Guilty of Innocence (Chapter -8)

“That was a good dinner,” Nicky called from the bathroom as Chad sat back on the bed, propped up by his elbows. “Jared’s mom sure can cook.”

Chad hummed out an affirmative noise as he watched her from his place. She was brushing her teeth and was about to start changing, but she caught Chad staring at her. She quickly shut the door to a crack and chuckled when Chad sucked his teeth in disappointment.

“Come on, don’t be so righteous,” he called, scooting toward the foot of the bed, closer to the bathroom door. “I’ve seen you change before.”

“We were ten, Chad,” she laughed. “Things are a little different now.”

“I don’t think so,” he smirked at the door and moved to stand.

“Stay where you are, Blondie,” she called, guessing what he was doing and he froze with a sigh of exasperation.

“How do you do that?” he smirked, sitting back on the mattress again for a moment.

“I can read you like a book, Chad,” she replied and he heard the smirk on her lips as he moved forward to kick off his shoes, then stripped off his light jacket, followed by his shirt, leaving on only his pants.

The door opened to reveal Nicky in pajama shorts and a tank-top and her eyes widened at the sight of Chad in nothing but his pants. He only smirked at her reaction, watching her cheeks redden.

“I—” she choked and cleared her throat before trying again, “I thought we weren’t thinking of…that.”

“We’re not,” he shrugged. “This is how I sleep.”

He couldn’t help but smirk as he stood to step toward her and take her hands into his as she looked away from him.

“Besides, you’ve seen me shirtless before.”

“Don’t get cute,” she muttered, but let him hold her hands.

“Too late,” he retorted, suddenly pulling her toward him. “What’s wrong? You don’t like what you see?”

“Chad, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Nicky snapped, pulling her hands from his and marching around him to sit on the bed as Chad frowned and turned to her but said nothing. “You’re leaving to find a murderer, you won’t be back for days and you expect me to act like nothing’s wrong?! You could die!”

Chad gave a sigh as he stepped toward the end of the bed where she sat and sat next to her. He sighed again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her closer.

“I know you hate me for this,” he murmured, turning to speak into her hair. “But this is something I have to do. No one else can do this but me, not even the cops.”

“I know,” Nicky sighed, setting her head on his shoulder. “If I were in your position, I’d probably do the same thing. I just hate that it’s you.”

“Believe me, I’m not all thrilled about it either,” Chad retorted.

Nicky couldn’t help but giggle, making him give a small smile and brought his hand from her shoulder to play with her hair as she snuggled against him.

“So, what’s your plan?” she wondered, breathlessly as he swallowed nervously at her cheek and breath against his skin.

“I-I don’t really know,” he sputtered, his hand falling to her shoulder again. “Right now I’m just thinking of getting there. I’ll think of something on the way.”

“Flying by the seat of your pants, as usual,” Nicky chuckled, looking up at him and he smirked down at her.

“You know me,” he replied. “Always flying by the seat of my pants.”

She smiled and stared at him for a moment, her gaze falling to his lips.

“Chad?” she breathed.

“Yeah?” he murmured.

“I don’t care how thin the walls are,” Nicky replied and Chad’s face contorted to several emotions before he settled on a small smile.

“You sure?” he asked. “I wouldn’t want you to wake up next to my mug and regret it.”

“Well, I’ll just pretend you’re someone else,” she retorted, then added, “But seriously, I won’t regret it, Chad. I want you to have something to think about when you get yourself into trouble.”

“This’ll only distract me,” he smirked, bringing a hand up to brush some of her hair from her face. “But I know what you mean.” He slid his fingers down her neck to fiddle with the strap of her tank-top. “Still…You’re positive.”

“Shut up and kiss me, Chad,” Nicky ordered before planting her lips to his, pulling him on top of her as they landed on the mattress, deepening the kiss simultaneously.

The Next Morning...

Chad quietly slid on his shoes, sitting at the foot of the bed. His flight left at seven. If he left now, at four, he could get there on time. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out the fifty dollars in small bills Brandon had given him. He hoped that was enough for a cab ride to the airport.

“Chad?”

He turned back to look at Nicky as she sat up with the covers up to her neck, shoving the money back into his pocket as he stood.

