This Is Us - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

NICO POV
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
I cursed myself under my breath as I yanked my bike from the shed causing a loud threatening crash as the tin bars it was stuck behind came crashing down, revealing my location to the entire neighborhood, nevermind my father.
"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"
He calls out and I hopped on the bike as fast as I could and pedaled about as fast as my scrawny legs could carry me.
"GET BACK HERE BRAT!"
My father spat in his gruff voice that had scared me since I was a child. I could hear his footsteps behind me and my freedom was taken as he grabbed the back tire and I came to a screeching halt. I fell off the bike and tumbled onto the front lawn, trying to kick with my feet but he got a hold of my jacket and pulled me up to meet his fist.
"I'm going to kill you, little fucker-AH!"
He only gets one punch in before I jabbed both of his eyes with my thumbs and he drops me. Forgetting the bike, I took off on foot, running as fast as I could down the middle of the empty street as my father called out a series of choice curse words behind me. Tears streamed down from my light brown eyes as I ran, my blonde bangs getting in the way of my vision but I didn't bother pushing them aside.
Let me get hit by a car, death would be so much better than this hell I'm living in.
"I don't care, you come to me, you hear me? You can always come to me,"
I could hear Nakoa's voice in the back of my head and imagined the look on my best friend's face when he was the only person who showed up to the funeral. How sad he would be to find his only friend has been killed because he was being stupid.
Imagining this, I jogged onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle as I did so and I flipped the blonde hair out of my eyes. It's not like I needed to see anyway.
I knew the four-mile stretch by heart.
"I'm coming Nakoa...I'm coming,"
***
As I approached the farmhouse on the wide dirt path, I started to slow my pace. Trying to catch my breath as I walked over to the left side. Counting the second window, I grabbed a small rock and took aim.
Still out of breath, I nearly collapsed when I straightened up. The stars in my vision refusing to go away as I threw the first rock and missed, hitting the siding instead and setting off the family's loud alarm system, Dallas.
The large barking, snarling, snorting rottweiler came out of the doggy door in the back and jetted towards me like I was the enemy he needed to attack. But he stops when he gets a whiff o my scent and slows to a trot before gently nudging my leg with his nose.
"Hey buddy," I whispered as I pet the top of his head, grabbing another rock and throwing it with mild success as I waited. In the dark, I could hear the sound of his window sliding and Nakoa poked his head out.
"Nico? Is that you?" He whisper shouted and I gulped, feeling guilty for disturbing him since I didn't know the time. I just knew I had to run to survive.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, something-"
"I'll be down in a second,"
Nakoa interrupted me and closed the window. I wiped the sweat from my brow with my flannel sleeve and walked over to the back door. My heart still pounding as Nakoa Jackson opened the door, rubbing his eyes and dressed in only a pair of basketball shorts. I walked into the house with the dim light in the mudroom shining over us as I took off my shoes.
You could tell which pair was mine out of the multitudes of shoes in their proper shelves assigned to each family member. Every pair shiny and new, while my red converse were now a muddy brown and nearly destroyed with the number of rips and tears in them.
"You caught me at a good time cause I just got out of the shower and...holy shit Nico," He grabs a hold of my shoulders and pushes me into the light so he could check me out. Peering down at my much smaller stature with his light green eyes as he looked me up and down. Forcefully tilting up my chin with large hands that were practically the size of my face.
The man stood at 6'2" with a broad body made of only muscle and a glare that could kill a person with a single glance. He was always a lot bigger than me, since we met in 3rd grade and he was forced to be my friend by teachers after he tripped me when I got off the slide. As we got older my bully became only my best friend and we were inseparable.
Until now.
Nakoa had been accepted into the United States Air force as a PJ otherwise known as a pararescueman and was leaving for basic training in Lackland, Texas the next morning.
We would be separated for two months and I couldn't live a day without him, never mind two months.
"Nico, you're bleeding and you're covered in mud," He announced and let out a small sigh as he walked into the kitchen while I trailed behind him. He smelled like freshly showered man and his dark skin tightened as he flexed his muscles to lean against the counter with crossed arms. Running his fingers over his black hair, he doesn't look at me as he stares at the floor.
"Please tell me you fell or you hit a wall...don't tell me it was that fucking moron Father of yours again," He nearly growls and I bite my lip. He was always pissed off whenever I had a single scratch on me and nearly flipped his shit when I had a black eye.
"I fell," I nervously rubbed my arm and held my breath as I said what we both knew was a bald-faced lie and he scoffed. Pointing to the upstairs section of the house.
"Go to my room and take a shower. I'll meet you up there after," He groans into the palm of his hand and I was thankful for being given a reason to skip away from his heavy anger.
