No Longer Alone

Chapter Thirty-Four

*Alex's POV* 

    Ignoring the whispering I find a quiet place to make a call, and find Jen's number in my phone.  I quickly press to call, knowing I can't just handle this through text.

    "Hello?"  Jen's voice shows her confusion.

    "Jen, this is Alex, and I really need your help right now."  I'm pacing trying to figure out what is going on.

    "Alright, I'll do what I can, what's going on?"  As I explain what happened there is dead silence on the line, so much so that when I finish I have to check to see if the call is still running, and check for her to still be there. "Jen?  Still there?"

    "Yeah, sorry," I hear someone in the background cursing a blue streak and talking about slow dismemberment, I'm guessing Adam heard.  "I put you on speakerphone and muted the line since Adam was wondering what was going on.  First and foremost, is she alone right now?"

    "No, she's as safe as she can be, and not alone."

    "Good.  This is where it is difficult.  Rose's father completely destroyed Nicole's faith in herself, and no, he is not the little bastard you met tonight, that bastard was Nicole's rebound relationship, but she let herself stay in it for two years before she let that passive aggressive little control freak break her again.  She'd been having some issues dealing with her brother, posted a vague comment on social media asking to be left alone and that she was working through something.  He tore her apart in text messages saying how she shouldn't post about their relationship without talking to him, that she was absolutely crazy, that only a drunk or a drug addict could love her.  The fight lasted about 5 hours, and it wrecked her.  That was the day she stopped believing that anyone could love her."  Jen's voice held so much pain talking about it.  "I read some of the messages before I convinced her to delete them, it was brutal."

    "So what do we do now, last I saw she was a mess, and I don't think her kids should see her right now."

    "Hang on a second..." I can hear her talking to Adam in the background and as well as the voice of another female, though younger and higher pitched.  "Tell Linda to bring the girls over to my house, she knows where it is.  She can tell the girls that my kid wanted to have a slumber party s***h girls night with them.  The younger two will buy it, not sure Hannah will. That will take care of the kids.  Nicole will need someone to basiclly get her drunk and keep an eye on her tonight, preferably drunk enough not to dream.  I would, but I couldn't while watching her kids."

    I run a hand through my hair, knowing this is likely going to be a bad idea, but it's the only thing I can think of...I just hope it doesn't do more damage and my hangover won't be too bad.

    "Damian and I will take care of her, nothing will happen.  I'll drink with her, and Damian will keep us both out of trouble. She'll be as safe as we can keep her."  I promise this to Jen, and to the girl I knew in school.

    "DON'T MAKE ME HIDE MORE THAN ONE BODY!"  I hear Adam yelling from somewhere.

    "Adam, I value my pretty face too much to risk pissing you off."  I hear a snort of laughter before ending the call.  Now to put the plan into motion.

***Damian's POV***

    The shaking and tears had slowly subsided, and when I felt her bracing to pull away, I relaxed my arms but kept my hands on her shoulders.  She had felt so right in my arms, even if she was only there because she couldn't hold the pain in anymore, but I still didn't want to let go completely, and she seemed to worn out to pull away any further.

    "Thank you, and I am sorry you had to see and hear that."  Her voice was soft and she was looking down, her long hair shielding her face from my view.

    "You are welcome, and if anyone should be sorry it's that rat and the thing that was hanging off him."  A soft chuckle, followed by a sigh.

    "I can't say he is completely wrong, after all, there was trouble tonight, and...."

    "And what?  Nothing that i***t said made any sense at all, I thought you were more intelligent than that, no one listens to drunk messes."

    "In vino veritas."

    "They tell the truth as they see it, and those who are blind see nothing."  I responded understanding the old Latin phase, truth in wine.

    "He's right, Nicole, and some part of you knows it, even if you aren't ready to admit it."  I feel her pull away from me as Alex come's out to join us, part of me wanting to thank him for backing me up, and part of me cursing him to hell as she pulled away.  She brushed her face with her hands, and then straightened her back, brushing back her hair.  Her eyes were a bit puffy and red from the tears, but she was still beautiful to me.

    "I know nothing of the kind, but what I do know is that I need to check on my mom and kids, and then I think I should head home before anything else happens." She went to walk past me, but paused when Alex went to stand beside me, blocking her way.

    "Actually I am here to let you know your kids are heading to Jen's house for a sleepover, though your oldest Hannah made a suggestion before that and I quote 'someone should kick him in the privates and then feed him to a ravenous pack of rats.' she also looked at him and said something in Greek or Latin or something and walked off with her sisters.  Your boss stated you are to take a wellness day tomorrow and she will fire you if she sees you, and your mother simply threatened to feed me to Adam if I let any harm come to you.  Now, simply put, you are in our care for the night.  Though I think Val has plans to steal you in the near future." 

    I watched her look between the two of us, and then to the side, like she couldn't meet our eyes.

    "What's the plan then."  She kept her eyes to the side.

    "Simple, we are going to pick up some alcohol, and you and I will drink, while Damian here keeps us out of trouble."  Alex grins, and I can't help but worry this isn't going to go as planned.