CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

-•PRESLEY•-

When Nathan dropped me off at school in the morning, he said nothing. He seemed to be bothered about something, so I didn't say a word either. I didn't even make a sound.

He must've been caught up with the encounter that we had with the K Blades last night. I knew it was a delicate subject, so I didn't mention it. I wasn't sure if I even wanted him to talk about it, I might have burst into tears again.

Now, I sat in my last class of the day, looking at the clock, waiting for it to strike three thirty. I could sense plenty of stares directed at the reddish mark on my cheek from where Raymond had stricken me.

I ducked my head and was relieved when the school bell rang. I gathered all my things and shoved them into my backpack. As I approached the front of the school, I realized that it had started to drizzle slightly. I pulled my hood over my head and prepared to stand in the rain.

I found an awning to stand under and waited for Nathan's car to show up. I tucked my chilled fingers into my warm jacket pockets.

When I felt the tap at my shoulder, I instantly whirled around and embarrassingly lost my footing. I slipped backward on the slippery concrete, but someone caught my arm before I could hit the floor. It was Ross. He pulled me closer to him and grinned.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he said, hand still on my arm.

I gently loosened myself from his grasp. "Not your fault," I said. "I'm just...a little jumpy, that's all."

Ross frowned. "You have a bruise again," he reached out to touch my cheek.

I shook my head and faked a chuckle. "You know me, always clumsy."

Ross didn't look like he believed me. "Thought we were friends," he said, moving closer to me. "Friends don't lie to friends."

"Some do," I said, trying to deviate the conversation.

He arched a brow, then shook his head. "Fine, we don't have to talk about it," he dug his hands in his pockets. "How was your weekend?"

I shrugged. "Nothing new, just watched some movies."

A loud honk cut off Ross' response. I turned my head and to my horror, it was Nathan in a sleek white Jeep. By his expression, I could tell that he disapproved of who I was talking to.

"I have to go," I told Ross. "I'll um, talk to you later, okay?"

Ross grabbed my hand to stop me, then released it. "Be safe," he said, then casted Nathan a look. I rushed towards the Jeep and prayed that Nathan didn't catch the look that Ross sent him.

Once I was in the car, I immediately buckled my seatbelt, giving Nathan the indication to drive away.

He didn't move, just gazed at Ross' retreating figure.

He started the engine again.

"You're still friends with him?," Nathan asked.

I shrugged, looking at my hands. "Not really, sometimes we talk, that's all."

He didn't respond right away.

"Nothing more?," he asked, focusing on the road ahead of him.

My breath caught in throat. I gulped. "What-what do you mean?"

He tightened his grasp on the steering wheel and looked at me for the first time today. "You know what I mean," he stated, briefly scanning my face, then returning his focus to the road.

I shook my head.

"What does that mean, Presley?"

"I don't know."

"Tell me, because I think you do."

I snapped my attention to him. "No, you tell me. Who was that girl at the party? Is she your...girlfriend? Because you...you can't just kiss me and then kiss her if she's your girlfriend! You haven't talked to me all day, the only time you actually do take the time to talk to me is if I'm in trouble, because oh, I'm just your  investment."

We stopped at a red light. Nathan took his hands off the wheel and fully turned to look at me. He had a slight smirk on his lips.

"Don't smile," I said, crossing my arms. "Its not funny."

The smirk on lips disappeared. "How can I not? You've never yelled at me before. No one has, not since I was twelve."

The light turned green. He returned his hands to the wheel. We both stayed quiet for a while, then he spoke up.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Well then...why did you kiss her?," I asked quietly.

He shrugged. "Because I felt like it."

There was another gap of silence, then he spoke up. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you this morning. I shouldn't have just...ignored you."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. You're hurt about it."

"No, I'm not," I whispered, looking out the window.

"You're a very bad liar, little one."

I snapped my attention to him and crossed my arms. "I've lied to you before and you still haven't noticed."

"Really?," Nathan scoffed. "What have you lied about?"

