You guys, thanks so much for the comments! They've been so positive and encouraging and have really made me want to keep on writing. This chapter sort of opens up Emily and Nolan's worlds a little bit. I don't know if it'll be everyone's cup of tea so let me know what you think.
For the guest who asked for an AU fic where Aiden isn't dead, you may want to check out some of my other stories. They were once Future Fics but would now be considered AU, sadly.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
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Nolan tells himself he's here for Emily's sake, and he is, but he's also here for very selfish reasons. He has vowed to protect his best friend. His family. And while protecting Emily and basking in Victoria's misery are not synonymous, it's a start.
He walks into Victoria's room with a basket of blueberry muffins hanging from the crook of his elbow and a grin on his face. She truly is a sight to behold. Her red raw wrists are strapped to the bed, her skin is a sallow, rotting thing, and her hair is matted and stringy. "Victoria Grayson," Nolan says in a deep satisfying sigh. "You've never looked better."
"What the hell are you doing here?" the fallen queen says.
Nolan takes a seat beside her bed and holds up the basket. "Just wanted to drop these off. Though, knowing you, you're probably paranoid they're poisoned or something. Smart."
"Get out."
"Come on, Victoria, you should be happy to see me. I know you don't get too many visitors what with Charlotte being the only one in your family with some sense and fleeing to Europe and Daniel… where is Danny Boy these days? Oh right. Locked up awaiting trial for murdering a prostitute. You must be so proud."
Victoria may be a dimmer version of her former self but she's still got veins filled with venom. She shoots Nolan an icy glare but he won't look away. Victoria didn't only take Aiden, she also took Emily. The Emily he used to know. He's hopeful she'll come back to him, and he's finally starting to see the changes in her, but Nolan still blames Victoria for taking away two of his friends. And that's not a crime that can go unpunished.
"It's a good thing Daniel's in jail," he says. "If he was out I would kill him myself."
Victoria laughs bitterly. "Still fighting Emily Thorne's battles for her. You're pathetic."
"Says the woman in an insane asylum. Hm."
"So you've come to gloat, is that it?"
Nolan leans in close so he can be sure that Victoria understands him. "I've come to let you know that you haven't broken Emily's spirit. Actually, in a twisted sort of way, you're responsible for her renewed sense of purpose."
Nolan knows that if Victoria had never lied to Emily about her not being able to conceive she and Aiden would've been more careful. So while Victoria may have taken Aiden away from Emily, in a cruel twist of fate, she was also the one to give Emily her biggest gift.
Though, he won't tell Victoria just what he's talking about. It's too risky. Emily would probably kill him if she knew he was even there right now. But Nolan had to come. He had to see Victoria suffer for the things she'd done.
But Victoria begins to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"Just something you said earlier about me not having any visitors. You're wrong about that, Mr. Ross."
"Who would come see you?"
"You can tell your friend Amanda that her father stopped by."
Nolan sits back slowly. Maybe all this time in a mental hospital really has made Victoria crazy. Or maybe she's just being her usual vicious self. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you know?" she says. "David Clarke is alive. He probably chose to reveal himself here because he knew no one would believe me if I said I saw David Clarke in the flesh. We had a nice chat."
Nolan stands. This visit is turning into something he did not sign up for. "You really are crazy."
Her lips curl into a smile. "Tell that little bitch I say hello."
Nolan spits in Victoria's face and she gasps.
"You might want to call someone to wipe that off for you."
He leaves the room but he doesn't feel the triumphant rush he thought he'd feel. What Nolan feels is unsettled.
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"Earth to Nolan?"
Nolan's gaze refocuses, his eyes going from staring at nothing, to staring at the two shirts Emily is holding up for him to appraise. He's being a good friend by spending the morning on a shopping trip with Emily for some desperately needed maternity clothes, but he's being a bad friend by zoning out for most of it. He can't help it. His mind is somewhere else. It's still with Victoria.
"Do you even have to ask?" he says. "The red one, obviously."
"Are you sure?" Emily says. "Isn't red kind of flashy?"
"That's never stopped you before."
"I've never been as big as a house before."
"Ems, you're being way too hard on yourself. As big as a shed, maybe." He smirks at her as is fingers skim along the delicate fabrics hanging before him, but Nolan's mind wanders again.
He does not tell Emily.
He never intended on telling her he went to see Victoria, but he especially doesn't tell her about the thing Victoria said. Specifically, about Emily's dad visiting her.
He doesn't tell Emily because it's preposterous and there'd be no point in raising her hopes—or crushing them, he's not even sure—at a delicate time like this.
He also doesn't tell her that hacking into Clairmont Psychiatric's visitors logs revealed that a visitor pass was issued to a Kurt Renner two weeks ago and that he was with Victoria Grayson for nearly an hour.
Nolan needs more info before he can ever bring this up to Emily. She can't know. He's protecting her; he's convinced himself that keeping this from her is his way of protecting her. But in the back of his mind he also knows that keeping this from her may be unforgivable.
Could David really be alive?
"That sales girl keeps looking at me."
Nolan looks at the sales girl at the other side of the store. It's true, she has been eyeing Emily since she walked in. And now she's making her way over. Splendid.
"Are you finding everything okay?" the sales girl says.
Nolan is itching to tell her that no, they are not finding everything okay. That maternity clothes are not as fashionable or cute as he thought they would be and could she please go to the back and find something more suitable, but Emily only says, "Yes, thank you."
"Well, if you need anything, I'm Shelly." The sales girl says. She lingers. She speaks again. "You're Emily Thorne, aren't you?"
Emily stops perusing the racks, scrunches an eyebrow ever so slightly. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry about everything that's happened."
"Excuse me?" Emily says.
"Your ex-husband left you pregnant and now he's in jail for killing that poor girl. It's all so horrible."
"Shelly is it?" Nolan says, stepping in front of her, between her and Emily. "It would be so helpful if you could actually go back to where you were standing over there and let us continue shopping in peace. Thank you so much."
"Oh," Shelly says. "Of course."
She scurries off and Nolan spins on the heels of his feet, to face Emily again, rolling his eyes and smiling like, can you believe some people?
"Is that what they're saying about me?" Emily asks.
They were saying a lot worse about her and Daniel Grayson's supposed love child. But Nolan won't tell her that. "You are the premiere socialite of the Hamptons, Ems. And the most interesting person this side of Long Island. There is some interest about your… situation."
"I can't believe I let you talk me into going out." He was glad to see she didn't sound mad, though. She was taking the tabloid fodder the way she always had, like it was a mere nuisance, nothing more.
"I can't believe you decided to stay in the Hamptons. Honestly Ems, after everything that's happened I thought you would have left this place behind a long time ago."
Emily sighs. "I thought so too," she says. "But Aiden's connected to the house now. And so is my father. Despite everything, that house has more good memories than bad."
Nolan nods, he understands, but his mind wanders again. He wonders if those fond memories of her father will change after she learns that he might be alive.
He has to do more research. He can't let her know. Not yet.
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