Kade (18 page)

******

I return home early the next morning, and make my way into Kade’s room. I thought a lot last night about everything, and Kade is right, we do need to have a long chat. I’m not asking him to choose, but we need to set up some boundaries or something, and he’s just going to have to deal with the fact that Ashley and I can’t stand each other. We’ll have to make this work somehow; I love Kade too much to just walk away from it all. I walk into the room, opening the door quietly. The sight before me makes me do a double take. Kade and Ashley are in bed together, spooning...

What the fuck? Then I notice Ashley is awake and staring at me, smiling evilly. Fucking bitch! I glance over at Kade who is fast asleep, his arms wrapped around Ashley’s waist. What the fuck is this? He knew I was coming home today, he’s the one who demanded it. Not wanting to give Ashley the satisfaction of seeing me break, I run out of the house and jump in my car. As I’m backing out of the driveway, I see Kade open the front door, and come running out of the house, yelling for me to stop, but he’s too late.

I drive a few miles down and grab my phone.

I send him a quick text, “
We’re over, I’ll send someone for my shit. Don’t contact me.”

I throw my phone on the passenger’s seat and drive off. I don’t know where I am going yet, all I know is that I need to go. My phone rings and I know it’s Layla by the One Direction ringtone I set for her as a goof. I sigh and pick up.

Before I can even say hello I hear Layla yelling, “
What the fuck is going on?!”
Holy shit, she’s mad!

“I caught him, Layla,” I whisper.

“Now, what? Explain everything.
Now,”
she demands in a no-nonsense tone.

I tell her every detail of what happened yesterday and what I walked in on, my voice catching.

“Nikki, I think you should at least hear him out before you make any decisions. You remember what happened with Chase and me,” she says softly.

“I will, I just need some time. I’m coming to your place tomorrow, okay? I’m just going to crash at Simone’s or something.” I hear yelling in the background.

“Is that her? Let me fucking talk to her!” Shit, it’s Kade. I hear Layla telling him to back off, but he doesn’t listen, grabbing the phone from her instead. “Nikki, fuck! That was
not
what you thought. I would never do that to you!” He sounds desperate.

“I don’t want to hear it, Kade. I know what I saw. Now that I’m out of the way, I guess you two can be together. I’ll be by tomorrow to pick up my shit, so do me a solid and don’t fucking be there.” I hang up before he can say anything. Immediately my phone starts to ring again. I hit ignore, and shut it off. I head toward Simone’s house. I’m on the highway when all of a sudden there is a loud honking noise.

Then everything goes black.

KADE

I’m feeling off today. It’s the anniversary of Damon’s death, and still, after all these years, it hurts like hell. Nikki and I take a walk along the beach, the fresh air clearing my head. I think she knows something is wrong, but she doesn’t ask me any questions. She knows if I want to tell her something, I will. Ashley shows up, and I'm happy to see her. Today is the day I need Ashley the most because no one else understands the pain of losing Damon like she does. Nikki gets pissed at Ashley’s arrival and leaves. I can’t stand this. I want to go after her, but today isn’t about us, it’s about Damon. Ashley and I reminisce about Damon, all the fun times we had together. About two hours later I head home. The first thing I notice is Nikki’s car isn’t there. When I walk into the house, something doesn’t feel quite right. I head into her room and notice some of her things gone, too. I grab my phone and call her.

“What?” she answers.

“Where the hell are you?” I ask, worried.

“Not home. Obviously,” she says sarcastically. I grind my teeth.

“Nikki, get home. We need to have another talk,” I say as calmly as I can.

“What’s there to talk about? She always comes first, and she always will,” she says nonchalantly. She sounds resigned, and I hate to hear that from her.

“Nikki...”

“No, Kade, it’s done. I’m not playing second fiddle anymore. Enjoy your so called friendship with Ashley.” With that she hangs up. Fuck. Fuck!

I try calling again, but nothing. So I send her a text.

K: If you’re not home by tomorrow, I’m coming after you.

I’ll give her tonight; she just needs to get her head together. I turn and look at Ashley, who has been quietly observing me the whole time.

