this new prison guard who wouldn't leave me alone, for three months, he tried messing with me." she paused. "And he almost got to me, but he wasn't able to, because a supervisor caught him. So before he got fired, he told me that he knew everything about me and that when I got out, he was coming after me."
"What's his name?" Nicole didn't respond, she just looked at him with a blank stare, then Kozik sighed. "You need to tell me his name, so I know who to protect you from."
"After everything I've done, you still want to even be near me?"
Kozik raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Nicole looked away and shook her head. "Never mind... it's nothing."
"It's not nothing." he shook his head. "You mean something specific, now what is it?"
She looked up and glared at him, then as she was about to open her mouth, her door opened, and Riley ran inside, jumping on the bed. "Saved by the bell." Nicole thought, then smiled at Riley. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Mommy." she paused. "Good morning, Uncle Kozzy."
"Mornin' Baby Girl." he smiled at her. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yep." she nodded, then looked up at Nicole. "I heard you scream, Mommy... did you have a bad dream?"
"Yeah, I did... but I'm okay."
"Uncle Kozzy saved you, like Uncle Happy saves me, from my bad dreams?"
"Yes, he did, Uncle... Kozik saved me."
"Good." she smiled. "I'm hungry."
"Ry... why don't you ask Uncle Happy what's for breakfast, Mommy and I will be out in a few minutes."
"Okay." she gave Kozik a hug. "I wish you were my daddy." she whispered in his ear.
Kozik held onto her a little tighter. "I know, Baby." then seconds later, he let her go and she ran out of the room.
"What'd she tell you?" asked Nicole.
"Nothing... it's not important." he shook his head.
She rolled her eyes, then got up from her bed. As she was walking to her bathroom, Kozik grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. "I need to take a shower. What are you..."
"Shh... just hug me." she nodded, then wrapped her arms around him. "I miss you being in my arms... don't you?"
"A little."
He backed up to look at her. "Just a little?" he chuckled. "You've been in prison for five years and you miss being in my arms.. a little?"
"No, I've missed the hell out of you, Kozik, what do you think?" she thought, then looked at the ground. "Okay, yeah, I've missed it, but..."
"But what?"
She looked back up at him. "I don't know, just give me time to adjust to everything going on."
He nodded. "Fair enough." he let go of her. "Now... tell me who that guy is that was messing with you and what were you talking about after that?"
"Nope." she groaned. "I'm not telling you."
"And why not?"
"Because." she started walking to her bathroom. "Just leave it alone... all of it!" then she slammed the door.
Happy noticed the weird look on Kozik's face as he walked out into the livingroom. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing." Kozik sat on the couch. "It's nothing."
Happy scoffed. "That's bullshit and you know it."
"Uncle Happy!" Riley kind of yelled. "Now you gotta put ten dollars in the cussing bucket."
He groaned as he dug into his pocket. "Here... munchkin." he gave her a hundred dollar bill. "This should be good for ten more times in advance."
"Thank you." she giggled, running down the hallway into her room.
Happy turned his attention to Kozik. "The little one is gone and it sounds like Nicole is in the shower... now what the hell is going on?" then Kozik took a deep breath and sat there for the next half hour, telling Happy everything that him and Nicole was talking about.
Nicole didn't want to get out of her shower, she was just sitting there in the corner, letting the hot water hit her legs, and all she could do was cry. She just couldn't stop lying and being in prison, it became natural to her, but she hated that she was hurting Kozik.
She lied about him being Riley's father, she lied about what really happened while she was locked up, and she was going to lie about telling him who the guy was. But no matter what she was going to do, she still felt trapped, and she felt as if there was no getting out of it, because he was coming after her.
Nicole reached over the tub and grabbed the bottle of Jack and started chugging it down. After she drank half of it, she grabbed a razorblade and stared at it for a few minutes, sobbing, before pressing down on her wrist, ripping open the skin, watching the blood dripping in the tub.
"Shit." Kozik stood up. "She's been in there for over an hour."
"Then go check on her." Happy suggested, taking a sip of his beer.
"I will... Uncle Kozzy and ten dollars from you too." Riley smiled, then ran into Nicole's room first, the checked the bathroom. "Mommy?" she opened the curtain and all she saw was blood and Nicole's eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Aaahhh! Mommy!" she screamed.
Kozik and Happy ran in the room, then Happy said "What's wrong?"
"Mommy's bleeding." she cried, then hugged Happy's leg.
Kozik went inside the bathroom. "Shit." he muttered, picking up the razorblade. "Call an ambulance!" he screamed, then pulled her out of the bathtub, putting pressure on her wrist, while Happy called the paramedics.
A/N: I hope nobody takes offence to what I just wrote at the end. My apologies guys! It's just a story!