From The Shadows (From The Shadows #1) (18 page)

After making her moan my name in ecstasy a couple of times, I had dragged her sexy ass to the shower, and we got ready to pick up the rest of her life to merge it more permanently with mine. Not that moving her in with me was a proposal. That would come later when she had found the last part of who she was, for herself, but it was a step towards that day when she would be ready. I had known for almost 5 years that I had to find a way to make her mine forever. But as she had met Mike first, all I had been able to do was sit and wait and try to keep her safe, until she finally found enough of her own voice to see that she was worth much more than what Mike put her through. For me she was worth everything and then some. She would always think what I went through in my youth was just as bad as what she went through, but I knew better. She had gotten the shorter straw in the lottery about a prober childhood and family and it had left deep scares in her heart, making her distrust people. I still sometimes wondered what made her trust me so early on. All this knowledge of what she had gone through just made me want to protect her even more and make sure not one more day would go without her knowing how much she meant to me. She was everything to someone, and that someone was me.

Walking into Mike’s home we got a shock. Mike had never been the greatest person at keeping his apartment clean, that had been Nikki’s job, but what we walked into was more than just not clean and tidy; it was completely destroyed. The wallpaper had been ripped off, showing bricks in a couple of places, the carpet almost looked like a mole had inhabited it and the pictures that normally had been hanging on the walls were thrown around and were shattered.

Running my arm around Nikki’s waist hugging her small body to me I asked “Are you okay?”

She looked up catching my eyes and in hers I could see she was shaken. This was NOT how she had imagined finding her old home. “Hmm.. Yea.. But can we hurry up? I can’t stand being here.”

I just nodded and went back to the car to fetch some cardboard boxes, which we had brought to pack her stuff in.

As I got back inside Nikki was no longer to be seen, but I could hear her rustling around in the bedroom. So I walked towards the sound.

“Babe is there anything I can pack for you in the other room? Just tell me what you want to bring and I will find it.” I told her as I walked through the door to the bedroom. I furrowed my brows as I saw her lain on her stomach on the floor next to the bed. “Uhm.. Babe what are you doing on the floor?”

“I am trying to reach the case I hid here underneath. I figured Mike would be too lazy and frankly too dumb to figure out that I had hid stuff there.” She told me and I couldn´t stop a small smile to slip over my lips. My girl had been smart, even though she hadn´t felt like she could leave Mike she had still kept stuff that mattered to her.

“What’d you save in there?” I asked curiously.

“Hmm.. picture of my Aunt and I, my signed Razorblade Romance album by HIM, some jewelry and..” She sounded hesitant as she said the last bit. “..Pictures of the two of us. You remember when we went to that concert Mike didn’t know about?”

I smirked. Oh yes I remembered the
Lacuna Coil
concert I took her to. It had been a birthday surprise; something I had known would make her smile. A rare accomplishment back then, but it had done the trick and she had been in the most exhilarated mood I had seen her in up until then. Nikki never became more animated and alive than when you would talk about music with her. You could sometimes just say a few words and she would remember a lyric to a song she loved. Sometimes she would get it stuck on her brain just as easily and though she always tried to hide her singing I had caught it plenty of times and she didn´t even have a clue. When she told me around a month back that she wanted to take song lessons it had made me ecstatic for her, and I couldn´t wait for her to start next week. I just knew she would do great and I also knew she would be very nervous going into a new thing, especially a thing so very different from what she had ever done for herself, but there was no doubt in my mind that it would lighten her up from the inside when she learned that she was good at it. That was all that mattered to me, her being happy and her feeling like she had found herself.

“Ehm.. Earth to Nathan. Hello babe, are you with me?”

Nikki had gotten up from the floor and was now standing in front of me, moving her hand back and forth before my eyes, trying to get in contact with me. She was doing it with a huge smile on her face, looking like she was having fun at my expense. I didn’t mind, she was smiling and I loved it.

“Sorry babe.” I smirked down at her. “I was just reminiscing”. And then I put a finger under her chin and lifted her lips upwards me as I gave her a tender kiss.

When I let go I asked “What were you asking me?”

She giggled at me “Oh just if you would mind throwing my clothes into a box? They are right over there in that closet and in the drawer right beside it.”

“Anything for you my love.” I told her and winked my right eye at her as I reached for one of the boxes I had brought in.

Yea, anything for her
I thought to myself.

