CHAPTER FIFTEEN

-•PRESLEY•-

When I woke, Nathan had halted the engine and was shaking my shoulder slightly. He had a brilliant grin plastered on his face which I hadn't been accustomed to yet. This whole morning, he seemed to have it on, and I was determined to keep it that way.

"Rise and shine, little one," he said, taking his hand from my shoulder. "We're here."

I looked around and involuntary squealed out loud. Nathan looked at me incredulously.

My cheeks burned. "I love the carnival," I admitted.

He smirked. "Thought you might."

I smiled. He looked away and opened his door. "All right, kid, let's have some fun."

When I opened the passengers door, I was met with a chilly gust of wind. It nipped at my cheeks and nose, I shivered.

Nathan led the way to the entrance of the carnival where a ticket booth was located. With a fresh wave of embarrassment, I realized I didn't bring any money to buy a carnival ticket, or anything at all for that matter.

I pulled at Nathan's sweatshirt sleeve. He looked down at me with expectancy in his green eyes. With the movement, the morning light glinted off his diamond studs.

"I...I didn't bring any money," I said, shamefully.

He scanned my embarrassed features, then grinned wickedly. "I know, don't worry about it."

He walked to the ticket booth breezily with me on his tail. The girl at the booth flushed at the sight of Nathan, she tucked a hair behind her ear and leaned low to reveal her imposing cleavage.

Nathan seemed to pay no attention to her as he paid for two tickets. His expression was nonchalant and almost bored.

I guess he wasn't impressed.

"My shift ends at eleven," the girl said flirtatiously. "Maybe ditch the kid and we could go somewhere...private," she said, biting her lip.

Ditch the kid. With shame, I realized she was referring to me. My shoulders slumped slightly.

Nathan's expression didn't seem to change as he pocketed the tickets.  "You have food stuck in your teeth," he said casually, before pulling me away from the booth, leaving the girl to self-consciously look in her compact mirror.

"She was pretty," I stated bleakly. "Didn't you think so?"

I truly didn't think I wanted his answer.

He looked ahead with his hands in his pockets. "She was beautiful," he admitted with a nod. There was no grin on his face.

Something foul twisted my stomach as I wrapped my arms around myself. I willed the feeling to go away.

"So...so why didn't you just leave me? Why didn't you go with her?," I asked quietly.

He turned to me with a confused expression. "Because I'm not an asshole. I'm not going to just leave you here, Presley," he said, nudging me. "And plus, she didn't look like that much fun," he shrugged.

The foul twist in my stomach seemed to subside at his words. I felt myself smiling again.

"So what your saying is that I'm fun and she's not?," I asked.

He nodded. "Correct."

I giggled and his mouth turned up in a smile.

We approached the ticket man where he scanned our tickets, allowing us entry into the carnival. I took a glorious breath of the carnival food and my stomach gave a tiny growl.

"Hungry?," Nathan asked.

My cheeks flushed as I nodded bashfully.

"Take your pick," he said, surveying the various food vendors that littered the carnival grounds.

"There," I pointed at a corn dog booth. "I want one."

Nathan nodded and led the way. There was a short line at the booth which I was grateful for, my stomach certainly appreciated it.

Nathan paid for both our corn dogs and we found a bench to sit at. It felt like an inhumane experience to see him sit down and eat with me. Nathan seemed like an untouchable force, but I realized that he was just a boy, he just had to grow up faster than I did.

He turned to me as I observed him. "What?," he asked, expectantly.

I instantly turned away, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Nothing," I whispered.

"Didn't seem like nothing," he taunted.

I turned back to face him. "You have mustard on your cheek," I lied.

He didn't even blink. "No, I don't."

I sighed defeatedly. "How are you...so sure of yourself all the time?"

He leaned back against the bench, surveying me carefully, then looked ahead. "I have to be," he said, shrugging. "If I'm not, then the gang is going to doubt me, and nobody is ever supposed to doubt their leader."

I marveled at how his mind worked and how he always thought of his gang first. He always had them in his mind, his heart, everywhere. It was admirable.

"Nathan," I began tentatively.

He flicked his gaze over to me.

"About this gang race thing...Haley and Ally said it was really dangerous," I said as I peered up at him. "Maybe you shouldn't do it this year."

I didn't know why I was expressing this to Nathan. Once I said it, I immediately wished I could take it back.

Nathan cracked a cocky grin. "Worried for my safety?," he said, raising a brow.

I turned my face from him as I felt my cheeks heat.

