NOBODY'S HOME
Chapter 11: She's lost inside
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside.
She's lost inside, lost inside
NO ONE'S POV
The cab driver had been waiting for almost an hour on the street where he was supposed to wait for his passenger. He knew that he should have left a few minutes ago because he didn't want to waste any time, but he kinda sensed that there was something wrong going on. Coincidentally, while he was waiting for his passenger, he noticed that the same car that was parked in front of the abandoned house, just turned left towards the street where he was parked. Out of instinct, he immediately ducked his head so the driver wouldn't see him. He kinda felt like the car stopped in front of his cab, so he brought his body down to the passenger seat beside him and acted like he was asleep. Just like what he was expecting, he heard a tap on his window, so he acted like he just woke up. He sat back up on the driver's seat and rolled down his window for the guy.
"Hey man! You might wanna drive off before the cops find out you're sleeping here," the young man told him politely. He thought he looked like he was around his twenties, so he just played along.
"Thanks man! Just had a rough night," the driver said with a chuckle.
"No problem!" the young man said as he stepped back and went inside his car. They both nodded at each other as the cab driver turned-on his engine.
The young man sped off while the cab driver drove and turned to the other side of the street, just to make the young man think that we was about to leave too.
The cab driver drove forward and turned right instead of taking the same track the young man took. He was planning to turn back around to the street where he dropped off his previous passenger. He wanted to check on her. When he arrived in front of the abandoned house, he saw a dark smoke coming out from the windows of it. He immediately stepped out of his cab and ran towards it. He opened the front door and gasped at what he saw. There was fire everywhere. He didn't know what to do. He was certain he couldn't check if there was still someone inside, so he immediately called 911.
There were fire fighters, cops, and paramedics outside the abandoned house which was currently on fire. Dan's directions for Miley's location led them there, and they couldn't comprehend what was happening. Nick parked his car on a vacant space on the side of the street, before the four of them got out of the car to know whether Miley was really there. Lots of scary and heartbreaking images started to appear in Nick's mind as he wondered; what if Miley was currently inside the burning house?
"Sir, ma'am, you cannot be here," one officer blocked their way and told them politely.
Kevin seemed to notice that Nick was in a daze, staring at the scene in front of him, so he had decided to tell the officer about their lost friend.
A person lying on a wheeled bed outside the ambulance caught Nick's eye.
"It's her!" one of the civilian men around her shouted.
Just one single look on her brunette-colored hair, Nick knew that the girl was his Miley. Without a word, he rushed towards her and nearly fell on his knees when he saw her figure lying helplessly on the bed.
"Miley!" he cried as he stood beside her and took-in her current image. She was unconscious, her skin was kinda reddish from the heat, her cheek had a faint mark of a hand as if she was slapped hardly across the face, and her wrists were confusedly tied together, same as her ankles. She looked fine on the outside, but on the inside she was beaten up. She looked terribly hurt; he just wanted to hold her.
"Sir, do you happen to know this young lady?" one officer asked, blocking him from reaching out to his girlfriend.
"She's my girlfriend," he said as he impatiently waited for the officer to get out of his way.
"We need to get her to a hospital quick, you can go with her," the officer said as the paramedics team moved to get her body in the ambulance.
Kevin and the rest of the gang stepped forward towards Nick. They were all shocked with Miley's condition, but Nick needed their support.
"Go with them, Nick. We'll stay here to get info. Demi, go with Nick and calm him down. Miley would get through this," Kevin told them calmly. They nodded, and Demi pushed a broken-looking Nick towards the ambulance.
Both Nick and Demi climbed into the ambulance with Miley and the paramedics. They stared in terror at the girl lying helpless in front of them, as the medical team brought their attention into keeping her alive.
The paramedics placed an oxygen mask on Miley to help her breathe, and they treated the skin around her wrists and ankles that were kinda damaged due to the tightness and roughness of the rope that was used to restrain her. The other paramedics started checking her vitals and her body for some injuries, while Nick silently cried beside her. They saw a couple of bruises, but other than that, no serious injuries.
