I'm sorry it's taken me quite some time to update this story, but I've been swamped with school work this past week. I toke a lot of time writing this chapter, and I really hope you all enjoy this.
Disclaimer- I don't own da turtles.
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Mikey's P.O.V
We sat on that cold kitchen floor for what seemed liked hours. As she sobbed into my plastron gripping onto my arms, I didn't know whether to console her or try to stop her from crying. The faint sound of shuffling feet was echoing throughout the lair from upstairs.
"Nicole," I inhale deeply and lift her up to face me. Her cheeks were slightly pink from the strain of crying, but her eyes were beat red, and puffy. I'd noticed her dress was wrinkled, completely filthy, and her skin felt grimy. "I think you'd feel a bit better if you'd washed up. I'm gonna show to our guest room. We've got some spare clothes in there. Well, they're a friend of ours, but she's pretty much the same size as you so I don't think there will be much of a problem. There's a bathroom right next to the room to, and you're completely welcome to take a shower. Honestly, I think it'll do you good."
Nicole had started rubbing her eye's and sniffled softly. "C-Can I get my backpack?"
"Yeah. I'll go get it, stay here." I stood up, and jogged towards Donnie's laboratory. Quickly scanning the room, I saw her backpack hung up against the back of Donnie's chair. It was more of a sac then a backpack, with rugged edges, and sewed on patches. Pen marks etched almost ever inch of the tainted fabric. I snatched it from his chair, and proceeded out of the laboratory towards the kitchen.
Fuck...
I've discovered the source of the shuffling of noise upstairs. Leo was awake. He stood next to Nicole who was off the floor now, and sitting back at the kitchen table in front of a soggy bowl of cereal, starting at Leonardo with wide weary eyes. Leonardo held a strong stance, and angered eyes that looked as if they'd pierce deep into your soul. Leo thinks that before making any irrational decisions we should consult him first about it. Which I find too be the stupidest fucking rule on the planet, because we really never have to the time to consult Leo during irrational situations.
"Leo! Hey, Good Morning!" I gritted my teeth at the way my voice hitched, and cracked as I spoke to him.
Leonardo marched over to me, stomping his feet hard against the concrete, and crossing his arms once he was in front of my face. "Who's that Mikey?"
I stared at him a bit nervously, letting out a deep sigh.
"Donnie and I found her in the sewers last night. She was hysterical, and I had to do something to help her." I walked over to the kitchen table leaving my nervous attitude behind, and placed her sac next to her. She smiled gently pulling it into her arms. "I know you don't want us to go around doing stupid shit, and I know that this wasn't the smartest thing to do. Especially since people don't really except us. But, Nicole does except us."
I looked at her with a reassuring glare, to make sure that I knew what I was saying was true. She looked down at the floor for a moment, and back up at Leo.
"You know how Splinter is abou-"
"I know, Leo. That's why he already knows. I told him last night."
I rubbed my hand over the back of my head and let out a well relieved laugh.
"Jeez, you and Raph always have the same things to say."
Leo laughed letting out a small bright smile, and turned his eyes over to Nicole. He walked over to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair next her, and sitting down. His hands folded together, and he sighed softly staring up at her.
"I don't want you to think that you aren't welcome here in our home."
"I don't feel that way at all." Her voice was quiet as a whisper.
Leo looked at her with a soft smile. "Good." Nicole shifted her body to sit up straight, and scouted the metal chair back a bit. "In a way, I still can't believe it's really even happening. But, your brother saved me." Her eyes met over to mine. "I can't thank you enough. But, you said that you and another one of your brothers had helped me last night. What was his name?"
"Donatello."
We all turned our head's over to the staircase to see Donnie walking down into the kitchen. "Well, I really was ready to just leave you there, but Mikey and his big old kind heart made me think differently." Donnie spoke with a sarcastic tone and looked at me with a stupid grin, laughed softly going straight over to the coffee machine.
"Shut up." I laughed, probably smiling like a complete idiot.
"So, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leo. Short for Leonardo, right?" She spoke, looking over to Leo.
"Yeah, and Raphael is another one of our brothers. You'll get to met him soon enough, but he's usually the last to get up." Leo said with a small smirk.
"Renaissance artists." She stated, and Leo nodded.
Donatello had poured himself a cup of coffee, and proceeded over to the kitchen table. He shoved aside the bowls of cereal, and blew gently against his steamy cup of coffee before sitting down. "So Nicole, what exactly happened to you last night?"
