Revealed Truth

Lorraine's POV

What am I doing? I shouldn't be hugging him; that's the last thing I should be doing. I shove him away from me. Surprisingly, he looks hurt but not angry, as I was expecting.

Suddenly he tries to put his arm around me. The fears of being touched intensified and I screamed "No!" shoving him away from me.

Nick's POV

As she started punching me repeatedly (which I could take), I quite quickly realised something. She didn't like being touched, she had never mentioned her family, she always wore long sleeves and she spent all her time by herself. With that information, I could only come to one conclusion.

"You were abused, weren't you?" I ask softly. She immediately stops punching me and stiffens, making me know I was right.

"What's it to you?" She says, sounding like she was about to start crying. "What does it matter anyway? I'm not important!" She sniffled, trying to hold in the tears but ultimately failing.

"You're important to me." I said quietly, looking directly into her emerald-green gaze.

Lorraine's POV

D-Did he just say that? I'm important to him? Part of me feels flattered but the other part is more suspicious. I try to quell the suspicious part; this isn't just anyone, this is Nick, the one person willing to stand by me. He raises an eyebrow at me as I start pacing. It's what I do whenever I'm filled with indecision (which, to be quite frank, is a lot of the time).

I take a deep breath. Whether I'm ready or not, I need to tell the truth. After all his kindness towards me, I owe him that much.

"My mom and dad were Sarah and Jake Jones," I began haltingly. "They never wanted kids so from the moment of my birth, I was made to feel like an accident, an insect that had crawled its way into their home, their lives. My mom never fed me, just left me to cry. By the time I was two, I had learnt that there was no point in crying anymore."

I look over at Nick who is staring attentively at me. He nods and I take another deep breath. "That's when it all started. They would hit me, starve me, beat me and from the age of six, Dad would-"

I see him clench his fists in anger and I instinctively flinch away, "No man should ever do that to their daughter!" He seethes furiously. I put my hand on his shoulder and smile. Wow, look at me being the calming one for a change! It feels a lot better than being angry all the time. I didn't even think I knew how to be anything other than angry.

When he has visibly calmed down, I continued, "The abuse went on for eight years until I was ten. My neighbour Lucy Griffiths rang Social Services after I told her she was a bad mom for not hitting their daughter because mine hit me all the time."

It's weird. I thought it would be hard to actually reveal the truth but the words come flowing out of me before I can stop them. His gaze is still fixed on me, oddly enough not making me uncomfortable.

"After several trials and court dates, Sarah and Jake (you can probably understand why I don't call them Mom and Dad) were sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. I was shunted into the foster care system until the age of sixteen."

Nick's POV

I don't think I've ever heard such a tragic tale in all my life. Some of the things she revealed to me were so horrifying, I can't bring myself to think about them. She must have suffered in silence for so long. Unable to hold myself back, I lean in and kiss the top of her head. She blinks owlishly at me but doesn't react negatively. "You don't have to suffer alone anymore," I say, putting my arm around her, causing her to stiffen at first but she eventually leant her head on my shoulder. "Share your pain with me."

We sit there,holding each other tightly. The lull of the generator is oddly calming and the next moment, I find myself drifting off.

Mr Casten's POV

I walked down the corridor to my classroom, fumbling in my pocket for my key, when I nearly trip over something. On closer inspection, I realise that the "something" is actually Nick and Lorraine, curled up in each other's arms, caught up in the throes of sleep.

"A-ha!" I whisper triumphantly as I finally manage to free the God-forsaken key from the far too small pocket. I turn the key in the lock as quietly as possible and enter the classroom, a huge smile spreading across my face.

Nick has made more progress with Lorraine than anyone else. She's never let anyone get this close before. Hmm, I wonder...

AN: So what does Mr Casten think? More importantly, what do you guys think? I hope you enjoy this chapter.