To take a shower at his mansion-sized farmhouse was incredible. The warm water licking my sensitive skin in comforting circles as I washed the dirt from my body. It had been months since our electricity had been shut off and I had to resort to ice cold showers that left my entire body covered in goosebumps and my teeth chattering.
The door to the bathroom opens and Nakoa walks in, putting something on the bathroom counter before walking out again. After my fingers turned to prunes, I decided I had enough and turned off the shower.
Peeking out of the glass door I looked over to the counter and found a warm towel which I quickly basked in, covered my entire body in its warmth. Underneath the towel was a pair of new boxers with the tag still on them and one of his Air Force hoodies which was more like a dress on me than anything and went all the way down to my knees. I chuckled a bit at how stupid I looked before wrapping the towel around my neck and stepping out of the bathroom.
Nakoa sat at his desk pushed against the window, writing something down with his desk lamp being the only light in the room and signing it.
"Took you long enough, I thought you drowned or something and I was going to have to-" He looks up from his desk and stops talking when he sees me awkwardly standing there.
"To have to fish you out," He stutters when he finished his thought and turns back to his desk, clearing his throat.
"Anyway, I heated up some leftovers for you, there over there," He points behind him with his pen to the nightstand beside his bed where a plate of food was still streaming and my mouth watered just looking at it.
I took up the plate containing chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and cornbread and started eating it up right away. Starved most of the day, any food was delicious to me but this was so good that it was almost like a delicacy it was so amazing.
"Which one of your dads made this?" I asked as I munched on my cornbread while shoveling sweet potatoes into my mouth. He still had his broad back to me as he put his pen in a small cup and sealed the letter with a single piece of tape.
"Actually, I made it. Mom and dad were never good at cooking anything other than dessert, but my papa? He's a master chief in the kitchen. I mean he was until...you know," He sighs and I finished my last bite, feeling satisfied for now even though my grumbling stomach says otherwise.
"But my papa and I were always in the kitchen when I was growing up. It was my favorite thing to do and I guess I never stopped," he shrugs and turns to me.
"You can have the bed this time," Nakoa tells me as I put the plate back down and wipe my mouth with my thumb. He takes it from me and moves it to the desk before grabbing a small butterfly bandage he had waiting for me.
"Look up," He commands and I do so as he seals the cut above my left brow and ruffles my hair, walking over to the closet to grab the sleeping bag.
"W-Wait, I don't want you to spend your last night home on the floor," I quickly reason with him but he shakes his head.
"Doesn't matter to me, you know that," He says and I look at the wide king size bed.
"Why don't we just share?" I ask and he raises his thick left brow.
"Are you sure?" He asks and I nodded, pushing over so he could slide in next to me.
"Yeah, we've done it before, why stop now?" I chuckle and he turns off the light, turning the room to a pitch black before sliding over next to me.
His foot touches mine but only briefly before pulling away like a scared mouse. I giggled at the touch, feeling cold without it and shuffle just a tad bit closer to him.
"God it's freezing in here Nakoa," I sniffle and I could feel the bed shift.
"The cold is good for your bloodstream and your heart," He says in a soft tired voice and I groan.
"You and your stupid health conscience shit, I swear," I grumble as I pull the comforter up to my chin and he reaches over, patting my chest.
"You want some of my body heat?" He asks but I denied it.
"Nah man, I'm sure I'll warm myself up after a while," I say and he takes his hand back.
"Sure, don't say I never offered," He grunts and turns onto his back away from me. I laid in his bed silent for a few moments as I stared at the ceiling.
"Are you scared?" I asked aloud, listening to the whir of the ceiling fan.
"Scared of what?"
"Tomorrow? Bootcamp in general?"
"No, there's nothing to be scared of. Just a get in get out kind of thing."
"What's a PJ?"
"It's a man who goes in after there's been a bombing and saves the people who have been taken down and are hurt,"
"That sounds really dangerous,"
"It can be,"
"Are you going to die?"
"I sure hope not,"
"Are you scared of anything?"
He stayed quiet for a few moments after I asked and shifted in the bed towards me.
"I'm scared of leaving you," He says honestly and I had to catch my lost breath.
"If I gave you the opportunity to run away, told you I would take care of you and take you with me to wherever I'm stationed, would you come with me?"
"If we had money and a plan? Sure,"
"I could be stationed anywhere in the world, do you want to leave?"
"I've wanted to leave since before I can remember Nakoa. But I'm too underweight to join the military remember,"
"Let me take care of the logistics, you wouldn't have to lift a finger," He offers and I sat up on my elbow, staring at him in the dark.
"Are you serious?" I asked and I could feel his emerald eyes staring at me in the dark.
"I've never been more serious in our lives," He said and I laid my head back down on the pillow, finally starting to warm up on my own.
"Then I would do it," I said, not knowing how much I would regret those words until later.
"It's a promise then,"