Declan's POV

This had to be the worst feeling I had ever experienced. The guilt that swarmed me for lying to Goldi was killing me inside.

But I didn't have a choice.

I had to protect her.

I slowly grabbed Goldi's phone off of the nightstand as she slept and typed Nikki's phone number into my phone.

I made my way back into the bed and Goldi immediately cuddled up to me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. She let out a small noise that made my shorts tighten.

All this girl had to do was say the word and I would be all over her but I held back. She wasn't ready and frankly, neither was I. She was the world to me and I didn't want to ruin what we had by moving too quickly with her.

Not to mention, I felt like complete shit for keeping this secret from her. I needed to get Nikki's life together and fast so I could focus on my relationship with Goldi. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this girl. She was the center of my universe now.

Every choice I made was now solely based on her best interest and I would go to the ends of the earth if it meant making her happy.

-the next morning-

We had just got done working out and Goldi was in the shower so I quickly made breakfast and set out the plates on the table. I heard her small feet pat their way to the bedroom and then come into the kitchen. I gave her a smile when she came into view. She returned it and then sat down next to me.

"Would it kill you to make waffles one of these days?" She whined. I laughed and then shook my head.

"No, but it would kill you. Slowly but it would kill you." I replied. She rolled her eyes but then started eating her egg white omelet. As we ate, we talked about what our plans were for the day.

"I have classes and then I have an eight hour work shift tonight." She said, disappointment clear in her voice.

"Are you going to stay at the dorms tonight or here?" I asked, a little worried that she might say here. I needed to get to Nikki today and start working on the situation. I wasn't sure how long it would take or what it would all entail.

The situation with Nikki brought back memories of my street fighting days. Just thinking about all of my friends that I had that were on drugs back then made me sick to my stomach. Too many of them ended up dead.

I couldn't let that happen to Nikki.

"The dorms since they are closer and I'm going to be exhausted." She said and then took another bite of her food.

"Do you want to go on a date tomorrow night?" I asked. She looked up from her plate and smiled.

"I would love that." She said excitedly and then focused on her food again.

"Good, we can meet here and then go out." After we got done eating, she left to go to her class. As soon as I heard the front door close, I grabbed my phone and called Nikki.

"Hello?" Her voice was shaky as she answered.

"Hey, it's Declan."

"Who?"

"Crystal's boyfriend...er, I guess just her friend at the time. We met at the hospital and I also came to the funeral." I explained awkwardly. Goldi's real name felt so foreign on my tongue.

"Ah. Yeah...did you need something?" She sounded like she had just woken up but I wasn't sure it was from sleep or the drugs.

"Actually, yes. Can we meet up somewhere and talk?" I asked. There was a long pause and for a moment, I was worried she was going to hang up. At the very least, I had to get her to meet me in person. I had no idea where she lived or where her friend that she was supposedly staying with lived.

"Sure." She finally said and I almost leapt for joy.

"Great. Do you know where the Gathering Grounds is in town?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's meet there in an hour. Does that work for you?" There was another long pause and I was starting to get worried that she was going to change her mind.

"Yeah...an hour..." I started to get this gross feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Nikki."

"What?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

"It's not like anyone would care even if I did." My breath caught in my throat and it all became too real. Even when Goldi's dad told me she was doing drugs, it didn't quite hit me until this moment how bad it really was.

"Your sister would care."

"What sister? I don't have one." I didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't want to make her more upset so I decided not to push the issue.

"Just please meet me?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright, see you in an hour."

"Mhm."

I hung up the phone and then sighed.

This was going to be harder than I had originally thought.

--

When I arrived at the coffee house, I quickly ordered a chai tea and then found a spot to sit down. I was finally starting to relax when I heard a voice.

"Declan?" I looked up, expecting to see Nikki. However, the woman I saw was definitely NOT Goldi's sister.

It was my ex-girlfriend.

Fucking Hell.

"Kate? What are you doing here?" I asked, almost choking on my own spit.

"I moved back two weeks ago." Her brown eyes stared me down, seething anger rolling off of her.

"Oh? Why?"

Ah, shit. That was possibly the stupidest thing I could've asked. I knew her well enough to know that what I just asked was going to make her angry.

"Why do you care?" She flipped her black hair over her shoulder and huffed out her chest.

"I don't. I was just trying to be polite." I mumbled in an annoyed tone. I couldn't help but compare her to Goldi. The way Kate talked to me was beyond condescending and while Goldi didn't like me at first, she never once made me feel the way Kate did. Kate made me feel like I was a wad of gum that had gotten stuck to her shoe that she desperately wanted to peel off.