They told Nick and Demi not to touch Miley because her skin was suffering from first to second degree burn.
"Why isn't she awake?" Demi asked when she found the will to speak. It was hard for her to see Miley lying unconscious in front of her.
"We don't know yet," the paramedic honestly told them. "Check her head for bumps," she told the other paramedic who was near the patient's head. "We need to get her to the hospital right away, so we could run some tests. She really should be awake right now, but she wouldn't respond to the spirit of ammonia," the same paramedic told them worriedly.
"I felt a small bump here, ma'am," the paramedic checking Miley's head told his teammate. "She might have a concussion if she got her head bumped onto a surface," he informed Nick and Demi too.
"Her heart beat is stable, though. She should be fine," one paramedic announced.
Nick's heart ached to hold her and kiss the pain away. He stared at her beautiful face, wondering what might have happened to her if the rescuers didn't come in time to help her. He couldn't believe someone could hurt her. He was confused and frustrated because he didn't know what exactly happened. He didn't know why Miley ran away and why she was there inside the burning house.
"Here, you can touch her hand. Only her hand," a paramedic told Nick as she gave him Miley's hand.
Nick felt much better when he was able to touch her warm hand. He carefully lifted it up a bit while he leaned down so he could kiss it. He missed her already.
"Baby? I'm right here now. You're safe," he whispered while staring at her and holding her hand.
"I am Officer Miller and I have here Mr. Steve Perry," the officer told Joe and Kevin as they sat in the Police office together with the man he just introduced. "Mr. Perry was the one who called 911 to report the fire incident, and he happened to be the one who drove the victim, Miley Stewart to the location before the fire happened."
Kevin nodded, sort of telling the man to speak about everything he knew.
Mr. Perry introduced himself as the driver of the cab who took Miley to the location of the abandoned house. He told them that he had observed how Miley looked hesitant while she was on the car ride towards her destination. He also informed them that he offered her a car ride home after she paid him a hundred dollar bill and told him to keep the change; he already knew from that moment that something was not right.
Kevin and Joe were quite interested when Mr. Perry opened up about the car that was previously parked in front of the abandoned house. They came to a conclusion that the person had something to do with what happened to Miley.
When everything was said, the officer showed them a profile of a person named Leo Stewart. Fortunately, Mr. Perry was able to remember the plate number of the car and the guy's face for future reference. When Mr. Perry gave the plate number to the officer back when they were still at the location, they already called-in for the office personnel to do a quick investigation for the owner of the car. Leo Stewart happened to be the owner of the car.
"That's him," Mr. Perry confirmed as he checked the image printed on the document that was showed to them.
"Stewart is Miley's surname, but we kinda heard that she's adopted and her foster family kicked her out recently," Joe told them.
"He might be her foster brother, but why would he hurt her?" Kevin whispered.
They were all confused. No one had any idea about what really happened. Their only hope for the truth was in Miley's hands.
The police officer closed the folder in front of him and came up with a temporary solution.
"We'll investigate further. We need to find this guy. We'll phone his parents and search him around the city. Our main key here is the victim. We need to speak to her as soon as possible," the officer told them before he stood up from his seat, dismissing the interrogation.
The other three men stood up as well, and Kevin reached out to shake hands with the officer.
"Thank you, officer. We would like to ask for security for Miley Stewart, we're willing to pay whatever it may cost," Kevin told the officer as the other two men shook the officer's hand.
Officer Miller nodded and assured them that they would help in giving Miley the security she needs.
Kevin and Joe talked to Mr. Perry and thanked him for his kindness; if it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be able to save Miley in time. They gave him a monetary reward, which he refused to take at first, but the brothers wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
Miley's senses weren't functioning, except for her hearing. She could hear whispers around her; they were soft and it seemed like it was from somewhere far away. She couldn't really tell. It was kinda confusing for her because she assumed that she was already dead at the moment, just waiting to be sent to heaven or hell. The last thing she could remember was her brother's attempt to kill her. She didn't really know what was happening, but the whispers started to get clearer, as if they were getting closer to her.
