Not The Same | Nick Clark | FTWD

Part 19

I couldn't let go of Nick; my knuckles white as they grasped onto the sleeve of his jacket, still having trouble believing that he was here-- that he was still mine.
It hurt my heart to feel the emotion radiating off of Ofelia and Daniel after seeing the piles of ash outside the building; knowing that if Nick didn't have as much luck on his side as he did, I may be in their same position.

"Chris?" Travis called as we made our way back into the parking structure, "Alicia?"

"Where's the car?" Madison asked, panic in her voice as we noticed one of the cars was missing.

"Did they leave?" Ofelia's weakened voice let out.

I shook my head, looking around, "They wouldn't have.."

"Oh no," Travis muttered under his breath, "Chris!"

"Alicia!" Madison called out.

"Lower your voice-" Daniel shushed before Travis cut him off.

"We have to find them-"

"The dead will hear you and they will come." Daniel warned.

"Chris!" Travis yelled again, the love for his son outweighing any other fear he may have.

"Alicia!"

"Chris!" Liza yelled, right as another metal door off one side of the structure burst open.

"We're here! Mom!" Alicia ran out.

"Dad!" Chris called, following behind as they both ended up in their parents arms, allowing us to all let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you ok?" Madison asked, "What happened?"

"The soldiers-- they took the SUV, I- I'm sorry-" Chris muttered out before his mother ran to his side.

"Christopher, oh my god." She breathed, pulling him into her grasp.

I turned to Nick, looking up at him as I placed my hands on either side of his face, taking this time to meticulously look him over; afraid that I'd see something that would take him away from me right as I got him back.

"I'm ok." He quietly mouthed, letting me continue to search him over before he stopped me, pulling me close as he tightly wrapped his arms around me, "I'm still here." He breathed, leaving kisses on the top of my head.

"We must go now." Daniel announced, getting all of our attention.

"Salazar." A raspy voice let out as a gun cocked.

The air going dead as we all stood in shock, Nick quickly pushing me behind him as I silently protested, not wanting to use someone I love as some sort of human shield.

"Andy?" Ofelia breathed as she stood up, attempting to persuade the wounded soldier, "Hey-"

"Ofelia." Daniel tried to stop his daughter from interfering as the handgun stayed locked on him.

"Andrew, put the gun down." She continued, "You don't have to do this, ok? Just put the gun down."

The look in the soldiers eyes never faltered as the sound of his shaky breathing filled the concrete walled room.

"Andy-" Ofelia begged again before all hell broke loose.

"No!" Daniel yelled right as Andrew switched his aim to Ofelia, pulling the trigger.

"Shit." Nick swore as he grabbed me, turning us away as his back faced the chaos.

His grip loosed as he looked back, allowing me to push out of his grasp as I witnessed Travis lay hit after hit into the soldier on the ground.

"Trav," Madison called as she neared him, the sound of fist to flesh making me feel sick, "Trav, leave him." She repeated as he finally came to a breathless stop, "Leave him."

I let out a steady breath, leaning my back against the side of the truck as I ran my hand through my hair, trying to get back to reality.
As each second ticked by, this world felt less and less real-- a dream seemed like it had to be the only answer to all of it.
After the breakup, I never thought I'd talk to Nick again-- never thought I'd talk to any of the Clarks again, honestly. I never thought I'd see Los Angeles look like a ghost town and I never thought I'd see the day Travis Manawa, Mr. Manawa, resort to violence.
But then again, I never thought I'd see the dead walking either.

***

The ride was long and painstaking as the adrenaline that coursed through my bruised and broken body wore off, leaving me silently cursing every bump we hit.

"Hey, you ok?" Nick asked quietly as he looked over to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, giving him a small nod before Madison eyes met mine in the rear view mirror, her motherly instincts kicking in as she grabbed the bottle of ibuprofen and water from the center console, handing it back to me.

"Thank you-" I mouthed before getting cut off by the man who sat on my left.

"What's wrong with her?" Strand asked, impatience in his voice, "Is she bit?"

"I'm not bit." I retorted back quickly, twisting the cap off the pill bottle.

"It's just a few broken ribs; nothing to be concerned about." Madison stated simply as I washed the medication down.

"What? When the hell did this happen?" Nick asked, frantically grabbing for my shirt before I pushed his hands away.

"I'm fine." I repeated, exhausted and in pain.

"Mom?"

"It was when the soldiers were taking you out of the house," Madison explained briefly, "We'll have Liza look her over-- she'll be fine."

Nick looked over at me before letting out a deep sigh, leaning back in his seat as his hand ran over his face.
I knew Nick would have to find out a some point, I just wanted to hold off for as long as I could because I knew it would upset him. Like anyone you're close with, they hate seeing you hurt, and Nick always took it particularly hard, especially when it had to do with him.
What happened wasn't his fault, but he'll never believe that.

_____
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Let me know what you think so far about the book and the relationship Nick and Hannah share, I'd love to know your thoughts!