AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It must be another language.
It wasn’t the first catfight Nathan had ever seen, but it was the bloodiest. Also, the least funny.
He wasn’t laughing at all because he caught a glimpse of Tully’s face and saw the scratch on her cheek bloom red and his heart dropped.
He lunged forward and did the only thing he could think to do. No time to ask questions or get answers, he pulled Tully into a bear hug around her waist from behind and lifted her up.
Damn.
Like picking up a toddler, getting her feet off the ground wasn’t the issue, it was the flailing and screaming and her death-hold on her sister’s hair that made it hard to keep his grip on her. He wasn’t sure she even knew he was here, much less holding her.
He pulled her into himself as best he could and got his mouth next to her ear so she could hear him over the ruckus. “Let go, angel.”
She froze. Her gasp on Joliet released as the other girl yanked back and sent her stumbling backward into a stall door. Lisa, who gave up on finding a teacher, was next to Joliet—straightening her hair and cooing in worry over her.
Nathan wasn’t interested in anyone else in that room other than the girl in his arms, and he wasn’t ready to put her down. He walked out like that, carrying Tully out and ignoring the people asking questions or calling their names.
She hit his hand lightly and in a gravelly voice said, “I can walk.”
He hesitated a moment, then gave in to her wishes and put her down. Still worried she would go straight back into that room for round two, he opted to grab her hand and drag her behind him through the hallways, out a side door, and into the alleyway they often met in. The only place people were unlikely to bother them.
He let go of her hand and spun to her. Her head was bowed, her hair covering most of her face, but he could still see the red line that was bleeding now. Seeing it ran his blood cold. His fingers itched to touch it. “What the hell are you doing?”
She didn’t respond. As long as she wasn’t going to say anything, neither was he. He would sit here until she fessed up.
After maybe a minute, her shoulders started to shake. Nathan’s anger evaporated.
He’d never seen her cry before. He’d heard it once, over the phone last Friday when she got grounded because of Joliet. That was difficult to handle. If he saw her cry now, he would go weak.
He was angry again—not at her, but at Joliet. What did she do to draw Tully to this point? How could someone treat her—
She made a sound and Nathan’s thoughts stopped in their tracks. He tried to look at her face again, this time stepping closer because that was the weirdest cry he’d ever heard. It didn’t sound anything like it did on the phone.
It was a little higher pitched, a little more breathy, a little less . . . sad?
His face twisted. “Are you laughing?”
She must have been holding it back until he mentioned it because suddenly she cracked into the loudest, most addictive cackle he’d ever heard. A cackle, a real-life cackle. Every few seconds when she took a deep breath she was wheezing, doubled over and grasping her stomach like she was in pain.
Nathan shook his head, but laughter like that is contagious and he was easily influenced. He couldn’t help it. Her face glowed with amusement, and he was delighted to witness.
She was so good at keeping her face straight all the time, he wondered if he was one of the few people in the world lucky enough to witness this treasure.
She tried to say something a few times, then crack up again, unable to get the words out before they were interrupted. It made it funnier.
Who knew how long it lasted? Who cared?
Nathan could watch this all day long.
Eventually, she regained her ability to breathe for more than a couple of seconds and she could make out a sentence. “You should have seen her face.”
Nathan was astounded.
This perfect girl, who did no wrong. From sneaking out with him to homecoming, and now starting physical fights in a school bathroom. He’d corrupted her. “You’re so getting detention for that,” he chuckled.
She shook her head; eyes bright, face red, and dimples as deep as he’d ever seen. “It was so worth it.”
* * *
