One in a Million (UNEDITED)

Chap 65: The Explanation

In the last chapter~
-Noami visits Imani in a dream
-Noami tells her to not assume things and just ask Nick instead
-She also tells her to stop mourning and to go out and live her life
-The group find her cooking in the kitchen

Nick's POV

Nicolas Romani, I swear to you, you better not f*ck up this one too! If you f*ck this up, you better be prepared to say goodbye to her, explain to the group, and pray that mamma doesn't kill us...

You've had all this time to practice this situation and today is the day, just remember what you've wanted to say!

Imani's POV

I followed the directions that Ryder gave me and it led me to a closed door.

Alright...I took in a deep breath.

I knocked once on the door and immediately heard a response.

"Come in, " said a stern but gentle voice.

I slowly entered the room and Nick sat at his desk gazing at a stack of papers.

"H-hey, Nick, " I did a small wave.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Long time no see, sweetheart."

I haven't seen him smile in a long time...

I haven't heard 'sweetheart' in a while either...why did I kinda miss it?

"You...were worried, huh?" I asked.

His face contorted into one of confusion and irritation.

"What the hell kind of question is that? Of course, I was! I already broke a promise to you and that's already eating me up inside! I won't break another one!"

...

Mom was right. He's never hurt me intentionally before. Why would he start now?

"I'm sorry, " I whispered.

"Huh?" he asked again.

I walked over to his desk and hugged him tightly.

"I said I'm sorry, " I apologized louder. "I shouldn't have overreacted as I did a week ago. You are just trying to protect me but I was so closed-minded I only believed what I read and didn't even let you explain it to me! That was very unfair to you so I'm sorry."

"N-no, it's fine. Anyone one would freak out if they found out that one of their friends was the head of a 'dangerous' gang, " he began to try to pull me off but I wouldn't let him.

"No! The number one thing my mom taught me was to not assume things or judge people based on what I've heard or read, and that's exactly what I did, "
I sighed. "I promise you that I'll keep an open mind to whatever it is that is said."

I felt him groan before getting up to meet me with my hug.

"Leave it to you to apologize at the wrong time..." he chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart, I had a whole big speech that was gonna beg you to listen to my explanation! But you ruined it for me!"

I just laughed. "My bad."

He pulled away for a moment, smiled, and ruffled my hair.

"Oh, how I've been missing that laugh. This group hasn't been the same without you, sweetheart. I almost forgot how beautiful you are!"