She held onto him and hid her face in his neck as he carried her out of the bathroom and lay her on the bed. She lay flat on her back and closed her eyes as he wiped her off with the towel. He was so slow and slow gentle. She smiled and she knew the shock was all over her face as he took the oil and began to massage her body. She could only moan as his hands kneaded her thighs. She sucked in air as he ran his hands over her stomach and she moaned as he began to massage her breasts. Her eyes closed as has his hands made their way up to hr neck and ran over her shoulders,
�That feels so good.� She opened her eyes to see him smiling like a little boy; his eyes bright and proud,
�Really?� She smiled and nodded her head,
�Yeah, really.� He leaned down and her eyes closed as she held her breath as he ran his tongue along her face. She knew what he was doing, his tongue was running over the mark on her face and the thought of him trying to make that awful spot on her body feel better caused the tears to form in her eyes. He looked up and searched her eyes,
�I�m sorry, does that hurt?� She shook her head and whispered as she placed her hand on the side of his face,
�No.� He leaned down and kissed her gently, his hands softly roaming her body. She cried as he made love to her that night and she cried even more as she listened to him say how much he loved her and would never hurt her. She fell asleep in his arms, his hand soothingly rubbing her back, exhausted from the tears and Nick making love to her.
She spent the next day with Nick they never left the house. Breakfast and lunch was the pizza from the previous night and the last thing she wanted for dinner was pizza,
�Let�s go out to dinner Nick.� He looked over at her and frowned,
�You sure you want to go out? I can order-� He laughed when her saw the look on her face,
�You better not say pizza boy.� He nodded and leaned over and kissed her quickly,
�Ok, let�s get dressed.� He stood up and when she didn�t follow he stopped,
�What�s wrong?� She pouted slightly,
�I don�t have any clothes to wear.� She watched as he stood there trying to think of a way to resolve the problem. She smiled and decided she would let him play hero a little longer, he seemed to enjoy it and honestly, so was she.
�We�ll stop by your place and you can change and pack a bag so you can stay with me until I have to leave for NY and LA.� She stopped smiling as his own smile left his face,
�What? What is it?� He shook his head,
�Nothing, come on you can keep on my jersey and boxers, let�s go.�
He switched from flipping the radio dial and put on a CD as he waited for Shayna to return to the truck. A couple walked by and got into the car next to him and drove off as the steering wheel became his drum set and he strummed his fingers along to the beat of the music. He looked at the clock when he saw the couple return, Taco Bell bag in hand, to see Shayna's five minutes had turned into fifteen; he waited for the song to end before turning off the engine and getting out of the truck. As he made his way to up the sidewalk a ball crossed his path, quickly he picked it up and smiled as the little girls made there way over to retrieve it,
"Here you go sweetie. He handed the ball to the girl with the bouncy red pigtails. Her playmates giggled in the background as she said thank you and they quickly ran off. He ran up the stairs two at a time and opened the door,
"Hey baby, what's taking-" he stopped at the sight of Shayna in Bill's grasp,
"What the fuck are you doing here? Bill shook his head and rolled his eyes,
"This has nothing to do with you. You've done enough. This is between Shayna and me. Nick charged towards him and grabbed his collar,
"I can't believe you hit her." Before he knew it his fist connected with Bill's nose and blood began to run down to his mouth. He watched him stumble backwards and briefly steady himself before Nick punched him again and he crashed through the coffee table. He felt his arm being pulled and turned to see an obviously distraught Shayna,
"Nick stop." He shook his head and pushed Shayna onto the couch and turned back to see Bill trying to stand up. He leaned down over him and repeatedly hit his target center mass. Shayna pulled at him and he finally stood up,
"What?!" She shook her head,
"What's the matter with you? That's enough." He frowned,
"What do you mean what's the matter with me? He shouldn't have hit you." She rolled her eyes,
"You think that makes this ok? You're no better. Look at him, are you happy now?" She pointed at Bill and Nick looked at him briefly in disgust before returning his attention back to her,
"He deserved it for what he did to you."
"This wasn't about me...not completely. It was about you...him having me and you not liking him." Nick watched as she sat down next to Bill,
"What are you talking about? Why did you even come to me last night?" He walked over and seeing her gently holding his face and inspecting his wounds made him see red and he kicked him in the stomach,
"Nick, get the hell out." He couldn't believe his ears or his eyes as he watched her care for him. She was defending him after what he did to her. He made it to the door and turned to look at her,
"Don't come to me the next time he hits you." He didn't bother to close the door as he walked out of her apartment. As he drove away he couldn't believe her. How could she stay with him after what he did? Yeah, he stayed with girls against his friend's and family's judgment but this was different. She couldn't protect herself from him if it got really bad.
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Chapter 56