A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Plush sheets covered him, and light brown locks poked out from underneath them, making his head almost completely under them, just like almost the rest of him. His hands gripped the pillow and tugged it under the sheets too. A slight ringing caught his attention, but he hugged the pillow more and tried to block out the sound with its softness. When it continued to ring, he groaned slightly, and his left hand reached out from under the sheets and towards the wooden nightstand before he answered the phone. "Hello?" he asked, groggily, as his eyes remained closed.

"Nick, I need you to come over to (f/n)'s apartment." He furrowed his brows and slowly sat up from the bed. "She left a note, and I think that you should come see it."

At that, his eyes snapped open. "I'll be right there, Ms. Zacerson." He heard her say something on the other line, but he hung up before he heard her fully. She would understand his urgency, especially since she had used an alarming serious tone with every word.

He threw on some black slippers and grabbed his grey coat and phone before he darted out of his bedroom. His hair was in every direction currently, but he could care less about that. Nick, briefly, saw that it was eleven in the morning on the kitchen wall clock, but his attention darted forwards and towards the front door after that. The male saw Chris opening her bedroom door, wondering what the commotion was about, since Nick had thrown open his bedroom door earlier, and his footsteps were anything but quiet. "Nick?" she questioned, releasing a yawn.

"Later, Chris. There might be an emergency." Her light blue eyes widened, but he didn't stick around to answer any inquiries. Instead, he threw open the front door and raced across the street, somewhat carefully, towards (f/n)'s apartment. A few late morning walkers gave him a strange look as he headed towards the building, but he paid them no mind.

Entering the apartment complex, he headed up the stairs and gripped the railing hard so that he wouldn't slip and fall. His brown optics saw her apartment door, and he practically ripped it open. Finally, he caught his breath and used the doorframe as a support. Ms. Zacerson looked over to him, and an expression between mad and worried greeted her countenance. She held out the note to him.

Steadily, he walked over and took the item. "I found it just a few minutes ago when I came to check on her since she didn't show for her morning shift." She looked saddened all the more. "I tried to call her since I thought that maybe you two ..." The older woman trailed off before she sighed while Nick felt a slight bit of heat in his cheeks. "But, she didn't answer. I called you, but you wouldn't answer either." Briefly, she gave him a scolding look, and he returned an apologetic one. "Finally, you did."

Another sigh parted from her, and she seated herself on the couch. "So, I knocked a few times, but when she didn't answer, I opened the door. She wasn't here, and I found that in her place." Ms. Zacerson crossed her arms over chest. "At first, I thought that it was weird that most of her things still were here, but I saw that." Hurt entered her blue optics. "And, I thought originally that she had been such a lovely girl." Nick, though, tuned out her complaints to a degree and read over the item.

Dear Ms. Zacerson and Nick,

I just couldn't stand living under a charade anymore. That person I was hiding from ... Well, he never existed. I just was using you both because I had made poor decisions in the past. I needed a place, money, clothes, food, etc. And, Nick, you were easy to convince. You bought into the story, and I used your kindness for my own selfish benefit. I'm sorry. Ms. Zacerson I used you and your kindness too so that I could basically stay in an apartment for free and have a job with a steady income flow. I'm sorry to you too.

I don't know if either of you will ever forgive me, but I doubt that you'll ever see me again. I'll be long gone by the time you read this, and I'll probably be looking for some new, easy opportunity. But, I just couldn't take advantage of you two anymore or your friends, Nick. Ms. Zacerson you deserve a better employee than me, and Nick you deserve someone better, who won't hurt you.

As for everything I left there, just sell it. Throw it out if you want. It's yours now, and I doubt that it'll cover my debts to you both, especially since your friends and you had bought most of it for me, Nick. Anyway, I enjoyed our time together, and that's why I had to leave. This probably means little to you both, but I wish you the best and thank you.

