To Hold and to Heal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (14 page)

Nice opened her mouth to say something and Alden covered it with his hand, talking over her. “If I let you start, you'll never let me finish. I love you. I want you and all of your problems and fears.”

             
He moved his hand off of her mouth.

“You can't love me,” she argued. “You've known me for a whole week.”

             
“I know all I need to know about you.”

             
He held her for a moment before letting his arms drop. “Wait!” she half-shouted, reaching for him. “Wait,” she urged again, softer, pulling him back. “I can't go yet. Just wait.”

             
He laughed, wrapping her tight in his arms. “So let me take you home with me.”

             
His voice was soft, his touch gentle on her body. She could feel her own need pulling at her heart. She settled into the perfect fit of his arms. “This is crazy. You're crazy.”

             
“What are we going to do, Nice? What are you going to do?” he asked solemnly.

             
Her heart pounded. She didn't know how to respond. “I don't know. I don't know how I feel. I don't know how I want to feel. I’m scared.” Her voice was timid, small. “You make me feel, like I'm naked, exposed.”

             
He ran his hand up her body, pushing past the tie to her bare side. “You are naked.”

             
She sighed and turned his face to her. “I meant on the inside. Take me home, Alden.”

             
He nodded, smiling sadly.

“I mean, Alden, take me home with you.”

             
His face lit up, understanding flooding him. “Are you sure?”

             
She nodded quickly, smiling. “I'm sure. But, you have to take me to the bar first. I need to get my phone. If it's still there. The place is probably looted by now.”

Chapter Nine

             
The broken window was already boarded up when she got there. Nice tried the handle and found it locked. Her keys were still inside with her phone. “Shit!” she said, backing away. She caught her reflection in the window. She looked girly and lost in the dress. It was a size too big and swallowed her in fabric. The bruise on her face had turned an ugly shade of purple. She touched her eye and looked at Alden.

             
“Allow me,” he said, stepping forward. He used his cane to pry the board loose until there was enough space for his fingers. Working his hand underneath the wood he pulled until it came loose from the door. He set the board down on the ground and reached inside turning the lock. He opened the door, letting her in.

             
The sunlight caught the glass on the floor. The broken shards from the window that Alden had smashed to pieces to get to her and the bottle she had smashed against her father's face. The piece that had cut her hand. She held her stitched hand close to her. He pressed himself against her, pulling her close. He tucked her head under his chin, breathing deeply until her breaths matched his own.

             
She brushed him off. “It’s okay. I'm fine. I have to get my phone and my keys. And I should call someone about the window.”

             
She turned, pushing herself out of his arms. “It's okay, baby.”

             
He nodded and sat down on one of the bar stools.

             
She turned and walked behind the bar, flicking on the lights as she went. She went still noticing the closed door to the office. She hadn't closed the door that day. She pushed the door open, afraid of finding her father inside.

             
The office was empty.

             
Her phone sat on the desk next to her keys. She picked them up and turned to leave. He eyes caught the binder on the cot and she went back for it then turned off the lights.

             
Alden looked up as she approached. He stood and held out his hand. She smiled at him, holding the binder to his chest. She shook her head then looked away so he couldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes. “Alden, I really do want to go with you.”

             
Confusion spread across his face. “But? Nice?”

             
“I didn't know that until I said it. I want to go with you. I haven't wanted, really wanted anything in a long time and I want to go with you.”

             
“Then it’s settled then. Come with me,” he said, taking a step towards her.

             
She held up her hand, stopping him. “You got out of bed and learned to walk again to keep your promise to my brother. That's what made you walk. And you’ve been writing me letters for three years to keep yourself from giving up. And I was just some vision to you. Not a real person.”

             
“And then I met you and-” Alden started.

             
“And then I was a damsel in distress,” she finished, putting the binder down on the bar.

             
“No, it wasn't like that at all. Nice-”

She stopped him, closing the distance between them in two steps. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. He stumbled, his balance thrown off before he caught himself.

             
She pulled away, touching his face. “It doesn't matter how it was because I don't want that. I don't want to be your faceless vision or some poor girl you have to save.” She held his face in her hands. “I want you to be in love with the real me.”

             
He touched her face, running his thumb under her bruised eye. “I can't just leave you. Not now.”

             
She shook her head. “You're not leaving me. But you have to go home. And I have to take care of things here. I can't be like Sam. I can't just drop everything and leave on a whim.”

             
He kissed her neck and ran his fingers down her spine. “I'll come to you. I promise,” she whispered, pushing his face away, forcing him to look into her eyes. “I promise.”

             
He let out a long sigh. “You swear?”

             
“I swear, but you have to trust me.”

His fingertips trailed down her arm one last time before he let her go. His green eyes were cloudy and dull. She held her own hands clasped in front of her, squeezing her palm to irritate the stitches, using the pain to distract her from the pain on his face. Keep her from reaching out to him and changing her mind.

