Chapter Thirty Six - Words of pain and love
Suddenly Victoria’s phone rang and She and Cole broke apart slowly, she went to the phone and picked it up, the evidence of crying still very distinct in her voice “Hello?” She asked wearily.
The voice of a choked sob reached her ears and right after that “Vick?”
Victoria asked in confusion “Nicholas?? Yea, it’s me...”
Nicholas was sitting on the floor in the dark office, his head leaned against his knees, he was crying quietly as he made the call and having heard his sister, who obviously sounded like she was crying made the pain in his heart even greater, he couldn’t say anything.
Vicki listened to her brother with panic “Nicholas? what’s wrong, you sound awful?”
Nicholas asked his sister “Vicki, Is it true? Were mom and dad in an accident!”
Vicki’s mouth opened in shock as she realized they haven’t told him a thing “Oh my god, Nicholas...you didn’t know!”
Nicholas yelled “Of course I didn’t know, up till now, some guy here heard about it in the radio and told me...Oh Vicki....I can’t believe this is happening... it can’t be happening!”
Victoria looked at Cole confused and said slowly, still sniffing “I couldn’t either... it just seem so unfair, this happening to them now”
Nicholas was too wrapped up in his own pain to notice his sister is a lot more calm than she should have been, he wiped his tears away and told his sister “I would never, ever forgive myself... ever Vic...”
Vicki asked him “Forgive yourself for what?!”
Nicholas said, crying “For not letting mom see me, she wanted to see me and I didn’t let her, and now it’s too late...it’s too late!”
Vicki looked at Cole with horror and said to the phone “Nicholas, what are you talking about? You can see Mom... They’re okay, they’re alive!”
Nicholas almost yelled “No, they’re not! I heard, what they told me is that...that it was a bad accident and that they....that they didn’t make it”
Vicki opened her mouth, shocked and horrified “No, no.. Nicholas!! That isn’t that at all, they’re fine, they really are!”
Nicholas slammed his hand on the table “I don’t believe you!”
Vicki asked him pleadingly “Why don’t you believe me?!”
Nicholas said “Because you wouldn't tell me, you would try to protect me, it’s just like you! I’m stuck here and there...there is nothing I can do about it, I can’t even go to the funerals...” his voice choked.
Vicki looked helplessly at Cole who looked at her and said “There aren’t any funerals! God Nicholas, stop it! Okay? Stop it now! I swear to you, mom and dad are okay, I just talked to them! they’re here, they’re not even seriously injured!”
Nicholas still shook his head in disbelief “Ah -ah...then, then put them on”
Vicki stuttered “Hmm... they’re not here...but I was with them a couple of minutes ago”
Nicholas insisted “If they are really okay, I want to talk to them...”
Vicki nodded hurriedly “Okay, Okay, hang on, I’ll transfer the call”
She pressed hold and muttered “Oh damn it...” and dialed Jill’s extension number...
Nikki turned away from Victor, and wiped her tears and turned again to him again, quickly before he would notice she is in tears, she really didn’t want to fall apart on him, but just looking at him made her hurt ache.
He was still sitting in the chair, and was obviously still fighting pain, he felt her eyes rest on him and opened them and asked her softly “How are you?”
Nikki rolled her eyes “I’m fine, it’s you I’m worried about...”
Victor told her “I’ll survive, how’s your hand?”
Nikki smiled at him “I don’t think they need to cut it off just yet”
He sent her a soft look that made her heart melt.
She approached him and asked “So, what’s now?”
Victor said “I want to go to the doctor’s office to check up on Amy...and then...”
He didn’t finish the sentence as the phone rang, Nikki looked at Victor “It’s Jill’s office, should I get it?”
Victor nodded “I told my secretary I would be at Jabot, maybe someone is trying to locate me”
Nikki sat down on a nearby chair and picked it up and said “Hello....”
Nicholas, on the other line opened his mouth with shock and relief “Mom?????”
Nikki asked surprised “Nicholas?”
Nicholas leaned his head against the wall as he said “Oh thank god! Mom... is that really you?”
Nikki said with concern “Of course it’s me...Nicholas, what’s wrong? you sound awful”
Nicholas said “Vicki wasn’t lying, you’re okay!”
