Page 14 of This Time I'm Keeping You
“He wore a Batman mask.”
“Yeah, Nick told me that too.Anything else?Did he speak?”
“No.He just wanted my bag.”
“I’ll be out soon, Billy.I need a lift,” Nick said when his cousin was finished.
“Take your time, bud.”Billy raised a hand and left.“I’ll let you know if we find him, Poppy.Take care.”
“Thank you.”
Poppy closed her eyes on a sigh.She really needed to sleep and not think because her head was throbbing.
Something brushed her lips, and when she opened her eyes, Nick’s face was inches from hers.
“Sleep well, Poppy.”
“Th-thanks.See you around, Nick.”
“Count on it.”And then he was gone, and she’d likely never see Nicholas Atherton again.The thought shouldn’t have made her feel as sad as it did.
Poppy closed her eyes and let sleep pull her under.
Chapter6
Honey’s was a bar Nick and his siblings had been frequenting for years.It was always busy, and tonight was no different as he made his way to the rear of the building, passing tables full of patrons.
Brick walls, polished concrete floors, and a big screen to watch a game on, it was a place that held good memories for Nick.
He raised his hand a few times, acknowledging those that knew him, and headed out the doors and into the garden bar, where his family would be beside one of the outdoor heaters.On the second Friday of the month, this was where he and his siblings gathered.No parents or partners, just Atherton sibling night.
“Three, Gracie.I shot three baskets to your one!”
Their voices reached him before he rounded the partition overgrowing with greenery to find them all leaning on a table.Moving to his youngest sister first, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, giving her a squeeze while rubbing his chin over her blonde head.
“Hey, big brother,” Emma Atherton said, turning to plant a loud kiss on his cheek.
“Hey, you.”Nick let her go, moving to the taller blonde to her right.“Gracie,” he said, doing the same with his chin.
“Nicky.”She patted the arm he had around her before continuing on with the conversation she was having with Thomas, the brother that sat between her and Em on the Atherton ladder.
He slapped hands and bumped chests with his brothers and then made for the space at the end of the table where a long-necked bottle of beer waited for him.Swallowing a mouthful, he studied his siblings.
They were a mixture.His sisters and Thomas were blond with brown eyes like their mother.Nick and Sam were dark with blue eyes like their father.
“What made you late, Nick?”Sam, the second eldest, asked.
“I met a friend today, and she had some trouble.”
“What friend?”
“What trouble?”
I should have stayed with Poppy in case she wakes scared.
“Nick!”Two fingers snapped in front of his face.
“What friend?What trouble?”Sam demanded.
