All Chapters of Thorn: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I unfolded my arms and relaxed a little. His words piqued my interest, “Someone who what?”He shook his head.“Then I'll be going, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Thorn.” I said, sharpening my tone of voice back at him.As I stepped past him, he spun me on my heels and stepped me backwards, a few steps, until my back was pressed against the door. His body was centimeters away from mine, his hand on the door next to my face.“Call me, Nick.” He smiled and seemed to relax. “Although, Mr. Thorn from your lips does sound very sexy.”“You do realise there is an unbalance here again?” I pointed out.He tilted his head.“You said you would sweeten the deal after the dance, that got interrupted. Now because of that interruption I am stood here in front of you unmasked and here you are still masked.”“That is very true.” His smile this time was accompanied by a devilish look in his eyes. “How about we correct all of that now?”He moved his hand from the door and whipped off his mask and threw it

Sunday morning, I awoke with a smile on my face bigger than ever before. I heard Claire come home in the early hours. I was unsure whether she would be awake or not, so I quietly headed downstairs. To my surprise Claire was already at breakfast bench eating. She smiled over at me. “Did you find Dan last night?” I asked as I reached for the cereal from the cupboard.“Yes, he was home.” “Did he offer an explanation?”Claire seemed to be inspecting my face. She pointed her spoon towards the cut on my cheek, “You managed to get away without a black eye I see. He got jealous, that was all he could say.”“After what he did and then spending months tormenting me, HE got jealous. That doesn’t make sense.”Clare shrugged. “I don’t know what to believe Leila, he said some things that made sense to his behaviour but also didn’t seem real at the same time.”“Like what?“He showed me texts from you, now if they were real then you’ve been leading him on for the last few weeks at least, if not l

We arrived back at the car, Nick looked around and found the car park was empty apart from his car. He developed a devilish smile. He backed me up against the side of the car and looked like he was reaching to open the door when his hands were on me once more and his lips on mine. He reached down and lifted my leg up to his waist and held it there. I felt him growing against me. My body rushed with blood. I throbbed for him. My hands filled his hair tugging and pulling as his lips traced down my neck. His spare hand pulled at my breast until my nipples were hard as he played with them. There was the sound of a car engine coming down the road and he dropped my leg and stepped back from me.“You have me hooked, Leila. I am not going anywhere.” He kissed the end of my nose and opened the car door.I stepped in gathering my breath and thoughts. I knew how I felt but could I have already fallen for him? I’ve fallen hard and fast before but never have I felt the way I was feeling with him.

Over the next few weeks, I spent a lot of time texting with Nick. Claire spent a lot of time out of the house either with Lucas or Dan. There was a change in the air that I couldn’t quite put my finger too. I spent most of my spare time that wasn’t with Nick, doodling in my sketch books. A lot of my work was becoming very love orientated. It had been almost 3 weeks since the ball when Claire rushed home with a revelation. After a lot of digging and some family stalking, she had figured out what was going on with Dan.“Ok, Claire slow down and start at the beginning.”“Ok,” she took a breath, “So I went to see a couple of his friends and it turns out he’s been distancing himself from them for a while. When they do see him, he’s sketchy and not himself. They have been worried for a while; it sounds like he’s been hanging with the wrong crowd again.”“Which means what?”“He’s on something. We just don’t know what.”“Drugs?”“Possibly or just drink but his friends think maybe a mix of the

The following morning there was still no response. I headed downstairs to see Claire waiting for me.“Morning,” I smiled at her.“Leila, I’ve had a message and I need to be honest about it.”My heart sank. Was it from Nick?“The rehab has messaged; Dan is doing great and is allowed visitors. He’s requested both of us.”“Oh, I thought you were going to say...” I paused, “Never mind.”“I know it’s a lot to ask but his counsellor said he needs to make amends with those he has wronged and hurt. Apparently, we are the top of the list. I understand if it’s too much though.”“Maybe it will give me some clarity.”Nervously, we arranged a meeting for later that day. We checked into reception a little before our appointment time. A nurse came through and walked us into a communal area. Dan was already sitting there waiting for us. The area was empty, so we took a seat opposite him. I sat and listened to his apology to both of us, his explanation of his actions towards me and his apology was hea