Roses at Midnight 5

"What happened to you earlier?" Kendall asked as he approached Nikki, having seen her in the same park he'd met her at while taking a jog, having a feeling she'd be there, "is everything okay with Prim?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," but a look her eyes told another story than her words.

"I know you barely know me, but...you can trust me," he slid beside her on the bench, right beside the lightly glittering new fountain, which, in his opinion, made it more romantic.

"I said everything's fine," she instantly shut him out, and he could tell, just by her facial experssion, her angry, stubborn eyes, and her straight-line set mouth.

He just sat there for a while, awkwardly. He felt like he could be completely natural around Jo...but with her, she was more independent, obviously, and more strong as far as how she felt and how she felt them. He was falling for all of her, basically...she perfect in his eyes. Just by how she sat there, he felt like she could handle anything life threw at her.

But the human part of him knew she was human, too, and something was her weakness point. And whatever it was...

It was on her mind now.

Poor little Primrose couldn't believe it. Her adopted mother hadn't mentioned anything about the picture of her crying over it, but she was pretty smart for a seven-year-old. She could see it in the resemblance, and the label on the back of it:

Nikki and Amy Garcia as Belle and Cinderella, 2001

And by the looks of it...Miss Nikki had a sister. But before, she'd said that she was only a child, except for her two adopted older brothers. And that must mean...

Amy was dead.

The 'leader' of Big Time Rush suddenly got a stroke of inspiration.

He'd seen them when he'd sat down and smelled the rich, charming scent of them, but now he had the idea of giving one to her. She could smell them too, judging by how she'd inhaule and it seemed to relax and stress her out at the same time. He was considering it as he sat there awkwardly, but then he saw the perfect one.

The single white rose among the red.

When he plucked it carefully and curled it among her own curls, she slowly reached up to touch the beautiful petals. And just as slowly, she pressed her face into his shoulder and cried softly.

"Hello...oh," James was half-expecting Nikki to show up at the doorstep by some miracle, but it wasn't. Instead it was a small brunette with pretty blue eyes and an embarrassed looking expression.

"Oh...I thought Mr. Kendall lived here," she began backing out slowly, cheeks red and body trembling a little with shyness, "sorry, Mr. James."

"How do you know my name?" he had his theories, but something about her was special...but he didn't know what it was.

"I love your band...you're a beautiful singer," she smiled widely, and he had to smile back.

"Would you...like an autograph?" he flashed her his award-winning smile, but much to his surprise and disappointment, she shook her head, still smiling.

"Miss Nikki says don't be shallow," she spoke wisely, and he arched an eyebrow.

"Miss Nikki?" he smiled faintly in hope, "you mean...you're that adopted daughter of hers, right? Primrose?"

"Uh-huh!" she nodded eagerly, pig tails bouncing a little on her shoulders, "are you her friend? Because that would be SO COOL!"

Smiling wider, he agreed, "Well...yes I am. Do you know where she is?"

"Are you ready to tell me now?" Kendall was lightly stroking and playing with one of her curls as she curled against him, eyes sad with rememberance.

"Yeah, I guess..." she sighed, "I...used to have a little sister named Amy."

"Oh no...what happened?" 'used to have' usually was the same as death.

"Well..." she pulled up the sleeves of a hoodie, then the legs of her jeans, and a little bit of her shirt to expose her lower back.

All the scars, bruises, scratches, and fading red lines overwhelmed him.

James quickly covered the young girl's eyes. He may not know what was going on as the two of them spied using the tree hats...

But there was likely a story behind every one of those marks on her skin.

She sighed as he laid there, unconscience. The poor thing...she knew she shouldn't have showed him that. He wasn't expecting it...

"I was abused constantly as a child," he told him, knowing he couldn't hear her, but at least she could say it without him juding, and technically, she was telling it to him, "my mother was a physcopath and my father was drunk who never did a damned thing about it. Her abuse...it killed my little sister."

A few tears slipped down her face while she told her tale, "I was bounced around in the system, but I ended up coming back to my parents every time. My dad was kind of a suitable parent, but mother was never taken away. I don't trust them to look after Prim...at all. If they lay one harmful, Whiskey-stained finger on her, I've sworn I will kill them myself."

The small girl could hear, even if Mr. James was covering her ears. Her adopted mother's sister had died...because of Auntie and Uncle? But how could that be?

Then she remembered: How she never looked happy to see them, how she flinched when they touched her or herself at all, and how she never told her personally. All of these things occured to the young child as she watched Miss Nikki pull back on her sleeves and flip her shirt back down, tears in her big eyes as well.

Poor Miss Nikki...and poor Amy.

"Nikki..." and suddenly Kendall was holding her hand, pulling her head down gently to touch his lips with a gentle kiss, "I love you...and thank you for telling me."