Nikki said “Of course I’m okay.... what are you....” Understanding sank in “Oh my god, Nicholas, did you hear about the accident? Is that what got you so upset?”
Victor sighed deeply, they should have thought about contacting him.
Nicholas, still very upset “Yea, yea... someone here told me about it, but he told me you’ve been killed!”
Nikki, in tears, upset to hear her son like that said “What? No one said it! Do you want to tell me they said it on the radio?”
Nicholas shook his head “No, no, that’s not it... some guy here told me that, Mom, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Nikki said “Oh No, honey, I’m fine, I really am...I’m a little bruised but I’m fine, and I’m certainly am not dead... “
She sniffed loudly “I’m so sorry sweetheart, we should have called you right away...” She sent a pained look toward Victor who was listening to the conversation.
Nicholas, still shaken asked “What about Dad? Is *he* okay?”
Nikki looked at Victor and said to Nicholas “Yes, he is alright, just like I am, he did a good number on his ribs but other than that he is fine, I promise....” She paused and asked her son worriedly “Baby, are you alright?”
Nicholas, extremely relieved but far from calming down confessed “I thought you’ve been killed and realized what a jerk I was”
Nikki didn't’ understand “What? What are you talking about?”
Nicholas explained, feeling that stinging feeling in his throat again “You could have died mom, and you wanted to see me and I didn’t let you, you asked me that for so many times and I wouldn’t let you and I am so sorry...I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make it hard on you, you always stood by me, no matter what and you asked that one thing of me and...”
Nikki put her hand on her mouth, fighting back tears, Victor who couldn’t hear what Nicholas was saying to her asked her “What?”
Nikki tried to calm down her son “Oh Baby, it’s okay, I’m not mad at you, and I don’t want this to make you feel guilty in any way, okay?”
Nicholas said “I’m not sure I can help it”
Nikki leaned her forehead against Victor’s shoulder and he took the phone away from her “Hello myboy”
Nicholas smiled “Hey Dad”
Victor said with a smile, while caressing Nikki’s hair that was resting against his shoulder.
“I’m glad to hear your voice”
Nicholas blurted out a short laugh “Not half as happy as I am to hear you and mom, are you two really okay?”
Victor said pointedly“Nicholas, All rumors about our untimely demise have been completely exaggerated, alright? we have been very lucky”
Nicholas shook his head “Dad, if that’s your idea of being lucky..”
His voice lacked of energy and there was an obvious signs of defeat in it so Victor asked “Are you alright, how are you getting along?”
Nicholas, sad and emotional before was getting angry at himself for being duped like that “I don’t know Dad, how would you call the first day of the new year, where you think you found out your parents are dead and I’ll probably stay stuck here for the rest of my life?”
Victor sighed “I’m very sorry about that, your mother’s right, we should have called you, the thought you might find out about the accident never even occurred to me, and you are not, and I repeat, are not going to stay in that place forever!"
Victor and Nikki exchanged pained looks, Nikki got up and paced around the room, trying to ignore the pain in her heart over her son’s misery.
Nicholas shook his head “I don’t know Dad... are you just saying that to make me have faith and survive it here because I got a feeling that if you had a lead... something would have happened by now...I want you to be honest with you, I don’t know if I can take it much longer”
Victor shook his head, he had no idea what to tell him so he finally said “Nicholas, There is a lead I’m working on, and yes, there are some problems but you giving up is the worse thing you can do”
Nicholas asked his father “What lead? Dad, you have to give me something here!”
Victor said “No, not until I have something definite, something I can go to the D.A’s office with and ask for a retrial”
Nicholas snapped “Fine, Fine... I know you won’t tell me anything, and I also know you won’t tell me if you had nothing at all!”
Victor said nothing and Nicholas quickly apologized “Damn it....I’m sorry dad, I didn’t mean to be that way, I know you’re doing anything you can... it’s just that...”
Victor quietly said “You don’t have to say anything myboy...I understand, trust me, I do”
Nicholas said angrily “I can not believe I fell for that son of a bitch sick little lie, I swear to you dad, when I get through with him he’ll be...”
