Museum Discoveries

Chapter 13

Nicky's POV

"I love you," I whispered to her.

She smiled back at me through her tears and said, "I love you, too."

A feeling of sadness washed over me, but I knew she was happy. Dad was soon by my side, but I had no idea where he had come from. "What's going on?" he asked me.

Without taking my eyes off Crystal, I said, "I let her go."

Dad looked at me as if I was crazy. "Why would you do that?"

I shrugged, still watching her. "Because I love her."

"If you love her, why did you let her go?"

I didn't say anything. My mind was preoccupied with other things. I watched as Crystal stood a few feet away from me, talking with Ahkmenrah. He smiled and pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. She blushed and bit her lip, trying to hide a smile.

I could see dad nodding out of the corner of my eye. "That's why..." I spoke softly.

"What happened?" dad asked me.

I thought about what he might say if I told him the whole story, then realized that it wasn't my story to tell. "It's not my story to tell."

"What are you talking about?" dad asked me. "Nick, you're not making any sense."

I shrugged again. "If you want to know what happened, you'll have to ask them."

Dad looked at them, then back at me. "Are you going to be okay?"

Now I looked away from Crystal and Ahk, to see dad watching me. I gave him a genuine smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be okay."

Dad smiled and placed an arm over my shoulders. "Let's go home."

Smiling, I left with dad. I loved Crystal, but I know she isn't mine to have. Besides, this states it all: If you love something, set it free. If it's yours, it will come back to you. That summed up my feelings and thoughts, that one quote. Maybe one day, if Crystal's changed her mind about Ahk, she'll let me love her again. But if she doesn't, then she was never mine to begin with.

Crystal's POV

I smiled as Ahkmenrah pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. A light blush tinted my cheeks, and I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I must have failed though, because Ahkmenrah chuckled and shook his head, a smile on his face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nicky and Larry walking away. But at the moment, I didn't care. I knew that Nicky was happy as long as I was, and that was all that mattered. Maybe one day, he would find the right girl for him. Maybe one day, if I changed my mind about Ahk again, I'll return to him. But at the moment, Ahkmenrah was the only one I wanted to be with, the only one I loved. Sure, I loved Nicky, but he wasn't the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

I knew Nicky would always be there for me, whenever I needed a friend. Him and Larry both. They wouldn't give up on me. Besides, they weren't just my friends, they were my family. And so was everyone else at the museum. And I couldn't imagine it any other way.

"Please?" Ahkmenrah begged me.

"I can't," I told him. "I promised Larry I'd be back at six."

Ahk sighed. "Why do you have to go?"

I shrugged, unsure myself. "I don't know, he just asked me to meet him at the apartment at six. And it's already 5:40, so I have to go."

Ahk sighed again. "No... you can stay here for a while, can't you?"

I bit my lip, hiding my smile. It was amusing to see Ahk try and beg me to stay. It made him seem like a little kid who was trying to persuade their mother to let him get a piece of candy. "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

Ahk, sullenly, sighed and nodded, releasing my hand. "Alright... but please be careful."

I nodded, knowing what he was asking. "I will be. If I see him, I'll run."

Ahk nodded. "Okay. See you tonight."

Smiling, I kissed his cheek then exited the museum. The sky was slowly brightening, and I knew if I didn't hurry, Larry would be on my case for taking too long. Apparently, he and Nicky had a surprise for me, but we had to go to a building first to get some things taken care of.

Larry had requested the night off from McPhee, who, by the way, had quit working with Kahmunrah. He had apologized for trying to help Kahmunrah kill me and was always on the lookout for him. If he saw him, he agreed to immediately let Larry know, so that I would be able to avoid him. I haven't seen Kahmunrah since the night he told me that his brother was unhappy.

When I got back to the apartment, Larry and Nick were finishing breakfast at the kitchen counter. "Are you ready to go, Crystal?" Larry asked me, placing his bowl in the dishwasher.

"Yeah, let me just change first," I quickly ran into my room and changed out of last night's clothes. After putting on a new outfit, I entered the kitchen. "Let's go."

Larry and Nicky and I piled into Larry's car, and he drove us to a large building with many cars in the parking lot. "Where are we?" I asked them.

Nicky and Larry only smiled, not saying a word. "Stay here, Crystal. We'll be back in five minutes," Larry said, locking the doors as he and Nicky walked away.

I sat there, in the backseat of the car, wondering what in the world was going on. When the two returned, their smiles were even wider than before. "Why are you two so happy?" I asked, getting more and more curious by the second.

Nicky turned around in the front seat to look at me. "Hi, little sister."

For a moment, I could only sit there in shock. I was so confused. Nicky had said 'little sister', but I wasn't sure why. Then something occurred to me... "Larry... did you do what I think you did?"

Larry turned around and grinned at me. "If you're thinking that we adopted you, then yes, I did." Nicky was grinning right along with him.

"You... you just..." I trailed off, unsure of what exactly was happening. But then it all made sense. "You adopted me?"

Larry and Nicky nodded, both very excited about this. "Yeah," Nicky said. "I mean, you don't really have anywhere else to go, and since you've been staying with us for a while, we just thought... why not adopt her?"

Tears came to my eyes. My heartbeat quickened, and I suddenly couldn't breathe. I felt lightheaded and dizzy, and I was panicking. What's happening to me? I ripped off my seatbelt and flung open the back door, running to the museum with calls of "Crystal!" ringing in the empty space behind me.