Leonardo looked up at her with questionable eyes also, but I could tell how her body tensed at that question. How she looked almost frightened to even answer.
I swiftly walked over to her before she could even speak, looking at my brothers with a smile. "I'm going to take Nicole to the guest room so she can get cleaned up." They looked at me confused, and Nicole stared up at me with relived eyes. As if I'd saved her all over again. "After she gets cleaned up, we can talk about it. O.K?"
Annoyance built up into Leo's eyes, but he didn't object to me. "That's fine." He mumbled. I don't think he toke kindly to me being the one to direct orders, but I always get a kick out of an annoyed Leo.
Nicole stood up, and I walked over to the staircase as she followed. We started up the staircase as I could hear the faint whisper of my brothers chatting away downstairs. Turning over to the left once we had reached the second floor level, I led her down a faintly lit corridor. On the right hand side, 2nd door down, I opened up the door walking inside. Walking over to a small wooden bureau huddled against the corner of the room, I searched inside the first drawer for some clothes. "Well, April left a lot of her clothes in here, and I'm sure she wont mind you wearing any."
Her face was a bit confused like she was wondering who April was, but she didn't ask. "I've got a spare dress in my bag, but I'll keep that in mind." She said with a smile.
"Uh, the room next to this one on the left is the bathroom. Turn the shower knob to the left if you want hot water."
My expression was so timid, and I couldn't even let myself look at her. It's like my thought's finally stopped dancing throughout my mind, and settled. She was very, very attractive, even with her hair being uncombed and messy. Bold, dark brown eyes, plump pink lips. Lean body, perfect hips, and her waist. Don't even get me started on her wai-
"Okay. Well I'm going to take a shower now." She rushed
My eyes widened snapping back into reality, and my expression slipped into embarrassment from my thoughts."Yeah! Yeah, go ahead. Sorry, I-I uh. If need any help with anything, just let me know!"
She looked at me with a wide grin, and laughed as she spoke. "Yeah, I'll call you if I need any help washing my hair."
I sighed softly, and laughed with her. "I'm sorry, I just-"
"Hey, don't even worry about." She interrupted. "What you're doing for me is the nicest thing any guy- well, any turtle has ever done for me."
"I can tell my brothers about what happened with your father topside. If you want."
"No." She demanded. "I need too be the one to tell your brothers, and the one to tell your father. I don't want you to think that I have to stay here, because that needs too be your entire family's decision. Neither do I want you to think you have to believe me, because what you want to believe is entirely up to you. If you all decide to send me back to the city, I will not object with that decision." Towards the end of her sentence her voice cracked softly, she turned around rushing out of the room into the bathroom.
...
Michelangelo had returned downstairs into the kitchen to rejoin his brothers who were chatting quietly amongst themselves. Once he'd entered the room they both stopped their quiet discussion, turning their gaze onto him. They had perplexed expressions, desiring to ask many questions they knew their younger brother had answers too.
"Mikey, what's that girls deal?" Leonardo asked.
Michelangelo sighed, and sat down at the kitchen table next to his older brother. "I can't tell you that, bro. She want's to tell you guys herself."
Donnie looked at Leo, then over to Mikey. "Is it really that bad?"
Before Michelangelo could speak, or even decide whether he wanted to answer that question. Raphael had emerged from his room letting out a loud exasperated yawn, and jumped down from the second floor into the kitchen. He stretched his arms above his head, and walked over to the fridge. "Mornin'." He mumbled.
Opening the freezer Raphael pulling a microwavable breakfast sandwich and popped it into the microwave. Setting the timer to 3 minutes he sat ontop of the kitchen counter leaning his shell, and head up against the cabinets.
"Where's dat chick?" He asked, scanning his eyes across the lair.
"Takin' a shower." Mikey mumbling.
"Aye, what's the matta knucklehead? Ain't acting like ya cheery mornin' self." He said, hopping down from the kitchen counter, and sat at the table next to him. "Did somethin' happen, or?"
"Yeah, Mikey. You look like you've seen death. Did you even sleep last night?" Donnie asked.
With a small laugh, Mikey fiddled with his fingers staring blankly at the bowl of cereal that had sat in the same place for over an hour. "Naw, but I'll get sleep after practice."
Donnie slid his cup of coffee over to him. "Drink some, it'll help you wake up." Mikey picked up the cup and toke a sip, contorting his face into a disgusted expression as he swallowed "Donnie, you make the worlds worst coffee." He wailed, squinting his eyes in disgust as his brothers laughed at his reaction. He placed the cup back onto the table, and rubbed his eyes roughly underneath his mask.
