Song: MKTO - Afriad of the dark

This song is perfect for the second half of the chapter. I hope it's enough for you guys to forgive me for what's been happening and what's gonna happen lol. Here's a snippet of the chorus:

 All anybody needs is one light
I'll be anything that you like
Call me if you need it tonight
When you are afraid of the dark.

"You know why I hate your house?" Natasha asked Kelsey as she stared at the contents of their refrigerator.

"It's nicer than yours?" Kelsey shrugged.

"Because you don't keep alcohol anywhere in here." Natasha shut the door in frustration and turned to face a smirking Kelsey.

"Blame Chad for that one. Ever since Keisha accidentally sipped the beer that he left lying around the house, mum's got zero tolerance for alcohol."

"I'm way too sober to deal with all this," Natasha groaned.

"Give me potatoes and two weeks and I'll make you some vodka," Kelsey offered.

"I might just take you up on that," Natasha said settling for a glass of juice. Keisha was beside her before she could even take her first sip, staring longingly up at the glass.

"Juice. Juice," she said stretching her arms up to try and reach the glass.

"Good luck with the juice junkie. I'm going to call Liam," Kelsey said leaving the kitchen before Natasha could object.

It was a struggle getting Keisha to stop gulping down the little juice that Natasha kept pouring for her from her own glass. Finally after a few tantrums when she'd been denied more, Keisha fell asleep and Natasha tucked her into bed. She had changed and was settling into Kelsey's bed when Kelsey came in looking irritated.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked.

"The call didn't go very well," Kelsey replied flopping onto the bed face first.

"What happened?"

Kelsey turned her head to face Natasha and sighed. "We had a fight about me meeting his family."

"Aren't you meeting them this Friday?" Natasha said trying to remember what Kelsey had said about the occasion.

"I told him I couldn't make it this Friday."

Natasha gave her a questioning look.

"With everything that's going on with you, I'd rather not leave you alone," Kelsey explained.

Natasha nodded her understanding. "I take it he didn't appreciate being told he comes second to me."

"He doesn't," Kelsey said defensively.

"He doesn't?" Natasha asked mockingly. Kelsey glared at her and threw a pillow at her head.

"You should go. I'll stay in the house with Keisha," Natasha suggested.

"No, it's fine," Kelsey said a little too quickly.

"I can handle Keisha. I've been alone with her before and it..." Natasha trailed off as realization dawned on her. "You don't trust me to be alone with her." It was more of a statement than a question and she couldn't keep the heartbreak out of her tone when she said it.

"That's not it Natasha!" Kelsey exclaimed sitting up and scooting closer to her. "I trust you with my life, you know that."

"Just not with your sister's life."

"Don't say that," Kelsey pleaded.

"You're not denying it!" Natasha said, voice rising.

"I trust you, Tasha. One hundred percent. But there's someone out for blood and they have some vendetta against you. If they come for you, I will fight to my last breath to protect you. I just don't want Keisha to be caught in the crossfire. You won't be able to fend off a cold blooded murderer on your own. That's the only reason I don't want you two to be alone in the house. Please believe me."

"You're lying," Natasha seethed.

"How would you even know?" Kelsey yelled, starting to lose her temper. "You can't even tell a lie when it's staring you right in the face!"

Natasha tossed off the blankets and angrily pushed her feet into the slippers before marching out of the room and stomping downstairs. Kelsey followed her, catching up to her halfway down the stairs.

"I'm sorry I yelled," she said tugging on Natasha's arm so she could face her. "Right now you're just feeling insecure and worrying what other people are thinking of you so you're lashing out and saying things you don't..."

"Spare me the psychoanalysis," Natasha interrupted, wrenching her arm out of Kelsey's grasp before she ran the rest of the way down the stairs and headed for the door.

"Where are you going? It's not safe out there at night," Kelsey shouted when she opened the door. Natasha ignored her and went out, banging the door behind her. She felt a twinge of guilt when she heard Keisha's cries from upstairs as she ran down the driveway, out through the gate and onto the dark, empty street.

