I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.
Important-ish: FORTY CHAPTERS!? CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!
Chapter 40: Walking Down That Isle
All Nicolette could feel was dizziness and pain. Her body felt numb, like she was learning how to walk again.
"You're gonna be fine baby." Ana whispered, Nicolette flinched, even the sound of her mother's voice hurt. Ana stroked her daughter's hand as Christian pressed a kiss to her forehead- which cued another flinch.
Nicolette watched with blurred vision as the world seemed to spin, she could tell that a large man was sitting up front- but couldn't seem to remember his name, or the name of the man who sat next to him.
"Baby, do you remember who I am?" Christian asked.
"Yeah dad. I remember that you are my dad." Nicolette croaked.
"What's my name?" Christian asked.
"Uhhhhh... dad?" Nicolette thought for a moment, but stopped as her head felt like it was being hit with a pick axe.
"My name Nicolette." Christian urged.
"It starts with a 'c' and that is probably all you'll get from me." Nicolette whispered. Ana looked at Christian, knowing that her memory loss wasn't a good sign. Taylor, who overheard the entire conversation, sped up.
Fifteen minutes later, the Greys arrived at the hospital, where Nicolette was MRI-ed and CAT scanned, for two hours, and the doctors told her that she had a moderate to severe concussion, and was to not do anything that required focusing, including looking at screens and testing.
Nicolette just barely made it out of the hospital awake, of course the doctor had warned the Greys about bleeds that take time to notice, and gave them strict orders to wake Nicolette up every four hours to make sure she was alright.
True to the doctor's orders Christian and Ana woke- a very annoyed- Nicolette up every four hours.
The next day Nicolette was absent from school, for more resting, although that didn't stop Max and the girls from showing up at the Grey's residence to check on their girl.
The girls gave a brief summary of what happened after she left- their team was ticked that one of their own had gotten hurt and therefore the other team got their butts handed to them for having one of Brown's Academy girls get hurt. The girl who injured Nicolette was given a red card and suspended from the rest of the games in the season. Although only three games were left.
Nicolette was out of school for three days because her symptoms were so bad, and was only allowed to return to school after she could recognize and name her security team, parents, Max, Rockie, Shelly, Terrance and the boys.
By the time Monday, April 7th rolled around Nicolette was allowed back into classes. Though her headaches frequently had her leaving class to lay down in the darkened nurses' office.
Two weeks rolled by and Nicolette was finally symptom free, meaning she was allowed back into classes for testing, and had five tests to make up, thirteen homework assignments and two projects.
So she, Terrance, Shelly and Rockie made a night of it. The four girls stayed at the Greys' house and hung out in the tree house working on all of the homework assignments.
Nicolette sighed as she put the final note on her last project, to compose her own classical masterpiece. Why she signed up for that class was beyond her. Nicolette looked at her traitor friends as they sat watching a scary movie.
The Babadook.
Nicolette shook her head as the movie ended with a bowl of worms sliding across the basement floor.
"That was creepy." Rockie shivered.
"Definitely." Nicolette replied, she had been more sensitive to scary movies after her kidnapping. Maybe living it had given her a new terror to think about, but she now was a little nervous to watch scary movies by herself.
At least that's what John Flynn told her.
"Sleep?" Terrance offered, looking at the clock, it was nearly two a.m on a Friday and the girls had a rock fest to attend at one the next day.
All four girls pulled themselves off the floor and walked up the staircase to the bedrooms.
Nicolette in her bedroom, Rockie in the one at the end of the hall, Terrance in the one next to her and Shelly in the room next to Terrance and Nicolette.
At three a.m. Rockie made her way to Terrance's bedroom, shaking.
"No joke, I heard something, can I sleep in here?" Rockie asked, Terrance nodded sleepily and let Rockie into the bed.
Thirty minutes later three knocks woke the two girls, who promptly covered their mouths and shrieked, before running to Shelly's room, who let them crawl into her bed. At four a.m right two hours until sunlight would even be possible... three knocks seemed to shake the house.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
All four girls rushed to the doors of their bedrooms, all in tank tops and short shorts, before shrieking as three more knocks took place and running to the emergency exit... Nicolette leading the way.
With bare feet they rushed to the Grey main house, two security guys already on their way out there. Taylor and Christian hot on their heels.
All of the security personnel were in their usual three piece suits, Christian however was in sweatpants with a white t-shirt.
"Are you girls ok?" Christian asked, leading them inside with Ryan as Strong, Reynolds- who had joined the group- and Taylor went to check out the tree house.
Nicolette nodded numbly as Gail offered all four girls hot coco, and Ana rubbed her daughter's back.
"What happened?" Christian demanded.
"We watched this scary movie, The Babadook, went to bed. And then the first set of knocks happened at what three a.m? Then again at three thirty, and the final two sets were at four... the first set only woke me up. Then it woke Terrance and I, and then all of us." Rockie explained, terror striking in her hazel eyes.
