Chapter 84: Chapter 84:

Nicole POV

Jake alights from the car and walks towards Aurora and Caden who are having the time of their lives right now.  I follow suit and Alec gets down too. I want to see how Caden would react if he finds out we just caught he and Aurora having a romantic picnic.

"Hey there lovebirds" I call out and they stiffen on the grass. Caden turns to look at me. He looks like he had just pissed in his pants. Aurora looked indifferent. I just smirk at them.

"Awwwm! What a romantic posture! Can I take a picture please?" Alec mocks and I bite my bottom lip to prevent me from laughing. Caden was hovering on top of Aurora with her lying on the grass. Her blue hair sprawled every which way

"Or maybe you should mind your own business?" Caden replies to Alec's comment cheekily and gets up.  Aurora too follows suit and they walk towards us. Alec just chuckles slightly.

"What do you want? Can't you see we are having a picnic?" Caden spits venomously when he reaches us.

"We actually came for our puppy Caden! Don't be so rude" Jake spoke up. Aurora walks towards us with Aaron in her arms. She hands him to me and I smile. I missed him so much.

"Thanks Aurora" I tell her gratefully with a small smile and she returns it.

"Now you have your puppy! Get lost" Caden drawls angrily. I'm sure he was having a great time until we interrupted it and that has made him livid towards us. I just chuckle.

"Tell me Caden! Were you having a romantic picnic?" Alec asks just to spite him and I can't help but laugh when I see Caden give him a heated glare.

"Come on Caden! Tell them! There is no need to hide it" Aurora urges and places her chin on his broad shoulders. He sighs deeply.

"Yes it was a romantic picnic! Now go away!!" Caden says and we all gasp. It was obvious but we were astonished to hear it from his mouth.

"Oh so you guys were secretly dating huh?" Jake  mocks rubbing his chin. Caden huffs.

"Stop the interrogation and just go!" He yells at us. What a temper!

"Yes we were dating" Aurora says and a grin spreads on my face.

"Now you know! Go!" Caden repeats

"This is great Caden! I thought you would never fall in love" Alec cuts in and Caden glowers at him. I cracked up. Alec was such a provoker! He just wants to stir Caden up.

"And I heard Cody has a soulmate now" Jake adds up.

Caden just gives him a death glare and goes back to sit on the grass without answering Jake's question.

"How did you attract such a rock hearted creature Aurora?" Alec asks . Jake and I snicker.

"I don't know how! But we just fell in love" she tells us.

"Awwwm" I coo.

"How do you put up with him? He is always grumpy" Jake asks with a slight chuckle.

"When I'm with him, he is sweet and nice!"

"Mmm.....I would love to see that side of Caden" Alec coos.

Aurora chuckles.

"Aurora! Would you come here?" I hear Caden roar.

"Coming!!!" She hollers back.

"You guys need to go before he shoves pumpkin balls up your asses" she warns and we chuckle as she wards us away.

We enter the car and drive off.

"Caden and Aurora" Alec says

"Cody and Claire" I add with a chuckle.

"Madison and Alec" Jake says

"Kimberly and Troy"Alec says

" Danny and Jenna"I say

"Melissa and —" Jake trails off.

"You and I " I tell Jake with a smile and he pecks my cheek.

"Enough okay? You're making me jealous here" Alec spits at the back and I chuckle.

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It is still freezing outside when we get to Jake's apartment and we all headed inside to pack our stuff. My phone rings distracting me. My mom's name registered on the caller ID. Today is Trina's  birthday! How could I forget? 20th December! I wish l could celebrate it with her! Her fifteenth birthday! I sigh and place my phone back in my clutch.

"Who is that?" Jake asks.

"Hm? No one! Its just a strange number" I lie and he doubts me but then he drops it and we all enter the elevator.

My phone rings again and I groan inwardly. Why is she calling me? Has she forgotten what she did to me? I look on the caller ID and its my dad this time around. Maybe she is using my dad's phone. I switch off my phone completely as we step out of the elevator.

"Strange number again?" Alec asks me as we enter Jake's flat.

"Yes!" I say with fake frustration.

"Why don't you just pick up? It could be something important" Jake points out.

"I don't think its something important" I protest going straight for my things in my suitcase.

Alec was holding Aaron.

"What makes you think so?" Jake asks and I swallow hard.

"Because.....because...." I say trying to search for something to say but then nothing comes in mind.

