Who Remembers?

Chapter 23

I wake up to the heat of the sun shining on me. As I open my eyes I stare at the bright room. I love white curtains, it just brightens up the place and it's a nice way to wake up. The calmness surrounding the room instantly puts me in a good mood. No other people making a noise and I know I can do everything on my own time. I sit up staring at the room and I let out a yawn. I need coffee. As I walk passed the lounge to the kitchen I see the mountain of text books just lying there. Yeah, I'm definitely going to suffer there's no two ways about it. After making coffee and getting some coco pops I sit outside on the patio staring at the lake and all I can hear is how the water hits against the port. I finish my breakfast, take a long shower and change into leggings and hoodie with a messy bun. Time to do some work. I neatly put my laptop on the coffee table, place my pencil case and exam pad next to it I stare at the books. Which subject to do first? I think introduction to law would be best given I'll understand more after it. I take the book out stare, stare at the contents page which is just a casual 20 chapters. I sigh as I put my AirPods on with my iPod and I start opening the assignments list emailed to me by the dean and I start working.

It has been like three hours when all of a sudden I feel a hand on my shoulder and my stomach immediately knots. I'm alone here and someone is in the house.

"What the-." I say startled and I immediately fall out of my concentration mode as I rip the AirPods out and I look over my shoulder to see Nick standing above me and he looks so angry.

"Nick. How did you-." I stand up facing him.

"What is wrong with you Olivia! You cut our damn call and then you switch your phone off? I thought something fucking happened to you." He demands and he looks me up and down and his jaw clenched.

"Nick." I say softly but then I remember I'm suppose to act like he doesn't affect me. I feel a lump in my throat as I stare at his beautiful emotionless face and his eyes are filled with worry.

"How did you get in?" I cross my arms and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"I knocked like ten million times and went around but that's not the point Olivia." He retorts.

"Listen to me and listen very carefully. You are with Kim and you said you're serious. Stop worrying about me and leave." I hiss and he rolls his eyes.

"I am serious about her but I'm here to give you one last warning about Brad. How much do you even know about him?" He clenches his jaw again.

"Why do you care so much?" I stare at him in his black leather jacket and black T-shirt. Damn he looks so good.

"For fucks sake. Do you not see that I still care about you? Going to Australia with him is a bad idea Liv." He barks and I literally just wanna hit him across the face with a pan right now.

"It's my life Nick. You're with Kim so just back off out of my relationship and mind your own damn business. You don't have the right to come here and tell me all of this. Why do you not trust him? If you can give me one good fucking reason as to why you don't trust him then maybe I'll listen to you." I shrug and our eyes haven't moved from each other as we stand there is silence.

"Well?" I break the silence and he still hasn't said anything.

"I just have a feeling he's bad news." He says softly and his grass green eyes relax for a second.

"You have a feeling?" I air-quote the feelings part, "That isn't a good enough reason. You've interacted with him twice or three times and all of a sudden you just know him? He looks after me and he's a really good guy and gentleman. Why can't you just be happy for me? I've left you and Kim alone so just do the fucking same with me and Brad." I retort and his eyes darken.

"You know what, I'm trying to protect you." He yells and I take a step back.

"You're trying to protect me?" I hiss and laugh a little.

"It just sounds like you're a jealous little boy who can't stand the fact that I have someone else and I don't fall to your feet or do as you tell me to. You've left me twice now and both times you've come back and you changed a little. Maybe one day when you actually tell me what the fuck happened in SA then we can have a proper conversation."

"I'm just trying-." He says and he looks down.

"No seriously Nick just please leave me alone. You're not my knight in shining armor I don't need your protection." I interrupt him and I can see he is still angry. He clenches his fists and he looks back up at me.

"What the hell happened in South Africa that's made you this way?" I say calmly and he avoids eye contact with me.

"I can't tell you." He protests and he still hasn't looked me in the eyes.

"Well then, there's the door." I motion to it and he clenches his jaw again and shuts his eyes for two seconds.

"Well Liv. Don't come crying to me when he's done something to you because I won't be there to help you. Maybe get to know him properly before you just jump on a plane and stay with him for a month in a foreign country." He retorts.

"Just leave." I motion to the door again and he immediately puts his shades back on, walks out and slams the front door shut. I take a deep breath in and exhale. Not until he tells me the real story about South Africa I won't listen to him. I take a seat on the couch and I just replay our entire conversation. He is right though, I don't know Brad as personally as he knows me. Maybe if I just get to know him a lot more then I can prove to Nick that he's wrong and boy won't that be fun to throw in his face. I sigh as I get up from the couch, make another cup of coffee and I continue with my work. I should at least finish four chapters today. So far the work I've done is really interesting and easy but okay  if I'm being honest, I've only done a chapter and a bit which is usually the easy part of it. I put my AirPods in again and I continue with my summaries.

After successfully completely all four chapters and many snack and coffee breaks I stare at the clock and it's 11pm. I think it's fair to say that I'm exhausted and it's only Tuesday. A week per subject would be fine I suppose. I get up, walk outside to the patio and I lean on the railing looking at the lake. I watch as the moons reflection shines on the calm water. What if Nick is right? I can't stop replaying our conversation. What if he never left? Imagine how different things would've been for us. We could've started university together, lived together and our relationship would've just been so much stronger but now he has Kim which just pisses me off to be honest. He doesn't even have a thing for blondes. Maybe I am jealous and maybe this thing with Brad isn't such a good idea after all but he really is such a genuine and sweet guy, I'm struggling to find any faults in him. When Nick says he's serious about someone he means it but why am I so angry that he's so serious about Kim? Is it because I'm jealous or is it because I kept on pushing him away that he was forced to be with someone else? I'm still here, a train wreck trying to switch my emotions off and not feel a thing where he has already met someone else and has moved on but if he has then why is he still trying to protect me? I just don't understand any of this. At this point my head is leaning on my hands. Why am I such a mess? I think to myself.