"When do you think she would wake up?" she heard a female voice ask. She knew that it was Demi, but then she wondered why Demi was with her.
"I don't know. She'd been asleep for twenty four hours. Doctor said that it was due to her concussion. They already have flushed the drug," she heard a male voice say. Well, Demi was there, so she knew right away that it was Joe.
Miley felt extremely confused. She wanted some answers. She wanted to ask them why they were with her, but she couldn't do anything but listen to their voices.
"Nick stayed up all night, watching her like a hawk. I hate seeing him cry," she heard Joe say.
Nick? He's here too? she asked, but not a single sound came out from her throat. She wanted to see and hold him, she wanted to hear his voice, but every time she tried to open her eyes or reach out to touch him, nothing happens. She couldn't do anything about it so he kept listening to Joe and Demi's voices instead. She was kinda hoping for Nick's voice to surface. As time passed by, the voices got clearer, as if they were at the same room as her. She started to feel something too. Cold; she felt cold. But there was a part where she felt really warm. It took her quite a while to figure that it was her hand that was feeling most warm, as if someone was holding it.
Nick woke up from his sleep because he felt something moving in his hand. He was still groggy form his sleep, but he had to wake up because the thing on his hand was disturbing his peaceful slumber. He opened his eyes and lifted his head from the bed. He really couldn't believe he fell asleep; he told himself that he was supposed to stay awake until Miley wakes up. He felt another movement in his hand, so he looked down and realized that Miley's hand was moving. She looked like she wanted to grasp something, so Nick immediately entwined their fingers.
"Miley?" he whispered as he stared at her gorgeous face while caressing her hair.
"Nick? Is she awake?" Demi asked, sounding a little startled as she and Joe made their way towards Miley and Nick.
"Her fingers are moving," Nick whispered.
"Ask her to squeeze your hand," Joe suggested.
"Miles? Can you hear me? If you do, squeeze my hand, please," Nick whispered pleadingly. He soon felt her squeeze his hand lightly, making him sigh in happiness. "I'm right here, baby," he said before he kissed her hand lightly.
Miley couldn't believe that Nick was beside her. Her heart soared as she listened to his voice; she missed it a lot. His fingers soon laced with hers, making her sigh in amusement. She didn't expect she could still have him with even if she already died. Yes, she still thought that she already passed away, but she was still wondering why she could still experience such things.
"Could you open your eyes, baby?" she heard him say. Of course, she didn't want to disappoint him so she tried her best to open her eyes. Fortunately, they slowly opened. She felt a bit blinded by the light, but she fought it off because she wanted to see him.
"Baby, can you see me?" she heard him ask. Her vision was still blurry but she could see him, so she nodded. "Shhhh, no one's going to hurt you anymore," he told her sweetly.
"I'll call the doctor," she heard Joe say before he went out.
She looked around her and saw Nick and Demi beside her. They were smiling at her. She was confused. Soon enough, the door opened and Joe went inside with a doctor and a nurse.
Nick leaned down to kiss Miley's lips and she sighed at the amazing feeling of his lips against hers.
"I love you, my baby," he whispered before he moved away from her so the doctor could examine her.
"Welcome back to the world, Miley. How are you feeling?" she heard the doctor ask. It was then that she realized that her life hadn't ended yet. She didn't know whether she should be happy with it or not.