- (F/n)

Nick knew exactly what the letter meant, and why she had written such a message. The creature had entered Faller's Grove, and (f/n) left without telling any of them so that they wouldn't be put into more danger. She had gone to the creature, and Nick only could hope that she was alright. His fingers gripped the letter a bit, and he too doubted that they'd ever cross paths again. At least, any time soon probably would be out of the question. Maybe in the distant future, they might see each other again. Mentally, he smiled slightly. He'd like that if that did happen.

"I'm sorry, Nick. If only we found out the truth earlier," Ms. Zacerson commented, giving him a sympathetic smile. "We could watch season one of the sci-fi show I like. There a few lovely ladies in there." He smiled back to her kindly and shook his head.

"Thank you, but I think that I just need some time to think right now. I ..." He released a drawn out sigh and knew that he needed to give the older woman somewhat of performance for (f/n)'s letter to be more authentic. Nick also needed to make his next decision all the more believable and not sound too dramatic. "I need to talk to my friends and make sure it's okay with them, but I ..." The male combed his right fingers through his light brown locks, and his eyes stared down to the words on the paper like he was lost.

"I understand." She sat up straighter on the couch. "You need to leave town, right?"

Appreciative of her comprehension, he nodded. "Yeah. I think that I ... I got too attached to her." A pained smile crossed his lips, and he truly would miss spending time with her. "I associate this place with her now, and I don't know if I can stay if she's not here." He didn't even receive the time to take care of her more, but he couldn't dwell on that now.

Rather, he needed to sell this performance and tell his friends that they needed to put the house up for sale and move locations so that the creature couldn't track them down if (f/n), unfortunately, did get caught. Nick doubted that the creature would let them slide since they had helped her escape. (F/n) probably had understood that too last night, and that was why she had written such a note so that Ms. Zacerson wouldn't get curious about her whereabouts.

"I don't need any further explanation than that. But, she's right." Nick looked over to her once more. "You deserve someone better than her." She stood up from the couch and patted him on the right shoulder. "Go out and find that someone if you need to, or take a break." The older woman smiled. "Just take care of yourself and don't go back to her if you manage somehow to run into her again."

"Right. Thanks, Ms. Zacerson." She nodded firmly and kindly before she said her goodbyes and wished him good luck. Nick watched her leave, but he called out to her. "Also, the stuff here. Feel free to use it or sell it. I feel like I still owe you for that since I had brought her to you."

The older woman stopped and looked back to him before she nodded her head gratefully. "I appreciate that. I wish you well and let me know if you're ever back in town."

"I will," he assured before she nodded once more and headed downstairs probably to her apartment so that she could make arrangements for (f/n)'s things and her now empty apartment. As for Nick, he folded up the letter and looked about the place. He didn't know how well (f/n) had wiped down the place, but she probably hadn't done much if the creature had shown up suddenly.

Thankfully, he suspected that Ms. Zacerson wouldn't mind him staying awhile longer in the place since she had every belief that they had been dating. The thought gave Nick a pause, but he forced himself to start moving about so that he could try and wipe prints and remove any hairs. He most likely wouldn't be able to get it all, but he could try his best. Still, though, he figured that things wouldn't work out between (f/n) and him, especially if the creature remained alive.

Ultimately, he had his team to take care of. They were his responsibility, and they depended on his expertise in the field to keep them safe unlike he had done with his prior team. If that meant giving up (f/n), he'd do so. All he could do was help her to the best of his ability without endangering the lives of his teammates like he had done before. Never could they meet the creature. And if they did, he'd get them out of there, every last one of them.

For right now, though, cleaning up (f/n)'s apartment and moving would be the most beneficial. Soon enough, he retrieved his phone, which he had placed in his right coat pocket, and called Deidre to inform her of the news. They needed to find a new place, a moving truck and a company to help them sell their home. Ren, Chris and her could work on that while he tended to (f/n)'s place. When she picked up, he began to inform her of everything that just had happened.