1 week later

Christian's POV

I hastily walked over to my front door after hearing the doorbell ring. Amelia was here with Nadia, dropping her off at my house for the night since we were going to the airport in the morning.

I pulled the door open and my eyes met with Amelia's as she stood on the doorstep, clinging onto Nadia's olive-green suitcase. "Hey Amelia." I smiled. "Hey Christian." She kindly smiled back. "I can take Nadia's suitcase and bring it inside." I offered. "Yeah, thanks, here you go." Amelia wasted no time handing me the suitcase handle. I laughed softly, picking up Nadia's suitcase and gently placed it off to the side in the foyer.

I glanced past Amelia, seeing Nadia getting out of Amelia's car with her crutches held underneath her arms and her purse on her shoulder. She smiled at me, quickly waving as she closed the door with her hip. I grinned at her, eagerly waving back.

"Christian." Amelia's voice was stern, making me focus my attention back to her.

"Please treat Nadia well. She's got enough going on in her life." I could see the concern in her eyes and the slightly distraught look on her face.

"You think I'd hurt her?" I asked.

Amelia quickly shook her head. "No. I trust you. Or at least I want to."

I inwardly chuckled. "Don't worry Amelia, Nadia is safe with me. I wouldn't do anything to harm her. I promise."

She sighed, looking up at me as she narrowed her eyes. "I really hope you mean that." She mumbled somberly.

My shoulders relaxed as I realized how serious Amelia was being. I figured Nadia was going through things she never talked about but I wondered just how much they really affected her.

"Hey!" Nadia cheerfully smiled, finally making her way over to us. I noticed she wore a walking boot now.

"No more crutches?" I jokingly asked, helping her out by taking her crutches out of her hands.

She chuckled. "I brought them just in case, but I should be fine with just my walking boot."

Amelia pulled Nadia into a hug, making a smile appear on her face. "Be safe okay?" Nadia playfully rolled her eyes. "I will Amelia, I'll be fine. I'm with Christian." Her eyes shifted over to me and she smiled. I returned the gesture, feeling relieved as I knew Nadia completely trusted me.

Amelia let Nadia go and I reached out for her hand, helping her up onto the elevated brick doorstep. Amelia took a deep breath. "Well, I hope you two have a safe flight tomorrow. And I hope the trip is worthwhile. I'm sure you'll find her."

"Thanks." Nadia and I spoke in unison.

Amelia looked at Nadia again. "Keep me updated?"

"Always." Nadia smiled.

...

"I can show you to your room, it's down this hall." I held Nadia's crutches and rolled her suitcase towards my guestroom. Nadia trailed behind me as I directed her. I opened the door, switching on the light as I placed her suitcase by the end of the bed and leaned her crutches against the wall.

"The bathroom is connected to the room through this door." I pointed to the door parallel to the bed. Nadia slowly nodded her head, glancing around the room. "Okay, thanks." She smiled.

"Did you have dinner yet?" I asked.

"Mhm, I'm good, thanks." She politely responded.

"Did you want anything to drink? Like water or something?"

Nadia awkwardly laughed. "Yeah, um, water is fine. Thanks Christian."

I nervously laughed along with her. "I'm sorry, I just wanna make sure you're comfortable."

"No, it's okay. I appreciate it. Thank you, even though I feel like I've said that a hundred times already." We laughed, walking out of the room towards the kitchen. I kept up with her pace as she walked a bit slower due to her walking boot. Nadia glanced out towards the living room and a smile formed on her face. "You lit the candle I got you."

"Oh, yeah, you were right," I sheepishly chuckled, taking in the scent of the candle. "It does remind me of home...and you. So, I just thought I'd light it today because you were gonna be here so..." Nadia giggled at my rambling.

I cleared my throat. "I'll um, I'll get your water." I stepped away from her, walking into the kitchen, towards the pantry. I didn't know why I felt so nervous all of sudden. Nadia's been to my place before. It wasn't like it was the first time she was spending the night. Even though the last time was unintentional.

Maybe it was because I knew it was just gonna be me and her for the next couple days.

I snapped out of my thoughts, grabbing her a water bottle and meeting her back in the living room. "Here you go." I placed the bottle down on the coffee table in front of her as I took a seat beside her on the couch. "Thanks." She smiled. "So, how are you feeling about tomorrow's flight?" I asked.

Nadia deeply sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. I'm excited but also, really nervous."

"Nervous? Why?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know how I feel about seeing Maia again. I honestly don't know how I'm gonna react. She was supposed to be my friend but she was just out to get me." Nadia was quiet for a moment. "How do you feel about all of this?"

I leaned back onto the couch, piecing my thoughts together. "I'm trying to stay optimistic about everything. I hope things go the way we want them too. I don't know if I'm nervous but I know seeing her is gonna hurt." I already had this lingering resentment towards Maia for being responsible for Danny's death. Even if it wasn't proven yet.

My phone abruptly rang in my back pocket and I pulled it out, seeing it was a call from my mom. I stared at the screen for a moment, wondering why she'd possibly be calling me.

"Um, it's my mom, I'm gonna take this real quick."

Nadia nodded in understanding and I stood up, walking towards my bedroom. I felt my heartbeat quicken as I grew anxious, sliding the answer bar as I put the phone to my ear.

