Nova slowly opened his eyes. He could remember going outside, just taking a walk and the something slammed into his head. His eyes flickered around, his wrists were tied as well as his ankles.
"Well now.... look who finally decided to wake up" a voice said.
Annoyed Nova looked over to the one that spoke. He glared at the man for a moment before he could remember who it was. Immediately he felt annoyed, a scowl forming on his face.
"The fuck do you want?" he snapped at the man.
"Ah... Dominic McClain... how nice of you to remember me" the man said as he walked over "Oh and don't try to use your annoying power, this room is a giant blocker"
"Well that's just fucking annoying" Nova said "The fuck you want Falkner?"
Falkner smirked at him. "Your memory is pretty disappointing...." he said as the smirk fell from his face "After what you've done to me! You are going to suffer... I'm going to do to you what you did to me. So you can know what it feels like"
"What?" Nova growled "Did you hit your fucking head or something?"
Falkner back handed Nova through the face. "Let's see if this doesn't refresh your memory" he snapped pressing a button.
The room lit up and Nova squinted at the bright light. "...fuck...?" he growled, blinking before his vision cleared. He froze. A few steps away from him, was Amilia. Like him, she was also tied up, but unlike him, her mouth was taped shut.
Her storm grey eyes, widened as they focused on Nova. There was a bruise on the side of her face.
"She's your partner, right?" Falkner asked as he walked over to Amilia, putting his hand on her shoulder "Now what would you do if I take your partner away from you?"
"Don't... fucking touch her...." Nova growled, fury rising in his chest.
Amilia shook her head, like she wanted to tell him to calm down. Her eyes begging him not to do anything stupid.
Falkner grabbed the back of Amilia's hair. "You know Dominic...." he said as he pulled Amilia's head back "That drug that Veron made... it was good stuff.... don't you think?"
Nova could feel himself pale.
"What the fuck do you want?" he hissed.
Falkner roughly let go of Amilia, kneeling next to her as he pulled out a syringe. He held it up for Nova to see, the needle brushing Amilia's cheek.
"Isn't this what you played with a few years ago?" he asked, looking at Nova.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Nova asked.
Falkner laughed. "I'm going to give you a choice...." he said "One... I give the princess here this lovely syringe.... or two.... You take it... You take this and inject yourself with it...."
Immediately Amilia shook her head. "....." her shouts muffled by the tape over her mouth.
Nova stared at her, before his eyes focused on the needle. He clenched his jaw.
"Come on, Dominic...." Falkner said "Tick tock, tick tock.... If you take any longer I'm going to give it to your little partner here"
"Leave her alone" Nova said, jaw clenched.
Falkner smiled. "Tick tock, Dominic" he said, bring the needle closer to Amilia.
Nova's breathing hitched. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. His eyes on Amilia.
"I'll do it...." he said, voice almost quiet.
Amilia shook her head, pulling on her restraints. Falkner looked over at Nova.
"Would so kindly repeat that?" Falkner said with a smirk "Nova"
Again Amilia shook hear head, pulling on the restraints, calling out to him. Again and again her words were muffled.
Nova clenched his jaw, looking away from Amilia. "I'll do it" he said "Leave her alone, I'll do it"
Falkner smirked. He nodded towards a table that stood next to Nova. "There's yours" he said.
Nova's eyes flickered to the table. He felt disgusted with himself that he almost felt relieved for the chance to use it again.
"Now... One of my men will give you everything you need" Falkner said, his eyes gleaming "I will make sure that you don't do anything stupid"
Out of the corner of his eye Nova noticed someone else walking towards him, placing everything else he needed on the table. The man glanced at Falkner before cutting Nova's hands free.
Immediately Falkner pressed the needle against Amilia's skin.
Nova clenched his jaw. His hands started trembling slightly as he started getting ready. Slowly he picked up the syringe, before glancing at Amilia. He gave her a slight, almost shaky smile.