The microwave buzzed loudly, and Raphael got to his feet grabbing a plate from one of the cabinets. The gentle noise of a doorknob rattle was heard from upstairs, and Nicole emerged from the bathroom as did a large cloud of steam from within the room behind her. She walked inside the guest room, and dropped her sac onto the floor and ran her fingers through her wet hair pushing most of it to the side. Behind her she closed the door, and walked downstairs into the kitchen bouncing her eyes across the room. She had put on a new sundress that's length almost met with her knees, quite similar to the one she was wearing before, but this one a bold white. It was rugged, and had thick straps that hugged her shoulders. The top of the dress was tight against her skin, as for the bottom flowed freely. Once she reached the entrance she stopped and looked at Raphael who had taken a large bite out of his sandwich proceeding to chew his food roughly as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. He smiled widely at her with a kind expression which for his brothers was such a foreign sight. Especially coming from the biggest hot head in the family. Usually in the mornings Raphael didn't say anything to anyone, but just walked into the kitchen with a slight nod, made himself a large meal, and returned into the depths of his room to sleep for hours on end unless practice was held.
She returned the gesture, and smiled back at him. "I'm sure my brotha's already told you who I am." He said, after swallowing down his food.
"Yes, they did. I'm Nicole, if you didn't already know."
"Nicole, aye? So, what's ya story? Didn't cha mother ever tell ya not to go wonderin' in the sewers late at night?"
A small laugh erupted from her lips, and she started down at her bare feet. "I'd like to tell everyone my story. Including your father."
Raphael looked at her with a slightly confused expression, but nodded placing his plate onto the stove. "I'll go get him den." Walking over to his fathers quarters, he slowly opening the rice paper door, gently closing it behind him.
Nicole stumbled over to the kitchen table, and sat down next to Michelangelo who had beat red eyes from intense lack of sleep. Not a word was said between the four of them before Raphael, and Master Splinter has emerged from behind those rice paper doors. They both walked over to the kitchen table, and the three turtles at the table bowed their heads to Master Splinter as Nicole looked at them all confused at such a greeting.
"Good morning my sons, and to you too Nicole." He sat down at the kitchen table folding his cane neatly on top of his lap. "I've been told that you want to discuss something with us?"
Nicole had let out a breath she hadn't know she'd been holding in, and proceeded to tell them all exactly what she'd told Michelangelo. She told them everything that'd happened that morning, to what happened afterwords. When she fled to her apartment, and found her way into the sewers, away from the police. Throughout the entire time she was speaking Michelangelo stared down at his hands, and his brothers kept their eyes directly on her.
"I'm not asking any of you to believe me, because whatever you want to believe is entirely up to you." Her voice began to crack softly, but she breathed heavily attempting to maintain her emotions. "But, that's my story, and the only version of it I know."
For a moment they all sat in complete silence, and Leonardo's face was stale, shrouded in denial. "Why are you seeing a therapist?" He asked coldly, and Master Splinter shot him a displeased glare at his tone.
Slowly she lifted her arms out from under the table showing them all her wrists. "When I was 19 I tried to kill myself, and have to regularly see my therapist 3 times a week." Both wrists had long vertical scar's stopping at the middle of her forearm's. They were deep nasty scars, that had healed improperly leaving a very grotesque mark. Michelangelo looked at her with wide eyes, as her arms quickly disappeared back under the table.
How did I not notice them!? Michelangelo screamed over and over in his head, and Donatello had equally thought the same. Never thinking of when they first found her to look for wounds underneath her demi-jacket.
Leonardo looked at Michelangelo's, and felt like punching himself in the face for asking such a question. He wasn't expecting his younger brother's reaction to be so aghast. But, it wasn't just him, it was everyone. Raphael looked completely horrified, and shot Leonardo a displeasing glare. Master Splinter started at his lap, and sighed heavily before speaking.
"I do not see it." He spoke. "I've met many, and I've seen the murderous intentions in their eyes. But I can't see it within you. Your eyes speak of a very, very difficult past, and your wounds show it's existence. You do not deserve this fate, and I will I not stand by and watch you be punished for something you didn't do."
Her face slowly began to drop into grief, eyes swelling with tears, lips trembling uncontrollably. Michelangelo had gently touched her hand, making her look at him. With a bright smile, he gripped her hand softly. "We all believe you, Nicole."
...
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