Page 30 of Beyond Repair: Part Two
Chapter 18
Ridge
"Have you seen Nina?"
"Kai," I growl, "you need to stop fucking saying that."Fucker's going to give me a heart attack one of these days.
He looks sheepish and worried, but I'm already unfolding from my desk. "Sorry, I just?—"
"I get it," I say when Kai trails off and shifts on his feet. And I do get it. Not having our eyes on Nina is like not being able to breathe. "Wasn't she hanging out with her mom?"
It's been two weeks since theincident. Will and Meg are coming over every other day and making the half hour drive instead of staying in a hotel. Of course I've offered my room, but I am secretly thankful that they declined.
We may not have done much else after Henry and Nina lost their virginities, but just having the possibility without parents around is nice.Obviously.
"Yeah, but last I saw them, they were out on the patio." Kai starts walking down the hallways without waiting. "They aren't there anymore."
I follow him to the backyard in silence and when I make a lap around the inside of the fence, my gut twists. Frowning, I spin in a circle. I can't say what's wrong, because there are no words to really describe the sense of foreboding that irritates the hairs on the back of my neck.If Nina felt this, then...
Spinning on my heel, I rush past Kai and through the sliding glass door. I take care not to slam the door so as not to spook Nina even more, nor do I yell her name.But fuck do I wish to.
I come to a screeching halt outside of the little doorway that leads beneath the stairwell. The door is cracked, a telltale sign that someone's in there, and soft sniffles reach my ears.
Kai's somewhere behind me, cursing quietly, but I try to tune him out. Meg's murmuring to Neen, and my heart stops when I realize she's trying to calm her daughter off the edge of a panic attack. Not only that, but Meg sounds half panicked too.
"Call Will and Adam. Get the on-duty officer here too. And yell for the other two!" I toss over my shoulder, expecting Kai to listen to me as I shoulder my way through the tiny doorway.
"Ridge," Meg breathes with tears in her eyes. "I don't know...I can't..."
"It's okay," I whisper, and shift around Nina's mom so I can replace her in comforting Neen. "Will is on his way. We'll be out in a minute."
Somewhere inside, I feel bad for dismissing Meg while she's also in an anxious state, but she'll find help in the hallway. With one final glance at us, Meg sobs and leaves the small space. How I fit in here with both of them, I have no clue, but that doesn't matter. What matters is my girl is shaking and crying in my arms while I fold myself into a pretzel to fit into this tiny space.
"Sweet Neen...What's going on? Can you talk to me, please?"
I'm not expecting an answer to when she bellows, "NO!" I'm shocked as shit. "You'll think I'm going c-crazy!"
My jaw clenches so hard I fear I'm about to crack a tooth. "I'll never think you're crazy," I deny vehemently.
"There—There was a shadow. It sounds so dumb now," Nina cries and buries her face in my shirt.
We sit for a few minutes while I hug her closer and whisper encouragements in her ear. Tears soak my shirt, or maybe it's my bleeding fucking heart. Her pain is a real damn thing in my soul.
With a shuddering breath, she tells me what happened. "We were sunbathing by the fence a-and the sun went away. When I looked around, there was a shadow of a person on the other side of the f-fence. Then..."
"Then what, Nina girl?"
She picks at her nails. "Then the shadow moved away. But I had this feeling...and I just...Who just stands there like that?!"
I start to say something, but Nina digs herself further into me and completely loses it. "He's here! He's here! HE'S HERE!"
Fuck!Nina dissolves into a gasping fit of pure terror that seeps into my bones and scares the ever-loving shit out of me. All I can do in this tiny ass space is hold her while she cries her way further from a full breath of air.
I don't even know if I say anything, but soon my eyes become blurry with my own tears and the tremors racing through my limbs have me feeling completely helpless.
Her hiccuping sobs rattle deep in her chest and her skin feels slick beneath my shaking touch.
Shit, I need fucking help. Swallowing my pride and the urge to fight these demons myself, I shout for the one person I know who can snap her out of this.
"TREVOR!"