"Are you hiding something from me? Who is calling you Nicole?" Jake snaps.

"I said it is a strange number! Period" I snap back and turn my attention to packing my things.

Jake looks skeptical.

"This is getting interesting" Alec coos whiles he brushed Aaron's fur like a wizard caressing his evil cat. I chuckle a bit.

"I have a feeling you are lying to me" Jake says doubtful

"Would you stop doubting me? Just drop it"

"Yes brother! Drop it before it turns into a heated argument" Alec adds and Jake gives me one last glare before leaving to his room. I heave a sigh of relief and continue to pack.

"So have you told your parents you are coming with us to England?" Alec asks out of the blue. I told him they threw me out of the house and he knows the whole story.

"She hasn't" Jake answers for me.

"You're right" I say with a heavy sigh  that lifts the weight off my chest.

"Nicole! You need to tell them!" Jake spits.

"They don't have to know! If they really loved me, they wouldn't have kicked me out!"

"They were just mad at you. They acted on impulse!" Jake defends

"I'm not telling them! Why would they care about me anyways?"

Jake exhales heavily.

"I know they were calling you! But you don't want to pick up! For God's sake, they are worried about you even though they made a mistake but they regret it now"he convinces and Alec remains quiet.

" l. Don't. Care!"I enunciated the words loud enough for him to hear.

"What about your sister?!" He yells raucously at me and Alec whistles.

"I will find a way of getting in touch with her later" I reply hurriedly whiles picking my stuff and shoving them into my suitcase.

"Nikki! Please think about it"

"I'm not rethinking anything Jake! You know how my mom threw me out! You were there! They are D2M"

There is silence between the two of us as we just stand there and glare at each other. I could feel the fire between us together with the burning passion as we stare into each other's eyes.

"Mmmm.....pale aniani"Alec spits all of a sudden and we turn around to face him with puzzled expressions.

" what's that?"Jake asks and he chuckles.

"It means 'heated glares'. I just spoke Hawaiian" Alec clarifies as he continues to rush Aaron's fur

and we burst out laughing.

"Like seriously? You are very amusing brother"

"Are you specializing in Hawaiian or something?" I ask him

"I take online lessons! The last time I said aloha, then kaumaha ' oe , now pale aniani" Alec says proudly.

"I have more words in here" he adds pointing to his head.

"That's great cause you would be moving to Hawaii very soon" Jake pipes up.

"Yeah" Alec says

"I think I'm starting to have interest too. Maybe I'll take online classes even though i still want to learn French" I say whiles tapping my chin.

"You will enjoy it. What about you brother? Which language do you have interest in?" Alec asks Jake.

"Greek" Jake replies and Alec cracks up. I laugh too.

"Are you being serious Jake? Greek?" I ask him and he shrugs.

"I believe that is the language people do not really pay attention to"Jake scoffs and puts a collection of books in his bag. I spot Black Beauty by Anna Sewell amongst them. It was my favourite book but then I lost it so Shakespeare's Alls Well That Ends Well became my favourite.

" I would love to hear you speak Greek to me someday"Alec taunts and Jake nods.

"Can I see that book?" I ask him whiles pointing to it in his bag. He is puzzled but then he shrugs and pulls it out handing it to me.

"Where did you get it?" I ask him and he stares at me like forever as if remembering something.

"My sister gave it to me" he replies with a simple smile.

"Have you read it?" I ask him.

"So many times"

"Me too! It's my favourite book"

"What book?"Alec asks still patting Aaron.

" Black Beauty by Anna Sewell "Jake replies.

" Have never read it"Alec admits.

"Its kind of like a sad story about a black horse. It suffered a lot. That's my view of  the book" I state.

"What's your view of the book?" Alec asks Jake.

"It is a nice book. It just has a lot of sad moments. The horse called Black Beauty in the story, narrates how he lived after breaking in and the cruelty and kindness it faced throughout his lifetime"

Alec nods.

"Exactly Jake" I say with a proud smile. He knew the storyline the same way I did.

I hear Aaron growl and he grips Alec's cuff with his teeth.

"Whoah slow down buddy" Alec begs as it pulls on  his cuff.

"What did you do to him?"Jake demands.

" I was just playing with his nose"

I chuckle and Jake huffs.

"There there Aaron! Relax" Jake coaxes the dog and pats his head whiles Alec straightens his now crumpled cuff. There were a few cuff links on the floor and Alec picked them up and placed them back.

