Chapter 11

After eating dinner together, Thorn drove a delighted Nikki home. He pulled into the underground garage of her apartment complex and parked his Jaguar, where he had picked her up that morning.

              “Thanks for dinner, Professor.” Nikki smiled at him as she prepared to get out of the car.

              “Have a good night, Miss Crowman,” Thorn told her with a nod. Nikki paused and looked at him for a moment.

              “You…can call me Nikki if you want.” She told him. “At least when we're not on campus.” She added.

              “Very well.” Thorn smiled softly. “Have a good night, Nikki.”

              “Uh, you too…um, Tom?” Nikki questioned. Thorn chuckled lightly.

              “No, no. I much prefer hearing you call me professor.” Thorn teased her. “I do like the power that comes with my title.”

              “You truly do have an insufferable ego,” Nikki replied. He laughed lightly. She started to get out of the car. “Thanks, professor.” She smiled softly before closing the passenger door. Thorn stayed parked, watching as Nikki went to the elevator and got inside before starting to pull out. He sighed as he began to head home. He impatiently tapped his steering wheel as he thought about what Nikki had told him about her past at dinner.

              “Tsk. It will eat me alive if I don’t find answers.” Thorn complained as he pulled into the underground garage of his condominium building. He pulled out his key card and waited for the gate to open before parking his Jaguar alongside the luxury cars filling the garage.

              Thorn grabbed his satchel and headed to the nearby elevator. He had to use his keycard to access the elevator and then use it again to take him to his floor. He patted his satchel, ensuring he had brought home his laptop as he ascended to his floor. The condominium he lived in was the second most expensive in the entire building. It had three levels and occupied half of the whole floor. The other half was the costliest condominium, the only difference being the private elevator it possessed.

              Thorn sighed as he entered his condominium and headed to his office. He pulled his laptop from his satchel and plopped on his office chair. He undid his all-black tie and shimmied out of his black suit jacket, tossing both articles of clothing to the floor as he prepared to dive into his research.

              “Let’s see…” he opened his laptop and began typing. “Crowman.” He typed in Nikki’s last name and pressed enter. Thorn’s eyes widened as articles, news reports, interviews, and videos about the case appeared on his screen. “Jesus…” He gasped as he looked over the information presented to him. “Ana Crowman was arrested after attempting to murder her twin children in a crazed frenzy.” He read.

              “Nicolette Crowman survives a brutal attack by her mother at eleven years of age…only to be the star witness in her mother’s murder trial…” Thorn continued. “Nicolette witnessed her mother stab her twin brother Nicolas to death before having the knife turned on her.” He clenched his fist as he read. “With a total of 37 stab wounds to her body, Nicolette was saved by her sheer willpower, which helped her reach the phone in her apartment and call for help before she bled out…”

              Thorn sat back in his chair, too stunned to continue reading for a moment. He thought about how odd it was that Nikki wore an oversized hoodie, even though it was still technically summertime. He felt his heart aching as he wondered if the reason she wore such a thing was to cover up the scars she had from her mother’s attack.

              “Tsk.” He decided to keep reading. “Nicolette was stabilized in the hospital where she named her mother as her attacker and the person who killed her twin brother.” He continued. “After searching for almost a week, Ana Crowman was found in the woods, living in a homeless camp in an attempt to escape from authorities. She was immediately arrested and charged with the murder of her son and the attack on her daughter.” He sighed as he clicked through the articles.

              “Oh.” Thorn paused when he came across a picture of Nikki from the trial. Her golden-blonde hair barely reached her shoulders, and she looked sickly as she stood next to the detective who had been assigned her case. “Nikki…” He said her name sadly. He took a moment to collect himself before he continued to read.

              “Ana Crowman was found guilty but legally insane; she was given a life sentence to be served in a State Mental Institution, but it was cut short when she…killed herself…”  Thorn frowned. “Nicolette Crowman had no known relatives and was handed over to the city as a ward, where she will most likely remain until 18…” He sighed as he leaned back into his chair.

              “Oh, Nikki.” He breathed, “You witnessed your mother kill your brother, then she tried to kill you, and then you testified against your mother, who ended up killing herself anyway after sentencing.” He sat up straight. “Social anxiety is the least of your problems,” Thorn commented. He tapped his fingers on his desk as he sat with what he had just learned. “Tsk.” He closed his laptop and stood up from his desk.

              “She’s barely even an adult and has lived through more shit than most of us do in our entire lifetime.” He growled out in anger. Thorn thought about Nikki. She did not dress like the other freshman girls, who made great effort to look older. She kept herself covered and wore clothing that did not draw attention to her. She kept her shimmering gold hair in a bun as if trying to dull down her beauty.

              “Nikki is ambitious but goes out of her way to hide in plain sight.” Thorn sighed as he ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. He could feel a weight in his chest as he thought about the young woman. She had piqued his interest, and after spending the last two days with her, she only managed to make him more curious about her. He had never expected to learn that something so unthinkable had happened to her, though.

              “It doesn’t change anything, does it?” He asked himself as he paced in his office. “No.” He shook his head. Then he stopped. “No.” He repeated. “Nikki Crowman…” He sighed her name. “…I still want you to be mine.”