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Chapter 4- Pursuit of Eric

The next day was fairly regular, except for Eric seemed more passionate than usual, trying to talk while I was trying to train. I still learned to kick well, much more quickly than punching. My routine continued for the next week, until I finished my 6 government books. I drove to the library, driving much better than my previous attempts and piled my bag with books. Then I ran into a problem. Kids from my school were having a Relay for Life meeting. They saw me. Immediately, I was bombarded with questions. The gist was
“Where the hell have you been for the past 3 weeks?!
My reply:
“I’ve been sick.” The most classic, excuse ever. Way to go Nik. I definitely would score a 10 on the lamest excuses used to get out of school. I tried to make it more convincing by coughing, but I failed miserably. The teacher gave me a disapproving look then said
“You’ve also lost weight.”
“It’s from being sick. I haven’t eaten much.”
“Well, you better come back to school or you’ll fail the semester.”
God, I hate those prep girls. I gave a cold smile and walked to my car. Did I just say my car? I mean, my parents car. As I opened the door I heard someone behind me say
“Since when could 15 year olds drive?”
That made me smile, and I drove home in a slightly better mood. I followed my normal reading pattern, not seeing Josh or Michael come outside.
The next day Eric taught me to flip, using his arm as a back support. We continued this before I could back handspring without assistance. True, it was sloppy, but it worked, and I still had four months left to learn it. Before I left, Eric asked me out again, and of course I said no. Exactly 1 month after I started training, I called a vacation day. I didn’t study law books, I didn’t go to training, all I did was sit back and watch movies. At least 5 million people called, and I didn’t answer, guessing they were church members. 6 people came by, no one I was really friendly with and at those points I ducked behind the cough, and turned off the TV. The people left quickly, and it was obvious they had come before.
The next week continued as usual, and I learned how to flip and I continued to study government. Every day Eric asked me out until finally on Sunday I yelled at him
“Will going out with you on ONE date and one date only shut you up forever?”
He replied cheerfully
“Yep.”
“Then I’ll go!” I exploded unhappily.
“Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at 5.”
“Fine.”
“Don’t you want to know what to wear?”
“I don’t care.”
“Most girls care about clothes.” He persisted.
“I’m not most girls.”
“That’s true and that’s why I want to take you out. Wear casual.”
“Whatever.”
“See you tomorrow for training.”
I nodded and left, not happy at all, I had given into that b*****d, Eric. Shame on me. That night I saw Josh and Michael again. Instead of going into the tree house, they went to this workshop on the end of Josh’s garage. They left the window open for some strange reason, as it was the first week of November. They didn’t talk about normal things today. Instead they talked about my family and me. Michael said
“Well, apparently, they’re missing. Nicole hasn’t been at school or church. Why aren’t the police officially reporting them as missing?”
“Maybe they’ve been taken by aliens, and all of them are going to come back pregnant, even Nicole’s dad!” Josh replied excitedly.
Michael looked at Josh in disgust and said
“You’ve been playing way to much Sims 2, dufus.”
I burst out into laughter. A startled Michael and Josh looked at the window and I ducked down quickly.
“What was that?”
“It sounded like laughter.”
“Nicole’s laughter. I would know her laugh anywhere.”
I looked up, startled at Michael’s statement.
“Should we go find whoever it was?” Josh asked?
“Definitely.”
With that, I quickly ran home, afraid they would find me. I couldn’t concentrate on reading again, so I watched TV and went to bed.
The next morning I got up, not in a good mood, knowing I had to go out on a freakin’ date that night, despite my vow I wouldn’t connect with anyone until after the fight. Maybe I should skip training. No, if I skipped today, I would continue to skip, always putting it off. I would only skip at the end of each month. I got dressed, not really caring what I wore. I ended up in tight-fitting clothing again. I noticed this as I pulled up on my bike. Now I would be leading Eric on. I sighed, and went through training, snapping at everyone that day. Finally Erik asked
“What’s up your a** today?”
“Excuse me?” I said in a warning tone.
“What’s got you in a crappy mood?” He modified with a sigh.
“You practically forced me to go out with you, that’s what.” I replied, very loudly.
“Why’s going out with me such a bad thing?”
“’Cuz I can’t date anyone right now.”
“And I’ll ask the same question again and again. Why not?”
“And I’ll answer the same question again and again: It’s none of your business.”
“It is now. It’s directly affecting me.”
I then realized everyone was staring at us. I went bright red, much to Eric’s amusement, until Eric finally said lazily
“Back to training everyone, or I’ll really show you how to train. How does running 500 laps sound?”
I laughed, surprisingly, and I saw at least four men go pale at the mention of running. I turned back to Eric and said
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your trainees.”
“Don’t worry about it. I get into fights with trainee girls all the time down here. Besides, I think you were more embarrassed than I was, judging by the shade of red you turned.”
I laughed again. My smile faded when Eric said
“So are we still on for tonight?”
“Um, sure. Will you pick me up at the front door though, and don’t pull in the driveway, please.”
He looked confused for a moment, then agreed without further question. I gave these specific instructions so that he would avoid all cameras. I would dismantle the one by the front door. I said
“Well, I’m wrapping up for the day. Still at 5, and casual?”
“Yes, and wear comfortable shoes.”