Leo got arrested after the cops found him staying at a hotel in Philadelphia. Miley was still unconscious by that time, so she hadn't released her side of the story yet. Leo went into interrogation after they found out he had Nick's money and gold bars. His story didn't make sense and he was showing off an odd behavior, so they ran some medical test results. They found some illegal drugs in his system, so they added it as his other crime. Nick's money and gold was given back to him, and Leo stayed in prison. When Miley woke up, she went through interrogation too. Her statement was enough to prove that Leo broke some laws. Miley's foster parents had met her again. They apologized for the way they had treated her for the past year; they were brainwashed by Leo. Miley understood that they really cared for her. She understood that everything was Leo's fault. Her foster parents offered to take her back, but she didn't want to go back to them. They respected her decision and wished her all the best in life.
Miley didn't suffer from any serious injury except trauma. She was alright physically, but they didn't know what was going on in her head. That was why her physician turned her over to a psychiatrist. She has been doing therapy since the day she woke up, but the downside was that she wasn't doing well on her therapy sessions. She was too messed-up. She wouldn't open up that much to her doctor, which was why they had decided that it was best to admit her to a treatment center. Her doctor already talked to Nick about it. Even if it would be hard for him, he would let her go. He knew it was the right choice, so he would do it even if he wouldn't be able to see her for three months. He just wanted his old Miley back.
It was Miley's last night with Nick before being admitted to the residential treatment center.
Nick was about to fall asleep, but he heard some whimpers and he knew they were from Miley. The sight of her in such a miserable state was something he could not tolerate. He never saw her that vulnerable.
"Baby?" he whispered anxiously. He pulled her body closer to his own. Her back was faced towards him, so he hugged her from behind. He soon felt her turn around and she returned his embrace. "Shhh, it's okay, baby," he said, attempting to soothe her. Her eyes were full of sorrow and fear, two things he didn't want her to feel anymore. "Is this about tomorrow?" he asked as he caressed her tear-stained face. She was broken, so broken that he didn't know if he alone could soothe her anymore.
"I don't want to go," she told him. Her eyes were pleading, *pleading for him not to let her leave.
His heart ached as she watched the tears cascade from her eyes. Of course he didn't want it either, but he knew she needed help.
"You need this, Mi," he murmured while wiping her tears.
"I only need you," she said as she looked up to his eyes deeply.
It would be selfish of him if he wouldn't let her do treatment. She deserved to live a happy life, and she wouldn't get to do it if she would continue to keep her burdens to herself.
"Baby, you need help, and it's something I'm not capable of giving you," he said as he tried to make her understand.
"Nicky, please? I don't want to go. Please don't let me go there." Her lower lip quivered, making his knees shake, as if he was about to accept defeat.
"I want you to get better. You're hurting, Mi. I know you have a lot of emotions bottled up inside you. It's something I couldn't fix, baby." He sighed, knowing she would never give up if he wouldn't be tough with his decision. He didn't want her to think that he was throwing her away, but he wanted to make her realize that she needs to get better because she deserves it.
"But... You'll leave me... Like everybody left me..." It was then that he realized how terrified she felt that he would end up leaving her.
"You'll always have me. I wouldn't leave you, baby. I wouldn't," he held her tightly and kissed her on the lips.
Miley was still against doing the treatment, but there was nothing she could do but accept defeat. She knew that it was his only way to get rid of her, so she gave up. He could find someone better than her; he could easily make another girl fall in love with him. He wouldn't need her anymore. But her love for him would still remain. Her love was unconditional. She would still love him even if he gave up on her. He was her first and true love, and she would forever be thankful for everything he had done for her.
The next day came and sad to say, it was worse than the previous ones. Miley didn't talk to anyone and Nick was pretty sure it was because of the previous night. He couldn't really do anything about it.
Joe and Demi wanted to join Nick in driving Miley to the Treatment center, so Joe ended up being the driver and Demi sat on the passenger seat, while Nick and Miley sat together in the back seat.
The car ride to the Treatment center was silent. No one dared to speak and break the silence because they all knew it would just cause more awkwardness. Miley was just looking out the window because it would be something she would miss; riding the car with Nick. She was informed that she would be locked-up in the treatment center for three months with no visitors, and she thought it just made everything worse.
