Much to his dismay, Nixon had left my house last night at around 9.

Admittedly I didn't want him to leave me alone, but I felt guilty for keeping him here. On the plus side, when he left I was free to have a breakdown in private and ball my eyes out until I fell asleep.

Luckily for the both of us, my house was empty this weekend and I was home alone until tonight. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief as I did not want to have to answer for my appearance to my family. We both agreed to keep this between us for now and I already had a plan to cover my bruises so nobody asked any questions.

Nixon made me promise to call him as soon as I woke up this morning so that's exactly what I did.

Telling me that he was on his way, I scrambled into my bathroom quickly, taking a hot shower an attempt to scrub away the events of yesterday. Leaving my hair wet I changed into a comfy sweater and a pair of shorts, getting to work on my face. Makeup really was such a godsend, I've never been more grateful for its existence. I managed to cover up the purple bruises, any trace of them had now disappeared under the concealer.

Making my way down the grand staircase, the smell of food instantly filled my nostrils. That was odd. My heart started racing with panic as I practically ran down the remaining steps and towards the kitchen. My panic subsided as my gaze was met with Nixon's muscular back.

"Nixon?" I called out and my handsome boyfriend turned around with a warm expression on his face from where he was stood.

I could now see that he was in the middle of cooking breakfast and that there was a spread of food on the kitchen island. He must have seen the confused look on my face as he replied.

"Carla let me in. I was lucky that she stopped by to drop off some groceries. I wanted to surprise you,"

As I walked up to him he transferred the hot food from the pan into a plate, and was quick to pull me into an embrace.

"Well I'm definitely surprised," I leaned back to give him some much needed kisses as I thanked him for breakfast.

"How are you feeling?" Nixon looked at me with concern.

I planted a deeper kiss on his lips. "Better now that you're here,"

We had finished eating and I helped tidy up as we migrated into the living room. Now cuddled on the couch with the TV playing in the background, Nixon spoke up turning to face me. "Baby, we should talk,"

Nodding in response I retorted giving him my full attention. "I know. Stacey said some things yesterday that you need to know,"

He sported a look of confusion which quickly morphed into anger as he clenched his jaw. "What did that bitch have to say?"

I felt moisture filling up my eyes as I spoke. "She's in love with you Nixon,"

I felt his body stiffen beneath me and his face paled in shock. "What?"

I nodded as a tear escaped. "It's the reason why she tricked me. She wanted to get revenge. To punish me or something because she's jealous. According to her I'm a spoilt little brat and that's why she hated me even before we met,"

Seeing me cry brought Nixon out of his frozen demeanor almost instantly, as he wiped the fallen tears hugging me close.

"Fuck her. You don't listen to a single word that comes out of her mouth. Jealousy brings out the worst in people and she can go to hell," Nixon gritted through his teeth.

Deep down I knew that. Anything she said didn't mean a thing but somehow her words still managed to hurt.

I sniffed. "She admitted that she's only with my brother because of his money. How messed up is that?"

Nixon leaned back to make eye contact and placed his hands tenderly on either side of my face, sighing deeply. "As much as I hate your brother, he needs to wake up and realise that his girlfriend is a psycho bitch,"

I nodded vehemently in response. "You're right. I'm really scared of how he'll react but I need to tell to him,"

"Not just you. Us,"

I almost did a double take at Nixon's words. "What? Are you sure that's such a good idea? You both hate each other, and his girlfriend said she's in love you. What if he-"

He planted a soft kiss on my lips to stop me. "Just trust me on this baby. It's the last thing Stacey expects us to do. I need to do this with you,"

Despite being apprehensive I nodded. "But only if I'm there as well. I'm scared that punches will be thrown,"

Nixon smiled in amusement. "Deal,"

****

It had reached the evening and my dad was the first one home.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Nixon, but left us shortly to sleep as he was jet lagged from his trip to New York. Jake was next and the excitement on his face was definitely a Kodak moment. He lit up like a child on Christmas morning upon seeing his new favourite person.

Honestly, whenever the pair were together I always felt like a third wheel.

As the two boys chatted away, I glanced at the clock awaiting Aiden's arrival anxiously. When it came to my brother and Nixon being in a room together, I couldn't help but imagine worst case scenarios. Knowing that I would be there didn't ease my nerves much but at least it was a start.

It wasn't long until Aiden was home.

He must have heard the our voices in the living room as he stood by the door. We all went silent as my brother and Nixon locked gazes. Looking over to Aiden first, his expression was hard and steely, giving what I describe as a death glare. My boyfriend however didn't return the look like he usually did, instead his expression was neutral and nonchalant.

I used the silence to speak up. "Hey Aiden, can we talk?"

