I'm Yours Only, Sophie J Brain [i am malala young readers edition txt] 📗

the second man who was still leering over the young woman. Chris tried to take as much of a look at her as he could, what with most of her face being shielded by the dark, there was something so familiar about her but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It was while he was staring at the woman that the second man punched him hard causing him to fall down and graze his face on the ground.

“Ha that taught you didn't it” the man jeered “perhaps next time you will think before trying to play the good guy”

Suddenly the woman lunged and elbowed the second man in the back causing him to yelp with pain “Leave him alone you big bullies” she shouted

The third man stepped up and pushed her back to the wall “shut up girlie”

The first man, who had been on the ground watching the situation, slowly stood up and said to his mates “Come on guys this is too much hassle, let’s get out of here”

His two friends followed him as he limped out of the side road, their destination unknown. Chris stood up and once again tried to give the young woman a proper look but still couldn't see her very well because of the darkness of the shadows. They stood there for a moment neither of them saying anything to each other just staring, after a minute or so he put his hand into a wave sign and started to walk off.

“Thank you” she said stopping him in his tracks “for helping it was really nice”

He was sure he knew her from somewhere, her voice seemed so familiar but then she might just sound like a local. “It's ok” he answered walking back “I'm sure anyone would have done it”

From in the shadows he saw her shrug “It was still an amazing thing to do” her head moved forward slightly “You're cut, on your forehead”

He reached up and touched his head, he hadn't even noticed but now that she had mentioned it there was some pain there “I'm sure it's nothing”

“It looks quite bad” she said in response “come back to my house if you want, I will sort it out for you. It's just down the end of this road. Please it's the least I can do”

“Ok” he smiled “if you insist”

Again her head moved forward “I know you don't I? Oh gosh, it's you. Chris Williams”

“And do I know you?”

“You should remember me” she stepped out of the shadows and smiled “Bennett, Nicola Bennett”

 

Nicky didn't usually go out in the evening but that day she had felt so bored in the house on her own that she had the strangest thought that if she spent one more day in the house on her own then she would slowly start to go insane. So she had decided to go out just for one drink. Then she had started to talking to Arnold who then had introduced her to his two friends Craig and Robert. She must have flirted a bit with them, not much of course she didn't just flirt with everyone any more, that part of her life was over. She hadn't meant to lead them on so when she got up to leave she had been shocked that they had been so angry at her.

Nicky had ran as fast as she could but they quickly caught up with her, she had never been good at running, they had pinned her up against the back wall and had told her that she shouldn't have led them on. Then this amazing man and come to help her, Arnold must have got a bit fed up with the interruptions and decided even she wasn't worth the hassle so he had called his gang and left. Leaving Nicky and her mystery hero alone staring at each other, she knew he looked familiar and he had seemed familiar when he had helped her; there was something about his voice that made her inside shiver. It wasn't until he agreed to let her clean up his wound that she realised who he was. Christopher Williams the love of her life, the ex-love of her life, he had helped her once again. She was smiling at him but her insides were going crazy, four years of university and separation from this man still hadn't prepared her for this moment. In fact she hadn't even considered that she might bump into him again. She had thought that even if he was still in that area he lived on the other side of town so there was still no way of them even bumping into each other, quite obviously that was wrong.

“Nicky” Chris murmured his eyes wide with shock “How have you been?”

“Come on we can walk and talk” they started walking side by side “I've been good, how are you?”

“I'm good too, just on my weekend binge” Chris answered somewhat sheepishly. “It has become somewhat of a weekly thing”

As they left the side street onto a main housing estate they were both lit up by street lights. Nicky took a good look at him; he looked a bit rough, like the last four years hadn't been kind to him. It was the kind of look she had seen in herself before, the look of constant upset and loneliness. Nicky thought back to the last time he had seen him, stood up on that platform with Maisy as Mr Griffin announced the engagement. “Doesn't your wife mind these weekly benders?”

