The Rise Of A Porter

Nina thought she'd feel pain when she slowly opened her eyes. But there was nothing. Her body felt weirdly numb. Her vision was a bit hazy and the room she was in, was shrouded in darkness. All she could see were illuminated little particles hovering above her face.

'I'm in a hospital... Again?' She thought, 'How did I get here?'

She slowly shifted her gaze towards her body. She couldn't see much because of the blanket, but through the slits, she saw someone sitting next to her bed, his head was next to her feet. It didn't take her more than a second to recognise who it was...

'Arnold...' Nina tried to speak but her lips and face were still swollen from all the bashing she had received thus nothing came out of her mouth, 'I'm so sorry... I've caused you a lot of pain, haven't I?'

She wanted to tell him how happy she was to see him. She wanted to stroke his hairs. She wanted to embrace him and tease him but she couldn't even get up. Her body was in shambles and couldn't support her, so she laid there awake, thinking what would've happened if Arnold didn't show up in time. Even thinking about it made her teary-eyed. In the end, she just laid there awake until her eyelids got heavy and she fell asleep again. 

***

The next time Nina opened her eyes, it was bright outside. She could feel the freshness in the breeze that came through the window. Her vision had gotten better than before, and she didn't feel nearly as weak as last night as she could now freely move her fingers. It would seem like the plants around her were doing a great job in boosting her healing. 

She looked towards the window and saw a man leaning against it. He was the strongest and silliest man she had known in the entirety of her life. But he no longer had his kind and mischievous eyes as now, his eyes were swollen, red from all the crying he did yesterday. 

Arnold seemed to be lost in his thoughts, as he stared into the clouds. Nina turned her head, even more, to get a good look at the love of her life without disturbing him. In her head, she had already troubled him enough. But, her plan didn't work. Just the slight turn of her head was enough to snap Arnold back into reality. 

He looked at Nina and rushed over to her. He was so happy, he didn't even bother to pull a chair to sit. Instead, he squatted down next to her, before tenderly kissing her hand. 

Nina couldn't hold back her tears anymore and allowed them to fall freely. Arnold gently wiped away her tears, careful not to touch and reopen a wound. If he wasn't already cried out, he wouldn't have been able to hold his tears back now. Right now, he needed to remain strong for both of their sakes. He did what Alice had told him to, be brave and give Nina the support she desperately needed. 

After crying for well over ten minutes, Nina finally stopped. Arnold had been holding her hands as if he had sworn to never allowing her to feel alone again. 

"How's... the baby...?" Nina barely managed to mumble the words out. 

"It's safe. Just like you are..." Arnold wanted to say more but he felt a knot in his throat and stopped. He wasn't going to cry in front of Nina... Not yet. 

Nina raised her hand, resting it on Arnold's face, "I've caused you... a lot of... pain. Haven't I?"

"I wouldn't have fallen for you if you weren't a little pain in the butt." He smiled before once again kissing her hand. 

"Smartass..." She wanly smiled at him. 

Right then, the doors to the room were flung open and half a dozen people walked in. Nina's parents were leading the group followed by Nathaniel, Nicole, Johnny and the man whom Arnold didn't want to see, Nathan. 

As soon as Arnold saw Nathan's face, his rage went sky high. He had told Nathan about Nina and that bastard still took a day before showing up to even check on her? If it hadn't been for Nina's condition and Nathaniel's presence, Arnold didn't know what he would've done to him. Nina noticed Arnold's gaze and wanted to ask him about it, but she knew it wasn't the right time to ask him questions. 

Arnold got up and greeted her parents first, Sheldon and Natalia Black. He hadn't seen them in a while but even then he could say they had been crying too. While Natalia hugged him tightly, thanking him for saving her yet again daughter, Sheldon just sympathetically patted his back before checking in on their daughter. 

Nathaniel didn't talk much but shook Arnold's hands as he always did. He gave Johnny a side hug and completely ignored Nathan. It was obvious why he did so, after all, Nathaniel was there specifically to clear up his mess and Nicole and Johnny already know what an absolute mess Nathan had made. Especially by disowning Arnold. 

Nicole didn't wait for Arnold to greet her, instead, she jumped and hugged him tightly. Besides Nina, only she knew what kind of pain Arnold would've gone through. But what mattered the most was that Nina was safe and no long term damage was done to her. 

After that, Arnold just quietly stood in a corner. Not talking with anyone, when Nathaniel approached him. 

"Arnold, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked. 

Arnold noticed that the old man looked even older now. But unlike Nathaniel's aged appearance, his voice was still as calm as ever. Arnold respected him a lot, so even though he wasn't in the mood to talk, he agreed and the two of them went outside the room. 

"I'm glad Nina is safe." 

"Me too," Arnold replied, trying his best not to sound cold or rude. 

"I heard what happened last night. And even though I don't wholeheartedly agree with your methods or how you handled the situation, I want to tell you that you did the right thing." Nathaniel place his wrinkly hand on Arnold's shoulder. 

"Well, your son doesn't seem to think so," Arnold replied. 

"What can I say? Maybe the pressure of handling the family and the country made him a dumbass." Nathaniel chuckled, "Back to the important matters. I'm truly disappointed in the way he behaved last night and so, I wanted to invite you again into the-"

"Not interested." Arnold quickly cut Nathaniel off, "I'm sorry, but I'm no longer going to be part of a family whose leader has proven his incompetence time and time again. And this is my final decision. I'm better off alone than working under him again."

Nathaniel didn't argue anymore and nodded. He knew his family had lost a treasure, but he also knew what Arnold said was correct. So he made him a second offer. 

"Would you like to be the new leader of the Blacks?"

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