I watch as Jake cools Aaron down by giving him food and patting him.

"I think it hates me now" Alec spits and I snicker.

"I don't think so. He is only mad at you" I convince him whiles poking his cheek.

Aaron is calm now and Jake leaves him alone. He doesn't say anything to us and he just continues to pack his stuff. Then his phone rang and as soon as he saw the name on the caller ID, his gaze settled on me.

"Why? Who is calling?" I ask tentatively.

"Trina" he deadpans and my heart leaps. Should he pick up? He is looking at me expectantly.

"Don't pick up" I quickly say snatching the phone from him. He is astounded by my reaction.

"Now you don't want to talk to your own sister?" He screams out

"It's not that but it is possible my parents are calling me with her phone so that I would pick up and then they will start with their apologies which I don't wanna hear"

Jake sighs and snatches the phone from my hands.

"It's your decision" he states exasperatedly. The phone rings and it is my sister again. Jake walks away.

°~•~•°

I am now sprawled in one of Jake's couches with Aaron lying on my lap as I pat him and play with his soft fur. Alec left a few minutes ago saying he has to also pack for the trip which would be the day after tomorrow leaving Jake and I here, alone in his apartment. He doesn't make eye contact with me and he is busy sending emails to his mother and Jessica (his sister). I think he is doing that to ignore me because he has been sitting in front of his computer for thirty minutes now. I don't get the reason why he has to be mad if I don't wanna talk to my parents! He should be siding with me!

I heave a sigh of frustration and continue to play with Aaron. I spot the Black beauty story by Anna Sewell on the table and I stretch to pick it up. Maybe I can just read and stop thinking. So that's what I did! I read my favourite book.

After an hour or even more than an hour, I heard Jake's footsteps and his eyes meet mine with the same wry expression. I drop the book on the table again.

"Are you done emailing?"

He just nods in response and I sigh.

"Jake I know you are mad at me but it's for the best! I have always been a bad omen to my parents! I've always disgraced them! It is better if I stay away from them and make their lives more comfortable!"

He remains quiet with his grey eyes trained on me.

"I've always caused them pain Jake! It is better this way! Besides, I'm an adult now. I can make my own decisions! And that decision is to stay away from them even though....." I trail off with my voice breaking.

He raises his eyebrows.

"Even though it hurts" I complete as tears fill my eyes and I bow my head so that he wouldn't see me cry.

"Because of me, Trina was almost raped! Because of me, no one respected my parents! I've always been bad luck to them (sob)  I need to be far away from them!"

"Nicole are you crying?" Jake asks concerned and I raise my hand to stop him from coming closer.

"I'll be alright! Just leave me alone" I reply whiles getting up with Aaron in my hands. I walk past him and file into his bedroom.

I get under his comforter and place Aaron next to me. I wipe a few tears off my cheeks and sniff.

"Nicole! Are you okay?" Jake asks as he enters the room.

I nod in response and he sighs.

"I'm sorry! I didn't understand it in that way. I thought you were just being selfish" he admits and places his hand over mine. I give him a small smile.

"I am just doing this for them" I confess.

"You are not a bad omen to them Nikki! I'm sure of it! They love you"

"They did! But they are fed up with me now and I have to accept it because I brought it upon myself"

"You are right! And you are right about you being adult now but they also need to know if you are okay! Or they'll keep on blaming themselves for sending you away"

"They should have thought of that before sending me away! I don't care because they do not love me anymore!"

"You are overreacting!" He yells at me and Aaron jerks beside me. He scared the puppy to death.

"They love you and they want you back!" He states firmly.

"That cannot happen! It is over! I'm no more with the Andersons"

"Don't you love them? Don't you feel that feeling of belongingness? Don't you miss them?" He yells at me.

"I do okay?! But no! I can't go back! They ditched me and I have to ditch them too" I yell frustratedly

Jake sighs.

"I know what you are feeling right now! That was the same rebellious feeling I had against my father! But you helped me conquer it and now, I'm going to help you conquer yours" He says firmly and I watch him walk out and slam the door.

Who has  read Black Beauty before? If you haven't, it is on Wattpad so you can read it here. The best book I have ever read!

I hope you liked  this chapter!☺ Please comment! Vote and Share! Stay safe and I'll see you in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!!!💕💕