Chapter 39: Hide Away

Once Nita had woken up to start another day, she was in an awful mood. She looked at herself in the mirror and wanted a major change...image wise

Nita decided to dye her hair purple. It was one of her top favorite colors...why not have your hair that color? 

As normal, Nita is going over to Collin's house. Imagining a day spent without him..she can't even fathom it. Upon entering the house, Collin was in a stank mood himself. He saw Nita's new hair and went for her jugular.

He said she looked like and idiotic loser and she better change it back this instant. Also, the glasses were hurting his image. They needed to be gone as well

Nita complied. She didn't want any trouble. Sure, Collin was showing his true colors. But, Nita never once thought anything of it. Maybe she deserved the treatment. She loves Collin. Maybe should could change him, or she could just put up with it because she cared for the Collin she knew in the early beginning of their relationship. Either which way, she was sticking around. She went into the bathroom and about an hour of work, her hair was back the way Collin wanted it

But that wasn't all Collin wanted. He wanted some more woohoo time with her. Nita said no this time. It wasn't something she felt ready for. That one time the night of prom was enough. But he started yelling at her. Nita was surprised at how angry he was getting over not being able to control her like a little puppet 

But she still held her ground. Out of nowhere, Collin did the unthinkable. He started hitting Nita

Nita couldn't believe it. He threatened more if she wouldn't do as she's told. She just looked at Collin, completely heartbroken. But she didn't think there was a way out of this. She did what was told of her 

Later in the night when Collin and his family were sleeping, Nita meekly went into the bathroom. She needed herself a good cry. The shock and the hurt was finally setting in. She just wanted to be alone

Once the tears stopped, Nita went to the mirror to wash her makeup off her face and get ready to get back home. It was then that she noticed the bruise that appeared under her eye overnight 

Did he really hit her that hard? It was a fact Nita wanted to ignore. This couldn't be happening to her. She never once had an issue in her quiet life. And of course she couldn't go home and let Lotta and Zak see her bruise. Nita quickly washed up and covered the bruise with some makeup and she was on her way home, with none the wiser

After about 10 minutes back home, Zak asked for Nita to go to the store for him. He was planning a huge party to celebrate his promotion at work

Nita said it was no problem. She needed to go to the store anyway. She was feeling ill and she knew all too well that that could mean a pregnancy. A test was desperately needed to put her mind at ease. Of course she didn't say that to Zak. No one was to find out about the possibility of a pregnancy. 

Nita bought multiple brands of testing to be sure. She was in such a hurry, that she forgot one in the grocery bag that she put on the counter for Zak

Zak went and took all of the groceries out of the bag. But then he noticed a pregnancy test. Of course it wasn't Nita's, so he asked Lotta if she told Nita to get one for her

Meanwhile, Nita was lying on her bed in a depressive state

The test came back positive. Nita was pregnant. What was she going to do? She had options out there....but they were all so overwhelming to look at. Was she even ready to be a mother, and a good one at that? To make herself feel a little bit better, Nita hopped in the bathroom for a hot shower. 

Back over with Lotta, she said she never asked for one. Zak's eyes bulged out of his head in disbelief. There was NO way Nita would do that. But there was no one else in the house for it to be. 

Hearing the shower stop, they gave Nita a few minutes to get dressed. After that, they barged in and noticed her black eye. Seeing their faces, Nita knew there was no more hiding. All of the pieces perfectly fit together now. Nita buried her head in Lotta's shoulder and started sobbing. Nita felt so much shame. But there was no turning back the clock now

Unfortunately, the guests for the party had begun to show up. And even more unfortunate was Collin was on the guest list. Knowing what he did to his sister, Zak ran out and found Collin. He called Collin every name in the book and told him he better stay away from Nita. If he saw him ever again, he would be a dead man. Collin was shook up, but wasn't too scared. After all, his mommy was on the police force. If charges were ever pressed against him, they would more than likely be swept under the carpet. And with that, Collin and Nita were done and over with

The party eventually came to an end. Zak and Lotta wanted to talk to Nita about her options. They'd back her 100% with whatever decision she'd make about what do to with the baby. They even said they'd have no problem letting her raise it there with them. They'd help out the best they could

Nita said she appreciated it. She would need some more time to think, but that at the moment, she'd love to be alone. There was so much to absorb and to take in. Lotta and Zak understood and left her in her room. 

