CH 6

Gia sat up and groaned as the effects of Phil's beatings painfully hit her all at once the next morning, she lifted up her shirt to reveal a deep dark bruise in the shape of a fist in the center of her stomach. She cried out in pain as she stood up to get out of bed, her stomach was killing her. She walked over to the mirror and tears began to fall as she looked at herself. The bruise on her face was dark and big and it made her feel so ugly. "Why did I have to meet with that jerk?" Gia cried. She went over to the toilet and emptied her stomach, crying out in pain as she clutched her stomach. She went over and got in the shower. The water stung at first but soon became soothing to her sore muscles. Getting out, she dried and walked over to her closet to get out her uniform and put it on. Going over to the mirror, she gently tried to cover her bruise up with makeup, having little success in looking better, she walked over to her drawer and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, grateful that it covered up most of the bruise. Gia went and got her book bag and walked out the door.

As Gia walked to the bus stop, she could hear Zander calling her but tried to pretend as thought she couldn’t hear him. But she soon felt a tap on her shoulder and stopped her movement, and turned around. "Gia I was calling you back there and..what happened?" Zander asked noticing her glasses and knowing what that meant. "I, nothing, oh I was going to go check on Jacob last night and I tripped on one of his toys, I bumped into the corner of his crib. It was awful, I woke him up and he was crying, god I'm such a klutz." Gia said shaking her head. Zander eyed her. "Gia, you can't hide things from me, I know you too well. What really happened?" He asked. Gia looked at the ground. "It's all that jerks fault!" Gia exclaimed. "What jerk? Phil?" Zander asked. "Nikolas Cassadine." Gia said. "I don't get it, what does Nikolas Cassadine have to do with this?" Zander asked. "If he would have just sent me a check in the mail instead of insisting on coffee then Jacob wouldn't have gotten hurt and I wouldn't have gotten hit. I'll never talk to that jerk again; I was right about him when I first met him. He's popular and good looking so he thinks he can just say anything he wants to people, well not to me." Gia said angrily. Zander was still confused; he reached over and took off Gia's sunglasses, gasping at the bruise underneath. "Gia." He said softly as he pulled her in for a hug. Gia clung to him, kissing his cheek as she pulled away. "I can't stand seeing you like this Gia, I swear I'm going to kill him." Zander said as he ran his hands through her braids. "No! Zander I don't want you getting hurt! Please promise me you won't." Gia pleaded. She watched Zander’s jaw clench as he looked to the ground, he slowly nodded his head in agreement. "Lets go, I'll walk you to the bus stop." Zander said wrapping his arm around her shoulder and guiding her to walk forward.

"Nikolas, what's up with you man? You seem out of it." Nik's friend Scott asked as he looked over at him during lunch break. "I'm just thinking about someone. Hey do you know Gia Campbell?" He asked. He had been thinking about Gia constantly since his coffee with her the evening before. He wanted desperately to apologize to her. The picture of the crushed look on her face as she looked at him kept flashing in his head. He needed to see her again. "Gia Campbell?" Scott repeated her name. "It sounds familiar but I'm not sure. She doesn't go here right?" Scott asked. "No she goes to St. Mary’s." Nik said, excited at the fact that his friend might know her. "Yeah I think she's a friend of that guy Zander. She's beautiful but I wouldn't waist my time with her." Scott said. "Why not?" Nik asked. "I’ve heard she has some family problems, she also has an attitude problem, my friend Andrew tried to ask her out once and she punched him." Scott said. Nik laughed slightly, he could see Gia doing that. "So." He said. "That's right, you think you can have any girl. Well I don't think getting this one is going to be easy." Scott said. Nik laughed. "This is me we're talking about here." Nik said. "Yeah see that's the kind of thing this girl would sock you for. Hey good luck man." Scott said standing up and leaving. Nikolas thought about what Scott said. He wondered what he meant by family problems. Nik got up, deciding that he was going to leave school early and drive over to St. Mary’s. When he walked out into the hall, Nik was suddenly pushed backwards and pinned up against the wall behind him. "I'm warning you Cassadine. If I hear that you've hurt Gia's feelings one more time, you're dead!" Zander said angrily as he pushed Nikolas back even harder. A pair of hands pulled Zander off of Nikolas and Nik looked over to see his brother standing behind Zander. "What's going on here?" Brandon asked. Zander pushed away from Brandon. "Nothing. Tell your horny little brother to find himself a new toy to play with." Zander spat before walking away. Nikolas didn't wait for his brother to question him, he simply walked off, still determined to see Gia today.

Gia took notice of the expensive car in front of St. Mary’s as she walked out of the gate and headed for the bus stop. She had never seen the car before and wondered which one of the girls got a new birthday present from daddy. As she came closer to the car she saw that someone was leaning against it. Her breath caught at the sight of Nikolas dressed in his trademark black as he smiled at her. She almost smiled back but soon remembered what he said to her, and the feel of the bruise on her eye was a reminder of how angry she was with him, and she quickly glared at him as she moved to pass him. "Gia, I need to talk to you." Nik said grabbing her hand. Gia quickly pulled her hand away. "Why? So that you can babble on about me going out with some guy I don't even know again? No thanks." Gia said turning. Nik once again grabbed her hand. Gia turned around and slapped him across the face. Nikolas touched his stinging face in shock. "You touch me one more time and I will make sure you never have kids." Gia yelled. She clutched her stomach that was throbbing at her sudden movement. Nikolas stood staring at her, unable to see the pain in her eyes under her glasses. "Gia what's wrong? Are you OK?" Nik asked with concern. Gia ignored his question and looked up at him. "Just stay away from me Nikolas." Gia said desperately. "Gia please will you just give me one more chance? I'm sorry about what I said to you yesterday. It's just that you're so beautiful..and I heard you say the name Jake, and there's this guy Jake at my school and I just got carried away. Can you forgive me?" Nik said moving closer to her. "I don't know." Gia said softly. "I want to get to know you Gia. There's just something about you that intrigues me. I know that you're not interested in me as a boyfriend but I would really like to be your friend." Nik said. "My life is complicated, you don't need a friend like me Nikolas, just go to your school where you’re popular and live in your expensive house and be happy. Don't waist your time with someone like me." Gia said, fighting the tears she felt rising as she spoke. "You're wrong, I do need a friend like you Gia. Please, why don't you come over to my house? We can hang out for a while and then we'll go shopping for a new dress for you or something?” Nik suggested. Gia laughed slightly. Finding it hard to picture Nikolas Cassadine at the mall. Nikolas smiled as well, not sure what was so funny but he didn't care, he got to see that brilliant smile of hers. Gia thought about the bruise on her face, she didn't want him to see it. "I'm busy this week but how about next week? I'll call you." Gia said. They were interrupted by a group of girls walking between them, all of them staring at Nikolas as they walked by, Gia watched as Nikolas smiled at them. Gia rolled her eyes, grateful for the reminder that she and Nikolas would only be friends, nothing more. "I'll be expecting your call Gia, have a good day." Nik said and then got in his car. Smiling at her once more before driving away. Gia sighed loudly when he was gone. "Just friends Gia, just friends." She told herself before she walked away.