Page 19 of Beyond Repair, Part One (Damaged Duet #1)

Ridge

W hat have I done?

"Shit! What happened?!" When the hell did Kai and Henry get here? "Ridge, what happened?" Kai demands, skidding to his knees in front of Nina.

"I-I don't know," I stutter out, feeling shell-shocked. My first words to her make her break down into sobs. What does that say about me?

"Hey." Henry comes over to me after dropping a few bags on the kitchen table. "Walk me through it?"

Trevor comes barreling over, and I watch as he knocks Kai's hand away from Nina. Muttering back and forth, Kai finally leans back and gives her some space. "Baby, can you look at me, please?" Trev asks her, his voice like gravel.

"Sh-she told me I could go, then she was whispering about us hurting her. I told her I would never hurt her, and this happened." I wave my arm at Nina who's now quietly sniffling into her hands. Henry nods thoughtfully with a sad look on his face.

When Nina chokes a little, Trevor's spine straightens. In a tone I've never heard before, he demands her attention. "Nina, look at me. Now."

My throat clogs when she opens her eyes and peeks at my cousin between her fingers. She looks so small. So fragile. Nothing like the young girl who used to whip my ass in any sport.

"Good girl."

My eyebrows rise to my hairline when Nina visibly relaxes at his praise. Interesting .

Trevor keeps talking. "There you go. Just breathe, Neen. I don't want you getting worked up again after choking like that."

I'm envious of the way she hangs on to his every word. Hell, I say one sentence and it upsets her. Trevor seems like a fucking God at this moment. Maybe I need to pull out some Dom shit to get her to feel comfortable with me again .

With me across from her in a recliner, Henry standing by me, Kai sitting on the ground by her feet, and Trevor crouched beside her, I'm shocked we aren't scaring her. Already did that, dipshit . She moves her hands and wipes her tears away as she pushes into a sitting position.

"Good. Good job," Trevor murmurs, reaching to brush a stray hair off her face. That is something I wouldn't have done. I'm proven right not a beat later when she squeaks and presses into the cushions behind her. "Shit. I'm sorry, Nina."

Her eyes which were relaxed until Trevor tried to touch her now ping-pong between the four of us. Realizing she's surrounded, her breathing picks up.

Keeping my volume low, I suggest, "Maybe we should go."

Nina sniffs, and Trevor shoots a glare over his shoulder at me. "We aren't leaving."

Henry shifts beside me, seemingly uncomfortable, but my irritation flares. "Are you blind? We're making her uncomfortable. This isn't helping."

"Are we making you uncomfortable?" Kai asks Nina, looking like he's being tortured. She glances at him but doesn't say anything. I sigh and her lip wobbles.

She pulls her knees up to her chest. A tear slips down her cheek and her gaze moves to her lap. "Y-you can go."

That's exactly what she said to me five fucking minutes ago. Why the hell does she keep saying that? I wish she would just tell me what she wants.

Trevor's hands clench like he's fighting the urge to touch her, then the oven timer beeps. With a curse, he stands, mumbling about not wanting the nachos to burn.

Henry moves to sit on the coffee table in front of her. He glances at me, then at Nina. That goes on a few times, like he's pondering something. Finally, he shares with the class. "Neen. Do you think we don't want to be here?"

Something about Henry talking or him being near helps her shoulders relax from her ears.

She nods and looks at him. My heart cracks at the pleading look in her eyes.

What does she need? And more importantly, why can't she just tell us?

The Nina we all knew had zero issues expressing herself.

This is infuriating because it leaves way too much unspoken, which I swear to hell is what my anxiety feeds on.

"What makes you think that?" Henry's approach to hold a curious edge seems to coax Nina out of her shell.

Trevor comes back with a plate of nachos and takes a seat a few feet away from Nina on the couch. She eyes him warily and scrunches her nose at the plate of food. She used to love nachos.

"We'll get to that look soon, baby. But first," Trevor nods his head, "answer Henry."

Nina gulps, and when her attention flicks to me, I feel a sense of dread. I'm the problem . "Ridge...Ridge isn't happy. You all should go."

"I don't want to go," I blurt. I won't fucking leave her side if she keeps talking to us!

"But you—" She goes white as a sheet and gulps.

Fear . What is she afraid of?

"It's okay, Nina," Henry coos and brings his legs up onto the coffee table to sit crisscrossed. "No matter what you say, we won't hurt you. Or be mad at you."

I don't know if she believes him, but his words help me understand a bit more of what's going on. Nina's afraid of confrontation. How deep does that conditioning run?

Since I've already upset her enough for the day, I let her off the hook. "I'm sorry, Nina girl. I came in here with a lot on my mind and I know I didn't carry that well. I do want to be here."

Nina watches me for a moment before nodding softly. When Kai asks her if she wants us to go, she only shrugs and tugs on the string of her blanket. Anxiety?

"Well," Trev cuts in. "We aren't going anywhere until you eat a bite of your lunch."

By the look on her face, we might never leave.