He nudged my arm. "I'm just giving you a hard time, kid," he said with amusement. "I've been racing for three years. Nobody really ever gets hurt, well at least not permanently."

I snapped my head up at him with alarm. He laughed. "Don't worry, kid, it'll be fun. You'll see."

I looked down at my shoes. "I'm not worried," I said almost inaudibly.

"You shouldn't be," he said simply.

When I looked up from my shoes to look at him, I saw the water gun booth behind him. There was a fluffy teddy bear hanging from the wall as a prize.

I needed it.

I tugged at Nathan's sleeve and pointed eagerly at the booth. He turned around skeptically and once he caught sight of the booth, he instantly shook his head in disapproval.

"No way. Those booths are a bunch of rip offs. It's rigged so you don't win," he said, getting up and starting to walk in the opposite direction.

I tugged at his sleeve again and when he turned to look at me, I jutted out my lip and gave him a pleading look.

"Please," I whined. "It's my favorite game."

He rolled his eyes but eventually nodded. "Fine, but I'm not paying for more than three tries, got it?"

I beamed up at him and pulled him toward the booth. Nathan paid for both of us to have a turn.

The woman at the booth pointed the microphone at me before we started. "When you win, which prize are you going to take home today, dear?," she announced.

I pointed directly at that brown, fluffy teddy bear. "That one," I said.

Nathan looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face in front of all the people who were here to witness our game.

"Good choice, dear," she said grinning. "You know how to play right? Just keep aiming at the target until the balloon pops with water. Sound easy enough?"

I nodded excitedly.

"Okay then, on the count of three, start shooting the water into your target," her voice rang over the microphone. "One, two, three."

I pressed the button for the water and started to aim it at the target, hoping and praying that teddy bear would be mine. The water gun was surprisingly hard to control, after a few seconds holding it up, my arms felt exhausted. I looked over to Nathan who seemed entirely focused as he held his gun up with ease.

I refocused on my gun and tried as accurately as I could to direct the water at the target. I looked at my balloon and with a gush of excitement, I realized it was nearly full.

I heard a loud pop sound and looked over to Nathan. His balloon had popped first and he had a pleased look on his face. The woman handed Nathan the teddy bear with a cheer. He took it and immediately shoved it into my arms.

My mouth gaped open.

He crossed his arms. "I like to win, I never said I liked teddy bears."

I beamed up at him. "What should I name him?"

"So it's a boy?," he asked skeptically.

I shoved him. "If I say he is, then he is," I said quietly.

"I think you should name him Nathan," he said with an easy shrug.

I giggled. "No way. I'm naming him Benny, I think it suits him better."

Nathan suddenly looked up at the roller coaster roaring above us. "That one. We're getting on that one."

I let out an involuntary squeak. Nathan turned to me with amusement. "Surprise, surprise. You don't like rollercoasters," he said, flickering his eyes over my face.

I shook my head persistently. "They scare me."

Nathan grabbed the teddy bear from my hands and held it up to his ear. "What was that, Benny?," he mocked. "You think Presley's being ridiculous? Me too."

I snatched Benny from his hands, sulking. "I'm afraid of heights," I admitted bashfully.

He started walking past me to the entrance of the roller coaster. "I'll hold your hand if you want, kid," he called from ahead of me.

I felt my face warm with a ridiculous blush and I was glad that Nathan's back was turned to me. I struggled to keep up with his long strides as he made his way to the line of the roller coaster.

"See, there's a long line," I pointed out. "Let's get on another one."

He paid me no attention as he maneuvered us out of our spot and straight to the front of the line.

"Nathan," I whispered hurriedly. "We can't just cut!"

"Sure we can," he said with a carefree expression.

At that moment, the ticket attendant for the ride approached us. He was a broad shouldered red head with a smile directed at Nathan.

"Dude, I haven't seen you in months," the red head said.

They knew each other?

Nathan grinned. "Yeah, you know me, I'm a busy guy."

The red head turned his smile down at me where I stood at Nathan's side. "Who's this little guy?," he asked. "He's adorable."

My cheeks flushed and I wished to hide under a nice, sturdy rock forever. Nathan laughed.

"This is Presley," he said, smirking down at me. "He's my neighbor."

"Ah, cool!," the red head said enthusiastically. "You guys looking to cut?"

"You already know," Nathan grinned charmingly.

The red head opened the gate for us and led us to the roller coaster seats. I put Benny in the little cubby where he instructed me to store my loose items. I warily took my seat next to Nathan and allowed the red head to strap me in.