"Hey, I got something for you," she heard Nick say, breaking her trance. She turned to his direction and saw him pick something from his pocket.
"I know you probably have seen it, but now, I really want you to have it," he mumbled as he pulled out a ring; the same ring that Miley saw in his safe box. She was hesitant to take it, but he already had slipped it on her ring finger before she was able to protest. She stared at it and thought how beautiful it looked. It has their initials in it, making it more special. "Think of it as a promise ring. I promise I will love you forever." He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you," she whispered timidly.
She felt relaxed as he held her hand lovingly. She liked it when they hold hands. She then leaned down on his shoulder out of instinct. It was something she would truly miss; their moments together. She felt bad for ignoring him all day. She knew that he still cares for her, but she was still upset about going to treatment.
They arrived at the New Life Treatment center in about thirty minutes. Miley was terrified but she knew she had to let go. They don't need her. No one wanted to be with her.
"And here is your room," she heard her new doctor say as they entered her new bedroom. "I would give you five minutes to talk, okay?" the doctor said before leaving the room to give them privacy. Joe and Demi took turns in saying goodbye, and when they were done, they left Nick and Miley alone in the room.
Miley sat down on the edge of her bed and started to unpack her bag. Nick sighed as he noticed that she was still ignoring him.
"You'll love it here, Mi," he whispered as he walked closer to her.
"I won't. You're not here." He heard the shakiness in her voice, she sounded like she was about to cry.
He knelt in front of her and grabbed her hands, right before he made her look in his eyes.
"I love you. I just want you to know that I'll wait for you. I don't care how many months or weeks it would take. Just be better, okay?" she nodded and he stroked her cheek softly. "Do you want me to kiss you now?"
She bit her lower lip as she contemplated with herself.
"Yes, please," she answered timidly.
He smiled and leaned forward until his lips met hers. The kiss they shared was bittersweet; a combination of passion and yearning.
"I love you too, Nick. Only you," she said as she hugged him tight.
"Take care of yourself, princess." Three months without her would be hard, but he would sacrifice it for her health. He soon got up and immediately left the room. Leaving her behind; leaving her alone.
Tears streamed down her face as she waited for him to walk back through the door and bring her back home; back into his arms, back where she belongs. But he didn't. No one went back for her.
But no one could ever take his place in her heart. He would always be her one and only true love, even if she thought that he didn't love her that much anymore.
A month passed by and there were so many factors that helped Miley understand herself more. Treatment was doing good on her. She actually learned to appreciate it more. She was able to release her burdens. She was able to release the bad memories from the past. She didn't even realize how much pain she had in her chest. She had pushed everything at the back of her mind, and it didn't do anything good for her. It was a good thing that she was sent to treatment. It was then that she realized how much help she needed to truly get back on her feet. But something was still missing. There was something within her that was pulling back half of her effort to be fully treated from her emotional disorders*. There was still something wrong with her that was causing the slowness of her progress.
"Come on, Miley. Dr. Carole wants you in her office," Nurse Claire called Miley, who was currently playing board games with her new friends in the lounge area.
"Her office? But why?" Miley felt confused. She hadn't been in Dr. Carole's office before. They always had their sessions in her room.
"I really don't know, but come on, she's waiting for you." Nurse Claire excitedly pulled Miley with her towards Dr. Carole's room. "Dr. Carole, Miley's here!" she announced after knocking on the door.
"Thank you, Claire," Dr. Carole said after she opened the door.
"You're welcome, ma'am." Nurse Claire smiled and soon walked away.
"Why are we here, Dr. Carole?" Miley asked confusedly as they were still standing by the door.
"There's a person inside the room and I want you to talk to him. It would last for about thirty minutes," Dr. Carole told her with a smile on her face.
"Okay then." Miley shrugged.
The doctor opened the door wider and let Miley step in, before leaving the room.
Miley felt like the world stopped spinning when she laid her eyes on a very unexpected visitor. He was no other than Nick Grey.
