Chapter 21
Claire
I opened the door, and Nick stood there with his hands tucked into his pants pockets.
“Hey, come on in,” I nervously spoke.
“I’m going to ask you something, and I want an honest answer,” he said in a sharp tone.
“Okay.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that Sam, Stefan, Sebastian, Simon, and Shaun are your brothers? And that Nora is your sister?”
“How did you find out?” I asked.
“It doesn’t fucking matter how I found out, Claire! Answer my question.”
“I was going to tell you tonight.”
“Oh, were you now? And about the house you bought right next to Carter’s?” he shouted.
“Yes! I was going to tell you everything tonight over dinner.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before tonight? I wouldn’t have said a word,” he angrily spoke. “I trusted you enough to tell you about my past. It’s obvious you don’t trust me.”
“That’s not true, Nick.” I looked down.
“Bullshit! It is the truth, or you would have told me sooner. Were you using me to get closer to them?”
“God, no. How can you even ask me that?”
“I don’t believe you because we first slept together when I told you I knew them!”
“I swear to you, Nick. That wasn’t why I slept with you.” I could feel the tears stinging my eyes.
He rubbed his forehead and looked down.
“You had plenty of opportunity to tell me they were your family, but you hid the truth from me. I am so sick and tired of the secrets you women keep. And to think I was falling in love with you. But you know what? I’m happy the truth came out before things with us went any further. If they ever would have because you only used me to get to your family.”
“That is not true!” I shouted, tears streaming down my face.
“Yeah, it is! This thing we had is over. Do you understand me? I don’t want to see you, talk to you, or anything else. I should have fucking known better.” He shook his head and headed toward the door.
“Nick, wait! Please!” I ran after him.
“I’m done, Claire. Have a nice life.” He opened the door and walked out.
“Nick!” I shouted, banging my fists on the door and laying my forehead against it.
Slowly walking to the couch, I sat down, lifted my knees, and cried as my arms wrapped tightly around my legs. The ache in my heart burned, and the more I tried to breathe, the harder it became. I didn’t know what to do. Reaching over to the end table and grabbing my phone, I sent Nick a text.
“Please, Nick. I swear I didn’t use you. I have feelings for you, too. Please, let’s talk about this. Let me explain everything.”
I hit send and watched, waiting for the word “delivered” to appear. It didn’t. He’d already blocked my number.
“Fuck!” I shouted as I threw my phone across the room.
Getting up from the couch, I went into the bathroom and started the water for a bath, pouring some soothing lavender-scented bubble bath under the stream. After twisting my hair up, I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the tub, sinking down as my head rested on the white bath pillow. I didn’t know if I could stay here anymore. Sam said the house renovation would take about a month. I only had my clothes with me. The rest of my things were in a storage unit back in Connecticut. I could easily pack my suitcases and stay in a hotel for the next month.
The following morning, I was exhausted from my two hours of sleep. Putting myself together, I grabbed the two large suitcases I’d packed last night, my purse, and my carry-on bag, and left the apartment. When I reached my car, I noticed Nick’s was gone.
“Good morning.” Shaun smiled when I reached his office.
“Morning.” I smiled to hide the pain I felt inside.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me that you’re here,” he spoke, kissing my cheek. “Let’s get you settled in your office.”
I followed him down the hall to my new corner office and set my purse on the chair.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable in here,” Shaun said.
“I will be. This is really nice. Thank you.” I smiled.
His eyes narrowed at me for a moment. “You’re welcome. We have a meeting in conference room three in thirty minutes.” He looked at his watch.
“I’ll be there.”
“Hi, Mr. Kind,” a young woman walked in.
“Morning, Tessa. Make sure Miss Monet has everything she needs.”
“I will. Hi, Miss Monet. I’m Tessa. I wasn’t here yesterday when Mr. Kind showed you around.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Tessa.” I extended my hand with a smile. “You can call me Claire.”
“Oh, okay.” She grinned. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“That would be great. Just black.”
She left my office, and I sat down behind my oversized glass desk, looking out the window at the view of Los Angeles.
“Here’s your coffee, Claire.”
“Thanks, Tessa. Can you do me a favor and find me an extended-stay hotel?”
“Sure. I’ll get on that right now. Where are you looking?”
“Somewhere close to here,” I said. “I need it starting today.”
“You need what?” Shaun asked as he and Carter walked into my office.
I stared at them momentarily. “An extended stay hotel.”
“Why?” Carter’s brows furrowed.
“Because I moved out of my apartment. Somehow, Nick found out everything, and we got into a huge fight. He said he never wanted to see me again. I can’t live next to him anymore.” I tried to stop the tears from filling in my eyes.
“Shit.” Shaun sighed. “Been there myself.”
“I’m sorry, Claire,” Carter spoke. “But you’re not staying in an extended-stay hotel. You can move in with any of us until your house is ready.”
“He’s right. You can move in with Jenni and me,” Shaun said.
“No. I’m not putting anyone out.” I put my hand up.
“You’re my sister, Claire. I won’t let you stay in a hotel for the next month.”
“And I’m your cousin, and I won’t allow it either.”
“None of us will,” Shaun said. “The one thing you’ll learn about us is that we never turn our back on family.”
“Thanks, Shaun.” I softly smiled.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll go call Jenni and tell her the news.” He winked.
Nick
I was thankful for the busy day in the ER because it kept my mind off Claire.
“Candace, I’m going upstairs to check on a patient. Page me if you need me.”
“I will, Dr. Russo.” She smiled.
When I walked into Bella’s room, Christian was in there.
“Dr. Russo.” She smiled.
“Hi, Bella. How are you today?”
“I’m okay. I want to go home, but Dr. Kind said I have to stay a while longer.”
“Well, Dr. Kind knows what’s best.” I walked over and placed my hand on hers.
“Okay, Bella. Charleigh will be in soon. Hang in there.” Christian smiled.
“I’m trying to, Dr. Kind.”
Christian and I walked out of the room.
“Did you talk to Claire last night?” he asked.
“Yeah. I talked to her. I told her I never wanted to see her again.”
“What?” Christian’s brows furrowed. “Why would you do that?”
“Because she hid the truth from me and only used me to get to you guys.”
“Did she come out and say that?”
“No. She said she wasn’t, but I know she was. The first time we slept together was the night I told her I knew you. I’m done with the lies and secrets, Christian. She had plenty of opportunity to tell me who she really was.”
“Jesus Christ.” He ran his hand through his hair. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not. It’s hers,” I said.
“But I told you because I assumed you knew.” Christian sighed.
“Exactly!” I pointed at him. “I should have known, but she chose to keep it a secret. After what happened with Katrina, I swore I was done. Then I met Claire, and she changed that for me. I was a fool for getting involved with her in the first place. This time, I’m done.”
“Come on, Nick. Don’t say that shit.”
“I’m serious, Christian. I honestly don’t know what I did in my lifetime to deserve this shit. I’ll talk to you later.” I shook my head and stepped into the elevator.
I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come. I needed to get out of this city for a couple of days and forget about everything that happened.