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

odds with her tense body language, slowly he walked over to her “are you okay?”

Again she shrugged “I'm okay, just needed to go for a walk. Sorry I didn't mean to disturb your morning, it's just when you almost barged into me I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?”

“Oh, that” Nicky murmured. “It got cancelled, that's what happens when the bride walks out of the wedding.”

Chris walked over to a park bench and sat down “You walked out of the wedding?”

Nicky walked over to him “I realised I couldn't marry him, he did not love me the way I thought he did. I knew I did not love him as much as I could but when I looked at him and saw nothing in his eyes, I knew that we could never have a proper marriage. I should have listened to you.”

He looked at her again, if she did not go through with the wedding then that meant there was still a chance he could win her back, and unlike before there was no time limit so he could work slowly “Why are you out so early?”

Nicky's gaze shifted and she stood up “I'm avoiding my parents.”

“Surely they can't be that angry that you walked out of the wedding?” Chris asked noting her odd reaction. “Just explain that you didn't love him.”

“I did” Nicky replied, her eyes still darting in every direction, looking at everything except his face. “I told them that I had strong feelings for someone else and that I could never love Boris the same way.”

There was something she wasn't telling him, he could sense it “what else happened?”

Sighing Nicky sat down and swallowed “I told them about Kevin so now I'm avoiding them.”

Chris wanted to put her arm around her or hold her hand or even just pat her on the shoulder, but he knew he shouldn't, so instead he asked quietly “what happened?”

“They stood there and looked me for a moment” she answered softly. “My mum had already been crying so she was still sobbing. I looked at my dad and he was looking at me, neither of us saying anything, then he told me to go to my room, I did and that was that.”

“Why did you tell them?”

“I'm not sure really, it just slipped out as I was trying to explain to them why I couldn't marry Boris.”

“How do you feel?”

Nicky looked at him and smiled slightly “I feel tired but good. I'm being a coward by hiding, I know that, but I just needed some time, a moment to think before properly speaking with my parents.” Her smile got wider “I think I'm starting to feel a bit more like me again. I've had that secret for four years and it feels like a massive weight has finally been lifted. It's the start of a new chapter.”

“I'm very glad” Chris smiled.

Nicky stood up again “I suppose I should let you get home with your shopping. Thank you for the chat, I hope things aren't too awkward between us after last week. I'm sorry I messed you around like that, I didn't know where my head was.”

“It's okay, Nicky, I understand” Chris stood up and smiled at her, inside he felt giddy. He had been handed another chance and he was not going to mess it up this time. He knew she still needed time but inside he was sure they were meant to be together and that they would be soon.

“I suppose I better go home” she started to walk away but stopped herself. “Oh, by the way, I saw you with that girl yesterday, I'm happy for you. I guess it's still early days but you never know what might happen.”

Chris noted the slight twinge of sadness in her voice despite her best efforts to sound cheerful. He wanted to tell her the girl meant nothing to him and she was the only one he cared about but instead he held his tongue, she didn't need to know what had happened the day before. The fact that she had tried to find him after leaving her wedding gave him even more hope that they could be together again properly.

“Maybe, just have to see where it goes” Chris said, as he realised Nicky was waiting for him to reply “I don't foresee a future though.”

“Oh I'm sorry”.

“Don't need to be” Chris assured her “sometimes in life things just don't work out.”

Nicky smiled “Well I really had better go now, see you around, maybe.”

As she walked off Chris felt a surge of relief and happiness flood through him, she was single and rediscovering herself. He knew that this time, he would have to give her space but he did not mind waiting, he knew it would be worth the wait if they could be together. As he walked home the giddy feeling in his chest got bigger, this was the second chance they both needed and he was going to make sure that they both ended up happy, he was not going to mess things up again.

 

Nicky had always considered her childhood home as her safe haven. There was always someone there to protect her, comfort her or even just talk to her, whatever it was she needed. Even after the incident with Kevin she had always felt safe and protected in her home. There was always a part of her that knew if she was there nothing bad would happen and nowhere else had ever compared to that. However that morning when she had woken up, all she had wanted to do was escape. She knew it was cowardice and she knew she would eventually have to come home and face the music but it hadn't mattered. Nicky had stood fully dressed in the lounge all alone and had suddenly felt terrified, her safe haven no longer felt safe, so instead she had left.