“Don’t start,” I snap at her. Every time I have a fight with Nikki she jumps right in, and I don’t want to hear it this time. We decide to watch a movie, one of Damon’s favorites. When it’s time for bed I notice her crying, her body shaking silently with sobs.

“Kade? Can I stay with you tonight, please?” she asks, her voice catching.

Fuck, I should say no, but she’s upset. She needs comfort today, and so do I. We make our way into my room, and get ready for bed. I snuggle up to her and whisper, “One day it finally won’t hurt so much.” She sobs in response. I think about Nikki for a few moments before I drift off to sleep.

I get woken up when I hear a door slam. Shit! I run out of my room, and out the front door and I see Nikki pulling away. Shit, I can just imagine what it looked like to her. Ashley and I- in bed, together. Fuck.

I quickly run back inside to grab my phone. I need her to know that it wasn’t like that, that I would never be unfaithful to her. I curse loudly when she doesn’t answer.

Ashley comes out, stretching lazily. “Kade, just let her go, obviously she doesn’t care about you if she’d just run off and not even listen to you explain.”

“Ashley, just shut the fuck up. Go home!” I don’t have time for her shit right now. I don’t hear her leave, but I know she’s gone.

I get a text from Nikki.

N-“We’re over, I’ll send someone for my shit. Don’t contact me.”

Fuck, no! I quickly get dressed and jump into my Hummer. I speed all the way to Layla’s place.

Chase lets me in, but not before yelling at me to quiet the fuck down because the baby is sleeping. I quickly tell him what happened. When I see Layla on her phone, I storm over.

“Is that her? Let me fucking talk to her!” I yell. Layla tells me to back off, and Chase is trying to hold me back, but it doesn’t work. I push him off me and grab the phone out of Layla’s hand.

“Nikki, fuck! That was
not
what you thought. I would never do that to you!” I tell her, praying she will believe me.

“I don’t want to hear it, Kade. I know what I saw. Now that I’m out of the way, I guess you two can be together. I’ll be by tomorrow to pick up my shit, so do me a solid and don’t fucking be there.”

With that she hangs up.

What the fuck have I done?

Chase tracks her cell phone for me. For once I’m thrilled he’s a master stalker. I’m on the highway, and I see flashing lights and what looks like a bad accident. A transport truck plowed into the side of a car, and the car is smashed up and in a ditch. I gasp and my heart stops when I see that it’s Nikki’s car. I pull over and hop out of my car, running towards the accident, screaming out Nikki’s name.

I can’t fucking lose her. I see her put up on the gurney, and I rush forward. A cop tries to hold me back, but once I say I’m her fiancé they let me through. I ride to the hospital with them, not wanting to let her out of my sight.

I can’t fucking lose her.

I refuse to.

Chapter Thirty Nine

NIKKI

I open one eye, and even that hurts. I squint, the sun bright in my eye. I feel like I was hit by a truck, my whole body hurts. I try to stretch, but that hurts too. I look around the room. Not my room, but a hospital room. What the fuck happened to me?

“Nikki?”

I look up and there's Kade, sitting on a chair next to my bed, looking haggard. What's going on?

“Do you remember anything?” I shake my head no.
Fuck
. That hurt. I instantly reach up to grab my head, but it’s covered in a bandage.

“What happened?” My voice is groggy.

“You were in an accident, babe. I had Chase track your phone. When I arrived at the scene, the car was totaled. I've never been so scared in my life. I thought I lost you, Nikki.” He looks miserable.

“You did,” I mumble, remembering yesterday’s events. Before Kade can say anything else a doctor walks in.

“Hi, Nikki, I’m Doctor Grayson. How are you feeling?” he asks, his clipboard in hand.

“Like I was barfed up by a shark,” I sulk.

Dr. Grayson chuckles as he looks over my chart. He’s young; I'd say no more than thirty. Fucking sexy as hell, too. A hot doctor, talk about winning the lottery. “Let’s check you over,” he says as he examines my head wound and my ribs. “Everything is looking fine. You were knocked, have a few broken ribs, you needed stitches in your head, and you have a concussion, so we are going to keep you for a couple days for observation."