Victor cut him off quickly “You will do nothing of the sort, you hear me? you will ignore him and you will not do anything to provoke him, anyone that plays this kind of a game at another person is not someone you should any contact with, I do not want to find the evidence to free you only to find out you got yourself killed in a thugs fight”
Nicholas said angrily “Dad, I can’t just sit back and le...”
Victor interrupted him again “You damn well will! you will keep your nose out of troubles while you are there, I am doing my best for you out here but that would all go down the tubes if you’ll start a fight within the prison, if you won’t do that for yourself do that for the rest of your family, because I don’t want to come to your mother one day and tell her that I can get you out of jail but in a box! You got that?!”
Nikki winced when she heard Victor’s harsh words, Nicholas was quiet and then said “Yes Dad, I hear you”
Victor’s tone soften considerably as the risk of Nicholas getting into a fight decreased “Good, now... are you up to any visitors?”
Nicholas almost smiled “Yea, I think so, You and... you and mom?”
Victor added “And your sister”
Exhausted, emotionally drained Nicholas said “Yes, okay...well, Sharon was here last night so I don’t mention it to her, if you see her, It’s hard on her and the guys here are making rude comments when she’s coming by”
Victor nodded “I understand, I will see you in a bit my boy”
And he hung up the phone...
He sent a look toward Nikki, who was standing by the window, looking at him, tears rolling on her cheek and an expression of anger and pain on her face, she shook her head “I just can’t believe it, I can’t believe it! What kind of person would do something so cruel and heartless?! And this is the kind of people our son has to live with day after day after day! Victor we HAVE GOT to get him out of there!!”
Her last sentence was said in a heart wrenching sob as she grabbed the next thing that stood next to her, a pens holder, and slammed it against the wall, letting out her frustration and pain, physical as well as emotional on it.
She leaned back against the wall and started crying unrestrainedly, Victor got up from the chair, fighting the pain in his head and ribs and walked toward her, as he put his hands on both of her shoulders she let him pull her in between his arms into an embrace, he whispered in her ear “I know we have to sweetheart, ...I’ve been toying with some crazy idea to snuggle him out of there in the middle of the night”
Nikki let out a sad smile and said, her voice muffled as her head lied against his chest “You have no idea how many times I thought of that”
She looked up to him “Are we doing the wrong thing? We have the financial means and I assume that if we really want to have this done we could have...we can get him out of there Victor, if we decide we should”
Victor caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand and looking into her deep blue eyes he answered “And then what? He would live on the run all his life, we would probabaly never see him again, that’s no life, you know that”
Nikki shook her head and asked him “And what does he have now?”
Victor told her “Come...lets just go see him, okay? it would make you feel better and him too”
He turned away as if heading for the door and Nikki stopped him “Victor wait!”
Victor turned around and she approached him, she had to say it, and she had to say it now...
She slowly walked up to him and sent her hand to his face to smooth over his hair and looked at Victor with a look of love and tenderness...
Victor asked her softly “What?”
Nikki said slowly, tears streaming from her eyes “There is something I need to say to you...”
Her voice choked on her tears “Something I should have said long before... and should have said last night...”
Victor looked at her with a look of wonder as she continued “When...When I saw..When I saw your car and realized...and realized we were about to crash, all I thought was...”
Her voice turned into a choked sob “Dear god, please don’t let me lose him...”
She continued as he looked at her, tears forming in his eyes “Oh god, I love you so, so much, I always have I always will... and I tried to tell you last night but you have already fallen asleep and the thought that if something... that if something had happened to you and I never...”
Her voice broke as she sobbed “I loved you ever since the first time I lied eyes on you and I never stopped, not for one minute...I’d rather die then to lose you...Oh my god....”
Without waiting for any kind of response from Victor, Nikki sent her hand to the back of his neck, standing on her toes she kisses him hungrily, almost biting his lip in the process... Victor responds to her with savage intensely, capturing her mouth with his and kissing her passionately, lowering his hands to her back and pulling her very close...their tongues explored and collided as they made a sweet journey of love and desire in each other's mouths...
Their bodies melted against each other as the kiss went on and on