"Dad, the entire tree house seemed to shake. That wasn't our imaginations. Someone was in there." Nicolette whispered. Christian nodded. Shouts were heard from outside.
Then Reynolds walked in with a smirk on his face.
"Found the crim, all of us left our cells in here in our mad dash outside. Calling the police right now." Reynolds picked up the house phone, dialed a number and left the room. Twenty minutes later police arrived, shaking their heads.
Four hours after the police left with all the evidence they needed, and with four sleepy girls in their wake.
The girls found it funny three days later when they found out that the 'crim' as Reynolds had called him, was in fact Mason Druler. One of Jessica's close guy 'friends'. And they were able to figure out that Jessica had told him to scare the girls and he would get some sort of 'incentive'.
It made Nicolette want to puke when Mason told her what the incentive and the rest of the story was, in an exchange for all four girls dropping the charges against him, and her parents dropping the trespassing charges.
Two more weeks flew by, it seemed like their senior year was slipping through the girls' fingertips.
Then Senior Week came.
The girls literally didn't go to school at all. Their days were hectic, not to mention security's days. Ryan spent half the day explaining to Christian exactly how his seventeen year old daughter got into a go kart crash with two security officers with her on the track.
Nicolette had never had so much fun in her life than with her buds and class.
Then the day came, Nicolette threw on her green strapless sundress, and silver stilettos. She pulled her brown cap and gown in her arms after curling her hair with the wand and fixing her make up with silver colors.
The Greys' sat as close as they could get to the front as Rockie took the stand as Valedictorian.
"I didn't think that life could change quickly, I always thought that it would slowly progress in a different direction and everything would work out the way it would. Then I met a girl who grew up with a different name, different town, and different life style than we have here. From small town, to big city in less than fourteen hours. Her life changed drastically in just a matter of hours. And that's what I want to talk to you about. Change. We are going through change right now. We are graduating, becoming adults when all we have known is being a child.
Maybe that doesn't have to change. But I believe it does. Although we don't have to be uptight and gung-ho. We will have to be responsible, and thoughtful... With knowing how to throw a good party. Life changes for us right here right now. We are the class of 2015 and we are going to take life by storm, show her a thing or two about change.
Before I allow diplomas to be handed out, I want everyone to watch this little presentation I put together... Enjoy." Everyone chuckled as Rockie made her way to her seat and sat down by Nicolette. Christian grinned as his daughter crossed her legs and rolled her eyes at something Shelly said.
The other girls were laughing.
A screen lit up with the face of a pimply freshman version of Tony Tucker.
"Hi, my name is Tony Tucker and I believe that I am going to be the next Micheal Jackson." Tony did the little spin and crotch grab that was Micheal Jackson's signature move. The screen changed again and this time it was a less pimply Tony Tucker, his brown hair was a little more organized and he looked more muscular.
"Tony Tucker again and I am going to be a rocket engineer..." The screen changed and it was now a bubbly blonde girl with a low cut shirt.
"Ashley Hemsworthy and I am going to be the next Brittany Spears."
"Ashley Hemsworthy and I want to be the first female president." Ashley grinned from her seat at her senior words.
Many more student's freshman dreams then senior dreams were shared before Nicolette's face filled the screen.
"Ok Ok, Nicolette Grey... What did you think you'd be when you graduated your freshman year of High School in Haven?" Rockie's voice filled the speakers.
"Honestly? I didn't think I'd be anybody. Just another farmer's wife who worked at the diner part time." Nicolette laughed rolling her eyes.
Nicolette gave a sad smile as she looked at the camera and tucked some of her curly red hair behind her ear.
"Next question?"
"What are you going to be now?" Rockie asked.
"I don't know, I feel like there is so much I haven't experienced yet. That and life is going to throw a curve ball from the stands and I just wanna relax, get used to life now."
"Throw a curve ball from the stands? That isn't even a thing." Rockie snorted.
"Which is why it will be unexpected. I've figured out that life is like that. Unexpected."
The screen faded to black and Dean Richards took the stand.
"Alright, Clarissa Abernathy." As Clarissa got her diploma she shook Dean Richard's hand she seemed to leave something behind.
Twenty minutes later Nicolette's name was called out.
"Nicolette Grey." All of the Grey's cheered as Nicolette got her diploma from Richard's, she Christian noticed that she dropped something in Richard's hand before walking off the stage.
Two hours later when everybody was with their families taking pictures, Christian was about to question Nicolette on the subject when Dean Richard walked over.
"Pockets heavy?" Nicolette asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm a whole three dollars and forty-three cents richer." Richard snorted shaking his head.
"What?" Carrick asked. Richard shook his head at the family.
"Your granddaughter thinks she is the funniest person on this earth." Richard snorted removing one of the many many pennies from his pockets.