25 Story of Nikki Lindsey

CHAPTER 25: BEFORE SHE FALLS

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Three days later… 

Lucy Lindsey returned to her room on the 7th floor. Showing signs of stability, Nikki feels at ease that her mother has excellent improvement each day. 

To follow their arrangement with the mysterious man, she must take a rest; and avoid staying awake at night. She hired Jasmine to watch her mother until she gets well and returns to her regular daily life. 

She went home with Aunt Maria during the night, and Jasmine left, watching her mother with Caitlin, who was often assigned night shifts. 

Her mother constantly urges her to go home in the evening. She doesn't want to leave her mother's side. But Maria told Lucy about the Doctor's advice that she had a red blood deficiency due to stress and lack of sleep. 

It was the fifth day since her mother's surgery. She might have to stay another week in the hospital, which is what Doctor Ben advised.

Nikki just came out of the shower, and her eyes caught her phone lighting up. She picked it up and opened the new message. Her grip tightens into her bath towel wrapped around her body upon reading the instruction. 

Nikki dropped her bottom into her bed. She inhaled several times and settled the loud thuds in her chest. Her fingers are trembling, and she cannot type a reply and the message is from him.

"Erika will pick you up tomorrow." 

Just like that, no other words. It puzzled Nikki, but she had the feeling it was related to "payback time". 

Confused about what to reply to, she types OKAY as a response. There is no sweetness or romantic atmosphere she senses between them. It was an affair of totally two strangers, and this made her sad.

That night, she could not drag herself to sleep. She walked around her neighborhood and then bought some midnight snacks in the nearby convenience store, and she ate them on her way back.

"That looks tasty."

A man speaks out of nowhere. She looked around and was surprised to see a tall guy wearing a gray coat with shoulder-length hair. She wondered if he was lost again. 

"What are you doing here? Wait, you might get a ticket this time," she teases.

Theo laughs, and she thinks it is sexy. He was leaning on his car while his arms folded above his chest.

"Nah, I park properly this time." Theo raised his right hand and pointed out the store's parking sign that closes every eight o'clock in the evening, so the parking space was now empty.

Nikki let out a soft laugh at his reason. Suddenly, he turns into a bad boy before her eyes.

"So? Do you have a business meeting nearby?" asked Nikki afterward. 

Theo replied, "Oh. Min Xi asked to drop by her friend's house in the nearby complex from here, so I took this street to take the main road in the next avenue." 

"Ah..." the word she could only say when she could taste bitterness in her mouth.

So, he was with his girlfriend a while ago, but what is he doing now? Immediately, he was flirting with someone else when his girlfriend got out of his car.

'WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, NIKKI NOREEN?' Yeah, her damn crazy brain once again.

And the complex he was talking about must be the high-rise condominium for wealthy people: two avenues to pass by from where she lives. It has complete amenities; it has its own supermarket inside the building and a few restaurants. It is what she saw in the ads.

"Can't sleep yet?" Theo asked when she remained silent. 

"Um, kind of... but I got hungry. My meds made me."

"You need to eat, yes," Theo commented which made her wonder what he meant by that.

She admits she was slender, but it's not like she is thin to the bones.

"But I am eating," she pouted, then reasoned out. "It's not my fault if the food is digested quickly."

"No wonder you were just this tall." Theo chuckled, then stood straight. He raised his hand and placed it on top of Nikki's head.

"Hey, you are offending me!" she frowned. "I already have issues with my height. So, you need not point it how… short I—" she wobbled her feet after jumping to catch Theo's arm. But he draws his hand, dragging her toward him, and she lands on his broad chest.

It stiffens her neck while looking up at him. He was this tall, and she was this short.

Meanwhile, Theo was peering down at her; she could feel the heat on her palm resting on his chest. She gathers her strength to pull herself away from him, taking a few steps back.

Dazed by what happened, she can't stop her heart from beating crazily. She could feel her face flushing red, so she forced a smile to hide her embarrassment.

"Um, Doctor Yonah is giving me too many pills I have to take every day. I— I mean, it helps me to eat more lately, so I will gain weight soon."

What is she trying to share with Theo? She cannot just blurt out that she was preparing to get pregnant, and that these vitamins will make her healthy.

"I mean, I have a deficiency of red blood cells lately. I need more iron and vitamin C, etc.," she added. She tried to bring the conversation back to their original topic earlier. 

"You need it as daily supplements. It would help if you watched your health," Theo advised. 

Nikki glanced at Theo, nodding at him. He was staring at her with an intense gaze. It was like he was looking through her soul, giving her an apprehension that he might be able to see her heart. Which, right now, was tangled with invincible strings looming inside her heart. A red one was floating around it, while the gray one with thorns, binding her heart entirely, squeezing it utterly, leaving her breathless. 