"Hey Mamma." I shut the door behind me, taking a seat on my bed.

"Hi Christian. Come va? (How are you?)"

"Good." I dully responded.

I knew so much time had passed since the severity of her emotional neglect did a number on me but it was still awkward talking to her one on one. I couldn't shake those memories off. Especially now that Danny was dead it felt like she had no choice but to be nice to me.

"Why'd you call? Do you need something?"

She quietly sighed. "I just wanted to talk to you. Is that so bad?" Her voice was soft and pouty, making me roll my eyes. It was just a way to make me feel bad for having a brash attitude.

"About what?" I impatiently tapped my fingers against the side of my thigh.

"Well, you're going to Arizona tomorrow, aren't you? I wanted to wish you a safe flight."

"Okay. Thanks Mamma, I appreciate it."

"That's it?" I could hear the hurt in her voice, mixed with slight irritation.

I shrugged my shoulders. "What else do you want me to say..." I trailed off.

"Christian, I want you to be safe. I don't want you to end up like Danny okay? I can't lose you too."

I chuckled, holding back the urge to cry. "You know that's funny Mamma because I know you remember the time I almost ended up like him and what did you do?" My voice trembled a bit and I clenched my jaw, picking at my comforter trying to calm down.

"Christian, please don't-,"

"You treated me like a second option." I harshly whispered, cutting her off. "Me. Your first-born. So, I'm sorry all you're left with is me. Maybe you should have lost both of us to realize how fucked up of a parent you were."

I quickly hung up the phone before I could hear how she was gonna react. I placed my phone face down on my bed, pushing it away from me. I closed my eyes, taking in a couple deep breaths as I raked my hands through my hair.

I felt a pang of instant regret as I played back the words I said in my head. Saying I wished Danny and I were both dead wasn't fair to Papà. At least he treated us well. And I remembered how grief-stricken he was when he found out Danny died. It was the first time I'd seen him cry in years. If Papà told me he didn't want to lose me too I'd believe him. I'd know he was actually telling the truth. With Mamma it just felt so insincere.

I sighed, wiping my eyes and rolling my shoulders back as I regained my composure. This wasn't the time to think about painful memories. Nadia was still waiting for me in the living room. I glanced at myself in the mirror, making sure I looked alright before leaving my bedroom.

I silently walked through the hallway, trying to forget the conversation Mamma and I just had. "Hey, sorry about that I was-," I stopped in my tracks, seeing Nadia wasn't sitting on the couch anymore.

"Nadia?" I hesitantly called out, glancing around the living room in confusion.

I sped walked over to the guestroom, seeing the door was wide open with the lights off. Where is she? I walked back into the living room, turning my head towards the back door that lead to the patio.

The door was unlocked.

I narrowed my eyes in curiosity; a faint smile slowly crept onto my face as I wondered what she was up to. I walked over to the back door, stepping out onto the patio as I gently closed the door behind me. My eyes widened in surprise as I noticed her clothes lying on one of the patio chairs.

I continued walking over to the pool, not really sure what to say as I approached her. I glanced at her walking boot that sat by the edge of the pool, amazed that she had the willingness to take it off just to swim.

Nadia turned around, finally noticing my presence. Her hair was up in a high bun to avoid getting wet. She still had her bra and underwear on in the water and I was somewhat relieved she wasn't completely naked. She swam a bit closer to me, reaching out for my hand with an innocent smile on her face.

"Let's go swimming, for real this time."

...

Nadia's POV

I gazed up at Christian anxiously waiting to see what he was gonna do.

He smiled back at me, pulling his shirt over his head, tossing it to the ground. My anxious feelings went away as I laughed, watching him take his shorts off as he dived into the pool. The butterflies in my stomach swiftly made a reappearance as I saw him underwater, swimming closer and closer to me.

I felt his hands playfully touch my thighs as they trailed upwards, holding onto my waist. Christian quickly resurfaced, brushing his wet hair back away from his face. "What were you thinking?" He laughed with a grin plastered on his face.

I smiled at him, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know, I just wanted to go for a swim."

"Yeah, but your leg." He looked down onto the water.

"It's alright. I still have my brace on. Besides," I wrapped my left leg around his waist. "I have you for extra support." I laughed at myself, realizing how corny that was. Christian laughed along with me, placing a hand underneath my knee as he lifted my other leg up to wrap around his waist. I quickly adjusted myself as he held me in his arms and I loosely crossed my arms over his shoulders.

"You're really something else you know that?" Christian spoke softly. I giggled, looking away from him as it was hard to focus on anything being this close to him. I slowly made eye contact with him again, finding myself glancing down at his lips.

I parted my lips as he neared my face, closing my eyes as I felt our noses briefly touch. I felt his hand and the cool touch of his rings at the side of my neck and seconds later his lips met with mine.

There was no sense of urgency in his kiss. His lips were soft, he took his time and I loved that.

I loved this moment.

There was that feeling of comfort and safety Christian gave me. I got a taste of intimacy with him and I didn't want to let that go.

I knew I wanted to be with him.

...

i know some of y'all hate seeing Nadia happy and I'm sorry 😭 lmaoo truly
But also, Christian mentioned that he almost died?? 😱 don't worry there's a back story for that coming soon lol until next time & thanks for reading! <3