“You’re dressed,” she noticed. “You were gonna leave without saying good bye?”

“Well, we pretty much said our good byes last night, didn’t we?” he smirked, shifting to crawl toward her on the bed. “That was great, by the way.”

“Yeah, for our first times, huh?” Nicky couldn’t help but smile dreamily as he leaned over her.

“Oh, I refuse to believe I’m the first guy you were with,” Chad blurted. “You know way too much to be inexperienced.”

Nicky gripped her pillow and hit him on the side of the head with it, making him grunt and laugh as he fell onto the bed again and she continued hitting him. Chad grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, grunting when she landed against his chest and wrapping his arms around her over hers.

“You’re a dog,” she muttered through a smile.

“Woof,” he retorted, grinning deviously and Nicky gave a small giggle before gracing him with a few sweet kisses.

“I gotta go,” he murmured and she nodded, solemnly as he stroked his hands up and down her back. “And I was gonna say good bye, but you woke up.”

“I tried to cuddle with you, but it’s kinda hard to cuddle air,” she retorted.

“I hate cuddling.”

“Really? Because you seemed very cuddly last night.”

“I was comatose. I wasn’t aware of what I was doing.”

“You are such a liar.”

“I really have to go,” he murmured, disappointment in his tone.

Nicky’s smile slowly slid away as she nodded again and rolled off of him to let him get up from the bed. He picked up his skateboard and set it next to the door with his bag but didn’t walk out. Instead, he leaned against the wall and watched Nicky get dressed. When she caught him watching she blushed but shuffled toward him and he held his arms out to her. She slid herself into his arms and he hugged her close, burying his face into her hair.

“Last night was really great, babe,” he murmured. “I won’t be forgetting that any time soon.”

She didn’t respond and just let him hold her for a moment before she gave a sniffle and began shuddering with quiet sobs. He didn’t ask what was wrong, or pull away to look at her. He didn’t need to. He just hugged her closer and let her cry.

“It’s not fair!” she snapped, pulling away enough to stare wide, watery eyes at him. “As soon as I finally have you, some creep is gonna take you away from me!”

“Nicky, he’s not gonna take me away from you,” Chad insisted, taking her face gently into his hands. “And you always had me, my little fox. You just never knew it.”

“But, Chad—”

She was cut off when he planted his lips to hers, pulling her close again to deepen the kiss and make her moan against his mouth before pulling away for breath.

“Stay safe, ok?” he murmured. “Don’t answer your phone if he calls. I’ll text you on the prepaid cell when I get it.”

“But won’t he know you have a new phone if you do that?” she breathed.

“Yes,” he nodded. “That’s what we want.”

Nicky nodded and pressed a tender kiss to his lips before he leaned over to shoulder his bag and pick up his skateboard.

“See ya later, Blondie,” she smirked as he opened the door and he smirked at her over his shoulder.

“Later, Foxy,” he nodded, making her smile widen before he turned and walked into the hall, shutting the door behind him.

She wiped her tears from her face and hurriedly ran to her bag, pulling out a set of clothes. She was about to change when there was a soft knock at the door and she hurried toward it. She opened the door to reveal Jared.

“Your boarding pass, Miss,” he smiled with a nod, handing a folded piece of paper to her.

“Thank you,” she replied hastily, snatching the paper from him and hurrying back to her clothes to pull them on over her pajamas.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Jared wondered, stepping into the room and shutting the door. “I don’t think Chad wanted you to go.”

“He didn’t,” she confirmed, pulling on a shirt. “But whatever he says of thinks, he can’t do this on his own.”

“Well, since you’re so determined to follow him, I suggest you take this,” he said, holding a hand out with an envelope in his hand as she pulled on her shoes.

She frowned and stepped toward him to see what was in his hand, took it and asked, “What is this?”

“Cab fare,” Jared shrugged. “I called one for you. It should be here in ten minutes.”

“Aren’t you sweet?” Nicky smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You really didn’t have to.”

“I know, but I figured it would save time for you,” he shrugged, blushing wildly. “You may even get there before he does.”

“Let’s hope,” Nicky smiled, heading back for her bag and skateboard. “Thanks again, Jare.”