"Won't you invite me for a cup of coffee?" All of a sudden, Theo asked her. 

Coming back to her senses, Nikki shrugs off her sadness. Fleeing her thoughts somewhere, it bewildered her what to reply.

She was thinking that she and Theo having a coffee. What if someone saw them together and recognized him as Min Xi's boyfriend? It's not a good rumor. 

"Hm. Sure, but wait here!"

She got an idea, and she left Theo behind. Not that too long, she came back with a cup of brewed coffee and an American cheese dog in a bun in her other hand.

"Sorry, I did not bring more bills, so I can't treat you to a restaurant, and it looks like they are closing soon." Nikki tried to explain which was more likely to her because she could not imagine going out with Theo, afraid reporters might spot him with a poor girl.

But Theo only rendered a chuckle. He took the coffee and bun from Nikki. "You should have told me, and I will bring you to the one that opens till past midnight."

"Huh?"

She was trying to rake her head about which restaurant that would be. What she knew, most of those higher-end restaurants were in the hotels, and it has a dress code to follow. She is not wearing a slipper, or an overall t-shirt down to her knees, but she is wearing short pants underneath is not welcome in that kind of restaurant. Impossible for Theo would bring her to those places where he has to protect his family's reputation and relationship with Min Xi.

"Yup, I know one. Nikki Noodle Kitchen."

Her jaw dropped. "Hey!" Unconsciously, she smacks Theo's back.

"Ouch! Hot, hot!" Theo draws the cup away from his mouth while balancing his hand when the coffee is spilling out.

"Oh my, sorry! I didn't mean to do that. My hand just flew to your back." She bites her fingers; the one lands on Theo's body.

Oopsie! It was her bad habit if she was flustered and embarrassed.

Gladly, Theo laughs. His eyes are telling how she amused him. But she's thinking about how embarrassing she acted in front of him.

"I miss the soup. I was busy lately and haven't dropped by again." Later, Theo told her between his bites on the bun. 

"Hmm. I'm sure it is out of the way where you were living?" she was thinking. He is living in a mansion outside the central city. Or it could also be to one of the high-in apartments for high society but farther from here. 

"Yeah, kind of... far."

Nikki is peeking out at Theo, who now has a big bite on his cheese dog bun. He looks hungry. Aren't he and Min Xi having dinner already? She wanted to ask him this, but he might get offended, or she might sound rude, and that would look like she was a nosy person.

So, what if Theo has big bites? It must be expected for a giant man like him. Right?

Nikki giggles at her thoughts. She would eat wholeheartedly without restraint, unlike girls who pretended to eat slowly in front of their crushes, even if, in reality, they would eat the whole bun in a mere minute, just like her.

Theo wrinkled his forehead and stared at her curiously. "You should share what amuses you," he complained.

Stunned by what he said, Nikki smiled. "Nah, I'm just thinking, why I didn't challenge you in whose fastest to finish a bun."

"Huh?" Dumbfounded, Theo later laughs loudly after he understands what Nikki jested. "I had the feeling I should not underestimate you."

"Yup! You should not! Even the eating noodle challenge!"

"That's intriguing." Theo's eyes flash with excitement.

She doesn't want to end the night. But the earlier she distances herself from him and forbids her heart to love him the better. She doesn't like how these tiny seeds appear within her heart, which she hid away to the deepest part of her chest, which still gradually grew. 

"Um, I better not keep you. I think you still have work tomorrow," she said after a moment of silence between them.

"Yeah, I have." Theo nodded.

She heard him heave a furious sigh, and a bitter smile pursed his lips. Nikki seems to see sadness flash in his eyes.

"Well then, I have to go soon, Nik. But before that, I will escort you back to your apartment building."

"Oh, that's unnecessary," she refused right away. Hearing his endearment to her name flutters her heart. But its impact on her is way more dangerous than her falling and stumbling to the ground.

"I insist," Theo showed that he was not giving up persuading her.

She doesn't like persistent guys, but she cannot refuse Theo. "Okay."

Theo walked her toward the entrance of the apartment building.

"Thank you for walking me home." 

"Nah, small thing. Don't mention it." Theo smiled. 

"Alright, I will go in now. Um, take care driving home," said Nikki. 

"Yup. Good night, Nik!" 

"Good night, Theo," she replied and smiled blushingly when Theo used that nickname on her. 

She waved her right hand after entering the glass auto door at the entrance. Theo lifted his right arm in response, then turned to leave until he disappeared before her eyes. 

"Goodbye, Theo…"