Taking a deep breath, the tip of the needle broke his skin going into his vein.
"Come on..... press it down" Falkner said.
Slowly Nova pressed the plunger down. Immediately he felt the familiar feel starting to rush through his veins. It felt almost like a weight lifted from his shoulders.
As Falkner watched, Nova's shoulders started to relax and he pulled the syringe out. A cold sneer formed on the man's face.
"That's it...." he said "Feed that addiction"
***
Amilia rubbed her arms as she walked into the house. It's been about half a day since Gale and Ivanka got her and Nova out and away from Falkner. They were with that man for almost a week.
In that time she's seen a familiar and terrifying side of Nova.
It didn't take Falkner long to have Nova almost completely dependent on the drug. She could the self-hatred every time that Falkner handed him the syringe.
"Ami" Gale said when he noticed her.
Amilia gave him a slight smile. "How is he?" she said, chewing on her lip.
Gale glanced up towards Nova's room. "He's only now starting to come down from it..." he said "It's not a pretty sight"
"Thank you" Amilia said.
"Do you want to go see him?" Gale asked and she nodded "Just be careful, alright?"
Again she just nodded.
Gale took a deep breath before he lead Amilia to Nova's room. He paused for a moment, knocking on the door.
"Dami" he said "Hey.... Amilia's here, can she come in?"
Movement sounded from inside, before the door opened. Nova slumped against the doorframe. Dull, almost fevered bichrome eyes looked at them.
"What the fuck do you want?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Amilia chew on her lip again. "I just.... came to check on you....." she said softly.
Nova's eyes focused on her for a moment, before he stepped back, opening the door completely. He was wearing lose pants and what looked like one of Gale's hoodies, since it was completely to big for him.
For a moment he closed his eyes, before motioning for Amilia to come in. Slowly Amilia stepped into his room, giving Gale a pat on the arm.
Nova's room was a mess.
It looked like a tornado went through it. Clothes, books, electronics, everything were scattered on the floor. The bed was unmade and the curtains were close.
This was nothing like Nova. Usually his room was very neat.
"Sit" Nova said, an edge in his voice.
Amilia sat down on the chair next to the desk. Immediately Nova started pacing up and down in the room.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Nova glanced at her as he continued pacing, his arms wrapped around himself.
"Shit" Nova snapped, the edge in his voice becoming worse.
Amilia nodded and got up before going over to him. Carefully she placed her hands on his arms. She could feel him trembling, beneath her touch.
"Have you eaten anything?" she asked gently.
"Fuck of, Amilia" he said, stepping back, eyes flickering around.
A violent shiver ran through his body, before he immediately went to the bathroom, sinking down to his knees.
Amilia caught his shoulders as he started throwing up.
Violent shivers ran through his body as he threw up. His blond hair was sticking to his face from the sweat that ran down his skin.
When the dry heaving started, Amilia grabbed one of the towels, ran it under cold water before wringing it out. Gently she reached over, and Nova slumped against her, trying to catch his breath, face pale.
With careful movements Amilia wiped his face.
Nova started trembling again, staring off at nothing.
"Do you think you can get up?" Amilia asked softly.
"....yeah..." he muttered.
With slow sluggish movements and Amilia's help he got to his feet. The bathroom turned and he almost toppled over right there.
"Careful" Amilia said softly, holding him up. Slowly the two of them move to the bed.
Nova pulled away from her and just sank down onto the bed. He took a few deep breaths, before looking up at Amilia.
"What... are you doing?" he asked.
Amilia tilted her head slightly as she watched him. He looked so pale, almost sick. "Because I care" she said.
"You're a fucking idiot" Nova said, before winching as he doubled over, his arms over his middle. A whimper sounded from him as he shut his eyes tightly.
Immediately Amilia knelt next to him. "Breath" she said softly, gently rubbing his arms "Just breath.... I'm here.... You're not alone...."