“My pleasure,” he grinned, opening the door and bowing grandly as she passed him with a

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giggle.

“Acting, Jared,” she said. “Definitely acting for you.”

“Oh, by the way,” Jared called to her before she got too far down the hall and when she turned, he smirked, “Bravo on last night.”

Nicky’s face turned beet red but she said nothing as she turned to head down the hall and toward the stairs. But even as she blushed, she couldn’t help buy grin. She didn’t regret it one bit.

The Airport...

“Prepaid phone, please,” Chad told the sales person as he glanced around the airport. He hand the man money as he took the phone. He was glad he found enough change for the bus. Saved him fifty bucks. He quickly dialed in Nicky’s number, saved it then checked his watch for the time.

6:30 am

He sat with a sigh in the sitting area at his gate, flipping his hair from his vision as he started texting.

Nicky its Chad. This is my new #

He hit Send and sighed again, leaning his head back on the headrest, shutting his eyes. He gave a frown when he heard a familiar ringtone next to him, but he didn’t open his eyes. He heard muttering and his frown deepened as the ringtone stopped. A few moments later his new phone vibrated and he looked at it to find a message from Nicky.

Got it. Added ur #

Chad dialed in her number and hit Send and just as he pressed the phone to his ear, he heard another familiar ringtone and this time he frowned and shifted to his right and looked to the row behind him. He glared at the brunette sitting a few seats to his right in the row directly behind him, not answering the echo of Nicky’s voice from the phone. He watched her frown and looked at the phone before calling into it again as he stood, picking up his bag and board to walk toward her.

“Chad?” she called into her phone as he hung up his phone, getting closer to her. She frowned and jerked the phone from her ear when she heard the dial tone, not noticing his approach.

“You sneaky, little, green-eyed, snake!” he ground out, snapping her attention to him as he stood next to her, glaring down at her angrily. “I told you to stay at Jared’s! What the hell are you doing here?!”

“I’m here because you need help, whether you wanna admit it or not!” Nicky snapped back as she stood, unafraid. “You think I’m gonna let you get yourself killed while I sit pretty with Jared?!”

“Yes!” he shot back. “It’s better then you getting killed with me!”

“Is everything alright, here?”

Chad spun around to see a security guard standing behind him, ready to interfere if things got bad.

“Yes, officer,” Nicky smiled, sweetly, grabbing Chad’s arm and shoving him into an empty seat as she sat next to him. “We’re sorry if we disturbed anybody. Lover’s spat, ya know? I think we’re fine now, right babe?”

Chad only glared at her as she slid her arm around his, laughing nervously at his glare before looking back at the guard.

“We’ll try to keep it down, Sir,” she smiled and the guard nodded before stepping away, Nicky watching him as Chad continued glaring at her. “Ok, you can tear me a new one, but keep your voice down.”

“Why didn’t you just listen to me and stay at Jared’s?!” Chad growled, lowly.

“I told you,” she replied, calmly and quietly. “You need help.”

“So what?! I’m not gonna let you help me and get hurt in the process!”

“Aw, and they say chivalry is dead,” Nicky smiled wryly as she patted his hand.

“Liza,” he snapped and she looked at him with wide eyes as he continued, “As worried about me as you are, you should know how I feel.”

“I do,” she admitted, “But you can’t tell me you’d let me do this alone if the roles were reversed.”

Chad gave a pained frown as he sighed, looking away from her to rub his eyes. He hated to admit it, but she was right. If she had left to the airport alone, he would have followed her, no matter if she’d told him to stay away or not. He just didn’t want her to be used by this creep to get to him. She could get hurt, and after everything they’d shared and been through, he knew he’d feel terrible is she got hurt, or worse…killed. But he knew, the more he pushed her away, the more she’d worry, and the more she worried, the more rebellious she got, even against him.

“Fine,” he grumbled, slouching forward to lean his elbows on his knees. Nicky grinned, sliding her arm around him and leaning forward as well to kiss the side of his neck as he continued, “But from now on you do as I tell you, got it?”

“Yes, dear,” she murmured against his neck and he sat back, taking her with him as she added, “I’ll even seal it with a kiss.”

