The Fault Line (GxG)

20. Nico and Nova

"Oh, Wilder, thank god," Addison said in relief, pulling me by the sleeve inside her home. She laid her arms around my back for a hug, stunned I'm frozen to the floor. What is happening right now? She let me go, and I gazed up the stairs by the sound of soft tones coming from a piano.

"I didn't know you were coming, but I'm glad you did," She dragged me with her into the living room and indicated for me to sit down. 

 "I was at my grandparents, helping on the farm. I texted Nico earlier today but got worried as she didn't answer," I explained because that is not normal for her at all. Addison sat down next to me on the couch and breathed deeply.

"I'm glad you are here. Bruce is on the way to the airport to pick up Nico's brother, Vincent. I have to go to the grocery shop, but," She sighed worriedly, looking at the ceiling. 

"Did Nico mention Nova to you?" She wondered, and I nodded lightly.

"For the past three years, when Christmas is around the corner, Nico tends to," Addison paused, seeming to look for the right words. 

"Nico and Nova were very close, even though they were like night and day," She smiled to herself. 

"And Christmas seems to be a huge trigger for Nico, the same with her birthday. She can come out as very strong and forward, but I believe it's her way of avoiding the pain, you see," Sadness crossed Addison's face as she looked down at her hands that are resting on her lap. 

"The only way we know when she is in that mood is when she is playing," She said, pointing up, and I nod as I understood it was the piano she was indicating to. 

"Nova taught her how to play, and perhaps it's a way for Nico to feel closer to her.  We aren't quite sure. She avoids the conversation about it, but," She smiled this time as she placed her hand on my knee.

"It's usually at the start of December it happens, and it's only five days to Christmas now, so it's progress," Addison breathed. 

"But I think I owe a lot of that to you, Wilder," She smiled, and I look down uncomfortably. 

"I know you are a bit shy and don't like to be complimented, yet I believe you keep Nico's feet placed onto the ground. It might be wrong of me to say it, but you might be that piece Nico lost," She said.

"It's been hard for all of us, but Nico, it's been a whole other level. I hate knowing that my daughter can't find joy at Christmas or her birthday anymore," Addison dried the tear that fell down her cheek. 

"She hides her pain very well by her flowery personality, and I think she is expressing her pain by playing. I don't want to leave her alone in the house, so that is why I'm so happy you are here," She rolled her eyes at herself.

"I'm always happy that you are here, Wilder; we like you a lot," I crinkled my nose to her words. 

"But I think she needs you more than anyone else right now," She looked at the watch on her arm.

"And I really have to go because I need to go to the shop and make dinner," Addison rushed up from the couch and pulled her purse off the table. Ony blinking, I get up on my feet and slowly finding my way up the stairs. There was a lot of information to swallow, and it went so fast. 

I follow the sound of the soft tones to a door that is bearly open. Placing my hand through the crack, I entered the gloomy room. She is placed on a bench with her back towards me, playing something low and slow. Papers are strewn all over the floor; I step through them and sit down quietly next to Nico. 

She smiled slightly as she saw me in the corner of her eye, but she keeps on playing, which I don't mind at all. A wave of peace seems to be settled as her hands move over the black and white keys. For the past three months, I don't think I have ever seen her so calm and quiet before. What she is playing is soft and incredible. She never told me that she could play, but she only does it sometimes, as her mother said. Her hands stopped moving, and then it all went quiet. 

"I can't play if you are watching," She said, smiling lightly at me. 

"I can turn around if that helps?" I offered, and she rolled her eyes. 

"Only you, Wilder," She chuckled.

"Mom talked to you, didn't she?" Nico asked, and I nodded, frightened, I might have done something wrong. I don't want to step onto her toes. 

"Nova taught me how to play, but I could never meet her standards," She looked down at the piano, moving her hand carefully over the keys not to make a sound. 

"She would complain most of the time, and the more she complained, I joked around. She basically added more wood to the fire each time," Nico smiled, lost in her own world. 

"Nova would be so frustrated and mad that I couldn't stop laughing, which only made it worse. But even though we kept doing this every time, we didn't stop trying," She narrowed her eyes as she took a deep unsteady breath. 

"I could sit in front of this piano every day, every hour, and I would never be as good as she was," She cried, a tear finding its way down her cheek. Not sure what to say or do, I laid my hand around her to keep her close. At least it earned a little smile.

"It's so easy to talk when you are around," She rested her head on my shoulder. 

"Maybe because you are quiet and you listen so carefully to what I have to say," She shrugged but shifted completely as she placed herself on my lap. Through tearful eyes, she still smiles as she laid her warm hands on my cheeks.   

"I know I talk a lot, and people find it annoying, but you never complain," Nico bit her lip and took a deep breath. 

"I think I talked for an hour last weekend before we fell asleep, and you listened to each word I said. How can someone be so patient and kind as you?" She asked, but I shrugged, not knowing how to answer her question. 

"Oh, you don't think I can see it?" She chuckled. 

"I told you, Wilder, I see you," Nico smiled, laying her forehead on mine. 

"Thank you," She said, and I furrowed my eyebrows. 

"What are you thanking me for?" I wondered.

"For being here, and listen to me, of course," She smiled.

"Christmas hasn't been the same without Nova. We shared a bedroom, and each year we would wake up early. Then we would sneak down the stairs and found our stocking on the fireplace. We would put the TV on and watch cartoons as we upend up our small present and stuff our faces with candy," Nico laughed as she pictured it all in her mind. 

"Vincent, he would sleep most of the day. He's five years older, so we were a bit too immature for him," She rolled her eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I am rambling about my issues," She shook her head of herself as she hides her sad face with a laugh. 

"There is nothing to apologize," I smiled, placing my hands onto her cheeks as I look up into her eyes.

"I like listening to you, and I love that you are sharing this with me," I smiled; she nodded as a tear went down her cheek, and I brushed it away with my thumb.

"You can ramble all day if you want," I said, and she laughed slightly at me. 

"Thank you," She leaned forward and placed her lips onto my forehead.

"You are more than I could have ever asked for," She mumbled against my skin.