Nita wasn't sure about anything anymore

Chapter 38: They Say that PROMises Sweeten the Blow

It was now Thursday. Two days before prom. Nita decided to invite Collin over for dinner to introduce him to the family. Things are looking pretty serious for them. It wouldn't hurt getting him in good with the family. Nita decided to make Zak's favorite meal- autumn salad

Dinner is served. Collin showed up a few minutes later. Talk about perfect timing. The family sat down at the table and had nice dinner conversation. The topic was of course, Prom. Collin was a gentleman and asked Zak and Lotta's permission to take Nita to prom and to have a sleepover with their friends at his house. They liked how upfront and polite Collin was being. Given that, they agreed and continued with the dinner

After Collin left, Lotta took Nita to her bedroom. She asked Nita if she had had a prom dress picked out yet. Nita said no. She was still trying to figure that out. Lotta then offered to help her pick out a dress 

Nita accepted the offer. She needed to get a dress quick. Hours later, they finally found the one 

It was now Friday. After school, Nita took Liv and Haley to the park for some fun 

Nita left Liv at the park to keep playing with her little friend, Corrine. She and Haley went to go to the Mansion to visit Bilinda. Upon walking in the door, she hugged her mother and spoke about all of the good things happening in her life. She talks about the books she's written, the clothing designs she's sewn and of course, her relationship with Collin. Things were really working out for her at Zak's 

A few minutes later, Nita and Haley went on home. The visit with Bilinda was short and sweet. A part of Nita wishes she was home, but she's not ready for that yet.


Now, it's Saturday. Nita is beyond stoked for prom. To help get her mind off of it, she and the rest of the family went out back and had some slip n' slide fun

6 o'clock quickly came. It was now time for prom. Nita changed into her dress and hopped into the limo. She and Collin were having a great time at prom. Nita even won Prom Queen! She was so proud of herself. The fact that everyone voted for her meant a lot. 


After prom, Collin drove himself and Nita to his house for the sleepover. Hours passed and Nita asked why none of their friends were there. Collin said that was just a clever ruse to get Zak and Lotta to let her sleepover at his house. 


Soon, the discussion shifted. Collin became a bit more aggressive. He said Nita only won Prom Queen because he got everyone to vote for her. Without him, Nita was nothing. Because he essentially got her the crown, he demanded that she show thanks by woohooing. At first, Nita resisted. Who did he think he was? He threatened to break up with her if she didn't do what he said.


Nita loved Collin. She didn't want to lose him no matter what. Maybe it was dumb and naive of her, but she needed him. So she complied. They headed into his room and woohoo'd 

Collin immediately rolled over and went to sleep when they were done. Nita on the other hand couldn't. She felt awful about what had just happened. She couldn't sit next to him any longer. She went into the living room and lied down on the couch.


Lying there, she couldn't help but feel a huge wave of regret. She couldn't hold in the tears any longer

But she thought that this was a one-time deal. Collin couldn't do that again. He was too good for that. In the morning, Nita made breakfast for his whole family. She ate with them and then went on home.


Walking in the door, Lotta asked how prom went. Nita said she won Queen and had a blast. And their sleepover went alright. She couldn't tell Lotta the truth. Nita didn't want any trouble in her imaginary paradise.


Nita went over to the television and placed the picture of her and Collin on the stand and put her crown on a shelf in her room 

Lotta and Zak were happy for Nita. She had good friends and a great boyfriend. She won prom queen and was doing really well in school. Nita's life was one of envy. Things can only go up from here. 