After a few minutes, he relaxed slightly, before slowly lifted his head so he could look at her. She gave him a gentle smile, reaching up and brushing his hair back a bit.
"You're going to be alright..." she whispered.
Nova leaned slightly into Amilia's touch, closing his eyes.
"...I'm sorry...." he whispered.
"It's not your fault" Amilia said, "Why don't you lay back?"
Nova shook his head and slowly got onto his feet. His body trembled as he started pacing again.
"Nova..." Amilia said softly "Come on, pacing is not going to do anything, just make things worse..."
"I can't.... I just... can't..."
Amilia nodded. "It's alright..." she said "I'll just be here"
The pacing continued for a while, until he just suddenly went down with a pained moan, curling up on the ground.
"Nova" Amilia said as she knelt next to him again "Come on, that's enough...."
Gently she helped him to the bed, where he just laid crumbled. His eyes were closed, skin pale as sweat ran down his face.
Biting her lip, Amilia went back to the bathroom, grabbing the towel and filled a bowl with cold water, before going back. She sat down next to Nova as he started moving restlessly on the bed, his heels kicking into the bed. Gently she started wiping away the sweat.
Just as it looked like the muscle cramps started fading, the nausea started again.
For the next three hours, Amilia just sat with Nova in the bathroom, as he dry heaved. In the moments between, she'll let him rest his head on her lap as she wiped his face and neck.
"Dami..." Amilia said softly as he started shivering where she was sitting on the floor with him "I'm going to take you back to the bed.... And just going to get some water for you... Could you try eating something?"th
...try..." Nova mumbled, weakly sitting up.
Immediately Amilia had to catch his shoulders so he wouldn't fall over.
A shiver ran through him. Amilia wrapped her arm around his shoulders, helping him to his feet. Nova barely managed to move, the entire room around him were turning. He could still feel the nausea in the back of his throat.
When he felt the bed beneath him he just sank down on it, shivering. His head felt like it was going to explode.
It took him a while before he realized that Amilia was not there.
Amilia?
Why.... Why would she be there?
He couldn't remember what was going on. Images flashed through his mind. Everything was layered in pain, confusion and nausea. Then he wasn't in the room anymore.
***
He stood in front of his room, Max standing in front of him. His brother looked younger, about fourteen. They were yelling at each other. Somehow he knew what was going to happen. But he couldn't stop it.
Max yelled something at him.
He punched his brother, making the young guy stumble back. Almost as if in slow motion, he watched as Max lost his balance and fell down the stairs.
His brother cried out, holding his arm.
For a moment he could just stared at Max. It felt like he was being strangled. His mind cleared for a moment.
This had to stop.....
He couldn't go on like this....
What if he hurt them? Like Lucas....
He couldn't do that.
With one last look at Max's shocked and painfilled expression, he left the house.
***
As Amilia stepped into the room, she paused for a moment.
Nova lay on the bed, curled up into a tight ball. His hands pressed over his ears, shaking and gasping.
"oh no...." she said as she quickly went over to him, carefully sitting down on the bed "Nova... can you hear me?"
"....i'm sorry.... i'm so... sorry...." he muttered, shaking his head slightly "...Max... please.... I.... I'm sorry..... please.... Max...."
Amilia breathed out as she brushed his hair back. "He's alright, Nova" she said gently "Do you want me to call him?"
"... my fault... I.... please.... Max.... I'm.... please.... my fault... I didn't..."
"Max!" Amilia called towards the door, knowing that the youngest of the three would hear her.
Immediately footsteps came down the hallways. Max stepped into the room, looking a bit worried.
"Hey... What's wrong?" he asked.
"....I'm sorry...." Nova muttered ".... please... I...."
Max blinked before he walked over. "Is he...?" he started and Amilia nodded.
"Dami?" Max said as he knelt next to the bed, taking Nova's wrist "Hey.... I'm here, everything is fine"
Nova's hand shook in Max's grip, his eyes moving behind closed lids.
