Page 76 of Beyond Repair: Part Two
Chapter 48
Nina
I'm officially out of time.
Trevor looks ready to wrap me in my blanket and force me to stay until I get all my feelings out. Ridge hasn't stopped fidgeting with a butter knife like a weirdo. Henry's been so stuck in his phone since the other day that it's making me even more paranoid about their intentions.
And Kai? Well, bless him. He looks patient and relaxed. Until he isn’t, I guess. "Nina, what is it?"
I barely hold in my groan of frustration. After everything I've been through, why am I so darn scared to plan the future? Actually, that would probably make a lot of sense to a therapist. Mine will likely have a field day with my new fears. First I need to schedule my next session though. I've canceled my last few appointments since my dad killedhimlast week.
Gosh, has it really only been a week? I feel like we've been living in my parent's basement for months. The boxes Mom and the guys packed from the old house before we leftthatday taunt me.
"Flora."
I jump, not used to hearing Kai's voice so stern. The nickname takes some of the sting away at least. "What? Oh, sorry." They're all looking at me expectantly.Still.
"It's okay. You seem to have a lot on your mind. Can you please tell us?" Kai requests gently. "Before Trevor breaks a tooth and Ridge accidentally stabs himself in the eye."
Huffing, my annoyance rises when he leaves Henry out of his teasing. "Well, hopefully Henry's eyes aren't officially crossed by the time I tell you what's on my mind, huh?"
Kai frowns at the same time Henry's head pops up with wide eyes. "Nina..." Henry starts, but I wave him off as his phone buzzes
"Forget I said anything. You clearly have something important going on in your phone." Why am I being so sassy? My eyes fill with tears not a second later.
If I thought Henry's eyes were wide before, they definitely are now as he tosses his phone onto the cushions and crashes to his knees in front of me. "Shit, Neen. I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."
Trevor grumbles something, probably about me needing a good cry, but I ignore him. Just as I try to ignore Henry by squeezing my eyes shut. Pressing my palms into my eyelids to ward off the burn of emotion, I take a shuddering breath.
"Pretty girl..."
"No," I shake my head, open my eyes and bypass looking at the handsome man on his knees and look up at the ceiling. "Please forget I said anything."
Cool fingers tickle my cheek when a tear slips free. "I'll do no such thing. I'm so sorry, Nina. Please look at me."
Inwardly, I sigh because I should control my attitude a bit better. I blink, blink again, and wipe my eyes one more time before finally giving my man the attention he requests.
"There she is," Henry coos. His smile is tinged with guilt and worry making my lip tremble. "Now, are you ready to tell them about our new house?"
"What?" I gasp, rearing back a little.How does he know about that?
Henry smirks and Kai pushes his fiancé a little. "Alright, time to explain," Kai demands.
Ridge waves his knife in the air to get out attention. "Yeah, what new house? Are we moving?"
"I…" I hesitate, worry clawing at my insides. "Will you? Do you want to move in with me? There are enough rooms. I just thought?—"
"Baby," Trevor rumbles, moving across the basement living room to sit beside me. "I think I see where this is going. We absolutely want to move in with you."
"Well, obviously," Kai sounds exasperated, and when I look over at him on my other side, he winks. "Butwhere?"
"You really want to move into our own home? Continue this relationship? Even after everything?" It's definitely going to take some reassurance to help me feel better.
"And what exactly iseverything?" Ridge looks ready to throw his knife down and challenge me.
"You know," I whisper. "I'm not normal." Trevor stiffens so I grab his thick thigh. "But I want to be. At least a new normal forme. I just have so much work to do on myself to get there and I'm not—I wasn't sure if you would want to stick around for that."
Sheesh, they all look a little mad. Ridge especially. "Of fucking course I want to move in with the woman I love and help her overcome all the horrible shit she's survived. You're a survivor, Nina. Your fuckingaura,energy, whatever you want to call it, is empowering. You're literally the greatest damn person I have ever met, and I am so in love with you. I dare you to try to push me away again."