I took a deep breath, then decided to take my mind off the roller coaster that was about to soar me through the air. "How does he know you?," I asked Nathan, quietly.

He shrugged with a smug expression. "I'm a popular guy."

"Why did you tell him that I was your neighbor?," I asked.

He leaned closer, his low voice filled my ear. "Did you want me to tell him that you were the newest member of my high profile gang?," he asked skeptically.

I shook my head. He leaned back.

"So who does he think you are?," I asked softly.

He looked at the red head who was working the roller coaster buttons. "He thinks I'm a kid who has a mom and dad that love him, who supported his way to college. He thinks I'm normal," he said simply.

I looked at him a while, then before I could speak, the roller coaster gave a sudden jolt forward. I screamed as the wind whipped through my hair and rushed through my face. I gripped the handle until my knuckles turned white.

Nathan smiled as he looked over to me, the wind rushed through his pitch black hair and his eyes became a lighter shade of green. For once, I saw a boy on a carnival ride instead of a gang member with tattoos and a gun. It was almost unnerving.

The roller coaster gave a sharp left turn and I yelped. As quickly as it started, the ride ended and we were back at the starting point. I released a relived breath. The red head unbuckled me and Nathan before we made our way to the cubbies to retrieve Benny.

"Fun, right?," Nathan asked as he pulled his hood up.

"A little," I said with a small smile.

"Okay, fine. Your pick next," he announced.

I hugged Benny to me as a sweep of October air caused me to shiver. I looked ahead of me, pondering on which ride to pick next. I could feel a bright smile light my face when my focus landed on the race cars.

"Over there," I pointed excitedly. Nathan turned his head in the direction ahead and he smirked.

"Are you sure?," he asked.

I nodded, smiling. He looked away from me and dug his hands in his pockets. "All right, no objections here."

The track at the race car ride was significantly smaller than the professional ones I'd seen but it was still impressively roomy. The cars on the track each went around twice before the other people in the line were allowed entry. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nathan's dark green orbs sparkle as he watched the engines roar to life. I could tell that he was in his element.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the race car announcer boomed. "Just a jolly reminder that every first place winner gets to take home their very own golden trophy! Best of luck, racers."

The trophies appeared to be perfectly polished. They almost glinted off of the afternoon light.

"Let me guess, you want that one to," Nathan stated, leaning against the gate, a knowing look on his face.

"It's so shiny," I breathed.

Nathan opened his mouth to respond but the gate opened and it was time to board the cars.

"You two together?," the race car announcer asked Nathan and I.

"Yes, sir," Nathan responded easily.

"I hope you two don't mind getting comfortable, ya'll are going to have to share a car," the race car announcer stated, looking slightly wary at Nathans tattooed hands.

I looked at the couples who shared a car and saw that they were pressed closely against each other. I felt my cheeks warm as I turned to Nathan and murmured, "It's okay, we don't have to. We can just come back when there's more cars."

He looked from me to the line where it had greatly lengthened since we emerged from it. He shook his head. "We're winning that trophy," he said stubbornly and hopped into the race car.

Nathan turned to me expectantly and patted the spot in between his legs. "I don't bite, Presley," he said. "Don't get all weird on me now."

I inhaled a shaky breath and prayed my blush didn't show through. "Okay," I whispered as I tentatively placed myself between his legs. My back was pressed right up against his toned chest.

"See, isn't so bad, right?," he murmured low in my ear.

I nodded, knowing my voice would betray me.

"Do you really want to win this trophy?," he asked from behind me.

"Of course," I said quietly.

"I'll press the gas, you steer, think you could do that?," his steady voice rumbled in my ear.

"I-I can't steer very well," I stammered helplessly.

He gave me a small smile. "That's why I'm going to help you, kid."

"Okay," I whispered.

"Attention, racers! Line up!," the announcer boomed.

Nathan's foot pressed on the petal lightly. He took control of the wheel to steer us in line with the rest of the cars.

"Don't make any wild movements," Nathan instructed. "Just follow the lines, okay?"

"I think I can do that," I nodded.

"Perfect."

"Ready...set...GO!," the announcer screamed.

Nathan pressed the gas petal with more force and we sped our way through the track. The wind ruffled my hair and suddenly I couldn't break the happy smile that brightened my face.

I steered just as Nathan had told me and we passed three cars. We continued to soar through the track with ease.