"Nick?"she whispered in disbelief.
"Hey, Mi." He got up from his seat and walked towards her.
She couldn't believe he was in front of her.
"What? You didn't miss me?" he teased with a bit painful expression on his face as he opened his arms for her.
"I missed you!" she said with a chuckle before she wrapped her arms around him and he did the same. She caught his scent and she felt a lot better.
"I missed you more," he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her back.
"Why are you here?" she asked him nervously.
"Visiting you, silly!" He chuckled and shook his head while he wore the smile on his face. "Dr. Carole told me you were a good girl, so I got to see you!"
"I thought you already abandoned me." She was kinda anxious that he came to see her and Dr. Carole let him. She thought he came by to tell her he found another girl or something.
"I couldn't stay away from you," he told her with a pretty smirk on his face.
They sat beside each other on the couch, and Nick held her hand excitedly.
"You're supposed to be in Connecticut," she said in frustration.
"I wouldn't go there without you, princess," he reminded her.
She searched for any hint of *hesitation in his eyes, but she didn't see any trace of it. He was truly serious that he had stayed in Pennsylvania the whole time.
"But I'm stuck here." her lower lip quivered as she felt bad because Nick had to be stuck with her too.
"I know, and you have to do your best to get better," he told her as he caressed her face.
"I wouldn't get better." She shrugged. She knew she was getting better in dealing with her hidden problems, but she also knew she would *never be better for Nick.
"You will get better. I wouldn't leave you, okay? But you have to get better so I could take you home," he promised.
"Home?" She had to admit she felt happy when she heard him say the word. She never really had a good home since she was born, but this time, she felt like it would turn out great.
"Everything mine is yours too," he said, making her cry happy tears. He cupped her face with both of his hands and made her look in his eyes. "You have to get better. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." She felt like crying once more.
She quickly leaned in and pulled him in a deep passionate kiss. She felt like they hadn't kissed for a whole year!
"I love you, Nick," she whispered after ending the kiss.
Well, it wasn't ended yet. Nick wanted more of her mouth, so he kissed her again with such passion.
"I love you too, Mi," he finally said back. "Where is the ring I gave you?" he asked intriguingly when he noticed she wasn't wearing it.
"Oh, it's in here." She pulled out the ring, looped in her silver necklace.
"You don't like wearing it?" He frowned as he asked her.
"No, it's just... All this time, I thought you already moved on," she answered timidly.
"Oh no, baby. You're the only thing in my mind," he mumbled slyly.
Miley grinned and sat on his lap before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply, like there's no tomorrow.
"Time's up, guys!" Both Miley and Nick pulled away and fixed themselves when they heard Dr. Carole's voice after hearing a knock on the door. The doctor soon went inside and smiled at the couple.
"Can I see him again, doctor?" Miley asked anxiously.
"It depends if you're going to be much better this week," Dr. Carol told her.
"I will, I promise!" Miley grinned, hoping her doctor would allow visitors.
"We could talk about it later," the doctor said, making Miley and Nick extremely happy.
"Be strong, okay? I love you so much," Nick said as he pulled Miley in a tight hug.
"I'll do it for you. I'll do it for us, so we could be together again." She smiled.
Miley certainly found the missing puzzle piece. She found a new reason to exert more effort so she could finish treatment and start a new and happy life with Nick.
AN: HELLO GUYS! So here is the chapter 11! I hope you all liked this chapter although it was a sad chapter. LOL. I still have one more chapter to go! I have a new story in mind but I'd like to take a week break after i post the chapter 12. =)
I didnt really review this chapter that much, but I hope I didnt have lots of mistakes in it. =O
Thank you guys for your awesome reviews! I really appreciate it a lot. I hope you all enjoyed reading this because I really enjoyed writing this fanfic. ;) I love you guys! If you want to bug me, go to my tumblr: nileyjelenalooover =)
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