"Everything's gonna be alright...." Max said "You're going to be alright..."
".... sorry..." Nova whispered.
Max clenched his jaw. "You didn't do anything, Dami...."
Nova's eyes opened slightly, looking fevered and unfocused. They found Max, going to his arm.
"....arm...." he mumbled.
Max frowned slightly, before he realized what Nova was talking about. "It's alright, Dami... Don't worry.... My arm is fine, you didn't do anything"
Nova's eyes rolled back as he bit back a groan, painful cramps running through his body. The shiver became worse.
Amilia pulled a blanket over him. "Easy now...." she whispered.
***
The motel was quiet.
Nova kept the door locked.
It started with shivers and hot flashes. One moment he was curled up on the floor and the next he couldn't breath with a heat rushing through him.
He stumbled to the bathroom, opening the tap.
Gasping he splashed water over his face. As he tried to straightened up, the world tilted and turned.
He crumbled to the ground. His body hurt, painful cramps ripped through him, followed by spasms. Coughs started ripping through his body. Nausea rose in the back of his throat.
Slowly he started dragging himself to the toilet, before he started started throwing up.
As the wave of nausea passed, he just collapsed onto the floor. He groaned, curling up on his side. A whimper sounded from him. It hurts so badly. He felt sick.
The world turned even though he was laying on the ground.
Slowly he pushed himself up, only for the nausea to return with force. He started throwing up again, until it was just dry heaving, until his stomach hurt.
Weakly he pulled himself up, using the sink. His legs felt like jelly. Slowly he stumbled back towards the room, collapsing on the bed.
Nova shut his eyes tightly, a pained moan sounding from him.
***
Nova coughed, shivering again.
His entire body hurt. Everything felt confusing. As he tried to open his eyes, the room immediately started turning.
Then the spasms started again, he curled up, half clawing at the sheets.
He was alone.
For a moment he thought he was back in the motel.
Alone.
Then the door opened and Amilia slipped back into the room. She paused as she notice that he was awake.
Immediately she went over to him. "hey..." she said, sitting down on the bed "How are you feeling?"
"...spasms..." Nova moaned, before he started coughing again.
"I'm sorry, Dami" she said softly, taking the cloth that lay in the bowl of cold water. She wrung it out and started wiping the sweat from Nova's face.
Nova groaned, his hand clenching into a fist. "... not... not your fault...." he managed.
Amilia gave him a slight smile, pulling her fingers through his hair.
Before she could say something, Nova moaned, pressing his hand over his mouth.
Amilia grabbed the bin that stood besides the bed, holding it for him and he started heaving again. He just slumped back onto the bed, gasping. The shaking stopped and his face was now flushed.
For a moment Nova's eyes started flickering close, before pain flashed over his face and he curled up in pain, clawing at the sheet, heels digging into the mattress. When the pain started to fade, Nova just slumped into the pillows.
There was dark bags beneath his eyes and it looked like he'd barely slept the last few days. Not that it was a surprise.
"Nova..." Amilia said softly "Why don't you try to get some sleep?"
Nova shook his head slightly, before he started coughing again.
Amilia gently started brushing her fingers through his hair.
"It's going to be alright..." she whispered "You're not alone... I'm here... I'm not going to leave you.... You're not doing this alone... Not again..."
***
Nova clawed at the sheets.
No matter what he did, his body hurt. He couldn't move without wanting to scream or throw up.
Shiver and cramps wrecked his body.
He stumbled to the bathroom, barely able to stay on his feet. As he finished heaving, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before slumping onto the ground.
The cold felt good.
He clenched his hand into a fist, pressing it against his mouth. Then he screamed. The sounds muffled by his hand.
It hurt....
His mind didn't want to focus....
It felt like he couldn't breath. His body shook. He couldn't get up, any movement made him want to throw up.
