Not The Same | Nick Clark | FTWD

Part 15

I winced in pain, holding my bunched up shirt close to my chest as Travis lightly prodded around my ribcage.

He nodded, taking the small flashlight out of his mouth as the thumb of one hand ran over the quickly discoloring skin, "You definitely have a few fractures in there-- hopefully nothing worse."

"And what could be worse?" Alicia asked as she walked up behind him, handing me a bottle of water.

He let out a sigh, standing back up, "Punctured lung, other internal damage to organs," he shrugged, "Liza would know more than I do-"

"Yeah, well she's kinda the reason all of this happened." Alicia cut him off.

Travis shook his head, "We don't know that."

"Then where the hell is she?" I asked, looking up at him as my hand stayed clutched on the area that caused the most pain, "She was the one who told the doctor that Nick was an addict-"

"She was just trying to help him."

"Sure she was." I scoffed, pushing past him and out of the room.

"Hey," Alicia began quietly as she caught up beside me, "I can go find my mom to see if she has any of Nick's pills left."

I let out a small laugh under my breath as I reached the stairs, "So suddenly you like me again? Did I miss something?"

She sighed, shaking her head, "Nick loves you-- like, he really loves you.. and after you were gone for so long, I kinda thought you didn't."

I furrowed my brows, "I've been through so much shit because of him and my love for him has never even dropped one peg-"

"I know- I know that.. now." She admitted, "I'm sorry."

I took a second before nodding, extending my arm as we shared a light hug, "I just hope, where ever they're taking him, that he'll be ok."

***

A night filled with grueling pain and tears was not what I was hoping for when I woke up yesterday morning, but it's what I had to deal with last night.. alone.
Each way I laid, it was either a sharp pain or a dull pain followed by the tormenting thoughts that my mind created-- a never ending hell of what if.

I carefully pushed myself up, taking quick breaths as I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to find the will to get up before I noticed the picture of Nick and I that laid on the nightstand.

"I'm sorry.." my voice whimpered out as tears began to brim my lash line, the thought of him bringing constant heartache, "Please be ok."

Being with Nick over the years made me trust authority less and less, and this was no different. Rarely do people in law positions know how to handle an addict, nor do they care about what actually happens to them.. and that was my biggest fear.
Nick is impulsive, using or not, and all it takes is one trigger happy asshole to feel unsafe, and then it's over. And god forbid they mistake his come down for being infected; the thought sent a shiver down my spine, making my stomach twist.

***

Right as I made it down the stairs, I turned to see Madison and Ofelia come in through the front door.

I exchanged smiles with Ofelia before following Madison's gesture into the kitchen.

"How're you feeling?" She asked.

I shook my head, "Like I was beat with a baseball bat."

"Oh, hold on." Madison said before heading over to a cupboard, "Alicia mentioned that you could probably use Nick's pills-"

"No, I'm fine," I stopped her as she slightly turned back to me, "I've just been taking ibuprofen-- took a few more before I came down here."

"You sure?"

I nodded, "I'd like to be fully here for whatever happens next."

"And what do you think is going to happen next?" Madison questioned as she closed the cabinet door, coming back over to where I stood.

"I was kind of hoping you'd tell me," I shrugged, "What're we gonna do?"

"We aren't going to do anything-- you shouldn't even be out of bed-"

"They took Nick for no reason," I cut her off, my voice low, "Like hell I'm not gonna do anything about it."

She sighed, leaning herself against the table in the kitchen, "Daniel has one of the soldiers." She said quietly.

I looked at her for a moment, confusion painted on my face, "Has?"

"In the basement of the Tran's old house-- Daniel and Ofelia brought one of the soldiers down there and Daniel is going to question him and get as much information out as he can."

I nodded slowly, "And who else knows about this?"

"Just Ofelia, and we need to keep it that way for now."

***

My eyes tiredly opened as they stared up at the white paint of the living room ceiling, the reason I woke up soon becoming apparent as screams rung through the air, followed by Madison's footsteps as she ran out the front door.

"Fuck." I swore under my breath as I twisted, pushing myself off the couch and following quickly behind her.

I slowed down as I reached the back of the Tran's house, my chest aching as Ofelia's shaken frame pushed past me.

As I walked through the back door, Madison and Daniel standing in the kitchen, an eerie silence thickened the air.

"She was nine years old when she first asked me about the war and why we came to America," Daniel began as he steadied himself over the sink, "And I told her, in detail, about the violence, what was done, how we suffered." He continued, the water now running over his blood covered hands, "I told her everything.. except which man was me."

I exchanged a small glance with Madison, sighing as I pushed back my hair; the story reminding me that this wasn't going to be the worst part of the world's history.. not by a long shot.

"Do you think she will understand?" Daniels voice shook as he looked back, "That it was necessary then to survive? That it is necessary again?"

The air went quiet once more, the only sound coming from the sink as Daniel scrubbed away the guilt that is daughter unintentionally put on him.

"Did he tell us what we need to know?" Madison asked lowly as she peaked down the hall where I suspected the soldier was being held.

The answer that came next.. changed everything.

_____
Bit of a cliffhanger, but this chapter was more of a filler anyway + we there were some character relationship changes, specifically between Hannah and Alicia, but also a bit of growing tension between Hannah and Travis

Thoughts?