She arrived home during the mid-morning and could see the shadows of her parents through the window, with a heavy sign she let himself in, there was no putting it off any longer. Seeing Chris had helped her realise what she truly wanted in life, to be happy. Maybe once the dust had settled they could give things another go but first she would need to work out her own issues and she couldn't do that without speaking with her parents first.

“Nicky is that you?” Her mum came out of the kitchen.

“Hi mum” she murmured “did you get my note?”

“Yes we got it thank you” Nicky found herself being ushered into the lounge “now sit down so we can talk.”

Nicky' stomach tightened and her chest felt very hollow, the urge to flee was coming back but she knew she couldn't. She had to face the music so she could put the whole episode behind her and move on, this was the first step to happiness and she couldn't back down now. She looked up and saw both of her parents staring at her, she swallowed “I suppose you both have a lot of questions.”

Geoffrey, her father, was quick to answer “You're damn right, we have some questions!”

Nicky blinked at her father's hostility; surely he was not angry at her? It had not been her fault. Then it clicked, he must be angry that she had never said something, this she had been expecting “If you're wondering why I never said anything-”

“I am wondering why you said anything at all” Geoffrey cut in. “Why, would you say it was Kevin?”

Nicky looked at her father with shock, how could he not believe her? She stood up “I told you the truth, Kevin attacked me, he tried to rape me, why do you think I would make it up?”

This time her mum answered “We don't think you made it up, just maybe misunderstood.”

“Kevin would never do anything to hurt you” Geoffrey added “he was my best friend.”

“Oh, but I could just go and make a load of stuff up?” Nicky shot back, anger building inside her “I'm your daughter!”

“Nicola, do not take that tone with me” her father snapped “this is serious.”

Nicky stood dumbstruck, they were treating her like she was a child who had just broken something and tried to blame the dog. How could they think she would make something like this up? Or that she would misunderstand his intentions? “I'm not a liar; I am more than aware how serious this is. I'm the victim here; I cannot believe you are taking his side.”

Neither of her parents said anything, just exchanged glances. Nicky snorted and walked into the kitchen, her mum followed her in “Nicky, you don't have to be like this.”

Nicky spun around to face her mother. Again, she was being spoken to like she was a child and she had never felt more like an adult. “You are the one calling me a liar; tell me, what should I be like?”

“I never called you a liar Nicky” her mum retorted “I just think maybe you misunderstood.”

“He tried to rape me” Nicky said disdainfully “that is not the kind of thing one misunderstands.”

They stood in silence for a moment then they heard the door slam as Geoffrey left the house. Nicky let out a soft sigh “maybe, some part of me can understand why dad is unwilling to believe it, Kevin was his best friend after all but you? Why don't you believe me?”

“Nicky you never told anyone” her mum replied softly “perhaps deep down you know you just misunderstood his intentions and that is why you kept it to yourself. Just think about it, surely you would have told someone if he had truly tried to hurt you?”

Nicky stared at her mother, first with shock and then with sadness, it had never occurred to her that her parents would not believe her. She had been prepared to give an explanation as to why she had kept it a secret for so long. She had even expected her father to be extremely shocked and maybe a tiny bit doubtful, but her mother? Ingrid Bennett, her mother, would have no reason to doubt her at all. Kevin had never been anything more than a friend of a friend to her. “I never told anyone” Nicky finally replied “because it had no purpose, Greg would have realised what kind of man his father was and dad would have lost a friend. I was going to tell you the day it happened, but I got back you were all laughing about something he had said and I just couldn't, it was easier to keep it a secret. I didn't want there to be any bad feelings and most of all I didn't want there to be any guilt, from you or dad, for letting me come into contact with him. I'm sorry you don't believe me but I know what happened and I know what his intentions were. He grabbed my arm and told me to play nice and so would he, I know what he meant to do and I'm not sure how else to say it so that you believe me.”

They looked at each other for a moment and then Nicky was being hugged, it was only at this point she realised that she tears in her eyes. Ingrid, also sobbing, murmured “I'm sorry you poor girl, I'm so sorry.”

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

Chris was whistling to himself as he arrived home, he hadn't felt this happy in years. Things were finally on the verge of working themselves out. His headache was now nearly completely gone and all that remained were the slight twinges brought on by his hangover.

It was getting for mid-morning by the time he got back and he could see Tom waiting for him with a big smile on his face, as Chris got close the smile on his best friends face got wider.

“You stayed at her house last night then?” Tom called with a smirk.

Chris walked up to his