His Responsibility

14

    I pulled on Nico's boxers and they slipped back down, I had to fold them three times before they stayed in place. His shirt was just as big as last time I remembered it. 

"C-Can I use your brush?" I ask through the door

"Of course" 

    I start to brush my hair but my back hurts every time I move. Just the simple motion of brushing my hair is impossible. I sigh in defeat and smack the brush back down, harder than I meant to. 

"Are you alright?" Nico sounds worried

"Yeah. I just.... never mind" 

"Can I come in?" 

"Sure" 

    Nico opens the door and peers inside for a moment, he disappears and comes back with a small stool. He places it in front of me and motions for me to sit. As soon as I am seated, he picks up his brush and starts to brush out my long hair. He takes his time, and it feels amazing. I've never had anyone brush my hair for me before and before I can stop it a small moan comes from me. I feel my face heat up with embarrassment, Nico doesn't say anything, just keeps brushing. After a few minutes he stops brushing and braids my hair in one long French braid down my back.

"Thank you" I breathe out

    He smiles at me before turning to the cabinets beside the sink. He pulls out a first aid kit, pulling various things out. He turns me in the stool and starts to work on my cheek. 

"Unfortunately this is going to need stitches" He has a very sad look on his face. 

"Okay, should we go to the hospital?" 

"No, I can do it here, I have everything we need. It might scar though. There's no guarantee..."

"My first battle scar" I whisper and shrug

"It should never have happened. Your beautiful body should never have had any mistreatment" 

I blush but don't respond.

How does this man always say the right things? 

He puts a numbing cream on my cheek and we wait for it to take effect, 

"So what happened?" He asks in a soft tone

"I took your advice, thought about what I wanted...It wasn't Zander. He was not happy about it. He accused me of sleeping with you while I was with him. I would never do something like that. I was honest about our kiss. It only made him angrier, which honestly, I can't blame him for being upset..."I sigh "I must be cursed, every time I break up with a guy I get attacked..." Tears spring to my eyes now.

"I'm sorry I landed you in hot water, this is not your fault. It's mine"  He whispers as he starts doing stitches. He only needed to do six and it was closed off. Nico put on some anti-inflammatory cream and bandaged it up. "I think you should stay here for a few days and call in sick to work, at least until your face heals" 

I nod in agreement. My boss won't like that, but I think it is for the best. 

I go to make the phone call

"Hi Mr. Wilks, it's Cordelia, listen I won't be able to come in for my shifts this week"

"Oh? Why's that?

"I had an accident"

"Oh well, you know we really rely on you here. If you can't make it in, I'm going to have to replace you immediately. There's plenty of girls who need work you know" Is he trying to guilt me into coming into work?

"Well Sir if that's how you really feel then please do what you need to do. I'll come get my check tomorrow" I hung up feeling angry. 

I huff in anger and sit down on Nico's bed.

"Everything okay?" 

"No. I just got fired." I feel the anger flowing off of me

"What do you mean? You explained why you couldn't come in, right?"

I nod, "And your boss still fired you anyways?" 

I nod again. What am I going to do now? I still owe one more deposit on my tuition for my first semester and it is coming up quickly. 

"I have another call to make, sorry"

I dial my Fathers number

"Hello Princess, how are you my dear?" He sounds chipper as always.

"Hey daddy, I'm alright. I need your help though. I need to borrow $1500 for my last payment for school. I ran into some troubles with my job and now I can't swing it. Do you think I can borrow it?" I was hopeful, he is always offering to buy me anything I want, this is what I need.

"Of course Princess, anything for you. I'll transfer the money right away"

"Thank you Daddy. I will pay you back as soon as I can!" 

"Dear, you know you don't have to, it's really not a problem." 

We say our goodbyes and I see Nico sitting in the chair across the room, watching me.

"Well, what do we do now?" I ask to break the silence

"Anything you want. I would love to teach you a few self defense moves, when you feel better" He says in a serious tone. He seems very concerned for my well being. I know he is a self defense trainer so it makes sense. He told me a while ago that he mostly trains companies' security details. He doesn't normally work one on one with someone. I blush thinking about being close to him like that, his sweaty body near mine. All those muscles rippling, all the strength. I snap back to reality when I hear him move across the room towards me.

"Shall we go get something to eat?" He extends his hand towards me. I take it without hesitation. I expect us to go to the kitchen but he pulls me towards the garage,

"I'm taking you for breakfast" 

I look down at myself and remember I am wearing his boxers and his shirt.

"I can't go out in this!" 

"We will stop by your place first, you can pack a bag. Remember your staying with me for a few days." I nod in understanding and get into his car. I give him directions to my new place, explaining what happened to the old one.  We go up and I pack a bag, grabbing the few things I think I'll need.