***

The darkness of the early hours of night brought peace to the turmoil in Nathan's heart as he sat on the couch in his mother's living room, nestling a cup of tea in his hands that had long gone cold.

His mother bustled in carrying two steaming hot plates of food placing one in front of him and taking away the tea.

He mumbled his thanks and stared at the plate whilst he pushed the food around with his fork.

"I can forgive the wasted tea but you better eat every single bit of that food," his mother said firmly. He frowned at her but did as he was told, seeing that she was serious.

"Thank you," he said in a quiet voice when they were done as he took their plates to the kitchen.

She followed him there and watched him do the dishes while she sat the table.

"Remember how much Carey used to hate doing the dishes?" she said after she'd been watching him for a while. "Until you took her to watch that musical movie with some dish washing scene and singing and dancing – what was it called?"

"Can we not do this mum?"

"No. You do not get to shut down right now," Catherine said firmly. "Sit down."

Nathan did as he was told though he did not look happy about it.

"What happened?" Catherine asked in a softer tone. Nathan didn't answer immediately and Catherine took his hands in hers. "I'm not letting you leave until we've talked so if you have any hope of getting out of this house tonight, you better start talking."

"Were you always such a bully?" Nathan grumbled. Catherine only smiled in response and waited for him to speak. "Do you remember Natasha?"

Catherine drew a sharp breath. "The killer from the news?"

"She's not..." Nathan trailed off. "It's complicated but I think she's innocent."

"You think?" Catherine asked skeptically.

"Some of the evidence says so."

Catherine raised an eyebrow at this.

"I'm working on her case and I believe she's being framed," Nathan said.

"It didn't look like it was just about the case at the party," Catherine said pointedly.

Nathan's mind went back to the night of the Wilson's party when his mother found him dancing with Natasha. He shut the memory away immediately. "At first I wanted to help her because she reminded me of Carey but then it hurt to be around her as a reminder of all that pain and guilt." He stopped and pulled his hands away from his mother's grasp, holding his face in his hands.

"Then I started to see her – really see her," he went on. "I saw someone who needed help. Someone who could be my vindication. I thought if I helped her, I could get rid of some of the guilt I felt over Carey. And it worked, for a while anyway. Maybe too well."

"You like her." It wasn't a question and Nathan didn't confirm or deny it.

"We had a fight today. She thinks I don't care about her; that I've been using her just to solve this case and I wanted to tell her that she was wrong but then I remembered. She made me forget that I killed my sister. That's why I came here today – I had to see Carey and remember because I don't deserve to forget."

"Carey's death was an accident. It wasn't your fault and she wouldn't want you to blame yourself for it forever. She'd want you to be happy and move on with your life," Catherine argued but Nathan wasn't listening and she pleaded with him.

"I tried mum but it was wrong. How can I live and love and be happy when I robbed my sister of having that?"

Catherine felt like crying. It finally seemed like Nathan was out of the deep dark hole of depression that he'd dug himself into after his sister's death and now he was right back to square one. No amount of begging or crying would bring him back. So she did the only thing she could think of.

"This has gone on far too long," she said in a firm voice. "It's about time you man up."

Nathan stared at her in shock. "What?"

"Ever since Carey died you've been running. You ran from med school. You ran from your friends. I can't even remember how many girls you broke up with because they had eyes like Carey's or a smile like Carey's or breathed like Carey!" She was practically yelling at this point. "I'm done letting you use her as an excuse to stop living. You have very good instincts and if you believe Natasha is innocent then I trust that and I need you to stop running away. She helped you forget all those negative feelings and that makes her good enough in my book so you need to get up, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go and fix things with that girl. If not because you like her, at least so you can fulfill your duty as an officer of the law."

Nathan looked up at her surprised. He didn't expect that outburst from her. She stood and extended her hand to him. He took it and stood too. She hugged him in silence for a long time.