It didn’t take long for us to pack the rest of her stuff as all she really wanted to bring was her clothes, shoes, CD’s, and some books. So within the next half an hour we were already walking back out the door, carrying a few bags and a cardboard box each.

“That was that” Nikki breathed out a sigh of relief. “Do you think we can be done with Mike for good now?” She asked looking over her shoulder at me as we walked to the truck.

“I can’t promise you that for good Nik, but I certainly hope so. And even if we can’t for forever, then I promise I will do my best to protect you and stand by your side. Okay?”

She nodded. “Yea I can live with that”. And then she took a deep cleansing breath, and I could see on her face that she was letting go of the last of her fear. There would only be growth for her from this point on and I would be there every step of the way while she gained her footing. My girl was strong and she would soon learn just how strong she had been; surviving all the shit she had been through.

The end!

(For now.. Tihihi…!)

Acknowledgements:

Now you have read a piece of my soul; it is time for me to give thanks to all the awesome people in my life that has giving me great support.

A little me for you

I started this journey not knowing if I would ever be able to actually write a full length novel, and as I got closer and closer to the end I became more and more convinced that this is exactly what I need to be doing with my life, this is what I strive to be; A real author. It is a dream I realize might not be the easiest to bring to life, in the extent that I wish for it to be, but I have never and nor will I ever become the person who dreams small or gives up. As I say;
Dream big or go home
. We need to get the best out of this life that we are living and that is exactly what I intend to do.

Going through this process it was revealed to me what kind of people I have in my life, and though I found some rotten eggs I also found that I have really great supportive people in my life. I was especially glad to see just how proud my Husband really is of me, though he never understood the whole reading-thing. I don’t know what I would do if I did not have his support because though it is my thing, and I know I have a thing with words, it has been a nerve-wrecking experience as well, maybe because; all through my life I have felt the need to prove myself. I was the shy kid sitting in the corner drawing, the kid to never really fit in and that has followed me for my entire life. Today I do know however that being different was not my downfall but my salvation, and I greatly appreciate it even though it still today gives a certain amount of blows. I know I have something to offer and writing this book and the book before this one really proved that to me. And I am proud and nervous to serve my soul on a silver platter for you all to see once again.

Thank you:

Christian Nørgaard Fallesen: You are my rock and the love of my life and to a great extent you are the inspiration behind Nathan. I love you all the way to Pluto and
I dedicate this book to you
because you have stood strong beside me through a very tough time in my life. I greatly appreciate all your love and support <3

DurgaRaj: You have been an amazing support through my process and kept me up all those days when I have felt like throwing it all to the wind. Thank you for all your positive energy and a friendship I will cherish for as long as I live. You might be very far away but you are always in my heart
 


Ava K. Michaels: You are an amazing, caring woman and I am so grateful for your advice and support both author-wise as well as in the real heart-breaking situations of life. Thank you for being you <3 

Jaimie Roberts: You are almost always the first author I go to for advice  writer-wise because I have so much respect for you and your opinion, and to know you are not just one of my favorite indie authors but also a great friend is something that means so much to me that I can’t even put words on it. Thank you so much for the great critic and friendship <3

Rivonia Chetty: What can I say.. You are my sister from another mister and even though you are so far away we have this great connection, which I appreciate so much. Thank you for being a great support and one of my biggest fans <3

Kristina Sørensen: Smukke, denne her får du på dansk og også kun fordi det dig ;) Du er min bedste veninde og du har givet mig så meget støtte gennem hele vores venskab. Hver gang du siger du har pralet af mig bliver jeg mundlam fordi jeg aldrig har haft så stor en fan. Du betyder alverden for mig så tak fordi du er dig <3

Amy Wilde: I just love ya chica

You are always quick at helping me out and recommending people when I need stuff done on my book that I can’t do myself, and you always make me smile. You are a great sparring partner and I love how we can help each other out. Thanks for being an amazing frien
d


All my BETAs: Thanks for reading through my book and loving it from the start. I love you guys and I appreciate all your positive feedback and criti
c


Nathalie Raven: You did a great job editing this book and you were easy to work with, even when I might have been a pain asking too many questions.

Sara Eirew: You did and amazing job on my cover and I could not love it more than I do. You as well were really easy to work with, which made the process so much easier for me and my over-worrying-brai
n


To you:

Thanks for taking the time to read my book. I hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it and that you will leave me a revie
w


Remember to keep an eye out for my next book.