I gave him a scornful look, implying I wear nothing but comfy shoes. He laughed, and I grinned, then left. I took a quick shower when I got home, fixed my hair in perfect curls, and pull on a pair of nice sequined blue jeans and a low-cut black top. I grimaced, realizing that the pants were too big for me. I grabbed a belt, and I was ready to go. I dismantled the front door camera, and sat down to read another law book for a few hours until he got here. I still didn’t understand why I made so much effort to look nice, when I know I can’t get attached, and the cameras might see. Then I ran into another problem. Michael and Josh were outside. They might see me run out to the car. They probably wouldn’t recognize me anyways. I had lost 25 lbs., completely altering my features, my hair, and skin. My skin was extremely pale, my hair was now lighter. My face was skinnier, making me look like I had sharper bones. The doorbell rang, and I went to answer it, hoping desperately that Michael and Josh wouldn’t be in Josh’s front yard. I forgot all about it when I saw Eric. He looked stunning. He was decked out in black leather, his black hair loose and long, any girl’s dream of a bad boy. He was equally surprised to see me actually wearing nice clothes. All he had seen me in were training suits and those goth clothes one time. I then remembered the Michael/ Josh problem and tried to stay on one side of Eric, hoping they wouldn’t see me as they were in the front yard. Too late. Josh screamed
“Nicole?”
I closed my eyes for a second, opened them, then decided to ignore them. Both were yelling my name, and Eric looked at me, concerned, and said
“Who are those boys, Nicole?”
“Nobody.” I replied in a slightly choked voice. He shrugged, then opened the door for me, a true gentlemen. I heard them saying
“It must not have been Nicole. She would’ve come running to us laughing happily, and hugging us to death. That’s what Nikki would do.”
When I stepped into the car and we were going…somewhere, Eric turned to me and asked
“Just how old are you Nicole?”
“15. What about you?”
“17. Won’t your parents object to you going on a date with an older guy?”
“Again with my parents! Can’t you just shut up about them?”
“Nicole….nevermind.”
“So where are we going?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. He looked at me slyly, saying
“You’ll see.”
We drove for twenty minutes until we stopped near a beautiful meadow, bathed in moonlight. Eric went to the trunk of the car and pulled a basket and blanket out, and laid it out on the meadow. He pulled wine out and I said
“Wait, aren’t we too young for alcohol?”
He shrugged and said
“It’s just wine. And it’s not like we’re going to get drunk or anything. Besides, I got it from my brother…who is above the age limit.”
“Whose you older brother?” I asked curiously.
Eric smiled mischievously and replied
“Danny.”
I repeated disbelievingly
“Danny. As in Danny who owns Bellator schola?
“Yep.”
“What about your family?” I asked.
“That’s a long story.” He replied evasively.
“We’ve got time.”
“So you think. I’ll tell my story if you tell me yours.”
That was not I wanted this conversation to go.
“Then never mind.”
“Maybe if I go ahead and tell mine, you’ll loosen up. Listen, this story between us, stays with us. Agreed?”
Without waiting for an answer, he pressed on
“I began training when I was five. For what, I didn’t know. Danny was much older and better at it, and it felt like there was a world of difference between him and me. He was mean and cruel to me, modeling himself off the treatment of my family to me. Our father, Danny II, was the one training us. My mother had died during my birth, something extremely rare, nowadays. My family blamed me for her death, and they constantly reminded me of it. They told me I was not needed, Danny III would inherit the place. The best thing for me to do was leave, they said. My father drowned when I was ten. My brother had been at the beach with him when it happened. My brother could swim, whereas my father could not. My brother could’ve saved him. When he died, my brother and I made peace. We were bonded in the fact we had killed a parent. Thinking that continuing to train me was fathers’ wish, Danny trained me until I was sixteen, when I became his daytime assistant.”
I listened silently and sympathized with him. I said
“My story’s nothing compared to that.”
“Are you going to tell it?”
“I might as well.”
“Then go ahead.”
“Well, to make a long story short, my dad made a stupid mistake, my parent’s were taken away by the FBI, and I’ve been given 5 months to train to fight for them back.”
I smiled sweetly, and sipped some more wine. He said haltingly
“I see…um…how long do you have left?”
“Um…3 months, two weeks, I believe.” I laughed strangely, and Eric said
“You need food. You’re nearly drunk.”
Eric laid out a whole picnic spread, very romantic of him. My head a little clearer, I said
“You are so sweet. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“It certainly took you a long time to figure that much out.”
“Eric, now you know why I couldn’t…can’t get attached.”
“No, actually I don’t.”
“There are cameras in and outside my house that the FBI put up.”
“And?”
“They might see you.”
“And?”
“They might take you away. I cut off everyone because I’m afraid that will happen.”
Realization dawned in his eyes, and he pulled me close, cradling me in his arms. I was nearly crying at this point, from want of things to go back to normal. To be able to see my friends again. Hell, to even date Eric. After awhile of peacefulness, I said
“So why was I supposed to wear comfy shoes?”

**********************************************************
“Good night, love” Eric said at the front door of my house. He leaned closer and closer until I said
“Eric…” in a warning tone. He sighed and replied
“I know.” He leaned against me, and whispered into my ear
“I’ll get that good-night kiss later, I promise you.”
He kissed me on the cheek, got into the car, and smiling, I turned around.
My blood ran cold. The camera had been turned on.