"I heard you are undefeated so far this year." My ears perked up at that. She had never once cared about my career when we were dating.

"Yeah, but when did you get so interested in the MMA?" I asked, feeling the edge in my tone. She rolled her eyes but then sat down in the chair across from me.

"Declan, I know what I did was wrong but...I really did love you." I stared at her as I narrowed my eyes.

She had to be fucking kidding me.

"Really? You have quite the twisted way of showing it." I scoffed and then took a drink of my tea.

"Yes, well, we're not all perfect like you now are we?" I tried desperately to ignore how much her words spiked my heart.

"I'm actually meeting up with my girlfriend's sister and she should be here any minute now so..." I trailed off, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Oh that's right, I saw in a magazine that you were dating a blonde bimbo." I barred my teeth and growled.

"Don't you fucking dare call her that." She rose an eyebrow.

"I see. You must really like her then."

"I don't like her. I love her." I clarified.

"Wow." She laughed half heartedly. I stared at her until she settled down. "You always did fall fast and hard. I see that hasn't changed." I felt my eyebrow start to twitch in anger. This girl knew exactly what buttons to push to piss me off. She enjoyed watching me get angry.

"Why did you come back here, Kate?"

"Because it seemed like a fun idea." I was going to retort when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone had walked up to our table. I turned to see Nikki standing there. Her skin was almost gray and her brunette hair looked like it hadn't been washed for days as she had it pulled back into a bun.

"Hey, Nikki. Did you need something?"

Did Kate just say that?

How the hell did they know each other?

"Hi, Kate. No, I'll meet you back at the house later." Nikki responded easily.

"Wait, you're Declan's girlfriend's sister?" Kate asked.

"You're the 'friend' that Nikki is staying with?!" I stood up and yelled at Kate.

"How did you know I was staying with a friend?" Nikki asked me.

Oops.

"Ah...I hired a private investigator. I was worried about you. And now, I'm worried about you, too." I added, looking at Kate. Her cheeks turned a light pink and I knew I was on the right track.

"You hired someone to follow me?! What the fuck?!" Nikki looked upset but she was also too weak to really yell.

"Nikki, I know about the drugs." I stated, deciding to just get it out of the way. She stared at me for another moment and then sat down in the chair beside me.

"Are you dealing, Kate?" I asked. She averted her eyes and crossed her arms.

Bullseye.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She turned to look back at me again and it was obvious that she was angry now instead of embarrassed.

"You have no right to judge me, Declan! Or Nikki! You aren't my boyfriend anymore and Nikki isn't any of your business either."

"Nikki is my business! If she gets hurt or dies, her sister won't be able to handle it!"

"Then that's her own fault if she's too weak!" Kate's comment sent me over the edge. I slammed my hands down on the table and put my face inches from her.

"If you say one more thing about her, I swear to God, Katelynn Avery Rivers, I'll...I'll..." She sat comfortably, staring up at me with amusement playing in her eyes.

"You'll what?" She provoked.

"I'll make you wish you had never met me." I spit out and then turned to Nikki and softened my gaze.

"Look, Nikki, you need to get help. You have my number now. Call me if you need anything. I will have my phone on me 24/7 for you. I mean it. Don't throw your life away, you're worth so much more than this." I could see her blue eyes starting to waver as tears came to rest on the edges of her eyelids. I gave her a small smile and then grabbed my tea from the table.

"Oh and Kate?" She looked up at me, her mouth set in a straight line of irritation.

"Don't you think you've already hurt me enough?" I asked, trying to ignore the stinging pain in my chest. Her eyes softened but only for a moment before hardening again.

I walked out of the coffee shop before heaving a big sigh.

What are the odds of my ex girlfriend being the drug dealer of my current girls friend's sister?

I seriously had the worst of luck.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and I pulled it out to see who it was.

When I read 'Nikki', I almost dropped my phone.

Tomorrow night at 6, meet me at the Italian restaurant, Antonio's.

I looked over my shoulder through the glass window to the shop. Kate and Nikki were still sitting together but weren't talking. I quickly texted back 'ok' before realizing that I had promised Goldi we would go on a date tomorrow night.

Shit.

This situation just kept getting worse. If I wasn't careful, I would hurt my relationship with Goldi before I fixed Nikki's life.

For fucks sake, could I catch a break?