Chapter 37: Tones of Home

Zak still has so many more days off. Being in the military, he already has many days off. But dang. The honeymoon period doesn't have an end in sight. 

While his lovely wife was the only one making a living, he sat at home with the girls. Then came a knock at the door. When Zak answered, it was his little half-sister Nita. She sure did grow up since he moved out 

He invited her inside. Right when they walked into the house, Nita hugged Zak and asked if she could move in. She and Brittney have been clashing a lot lately and she just wants some peace and quiet. Zak understands. On both accounts, actually. Living with Brittney isn't easy as she is a very moody person. And when he was Nita's age, his father was one of the most difficult people to ever live with. Zak took a second and texted Bilinda to see if she would be okay with it. She agreed, as it was nonstop arguing with the two. Zak hugged Nita once more and said she could move in and could have the spare room

Nita got her things and redid the spare to suit her tastes. It ended up looking a little something like this 

Once Nita was all moved in, she went to Collin Langerak's house. Collin was one of the most popular boys in school that she was really close friends with. That being said, I think we all know the road in which this is going down

He graciously invited her into his home. When they walked into the kitchen, Nita started flirting her heart out. The flirting really swooned Collin. He was diggin' all of the attention after a while. Soon, it led to Nita's first kiss 

But her sweet moment got interrupted. She got a call from Lotta and Zak saying that they were leaving the house for a mini-vacation and needed her to come home immediately to watch over the tots. On her way home, Nita had a brilliant idea. With the adults gone, she could throw a slip n' slide party for all of her friends. When Zak and Lotta finally left the house, Nita changed into her bikini and called all of her friends over.

The party had barely begun when Liv decided to age up into a cute little girl 

On the guest list was Reisa Baker. She and Zak are second cousins or something along those lines. She had a baby boy when she first entered high school and she recently announced she was pregnant with her second child. At the party, she started feeling the effects of the early stage of pregnancy 

Moving on from Teen Mom, a girl named Jolene really had a crush on Minco. She tried to smooch his face off, but he wasn't having any of that 

Nita was having a great time. But that great time came crashing down. She received a phone call from a neighbor who told her to end the party or he'd call the cops. Nita decided it would be best to shout and scream to let everyone know to hit the bricks. During the shouting, Reisa was hit with another bout of morning sickness 

The party broke up too late. Teenagers were running in all directions when the cop showed up. He started yelling at Nita and told her that he had called her brother to let him know about the disturbance. Nita is just relieved the cop wasn't Collin's mom. She routinely broke up parties like these 

Nita did her best to clean up the house before Zak and Lotta got home. If there was no physical proof, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on....right? Wrong. Lotta searched every room in the house for Nita. Once she was found, she screamed at her and grounded her until further notice 

Nita's night is ruined. She hit the hay soon afterwards. There was no use in fighting it right after the grounding happened. Sleeping on it should make everyone calm down.

Before school, Nita went to Zak. Her most favorite, loving and forgiving brother. She asked if he would be so kind as to end her grounding 

Zak held his chin and peered off into the distance. Maybe he tried to give her hope before he dashed it......

......because he laughed at her and said no way, Jose 

Even though she was grounded, Nita sneaked off to Collin's house after school. They got all lovey-dovey. Before she went home, Collin popped the question to be exclusive. Of course Nita said yes! They were hitting it off nicely.

Soon, the grounding was said and done with. To celebrate her new found freedom and to discuss the upcoming prom, Nita called all of her friends over for a sleepover. Unfortunately, the only person who could not make it was Reisa. She was currently close to her due date. Having her baby in her sleeping bag was something she didn't want to risk.

Everyone did show. But the only person she really needed to see was Collin. Not leaving anything up to chance, she asked him to prom. He said sure....the only time he couldn't go anywhere with her was if aliens made a comeback and kidnapped him. 

Soon, everyone was passed out on the floor 

Well....almost everyone. Nita and Collin stepped outside to watch the stars with each other

What a great ending to such a perfect night.