“Thanks, doc,” I say in a soft tone.

“A nurse will come and check on you every hour or so, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says, giving me a small smile as he departs.

I watch him as he leaves the room.
Nice ass
.

“Can you stop checking out the doctor’s ass in front of me?” Kade growls.

I turn to Kade. “I want you to leave.”

“What? No. I’m not fucking leaving you,” he says, affronted.

“Kade,” I sigh, tired.

He takes my hand into his, and rubs small circles in the center of my palm.

“We’re gonna talk this out, I’ll wait until you feel better to get into it with you. But I will tell you this. I fucking love you, Nikki, and I’m not going to lose you. I’m staying here with you until you leave the hospital.” He sits back in his seat and gets comfortable. I want to argue, but I just don’t have the strength right now. Before I know it, my eyes close and I drift off.

I wake up a few hours later, feeling no better than before. I notice Kade still sitting in the chair next to my bed, fast asleep. I press the nurse's button and when she comes in I tell her that I don’t want Kade to be in here. Her eyes widen comically, like she can’t believe I wouldn’t want this fine piece of man in here with me, but she doesn’t know the whole story. As soon as she walks out, Kade wakes up. He quickly glances around, and when his eyes find me, he gives me a small smile.

“How are you feeling, beautiful?” he asks in a sleepy voice. I don’t answer him because I’m staring at the door where two huge security guys just walked in.

“Sir, you have been requested to leave this room. Please come with us,” one of them tells him.

Kade spins around to look at me, hurt and betrayal flashing in his eyes. “I’m not leaving you, Nikki!” he growls fiercely.

“Sir, come willingly, or we’ll be forced to remove you,” the same man repeats.

Kade stands up, his chair falling over. “I’ll be back,” he says to me, his blue eyes staring daggers. I gulp.

After Kade leaves, James comes sauntering in. “What happened?”

“I don’t want him here,” is all I tell him in a small voice.

James gets me to scoot over a bit, and climbs in with me. In this hospital bed, it’s a bit of a tight fit.

“You gave us all a scare, Nikki. We were so worried about you. Layla was in hysterics, it was awful.”

“Do you know what happened?" I ask, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I was just told my car was totaled.”

James takes a deep breath. “Transport truck driver fell asleep at the wheel. He didn’t even get a scratch on him,” he says that last bit sounding pissed.

So, I guess my thoughts when I first woke up were true. I really did get hit by a truck. I don’t know why, but I find that slightly amusing. We lay together for a bit, just talking. James doesn’t even bother bringing up Kade, and for that I'm grateful. Layla and Chase visit in the evening and Layla looks terrible. Her eyes are red and puffy, and she has bags underneath her eyes. James leaves as they arrive, saying he has somewhere to be. I hug him and whisper for him to be safe.

“Nikki, I was so worried, don’t you ever scare me like that again!” Layla yells emotionally. I try to stifle a grin. Like I did this on purpose. I ask Layla where Cole is and she says Chase’s mum is watching him. Layla stays the night with me, and Chase picks us both up in the morning. They're letting me out early because everything looks fine, and Layla has promises to look after me. Also, a nurse will be coming to check on me tomorrow at home.

The next morning after my parents leave, Ryder walks in with a huge bunch of lilies.

“What have you gone and done now, Nicole?” he asks with a shake of his head.

“You should see the other guy!” I joke. Ryder chuckles and kisses me on my forehead.

“I bet. You gave us quite a scare, you know. I don’t think I’ve seen Layla that hysterical before,” he mumbles. My dinner arrives and I groan. The portions here are so tiny, I could literally eat three dinners. Ryder opens up the lid on my tray and grins.

“It doesn’t look bad at all. Open up.”

He feeds me my entire dinner and dessert which is a caramel pudding. After I’m done, he puts the tray aside and hands me the glass of water.

“I gotta get to work, Nikki, but message or call me if you want anything. If you want I’ll try to smuggle you a burger or something tomorrow,” he mock whispers. I laugh.

“Bye, Nicole,” he says, pecking me on the cheek.

“Bye, Ry.”