Chris stopped and looked at her “Nicky, I don't have a wife”

“Oh I'm sorry” she said a bit stiffly deciding that his tone had been a bit too sharp for her taste “considering you had just got engaged when I last saw you I didn't think it was that much of a bad assumption to make”

“I know” Chris sighed “It was when she was trying to pick a date for the wedding I realised I couldn't go through with it. I thought we could be happy but I was deluding myself, I just wanted us to be happy because it would make everything easier but that's no way to live. I realised too late that in life you have to do what you know will make you happy not what you hope will just cause it was easier. If you have to hope that you will be happy it’s not going to work”

Nicky's mind was buzzing, Chris had ended the engagement? She didn't know what to think. The same thing kept popping into her mind why didn't he call me? But of course she knew the answer to that, he had tried to make amends and she had thrown it back in his face. Why didn't she ever say what she was thinking? She could have explained at the time how much it hurt, how she though they might have been able to have made it work but then Maisy stayed around so she assumed he realised he just didn't really love her as much as he thought. Oh god why hadn't she just said any of that? Because even though she hadn't yet mastered the art of shutting up she also hadn't quite come to grips with saying what was truly in her heart.

“Did I hear you correctly back there?” Chris asked stopping behind Nicky as she opened the door to her house “Are you really engaged?”

Stalling for time Nicky led him into the lounge and rushed into the kitchen to grab the first aid kit. She had to stand on a chair to reach it, since it was kept on top of the cupboard, when getting down she decided to try a fancy jump off and ended up losing her balance and falling onto the kitchen floor.

“Ouch” she muttered to herself “No wonder Boris said I should probably stop doing that”

“Is he the famous fiancé then?” asked a voice from the door way

Nicky sat up on the kitchen floor “Yeah, we met while I was still in university”

Chris shrugged and sat beside her “where he is?”

“Away on business” Nicky opened up the first aid kit and then closed it back up a bit “I don't think you need much from here, it doesn't look to bad now in the light. Apparently I grazed my knee for no reason”

“At least give me a plaster” Chris smiled sticking out his tongue.

“I think you might just get a plaster” Nicky smiled back taking out a plaster and carefully placing it on his forehead “So you going off home now then?”

Chris stood up and offered his hand for Nicky “I suppose I should”

“You know you don't have to” Nicky said, not wanting to end her time with him yet “Stay here, it’s the least I can do”

Chris looked around the kitchen, he was obviously trying to decide whether he should or not. He looked almost surprised that she wasn't angry at him. To be fair perhaps she should be but the last four years had given her some sort closure on the whole thing, plus it was rather hard for her to be angry with him when he had just saved her from being raped. There were of course things they had to discuss but there was no need to discuss it now, she was wanted to be his friend for now, the serious talk could come tomorrow.

“Please stay” she persisted deciding to use her trump card “You'll be doing me a favour, I'm still shaken up after what happened” It wasn't strictly a lie, she was rather emotional still and it would do wonders for her sleep that night if he was there.

He sighed “You always did know how to wear me down didn't you? Ok I'll stay tonight”

Nicky clapped her hands together and hugged him “Thank you, we don't have a spare bed so I guess you will have to share with me, after you helped me and got punched I'd feel like such a cow if I made you sleep on the sofa. That wouldn't be awkward would it?” Nicky knew she was playing with fire but she just wanted him close that night, one night wasn't a crime and nothing was going to happen between them.

Chris shrugged clearly lost for words.

“Great” Nicky yawned “bed soon I guess”

Obviously deciding that 'soon' meant within the next ten minutes Nicky started walking upstairs. Chris followed her looking at her carefully; the years obviously hadn't been very kind to her. There was something about her now, like a part of her had died he wasn't sure what it was but there was something about her that didn't fit. He should have called her when his engagement broke but he couldn't find the courage, after months of lying to himself he felt so ashamed and had convinced himself that he didn't deserve her but now stood right behind her and knowing he would be sleeping next to her that night, it was too much for him to bare.

The regrets had flooded in the moment he saw it was Nicky he had just saved. Memories of their time together had taunted him for four lonely years, every so often he would go home with some random stranger but it wasn't the same, it never could be. There was no magic and there was no fireworks with each kiss and Chris knew somewhere deep in his heart that Nicky was marrying the wrong person. That she would never have fully got over their time together just like he hadn't, if only he could find a way to prove it.

He used the toilet and spent time washing his hands as he tried to pull his feelings together, he loved her. He always had done, the attraction had been there since they first met when she bumped him into him and it had stayed, even when she had tried to avoid him there had still been a longing there on both sides and now it