With the Lights Off...

(61): Someone New

*So, update. Not much to say again. Here's the back home chapter. The title is inspired by Hozier's song. His album has been on the playlist alongside James Bay, Tori Kelly, Alessia Cara, and Sam Smith and Disclosure's Omen <3 Hope you're still reading :) Take care. BTW, watch The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. It is adorable :D Also, I made a new cover for the story. It's a bit wonky, but I think it's pretty HAHA Love you all!*

Nina's POV

"I wanted to stop him, Koko. I really, really did."

I held my hand up and leaned my head on the window of his car. I wrapped Ian's cardigan closer to my body and shrugged. "I don't need you to defend him," I said, sniffling. "Bo, I agreed to this. I agreed to let him go. He just... went ahead with the plan. It saves us time."

"That's really not what you want to say," he said. "Koko, you can't believe how hard it was for him to-."

"Bo, just stop," I sighed. "Just don't try to make it better. I know you think it's for the best, but it's really not. I'm okay. Besides, it's not like he went of to Turkmenistan or Russia or something. He's home. He just went a day before I did."

He bit his lip and continued to drive. "You don't have to pretend like you're okay."

"I'm not pretending," I said. "I AM okay."

"And I AM doubting you," he said. "I can't even begin to tell you how much you look like you're about to kill someone."

"I'd rather not," I said. "I told you, Bo. I'm okay. I was a bit taken aback, but I expected it anyway. It's not a big deal."

"Okay, maybe him leaving without telling you was not such a big deal," he said. "But him leaving to go back to Nicky Hilton must be. Right?"

I shrugged and straightened up, leaning back on my chair. "I told him to do it," I said. "It was his plan initially, but when I found out about it I practically begged him not to. Once I realized how selfish I was being, I forced him to do it again. We agreed. I agreed to let him go back to Nicky. I can't complain."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"What does he see in that God awful woman?" he asked. "What redeeming quality is there to look for?"

"He used to love her," I said, even though I knew how much I hated to say it. "He used to know her better than anyone else. That's what he's holding on to."

"I just can't believe he would WANT to hold onto that," he said.

"He's Ian," I said. "No matter what anyone else might think, he's always going to want to see the best in a person. Of course, it might start with a bit of hate, but once he knows a person, he's always going to want to see the best in them."

I looked at him, but he looked straight down the road. "I just don't understand why it has to happen this way," he said. "It's not fair to you or any of us."

"Well, this is the only thing we can hold on to," I said. "We can hold on to the possibility of Ian's plan working. I'm not even going to doubt it, I don't want to jinx it."

"You know he wouldn't have done this if you just asked him to," he said.

I shook my head. "See, that's not true," I said. "Because it's not just that. It's not just him trying to fix all our lives. It's about saving Nicky from this person she's become. You're the one who said that."

"I know," he said. "But after I heard him say it aloud. How he just kept on saying that he would rather have all our lives fixed than be married to you, it made me realize how stupid we were all being. We were being selfish for thinking that our lives were more important than yours."