Nathan adjusted himself from behind me and I felt the light touch of his fingertips graze my small hands. He took control of the wheel to take a sharp left turn and pass up two cars. We were in second place now.

He let go of the wheel and let me control it again. "Steer a little to the right," he instructed.

"But we'll crash into them!," I exclaimed nervously, fumbling with the wheel.

He took control of the wheel again and our car dove right, where it was positioned directly on the tail of the race car ahead of us. The finish line was only a few seconds away, and with gloom, I thought our chances of winning first place were gone but Nathan's calloused hand clamped over my own and he steered left in a sudden jolt.

I gasped when I thought we were going to flip over, but at the last moment, we were in front of the car and we crossed the finished line first.

Nathan released the wheel and leaned back. I did an excited little squirm in my seat at the thought of the golden trophy.

I hopped out of the race car first and Nathan followed, brushing dust off his pants. I took Benny from the car and waited anxiously for the race car announcer to hand me the trophy.

When he handed it to me, I giggled out of excitement. An unrecognizable look passed through Nathan's face as he scanned my face, then he seemed to shake it off and ruffle my hair. "See, kid? Told you I like to win."

"I helped too!," I examined.

He smiled slightly and led us to the exit. "Yes, yes you did."

Afternoon turned to evening, it started to get dark. Nathan and I had rode almost every ride in the carnival and I was exhausted.

I held Benny and my shiny new trophy as I waited for Nathan who was in the men's restroom when I heard a voice that sent icy chills down my spine. Every night I prayed and prayed that I wouldn't hear that voice again, that horrible voice that had caused me so much pain.

I tentatively looked up and saw Robert with a middle aged women that I'd never seen before. He held a beer in his hand while he pulled her close to him with his other arm. I tried to quickly shuffle into the men's restroom to find Nathan but it was too late, Robert had already spotted me.

He pulled me harshly by the collar of my sweater and shoved me against the nearest wall. The trophy clumsily fell out of my hands but I clutched Benny protectively to my chest. Robert roughly placed one gruffly hand on my neck and I whimpered, squirming with the intention to get away from him.

"Well, well," he growled. "Look who I found."

Those pathetic tears started to pool in my eyes and I shook my head. "Why can't you just leave me alone?," I whispered.

Robert backhanded me with so much force, I heard my ears ring. "You ran away from me, boy!," he bellowed. "You disobeyed me."

The middle aged women reached out to take Roberts arm. "Rob, lets go, people are starting to stare," she pleaded, looking around her at the gathering crowd.

Robert shook her off him and twisted my arm painfully. I cried out in pain. "Let's go, boy, I'm taking you home," he growled.

"No," I sobbed pathetically.

Before Robert could slap me across the face again, he was yanked backwards. I rubbed my arm tentatively while my vision blurred with warm tears as I watched the scene display itself in front of me.

Nathan had a wild look on his face, it made me sob even more. He landed a tattooed fist into Roberts jaw and with a crack sound, I immediately knew it was broken. Nathan didn't stop there as he continued to wail relentless blows to Roberts face.

Everything happened at once. Roberts nose was bleeding out everywhere, Nathan had him pinned against the floor as he made a red mess out of him. I was frozen in time, I couldn't move, all I could do was watch.

It took three men to pry Nathan from Robert. His knuckles were stained with blood and he still had that wild expression on his face when he looked at me. His jet black hair was a tousled mess and his green eyes were the darkest shade of green I'd ever seen on him before.

He seemed to shake that violent expression and took two quick strides to engulf me into a hug. His strong arms wrapped around me, hiding me from the staring crowd. I let myself break down and sob wildly into his chest as I gripped fistfuls of his sweatshirt.

"Hey—hey, I'm here, kid. It's me." he said gently into my hair. He sounded like he was trying to restrain himself.

I dug my face deeper into his chest and let out a pained whimper.

"You're hurt," he said stiffly, pulling away slightly to observe me, but I wouldn't let him, I clung onto him.

"Nathan...," I whimpered. "Can you just take me home?"

Home. It meant different things to different people. And for me, right now, it meant the facility.

He ran a gentle hand over my back and whispered in my ear. "I can do that, kid, come on."

I nodded and hid my face in Nathan's chest as he led me through the crowd and to his black challenger. I clutched Benny to me the whole car ride back to the facility.

Nathan didn't ask me anything, which I was grateful for but he examined the cut on my face from Robert's attack. He counted softly under his breath and seemed to regain some of his composure.

All I knew was that Nathan Pierce, the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs in the area, had just saved my life in more ways than I could count.