TWENTY

| dedication: Akankshasharma3 - for the epic banner |

TWENTY

It was two whole days before I saw him again.

I mostly kept to myself, what with hiding something massive under my arm from the others. I hadn't made it aware yet, that I was officially one of the inked. Although the thought of sharing my new tattoo seemed scary. It was something I created and had drawn on me. It was something that held meaning, a meaning I wasn't ready to explain yet.

Versa was way too occupied with Ryan so she hasn't pressed to go out yet.

I was heading to Palmer's, deciding to stop by for a greeting and possibly a cake. When I walked through the door I expected the usual but was surprised to see someone else standing behind the counter.

"Hey, how can I help you?" The middle aged woman asked me, a strain to her smile. She looked dead-tired, like the night had left her sleepless. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face with a small scarf tied around her head. The effort to look as presentable as possible was clear to see.

"Is Palmer here?" I asked slowly, uneased by the new presence.

Palmer was always here and if she had someone working for her, she'd still be present. There wasn't a day where she wasn't in her shop. This was her second home and it nerved me that she wasn't here today. I felt there was something wrong instantly and a dreadful feeling sank in the pits of my stomach.

The woman at the counter shook her head. "Not today."

I closed the door behind me and slowly approached the counter, unsure who this woman was. She was guarded but still looked very tired. Up close, there were dark circles under her eyes and her mouth draped down in fatigue. "Are you okay?" I asked her, slightly concerned for the woman. I glanced down at her hands and saw that she was shaking. She quickly moved her hands and hid it behind her back.

"I'm doing alright. Just very tired." She said quickly.

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. She looked far from alright. "I'm always here for Palmers so I know my way around her shop. Do you want me to look after it while you rest?" I offered her.

She looked like she was took the offer and run with it but she fought the inter battle of hers, and let the stubborn side of her win. "I'll be okay. My son is coming to pick me up and then I'm closing Palmer's."

I gaped at her. Now this was beyond unusual. It was unheard of Palmer's closing early.

"Where is Palmer?" I asked, this time pressing for more information. The woman behind the counter seemed uncomfortable to answer me so I leaned over and asked her again, this time with more persistence. "Palmer is my friend and I have the right to know where she is."

The ends of the woman's mouth curled up slightly at my worlds. "I don't think you have the right but I admire your resilience." She commented.

I stared at her without saying a word. I wanted her to know that I was serious. A moment later, she exhaled deeply on a sigh and slowly filled me in. "I'm her younger sister. She told me to open the shop and here I am, listening to my elders and opening her shop."

Stunned at seeing Palmer's sister who looked nothing like her, and nearly overthrown by this new information I managed to uphold a straight face. She was much taller, and much leaner. "Why couldn't she open herself?" I asked slowly. Palmer should still be here. It would make sense if Palmer was here to introduce her little sister to the whole world. It was something expected from Palmer herself.

The woman seemed to think about her next words before she answered me. "She is momentarily unavailable to do that."

"Why?" I pressed.

Palmer's sister let out a deep sigh. She didn't look thrilled at all by my pressing and I could see any moment now she'd demanded me to leave. And most likely demand a stop to the questions she clearly had no definite answer to. The bell rang behind me and I snapped my head over my shoulder to see Nolan coming inside the bakery.

"Hey Ori," he greeted me as he sauntered towards me with his dark jumper and equally dark pants.

I blinked at him, not expecting to see him so soon. He looked much better since the last time I saw him – a few days ago – and he was sporting his usual blinding smile. "Hey Nolan." I said. "Surprised to see you here."

Nolan shot me a wink. "Couldn't get enough of Palmer." He joked before he looked around to see the woman of the day. When he didn't find her, and instead found another woman standing behind the counter staring openly at him he slowly returned his gaze back on me.

"Where's Palmer?" He asked. He had his long hair brushed back, exposing the frown on his forehead.

I looked at Palmer's sister again, silently asking her to answer the question of the day. The woman held my gaze before she let out a sigh. "Palmer is-"

Just then the doorbell behind us rang again and we all snapped our heads in that direction. I nearly choked on empty air at seeing Link stroll in. The last person I expected to be here would be Link. I tried to tell myself to not be overly surprised at seeing him since he had some relations to Palmer herself.

Palmer's sister exhaled loudly at the sight of Link and she hurriedly came to the front, reaching for her purse on the counter behind her. She leaned over and snatched the bakery's keys off the handle hidden in plain sight. She was muttering under her breath as she whizzed by us and practically threw herself on Link.

My head reared back at the sight and I contained a gasp when I saw Link clutching the woman back, his fists gripping into her jacket, tighter if it was possible. I watched the whole scene unfold before my eyes, my ears trying to catch the continual mutterings of the woman.

When her voice eventually rose up, I could make out the words she kept repeating. "Is she okay? God, is she okay?" I heard her ask Link. She grasped his face in her hands and held his gaze, waiting for the answer.