Chad his head enough to plant his lips to hers, kissing her deeply before she pulled away with a grin and snuggled against his chest.

“Hey,” she whispered, drawing his attention to her as she asked, “Where’s the…thing you found in your closet?”

“I left it in a box with a note at the closest police station,” he murmured, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

“You don’t think the police will call the airport, or call the Washington police?” Nicky wondered.

“Let them,” he smirked. “We’ll lead them straight to the real bastard who killed my parents.”

A Los Angeles Police Station...

“Hey, Lou!” Detective Katherine ‘Kat’ Johnson called to a desk as she walked down the isle of desks toward the older man. “The Chief in his office?”

“Hasn’t been out all day,” Lou replied, leaning back in his chair as she approached. “He’s been in a crappy mood all day, though, Kat. I’d be careful.”

“Well, I’ve got somethin’ that’ll make his day,” Kat smirked, stopping at his desk to lift the box in her hands up with a nod. “Something on the Stiles case. He on the phone?”

“I dunno,” Lou shrugged. “But if it’s the Stiles case, you better get in there whether he is or not.”

Kat nodded with a grin before hurrying past his desk and through the door at the end of the isle, knocking quickly before opening the door. Captain Parker Villa sat at his desk, on the phone, his head resting in his right hand as he leaned its elbow on the surface of his desk, showing off his thick, salt and pepper – more pepper than salt –hair. His class ring stared at her as she stood silently in the doorway before he looked up and waved her completely into the room, his amber eyes wide as he looked at her but closing in exasperation when he leaned back in his chair and she stepped into the office, shutting the door behind her.

“Well, call me when you find him!” he snapped into the phone before slamming it onto the receiver just as she stepped up to his desk.

“Problem, Sir?” Kat wondered, still holding the box as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“The detail we put on the Stiles kid lost him yesterday and they still can’t find him,” Parker groaned before lowering his hands onto his thighs with a slap and looking up at her, tiredly.

“I think I can help with that, Sir,” Kat smiled, placing the box on his desk as he frowned up at her in wonder and sat up again. “This was left for the lead detective on the Stiles case. You’ll definitely want to see this.”

Parker’s frown deepened as he gripped the open box and slid it closer to look into it. His eyes widened to an unreal size before he looked up at Kat with the same expression.

“Is this what I think it is?” he breathed in disbelief.

“Find out yourself, Sir,” Kat smirked, pulling an evidence bag with a piece of paper covered in fingerprinting dust from her jacket pocket and tossing it toward him. “That came with it.”

Parker looked to the bag and slid it closer to read the small piece of paper inside.

To the Lead Detective on the Stiles murder case,

This is the knife that killed my parents. It was planted in my closet. I’m going to Seattle Washington to find the man who killed my parents since you won’t

“Kid's got balls,” Parker muttered as Kat sat sideways on the edge of his desk. “Washington, huh? What does he know that we don’t?”

“I took some prints from the note,” she began to explain. “Got some pretty good ones. Sent ‘em over to AFIS, and I told the crime lab I’d be down there with the knife to get some blood evidence off of it, maybe there’ll be some prints on there, too?”

“Maybe,” Parker agreed, glancing between the box and note in thought before leaning back in his chair again. “The uncle said the Stiles boy was gonna hang out with his friend, Nicole all day yesterday, but he didn’t know where they going or what they were doing, and he gave the kid money for food and a gift for the friend. He said they came back later in the day and the friend was gonna spend the night. That was around the time we got the tip on the murder weapon being with the Stiles boy. Our boys went in to question him, he and his friend took off out the window in his room.”

“If the kid thinks he’s innocent, why would he run?” Kat wondered.

“I dunno,” Parker sighed, grabbing the phone from his receiver again and dialing a number. “But I’m gonna make a call to the Seattle police. Tell ‘em to keep an eye out for him. Get packed, Johnson. You’re takin’ an early vacation.”

“Vacation, huh?” Kat scoffed, shoving off the table and reaching for the box. “Want me to take this to the lab?”

“No, I’ll do it,” Parker replied, waving her off. “Get ready for our field trip.”

“Our, Sir?” she wondered with a frown as he held the phone to his ear.

“I’m going with you.”