Hearing my voice he turned towards me and his face softened. "Sure Mar,"

Getting up from my seat on the coach, Nixon did the same.

"Wait-" Aiden started.

"We both need to talk to you," As I replied, my brother's face went back to its hard glare as he glanced over to Nixon. There was also a hint of confusion and apprehension. "Please Aiden," I sported my best puppy dog face which he almost always fell for.

"Fine," His voice was clipped but his eyes softened at my expression. Thank god for the puppy dog face.

We followed him into the dining room for some privacy, and took seats at the table. My brother situated himself at the head chair and crossed his arms across his chest as he spoke up.

"What is it?" His eyebrow was raised in question and his steely glare never wavered.

I turned to Nixon who was sat to my right and he gave me a reassuring smile before starting. "It's about your girlfriend," His voice was expressionless.

Aiden was suddenly filled with rage as his eyes darkened at Nixon. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Aiden, please just calm down. You need to hear this okay?" I spoke in a soft voice as I felt my eyes water with moisture.

This seemed to sober my brother up as he visibly calmed, though the anger was still evident on his face. Nixon placed a hand in mine under the table, giving it a soft squeeze for comfort as he continued. "She kidnapped your sister," Nixon's jaw tensed. "And got that bastard Rick to help,"

I jumped up in surprise when Aiden let out a loud laugh. "What? You have got to be kidding me. Mar, what the hell is this?"

A tear fell down my cheek. "It's true Aiden. She threw a party on Friday when I was over and spiked my drink. I had no idea what was going on, all of a sudden I felt dizzy and I remember someone grabbing me. I ended up blacking out and the next thing I knew I woke up tied to a chair in a basement," I sniffed as more tears managed to escape.

Nixon was quick to put his arms around me as I wiped away the stray tears. "We have no reason to be making this shit up," His voice now had a hard tone. "That stupid bitch and her sidekick did this,"

"You better watch your mouth Ford," Aiden's voice sent a chill down my spine but I ignored it, feeling determined.

"How can you be so blind Aiden? She's not the nice person you think she is. If you don't believe me then I have proof," I stood up from my seat in a huff and headed straight for my room.

Grabbing some wet wipes I ran back down and stood in front of my dazed brother. I scrubbed off the concealer I had put on this morning, wincing at the contact with my tender bruises. The more I wiped, the more Aiden's face hardened with fury.

"Do you believe me now?"

He stood up immediately, examining my face and tracing his fingers lightly across my cheek. His jaw was clenched as he spoke. "Who did this?"

"It was Stacey, Aiden. Please just open your eyes and wake up. She and Rick are the ones who did this to me," I was now softly crying not being able to hold back my emotions.

"Mar, why would they do this to you?" Aiden asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Because she's in love with me," Nixon's voice was clipped as he answered.

I continued before letting Aiden react. "It's true. Stacey told me herself. She did this to me as revenge. She's only with you for your money,"

To my surprise, my brother didn't explode with anger at our words. Instead he looked shocked, as if someone had thrown a cold bucket of water over his head. So I decided to continue speaking.

"She even sent Nixon pictures yesterday for proof before he came to get me." I looked back at my boyfriend who handed me his phone. Shoving it into Aiden's hands his face paled as he stared down.

"She's also the one who pushed me down the stairs," My voice was soft and barely above a whisper as I put my head down.

"That's it Mara. I've heard enough!" Aiden's voice made me jump up in fright as he shouted. Throwing the phone back to me, I stepped back as he stormed out of the room not looking back at us once.

I didn't realise I was stood frozen until I felt a pair of arms snake around me. "Baby look at me,"

Complying, Nixon's fingers wiped away tears that I hadn't realised were on my face. "We need to give him some time to process everything. It was a lot to take in,"

"Do you think he believed us?" I asked.

"I think he does but he just doesn't want to accept it,"

I nodded in response. "You're right,"

"I need to ask you something okay? I want you to answer me honestly," Nixon's eyes bore into mine with intensity.

Feeling anxious, I answered. "Of course, what is it?"

"How did you break your arm?"

My breathe hitched as I realised he had heard about my confession. "Nixon-"

"I'm not mad at you. If anything, I'm mad at myself," Nixon interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"When you got drunk that night with Ethan, you told us that someone pushed you. But when I asked you again the morning after, you said you fell from being clumsy. I brushed it off thinking it was just the alcohol making you say things,"

"I'm so sorry Nixon. I knew that you'd be mad and ask me loads of questions. Aiden went ballistic after finding out what happened and I didn't want a repeat of that," I looked up at his softened eyes.

"I know the truth now. And I promise you, that bitch will pay for everything,"

"I know," I retorted.

Bringing Nixon's lips onto mine made me temporarily forget all things Stacey Bennett.