             
He started to walk out and then stopped. He reached out and pulled her back into his arms. He pressed his lips to hers, forcing her mouth open. She responded quickly, kissing him as fiercely as he kissed her, pulling him closer, wanting only his touch.

“You promised.” His voice was hoarse. “You promised me that you would come to me and you have to keep that. I love you and you have to come back to me.”

             
She nodded. “I will. You need to go because if you keep holding me I won't be able to do this.”

             
He squeezed her arms and kissed her forehead. “I trust you,” he said. “I love you. Don’t ever forget that.”

             
He dropped his arm and left. She held herself, already feeling the chill of his absence. When he was finally gone, Nice stood alone in the bar, staring at the sun streaming through the missing window. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and left the bar, not even bothering to lock up behind herself.

Chapter Ten

             
She opened the door to the apartment.

             
“Nice is that you?” her father bellowed from the kitchen.

             
She breathed deeply, clutching the binder full of letters to her chest as he came down the hall. His steps were shaky and he used the wall to support himself. A smile broke his hard expression. “Nice! Where you been girl?”

             
“I was with,” she paused unsure of what to say, “Alden,” she finished.

             
“That crippled white boy?”

             
She swallowed. “He's not crippled, he’s just. . .” she trailed off.

             
Her father shrugged. “Well it don’t matter. You're home now and it's time to fix this mess. Hey, what happened to your face? That white boy hit you?”

             
“What?” she asked, touching her cheek. “You don't remember what happened?”
             

             
He shook his head. “I'm not going to get into your business, but if he's hurting you, you shouldn't keep with him.”

             
She stood in the doorway, staring at him in disbelief. “You did this to me. You came into the bar and were upset about the foreclosing so you beat me up. Alden stopped you. You were choking me and he pulled you off me. You might have killed me if he hadn’t come in.”

             
“I may have slapped you, but I didn't do all of that. I wouldn’t do that. You know I wouldn’t. You’re my baby girl.”

             
She stepped back. “No, Dad. Stop trying to deny it. You did this. Did you fix the window? Lock the place up?”

             
He nodded. “Someone had to. You were gone. Maybe I’ve put too much pressure on you. But it will be different now, I'll help out more.”

             
She closed her eyes and he continued, “Was he a friend of your brother? Sam used to send pictures. That boy looked familiar.”

             
“Sam sent pictures? What happened to the money that Sam sent?”

             
Her father's face dropped and then he smiled to cover up the lie he was fixing to tell. “It was never much, Nice. Hardly anything. Come on, we can fix this. Call the bank. We can work something out.”

             
She shook her head. “The only place I’m calling is the cops.”

             
Her father looked confused. “Calling the cops for what?”

             
“For what? Are you kidding me? Because you're a liar! You lied about Sam and you lied about hitting me and you've been lying about the bar! You could’ve taken care of all this, but you didn't! You left me to run this mess while you drank yourself into a stupor every chance you go. I've been the one holding this together and now I'm done!”

             
The words spilled from her mouth. A ten year flood of frustrations. She was yelling and crying at the same time. Her father stopped halfway down the hall, unsure if she was serious.

“I'm calling the cops and they’re going to come and get you. I’m finished with you and your mess.”

             
“Nice!” he started, his steps shuffling down the hall. “I'll stop drinking. I'll help out more. Don't do this!”

             
She picked up the phone and called 911. The operator answered right away. As soon as the woman stopped speaking Nice responded, “I've been attacked. Please send someone to arrest my father.”

***

             
Nice stayed in bed, hidden under the covers. The police had questioned her about the attack. She explained exactly what happened and they’d taken her father away. Then she’d called the window repair company. Everything had seemed so clean and easy. And now, forty-eight hours later she had to make some hard choices.

             
She looked down at the scars on hand. Unable to afford a trip back to the doctor, she’d pulled all the stitches out herself. Her hand was sore as hell, but she was pretty sure it would be fine. Her phone rang on the nightstand next to her and she ignored it. She knew it was Alden and she wasn't ready to speak to him yet.

             
She picked up the phone and sent a text to her two remaining employees.
We're closing. Effective immediately. I'll give you references if you need it.
She hit send. Within five minutes she received texts back. Neither of them argued, they just said okay and that was it. Easy enough.

             
She called Peggy. “I just fired my last two employees.”

             
“So you're really closing?” she responded.

             
“I don't know what my Dad is going to do. But I'm not working at the bar anymore.”

             
“Go ahead girl! Fuck that place! What are you going to do now?”

             
She thought about it. “I don't know, Peg. I've never had to figure anything out like this before. I guess I need to start looking for another job. Or file for unemployment. I don’t even know if I’m eligible for unemployment.”