Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ An English Summer ❯ Chapter Twenty ( Chapter 20 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Gabby groaned. "I'm so hating you."

Ryan slowed his car down as they neared the airstrip, stopping before they actually got to it. "In all seriousness Gabby, I know that you're coming here for Danny; and I realize that you have absolutely no respect for authority...but please try to at least be quiet when something pisses you off. My...family, for lack of a better word, doesn't take disrespect kindly. They wouldn't have a problem with our plane crashing on the way home or making you disappear."

"So....I can't do anything if they hit you? Why am I coming then?"

He shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me," he smirked.

"Fuck."

Danny took her limo back to school. Walking in she set her project she had been working on in the science room. The teacher smiled she waved nervously. Quickly she rushed out.

As they reached the airstrip, the first thing he noticed was that the jet was nothing more than a prop jet. Not exactly comfort and style. The second thing he noticed was the fact that Nick was standing by the plane waiting on him. "Oh! I didn't realize you were bringing a guest," he smiled. "I'm surprised that you're not bringing Danny to our little function."

"Like I would let Danny come."

Nick smiled at that. "So she's staying behind?"

"Duh."

He just nodded and motioned to the plane.Once Ryan and Gabby got their stuff on, Nick poked his head in and waved to them. Ryan glared at him. "Aren't you coming?""Why yes, of course. But I'd hate to leave Danny alone...so I'll come at a later date." He smirked and nodded to the pilot, closing the door behind him as the plane started to move.

"Fuck!!!"

Ryan growled and yelled at the pilot but he wouldn't stop. "Call Danny and tell her to stay away from him."

Gabby was already on the phone. Danny listened as Gabby ranted about Nick and told her to keep clear of him. Of course Danny pouted saying that he was nice to her and that she liked hanging out with him. There was so much Gabby could say before Danny said she didn't want to be all alone and that she would hang out with Nick if she wanted to. Gabby was a little taken back but couldn't say much before Danny said she had to go and hung up.

"I take it that it didn't go over well," Ryan sighed.

"She told me she didn't want to be alone and if she wanted someone to hang out with, she would ask Nick. It's not like I could say much else. She doesn't have many other friends."

Ryan cursed beneath his breath. With a small nod he tried to relax. This so wasn't going to end well.

Danny kicked at more snow in her yard as she watched the workers shovel it. She was in the process of making a snow man. But it was little fun without Gabby there.

Nick smiled as he casually strolled up to her. "Your friend here looks a little lopsided."

Danny smiled. "You sound like Gabby. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check on you. It must be lonely having both Ryan and Gabby gone."

She patted the snow on the snow man's head as she blew out puffs of cold air. "Yeah. It is. But at least they are together trying to get along. This could be a fun trip for them."

He smirked and walked over to her, packing some snow on it side so it wouldn't fall over. "I think it will be amusing at the very least."

She smiled. "Why aren't you going? Aren’t yours and Ryan's parents having a party or something?"

He nodded. "I am going. I just won't leave till tomorrow." He paused as he looked down at her. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Me? But...I...I don't think I should go..."

"Why not? Your sister is going. I bet my parents would love to meet their future daughter-in-law."

"Yes...but it's not been announced yet. If my father were to find out...I would be in so much trouble..."

Nick laughed and rolled a ball of snow in his hands. "Don't worry. My family is very good at keeping secrets."

"If I were to go...it wouldn't be as Ryan's future... Even if they do keep secrets...my father has friends everywhere."

He shrugged. "Then come just as a friend of the family. It will give you a chance to show off that necklace."

"Oh? I completely forgot about the necklace." She smiled. "I suppose I should come to show how honored I am to have it since I know it belongs in your family."

His lips curved and he nodded. "It will look exquisite on you. I'm certain Ryan will find the sight to very...remember able."

"Let's hope. It will be like a surprise to him and Gabby!"

"Oh I'm certain they will both be very surprised."

She nodded. "Should I dress for the party before you pick me up or wait until we get there?"

"Wait. You can dress in my room. No need for you to be uncomfortable on the flight."

"Wonderful!"

He tossed the snowball at her face. She was shocked at first, but then smiled and tackled him in the snow, throwing snow all over his body. Nick laughed as she laid on top of him, he shivered as the cold snow hit him. "Hey! That's cold!" he yelled as he squirmed beneath her.

She rolled off him and laid next to him. "I threw a snow ball at Ryan once...he dumped me in a snow bank."

He looked at her and smirked. "Yeah. That seems like something he'd do."

She brushed the snow off his face. "You are a great guy. I don't know why Gabby and Ryan don't like you."

Nick looked at her, slightly shocked. "You...think I'm a great guy?"

"Yes, of course. We had a rocky start, but since then you've always been really nice to me. Though you can't get alone with Ryan, that doesn't mean that you aren't a wonderful friend to me."

He smiled at that. "That's...the first time anyone has said that...." He looked up at the sky. "So Ryan really hates me, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that...just a dislike. But that doesn't matter. It's my goal to make you two get along. You are my friend and Ryan is my boyfriend. One day we are going to be family and I'm going to invite you over for dinner."