"I love you," she whispered before letting go of him. "Now go."

"But she's mad at me and it's eight p.m already..." Nathan began.

Catherine pushed him out of the kitchen and to the front door. "Stop. Running."

So Nathan got into his car and drove away, still reeling from what his mother had said. A few minutes later, he found himself parked outside Natasha's house. The house was dark, none of the lights were on. He wondered if she'd already gone to bed. As he was debating going up to the door and knocking, a movement by the doorstep caught his eye. Grabbing his gun from the glove compartment, he quietly made his way towards the front door, squinting in the darkness to try and discern the strange moving shape. He was a few steps away when it moved again, prompting him to raise his gun.

"Hands up where I can see them," he called out when he was as close as he dared to be. The figure sat up abruptly, following his instructions. Upon closer inspection, Nathan realized it was Natasha. She was wearing a large pale pink t-shirt written "I love hugs" and pink pajama bottoms. The words on the shirt were barely visible under the streaks of mud covering it. Her tear stained face also had mud stains like she'd tried to wipe away her tears with muddy hands. Soil and plants were scattered around her along with several pieces of broken clay pots.

"Are you okay?" he asked putting his gun away and approaching her, carefully stepping over the broken pottery.

Once she saw who it was, she put her hands down and hugged her knees to her chest shrinking away from him.

"Go away," she said in a hoarse voice as she laid her head on her raised knees.

"What happened?" Nathan asked again, ignoring her hostility.

"Why are you still here?" Natasha snapped, lifting her head.

"Did someone try to hurt you? Are they still here?" he asked taking a quick look around.

"No. I'm alone," Natasha replied. "Please just go."

"I'll leave after you've gone into the house."

"I can't. I left my keys at Kelsey's."

"I'll take you to her house then," Nathan said, confused.

"She doesn't want me there," Natasha said shaking her head dejectedly.

"Is there anywhere else I can take you then?"

"Just let me lie here," Natasha sighed, curling up on the doorstep and laying her head on the crook of her arm.

"You're not planning on sleeping here, are you?"

She ignored him.

"Fine. Then if you're sleeping here, I'm staying here too, unless..." Nathan said.

"Unless what?" Natasha asked, eyes closed.

"I can take you somewhere to a bed and a proper roof and if you agree to go there I won't bother you."

"No thanks," Natasha said, shifting as she tried to get comfortable on the hard floor.

"Then I'm going to keep talking," Nathan said, settling back with his head against the wall.

"I'll just ignore you," Natasha told him.

"That's fine. You don't have to say anything. I just want you to hear how sorry I am. Especially for letting you think that I was using you," Nathan said looking up at the star filled sky. "I want to help you. I know what I did was wrong and I can't expect you to trust me again but I've been running for a while now and I don't want to run anymore, so please don't chase me away."

Natasha sat up, giving up on finding a comfortable position on the floor. "If I go with you, will you stop with the cheesy lines?"

Nathan nodded and pulled her up. She flinched and yanked her right hand away from his grasp, hiding it behind her back. He gently pulled it back and saw that she had cut herself. It wasn't bleeding anymore but the gash was alarming.

"I have a towel in my car you can wrap around this until we get to a first aid kit," Nathan said leading her to his car. Once she was settled in the passenger seat, he got her the towel and she tied it around her hand while Nathan drove. He took her to his apartment and she silently observed her surroundings as they entered the building. His apartment was a simple place, with basic furniture; couch, television, refrigerator. No pictures or many personal items. He took her through his bedroom, which was just as bare as the lounge with a neatly made bed and a closet, to the en suite bathroom where he took a first aid kit from a cabinet above the mirror. She sat on the edge of the tub while he cleaned and bandaged the wound.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked while he worked.

"I thought the deal was; I come here and you shut up," Natasha said, eyebrow raised.

