AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My stomach sinks. “I don’t know.”
“I’m just saying, don’t be too naive. I’m looking out for you.”
We chat for a few minutes longer, and then I tell him I have to go even though I don’t.
Maybe Drew’s right. James didn’t text me during the day. Why was I on his mind so late at night? What did he really want? Questions swarm my mind, and I go down the rabbit hole ofwhysandwhat-ifs.
Why would he be interested in me?
What do I have to offer him, or anyone for that matter?
My own family can’t even stand to be around me. Why would James be any different?
Several minutes later, my heart is racing and my palms are sweaty. Then I remember something my therapist once told me: I need to stop overanalyzing everything. It doesn’t serve me to sit here and waste time wondering why someone did something. It doesn’t matter why James texted me last night—what matters is that he did. For whatever reason, I was on his mind, and he reached out. The conversation was harmless, regardless of what his intentions might have been, and I enjoyed it. End of story. I finish my lunch so I can get back to painting and leave the worrisome thoughts behind.
Or at least I try to. Drew’s voice echoes in my head for the remainder of the day, and I end up rage painting half of the bedrooms upstairs.
I’m in bed reading around nine o’clock when the doorbell jolts me out of my thoughts. I trot downstairs and swing open the door.
I gasp when I see Leo’s face. “Oh my god. What happened to you?”
He shrugs. “Got into a fight.”
“Clearly.” I tip his chin. Purple splotches cover his jaw and cheekbone. A scab runs down the middle of his bottom lip where it was split open, and one of his eyes is still swollen shut. I haven’t seen him in a few days, but the wounds are still pretty fresh. “Is the other guy even alive?”
“Barely.”
I usher him inside and then freeze. “Please tell me your brother didn’t do this to you.”
He laughs. “Nah. Some random guy.”
“What was the fight over?”
He pulls a wad of cash from his pocket. “About five hundred dollars. It’s an underground fighting ring. No rules. Last one standing wins.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re inFight Club? Seriously?”
“Don’t knock it till you try it, Nix.”
I stare at the money as he tucks it back into his pocket. “Why fight for money? Why not just get a job?”
“I don’t do it for the money.”
“Then why? You like getting your ass beat that much?”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Something like that.”
My stomach flutters. Hedoeslike getting his ass beat. It’s the pain. The need to feel something physical to dull the ache of the mental anguish.
He glances down at my arm. “I know why you’re always rubbing that wrist, Nix. I know you like the pain too.”
I swallow, embarrassment coloring my cheeks. “It’s not like that.”
He drops his chin and looks straight into my eyes. “You can’t lie to me, Nixie.”
I pull my sleeves down and grip them in my palms. “I don’tlikethe pain. I want to escape it.”
He takes my hand and lifts it between us. “Will you show me?”