"You already have the future planned?" He smirked at her reaction.

"Only bits. I'm going to marry Ryan. That's all I know."

"You really love him...don't you?"

"Ryan thought I was beautiful when the school thought I was a whore. He looked past my mistake and loved me anyways. How can I not love someone that loved me when no one else would?"

"Would you be with him even if you couldn't have him?"

"Yes. Even if my father forces me to marry someone else...I would run away with him."

"Wouldn't you lose everything if you did that?"

"Yes...I would," she soft with a sadness. "My family, my friends, my money....everything...but the only family that ever really cared was Gabby, and all my friends never bothered to write or call after I left. And...even though we would be broke and had no place to live...I just know I'll be happy with him."

He closed his eyes and let out a soft breath of air. "And would you marry him if he was a bad person?"

"But he's not a bad person."

"But what if he had done something bad?"

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Just...bad things."

"Well...if I don't know what those things are, then it doesn't matter."

He smirked hesitantly. "Well...like for instance, what if he killed someone? Would you still want to be with him?

She froze. "Um...I guess...maybe if I knew if it was a bad person or a good person."

He nodded very slowly. "You're a rare person indeed."

"How so?"

"Your heart is very forgiving. Very kind. Very innocent."

"You sound like Gabby again. She always says she doesn't understand how I can be the way I am when so much bad is around me. But it's not hard...someone has to be nice to those who are hated."

"It is harder than you think," he smirked. "Few people can look past their prejudice and self loathing to actually see the human behind the deed."

"But, if you only think 'what if that was me?' Then you understand how easy it is to do what they did. And you become forgiving because if you were them, you would want to be forgiven too. Right?"

Nick paused as he thought about that. What if it was him? He closed his eyes and tried to focus on something. For quite a while he was silent, lost in his own thoughts. When he finally opened them he was frowning. "Yes...," he admitted.

She sat up. "I'm wet."

"What!?"

"My clothes are wet. I should go in and take a warm bath so I don't get

"Oh! Oh...." He nodded as he got up. "Yeah. It would suck if you were too sick to come."

She sat up and offered him a hand. "I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll bring games for us to play on the ride there!"

He laughed as she helped to pull him up. Dumping some snow on her head, he smiled and winked at her furious expression. "Sounds good. I'll have a car pick you up."

She knocked the snow off her before smile. Saying goodnight to him, she ran inside and had a bath prepared for her. Nick watched her run inside, a confused look on his face as he started back to his car.

Gabby looked at the large house as the car pulled up. It was late at night and she didn't want to call Danny and wake her. She decided to call in the morning.

Ryan yawned and grabbed his bag. This was going to be interesting. As they walked to the door, a servant opened it and beckoned them inside. Without waiting for either of them he started down the halls. "I will show Ms. Long to her room. Your father wishes to speak with you in his study."

"Wonderful. Where is that again?"

The servant pointed toward the East Wing.

Gabby grabbed his arm. "Is this wise? Letting you go alone?"

Ryan smiled at her. "Probably not, but I can take a few swings. He probably just wants to remind me that he's the master of the house, blah, blah, blah..."

"Come to my room when you are done," she said and followed the servant to her room.

Ryan nodded and started toward the study. For some reason he felt like he was on of the old mystery cartoons with the dark hallways and suits of armor. He kept expecting one to reach out and grab him. He chuckled at the thought, but it was a nervous one. For two simple reasons. The first being that this house was naturally creepy, these hallways weren't lit and he hated the dark. The second being that in this house that might just happen. The only light on was the one in his father's study. He pushed it open and watched as his father looked up at him.

"I see you made it safely and that you brought a guest," he said. He reached into a box and pulled out a cigar, followed by what Ryan called 'the snipper'. It was the little device that sliced the end of the cigar off. Once his father had the cigar ready, he set the snipper down in front of him and beckoned Ryan to sit. "Your brother has told me a lot about your life as of late. You've promised yourself to the Long girl and yet you didn't bring her here? Wise choice."

Ryan sat down and glared at his father. "What is this all about? I used your resources for one thing. That's it. It's not going to happen again."

"Oh I know. That was what this started to be about, but then I found out about Ms. Long. I'm afraid that you've forgotten the position you're in. If you hook up with someone like her there's going to be scandals and reports. That's something I can't have."

Ryan tensed as he heard movement behind him. One of his dad's guards moved behind him and quickly forced him back into his seat, holding his arms while another placed his left hand on the father's desk. "This is to remind you of your position. You are ghost. Ghost's should be seen" he took Ryan's ring finger and slipped the snipper over it. His eyes met Ryan's as he smirked, "or heard." With that he snipped.

There was a soft knock on Gabby's door. Ryan swayed back and forth slowly before finally just propping against the wall. He held a large cloth to his left hand, his face pale and sweat dripped from it. His hands were shaking, but he wasn't going to give his father the satisfaction of him breaking down. "Gabby," he said through the door, trying hard to keep his voice even. "It's me."