"Mum," Link started to say, his voice barely loud enough to pass a whisper. I widened my eyes once everything fell in place. I could see the slight resemblance between the two people in front of me, both of them holding in-depth features. "The doctor said everyone has to come to the hospital now, mum. It might be the last time-"

Palmer's sister fell apart in her son's arms, her legs giving out on her. I feared mine would mimic the action but Nolan had grasped my arm and tucked me into his side. I started trembling, my mind aware enough to know that they were talking about Palmer.

Link held his Mother for another minute, his head dropped on her shoulder with his eyes firmly shut. I couldn't ignore the wild beating of my heart as the unknown swam through me.

Link eventually pulled back and held his Mother's hand. "We need to go." He whispered, dragging her towards the door. He turned to me before he stepped outside, for the first time, fully acknowledging someone apart from his Mother.

"You can ride with us," Link started to say. "I know how much you care for her."

I nodded slowly and stepped out from under Nolan. But his hands pulled me back. I looked over my shoulder in question. "Let me take you," he told me. He glanced over my shoulder to Link. "We'll be right behind you."

_

_

_

Riding with Nolan made me realise a few new things about him. Granted, he was still someone with hidden aspects of his personality but I was able to gather a few new things.

For one, he thought he was the next Vin Diesel and made it his goal to run over every red light. His car, a shiny black jaguar, responded to every of his command with a subtle roar that made me reach for my seatbelt instantly. I was heaved back into my seat, my eyelids nearly shut as I silently prayed for this insane ride to be over.

On one occasion, where Nolan had no choice but to stop behind a truck, I turned to him. "Can you please drive slower? Or at least stick to the rules?" I asked him, allowing myself to breathe freely for a few seconds. Nolan watched my exaggerated breathing and let out a scoff as he turned back to the wheel.

"I'm driving under the speed limit."

I snapped my head back to him, my mouth dropped open at the outrageous lie. "You're not!"

Nolan ignored me and instead carefully stuck his head out the window to see further past the truck. "Right," he muttered to himself before he slowly went into reverse, drove out from behind it and literally over took the big eight-wheeler.

I let out a small scream when I realised he was about to go through red and that he was on the other side of the road, breaking plentiful rules as he sped along.

"It's red!" I screamed at him.

"It's not. Look." I had to bend myself a certain way to catch a glimpse of the traffic lights turning green.

"You're a danger to every road user." I told Nolan.

Nolan ignored my remark and carried on pretending to be on the next Fast & Furious.

The second thing I found out about Nolan was that he was Lucian's nephew. The very same Lucian who had a little boy and named Link as his godfather.

"So do you guys know each other?" I asked him, pretending to seem careless about it but I was rather intrigued.

"I know of him. Enough to know he's good kid."

"Good kid?" I questioned.

Nolan looked at me, something different than the usual light dancing in his eyes. "Good enough to look after my little nephew."

The conversation came to end there as Nolan pulled up by the hospital. I sat silently in the passenger seat as he paid for parking. Soon enough we were walking through the wards, trying to find where Palmer was. After asking around, we found out that she was still in the critical care unit and only family were allowed to see her.

"Can you at least tell me what happened to her?" I pleaded the nurse who looked like she had about enough of my face. She rolled her eyes at me before picking up the phone by her desk.

"We got someone here wanting to see the woman brought in this morning."

I tapped my foot impatiently as Nolan stood beside me, typing away on his phone.

"Mhm," the nurse nodded. "Right, thank you."

She put the phone back and returned her attention to me. "I'm sorry, you can't see her and telling you what happened is confidential information."

"The heck it is!" I exploded. The nurse didn't seem fazed by my outburst and just dropped her head and busied herself with the paperwork. "You're a right git!" I spat at her blonde head.

I felt Nolan wrap his hand around my arm and slowly pull me away from the desk. "Orianna," he said in a low voice, my sputtering's of non-existent words riding over his. "Orianna, if you can calm down we can get to Palmer."

Nolan pulled me away from the nurse's desk and whispered something in my ear. I dropped my head in relief and allowed him to lead me away. He went around, looking at the signs before he found the correct waiting room. We walked through the double doors, my heart rate accelerating as we got closer.

I spotted Link and his Mother standing together, talking in low voices. We came close enough before they realised they had company and immediately let silence run through them.

But not before I caught what they said.

"Why did you bring her here?"

****

> If you love Nolan, you can check out his story called His Assistant!

> Also guys, I know for  fact I hardly complain about rude people but if you're the type to comment on every bad thing Ori does or Link does ( in a rude way I mean) then please just stop! It's not that deep, it's annoying and I only got one thing to say to you

> I love every single comment even if it's just the  'update' one. I just don't like the rude ones, it makes me think of everything tiny detail and I just end up writing to impress others and not to make it as fun/crazy as I originally wanted it to :( Takes the fun away :((

> sorry for the unnecessary rant. I love you all, bye!