I huffed out a breath. "You'd get mad if I told you."

He stopped at another red light and turned to me. "I'm already mad," he stated. "Tell me."

When I refused to speak, he probed further. "Is it about him? That boy you're so fond of."

I looked him in his piercing green eyes. I spoke softly. "He kissed me a few weeks ago, I didn't-," I let out a huff. "I didn't like it, it just...it felt wrong. I don't know how to explain it."

Nathan's silence urged me to go on.

"He's a really nice person, but I don't know. He only comes up to me when I'm alone, it's just...a bit odd," I explained quietly. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

The light turned green. Nathan sped up, he had a look of consideration on his sharp features.

"There's something you're leaving out," he flicked his attention to me.

There was something I was leaving out, but if I told him my suspicions, he'd probably swerve off the road.

"Tell me or I'll drive to his house right now."

"You don't know where he lives," I said softly.

Nathan laughed bitterly. "I'll find out."

I sighed. "Well I- I thought I saw him at the gang race on Saturday. But I think I was just too worried, my mind must have been playing tricks on me."

Nathan raised a brow. "You decide to tell me this now."

I sat up straighter in my seat. "I don't even think it was him!," I exclaimed. "It just looked like him. Just forget I said anything, he's too nice to be in a gang."

Nathan looked over at me quickly. "You're too nice to be in a gang, little one, but here we are."

The rest of the car ride was silent. I didn't speak, he didn't speak, the radio wasn't on. The only sound was the rain that softly pattered on the windows.

I noticed that we weren't heading in the direction of the Creeds' base.

"Nathan?"

"Hm?"

"Where are we going?"

He rubbed the nape of his neck. Suddenly he looked stressed.

"My dad wants me to go negotiate with some small business to try and get some of their profit. He wants me to strike a deal with as many as I can within the next three weeks."

"Why do I have to come then? Shouldn't I be in the infirmary?"

"I tried telling him," he answered gloomily. "He wants you to come because he wants people to see you as a delicate figure so people don't back out of the deal when they see me. He needs you there so I don't seem too 'threatening'."

"That's a good strategy," I praised.

"Thank you, I came up with it," he stated with a tone of irritation.

My brows drew in confusion. "Well, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I didn't create that strategy for you and me. I created it for Kyle and Ally."

"Oh, so you didn't want me to come with you?"

"No."

I looked glumly down at my lap. "Why not?," I asked tentatively.

He shrugged. "Because."

"Because why?"

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Because you don't have experience in negations, and, well if I'm being honest, I'm not too sure where the K Blades are hiding. After the race and...last night, they're going to be out for blood. Your blood and mine."

I wrapped my arms around myself as he pulled up to a small clothing shop. He parked and cut the engine.

"Stay in here," he warned.

"But-."

"No," he grumbled.

"Fine," I whispered.

"Good," he stated, then got out of the car.

I watched him talk to the owners of the store. He had a dashing smile on his face as he explained the details of the deal. They conversed for a while, then Nathan waved goodbye to them. From his expression, I expected bad news.

Once he was in the car, he cursed.

"How did it go?," I asked gently.

"Fucking horrible," he reversed the car and headed toward the main road again.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," I offered sweetly. "Maybe tomorrow it'll be better."

He didn't speak to me. I knew it was because of his defeat. Nathan Pierce didn't like to lose, and today was probably his first loss in a long time.

When we reached the Creeds' facility, Nathan stopped me from getting out of the car.

He locked eyes with me. "Presley...," he trailed off.

I bit my bottom lip.

He locked his jaw. "That kiss on Saturday, it's not going to ever happen again. I wasn't thinking, okay? It's not professional if I'm going to be your boss. I don't want you, and you shouldn't want me. I'm bad luck."

He didn't give me a chance to respond because he bolted out of the car. He left me there in the garage to wipe away pathetic tears. I felt like a fool for crying, why was I crying? Frustration, fear, false hope? All three seemed applicable.