Gabby opened the door. Her eyes soaked him in. "Fuck me...Danny is going to be so broken..." She pulled him in the room and pulled out her medical bag.

Ryan closed his eyes as he sat down on her bed and leaned his head against her wall. "He knew about her," he cursed, his grip tightening on the blood stained cloth which was pressed tightly to where his ring finger should have been. "This has been about her. He doesn't want me with her."

"I see. And what do you plan on doing?" She looked up at him. "You wouldn't happen to have the finger on you would you?"

Ryan shook his head. "Dad put it in his fucking safe," he said with closed eyes. He smirked and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I care about Danny. I've got nine more he can take. Won't change anything." Slowly he opened his eyes. "You don't happen to have any morphine in that bag of tricks do you?"

"I do," she said and suck him with a needle. The next day Danny got in the car and met up with Nick. They sat and talked the whole way to his father's house. When they finally landed and got in the car to the house, she was super excited. As they pulled up to the house, she turned to Nick. "You have a lovely home."

Nick smiled and nodded. "It's been in the family for quite some time. I use to run around the house when I was little pretending I was on adventures. Of course then I'd get lost and my nanny would have to come find me."

"Sounds fun!"

"It was fun," he said with a smile. "But looking back on things it was very lonely."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," she said. She got out as the door opened for her and followed the servants inside.

Nick took her hand and led her down the hallways and upstairs to his room. Pushing open the door he beckoned her in. Going his closet he started to get out his own attire for the evening. "It seems like ages since I've been back home."

She set her dress bag on the bed. "Should I start getting ready now?"

"Yeah. The party will probably be in full swing in an hour or two so if you get dressed I can show you around."

"Alright."

Taking his clothes he hesitated. "I'll go change in another room so you can have this one to yourself."

"Thank you."

"No problem." He took one last look at her before going to change.

It took her an hour and a half to get ready. She wore a white Goddess like dress made of silk and flowing fabrics. Her hair was curled and half pulled back with decorative jewels. She wore white heels even though her gown had a small terrain that drug on the ground. Her makeup was soft but elegant. Around her neck was the Heaven's Tears, covering her collar bone and the tops of her breasts with diamonds.

Nick dressed simply in a black and white tux. He'd long quite caring about these elegant events. However, when she stepped out his jaw dropped. "I can see why Ryan has fallen so hard for you," he said with a smile.

"Do you think your parents will like it?"

"Parent," he corrected. "My mother passed away, but yes.... You're beautiful."

"Oh...I'm sorry about your mother...Ryan never said anything about it..."

"I wouldn't imagine that he would," he said softly.

She straightened his bowtie with a smile. "You look handsome."

"Thank you," he said and offered her his hand. "Shall I give you the tour?"

"I thought the party was starting."

He heard laughter and cheers going around, but he just shrugged. "We can be fashionably late."

"Alright."

Taking her hand, he led her through the halls, letting her see all the paintings and rooms most of which had long since been empty.

"It's such a lovely place..."

"It's old, but it is grand," he admitted. Squeezing her hand, he nodded toward downstairs. "Ready to surprise everyone?"

"I can't wait to see Ryan," she smiled.

His smile faltered slightly, but he nodded nonetheless. "Yes. I'm sure you can't." He led her down the stairs, and no sooner had they stepped down together then there were gasps as people looked at them. Their eyes fell on the necklace as murmurs danced through the crowd.

Danny looked out at everyone and suddenly felt uncomfortable. "I...I don't see Ryan...or Gabby..."

Nick squeezed her hand. "I'm certain they're here somewhere," he said softly as he started to pull her through the crowd, making certain that everyone saw her. It wasn't long before the news reached his father. A roar seemed to erupt from the crowd when he heard.

"What!?"

Danny jumped. She moved against Nick. That didn't sound good.

A man moved through the crowd, stopping only when he happened upon Nick. Like his son, he had blond hair and piercing eyes. His skin was smooth almost like marble, and his face was cold yet burning with anger. He looked at the necklace lying on her breasts and glared at her. "How did you get that!?"

"I gave it to her," Nick said softly.

He looked at his son, his jaw slack for a moment before he composed himself. "Why!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he smirked.

He looked her over, his frown deepening. Her subtle curves, plump breasts, and innocent face.... Shaking his head he looked at his son and shook his head. "You are playing with fire."

"Where's Ryan?" Nick asked. "And her sister, Gabby?"

"They're...around...somewhere...."

Danny hesitated but held out her hand. "It's...an honor to meet you...Mr. Sinclair..."

He looked down at her hand and then out to everyone who was staring. Reaching out, he took her hand and kissed it. "The pleasure is mind," he said, his lips moving over her hand.

Nick stiffened and pulled her hand from him. "Where are they?" Nick demanded.

"I don't know. Ryan had an...accident, upon his arrival."

Nick paled and started to pull Danny with him. "Let's go find them."

"An accident?" Danny said with a panic voice.

"Yes. He slipped with a blade," the father said.
Nickher with him, going down the halls. "Ryan!? Ryan!?"

"A knife?!" Danny cried. Her eyes began to water.
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