"I thought you only wanted me to stop saying cheesy stuff," he said smiling, undeterred by her harsh tone. She didn't return it. Once he was done, he went back into his bedroom and found the smallest t-shirt and sweatpants he owned for her to sleep in once she cleaned up then he shut the door and went to the lounge, taking a change of clothes with him.

Natasha decided to take a shower, scrubbing out the mud and blood from her skin and hair until she was satisfied she was clean again. She changed into the clothes Nathan had left for her and exited the bedroom. Nathan was flicking through channels, seated on the couch and she just watched him for a while before finally clearing her throat.

"Thank you," she said once he turned and faced her. He nodded in response giving her a once over which made her self-consciously tug on the t-shirt. Noticing her discomfort, he stood up, heading for the kitchen.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" he asked, pausing at the kitchen doorway.

"No, thanks. I had supper a little while ago."

He nodded again. "If you want to call it a night, you can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

Natasha thanked him and went back into the bedroom, grateful that he hadn't pushed any further for details of what had happened. She switched off the light and slipped under the covers, stretching out in relief at the comfort of the bed as compared to the cold, hard floor she'd been on a little while ago. Before long, she was out, no longer able to resist the lure of sleep.

Nathan checked the doors one last time before settling to sleep on the couch, trying to get as comfortable as he could. He watched a movie for a while until he'd relaxed enough to feel sleepy. He turned down the volume till it was barely above a murmur and that's when he heard the soft crying coming from the bedroom. He padded over to the door and listened in, unsure if he should go in there or let her have her space to let her emotions out. But then she screamed and called out his name and all thoughts of keeping a respectful distance flew out the window as he ran in and found her thrashing around in bed, sweat plastering her hair to her forehead. She was still asleep and having a terrible dream by the looks of it. He shook her awake and she woke up with a start, sitting up and taking huge gasps of air.

"It's okay, it was just a dream," he said, sitting next to her and rubbing her back soothingly till she was breathing normally again.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked once she'd calmed down. She shook her head no, lying back on the bed and shutting her eyes.

Nathan nodded understandingly. "Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked, already standing as he said so and her eyes flew open when she felt his presence leave the bed.

"Stay with me?" she whispered, eyes wide and pleading.

Nathan agreed without hesitation and pulled a chair up to the bed so he could sit next to her and still respect her space. She looked at him hesitatingly, then scooted over to the other side of the bed opening up space for him. Nathan gave her a look as if to ask if she was sure and Natasha nodded so he lay next to her albeit on top of the covers, making sure he kept some distance between them.

Natasha kept her eyes averted, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest. The light coming in from the street lights, through the blinds  bathed the room in a soft amber glow, enough for Nathan to study her face and memorize it right to the little spot barely visible above the left corner of her lip. He was so lost in committing her every feature to memory that he almost missed what she said.

"Kelsey and I had a fight and I ran out of her house like an idiot and left my keys and my phone," she said playing with a corner of the pillowcase. "We keep spare keys in the flowerpot by the door and when I couldn't find them in any of the flower pots, I got frustrated and smashed them. I got cut searching through the pieces for the keys."

Nathan's mind immediately went into overdrive. "When was the last time you saw or used the spare keys?"

She shrugged, yawning in response. "Maybe Elle took them. She's always losing stuff."

"Maybe," Nathan said deep in thought as Natasha yawned loudly again. "Go to sleep," he said not wanting to worry her with the theory brewing in his mind.

"I'm kind of scared to. There're monsters in my head," Natasha said with a shudder.

Nathan took her hand and linked it with his, placing their joined hands in the space between them. "I'm right here and I'll fight them with you."

***

#CautiouslyExcited

I am so sorry. Things have been ridiculous lol (that's the best way I can describe it). A lightning storm took out our power lines and telephone lines so it was hell getting those services back and now they are back but they aren't working very well so my internet connection is iffy. It's almost impossible to post, read, vote or comment on Wattpad because the internet keeps disconnecting every thirty seconds. Don't even get me started on the Wattpad app. I hope at some point it'll return to normal but for now please bear with me.