Stuck with the Bad Boy | ✔️

9. Challenge Accepted

Nix's P.O.V.

"I think I've got time." He says. I can tell he's staring at me, curiosity eating away at him. I'd already told him more than I tell most. I have to remember, he's still the same guy who said that stuff about me. He's the same guy who got in a fight with Bentley. Just because he's acting gentle and sweet now doesn't mean that's the real him. I know better than anyone how easy it is to play pretend so well even I can't tell what's true.

"Well, I don't," I respond in a hard tone. He acts like we're friends; like I can just talk to him like normal. We aren't friends. It'll take a lot more than this for us to be friends.

I stand a walk a little way down the beach, leaving him still seated. I can tell he's both frustrated and upset at my actions from the facial expression he makes.

My footsteps guide me along the the rocky sand until I find a seat behind a boulder about a hundred feet from Luca. Staring out at the moon's reflection in the water I find myself thinking of what would have happened if I had told Luca everything. Maybe it would turn out okay. Maybe I'm wrong about him.

I guess I'll never know though.

That's why you should have told him, dimwit...

Damn, my conscious is right. I hate when that happens, don't you? I feel a tear roll down my cheek. Why is it that the body can cry even when the face shows no emotion? Sobbing tears are bad enough, but when you can cry without moving a nerve on your face, that will be the most heart-shattering moment in time. You can fake an expression, but you'll never be able to stop those tears.

I should go back and tell him. I should tell him everything. Maybe this is just a weak moment for me, but everyone has those. What could really go wrong? What could it hurt to have one more person in the world knowing the truth about me? If he went and told people, would they even believe him?

I want to tell him.

I made my final decision and got up quickly and turned around, running into his chest.

I was startled and in the confusion, I fell, but before I could actually hit the ground he caught me by the arms and pulled me back up close to him. "You ok, Nix?" Real concern clouded his expression. I thought about what he said and concentrated mainly on the new nickname he'd given me. This one, I enjoyed. Deep down, I hoped it stuck around, deep, deep down though.

"Yeah. Thanks." I give him a half smile, allowing him to steady me in his arms.

"You sure?" His husky voice is soothing in a strange way. That's when I realize he's not asking me about my almost klutzy accident. He's asking me about my story; about Cody.

"No..." I answer and look down at the ground. I try to count the sand grains and ignore what's going on.

"You can trust me." But how can I be sure? I look up into his stone gray eyes and a calm washes over me. It puts me in a trance, just like they usually do, but this time it's a good one and it brings with it warmth and washes away my fear.

I sigh and begin my story, "I've been a street racer for a long time. But I quit after what happened to my last boyfriend. He's the one who owned the car I was driving before I got Rayne back out." I think starting in on my story must've somewhat surprised him.

"Anyway, the reason I have his car is because... He was murdered. Long story short, his murderer thought I had cheated in a race. The guy aimed the gun at me but Cody jumped in the way. He bled out on the pavement that night. I held his hand while he choked on blood. I felt the last of his grip on my hand before he was gone. One second I was standing beside my future, my everything, the next he was gone and my entire world just came shattering down around me. The guy who did it ran when he saw who he'd hit. For so long I'd wished he'd taken another shot and put me out of my misery too but I know that would've killed Bentley."