by York, Marie
I should’ve known better. Nix was no fool. His eyes turned dark and his lip curled. “Why don’t you stop fucking lying to me and tell me what’s really going on here.”
I moved my attention to Kennedy, neither one of us willing to admit the truth.
Kennedy threw her hands up and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re sleeping together.”
Was she out of her fucking mind? Of all the ways to gently break it to Nix and she had to say it like that. Like what we had was some casual fucking instead of… I wasn’t exactly sure what it was but it was more than fucking. I knew that much.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m an adult now. You can’t tell me what to do.”
Nix’s fists clenched at his side. He turned to me, and I held my hands up.
“You fucking bastard!” He came at me, but luckily, I had my speed going for me, and ducked out of his way. “She’s the blonde you texted me about. You sick fuck.”
That goddamned text kept coming back to haunt me. I didn’t try to explain. I ran behind the couch, and Nix met me on the other side. I moved one way, and he moved with me like a fucking shadow. He was going to kill me.
“Nix, leave him alone!” Kennedy yelled.
“Shut up, Kennedy,” he growled.
“Don’t talk to her like that.”.
“I asked you to look after her, not… not screw her!”
“It just happened,” I yelled
“Your dick just happened to fall out of your pants?”
“It wasn’t like that!” He didn’t need to know about the building or any of the details, he just needed to know that this wasn’t what he thought it was.
“So she isn’t just another girl you’re taking advantage of?”
“I wouldn’t do that to her,” I growled, but Nix didn’t back down.
“What makes her any different from the fucking list of girls you’ve screwed over?”
“I love her.” The words rushed out of me with such force it was as if they were grateful to finally be out in the open. I stood there in shock because they weren’t just words, they were the truth. I loved her. I didn’t think I could ever love someone, but Kennedy weaseled her way into my heart and I loved her.
Kennedy gasped, and I locked eyes with her. Her mouth fell open into an adorable O.
“I do,” I said. “I love you.” Tears glistened in her eyes and I wanted to go to her, but I didn’t dare. Not yet. Not until we had this whole mess figured out. I got lost in her gaze and didn’t see Nix jump over the couch. Pain exploded in my face, but I didn’t have time to care. Nix came at me again. I dodged him, and managed to get up, pushing him off of me. He was stronger than me, but I was faster than him.
Kennedy gasped. “Oh my God, Becky, you’re bleeding!”
“Becky?” Nix scoffed. “You got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Nix, what’s going on here is none of your business.” Kennedy stood tall, and I gave her credit for standing up to her brother, but he was still seething with rage. Nothing she said would matter. Nix didn’t reason, it wasn’t how he was programed.
“None of my business? You’re my goddamned sister, and he was my best friend.” His finger flung toward me, the veins in his arms bulging against his skin. I almost expected him to spit at me with the amount of loathing in his tone when he said the words best friend. The was wasn’t lost on me.
“That doesn’t give you the right to control my life! I’m an adult now. You can’t tell me what to do or who I can see.” Kennedy didn’t give up, and I loved her for it, but no matter how much fight she had, it wouldn’t matter.
Nix’s blue eyes darkened with fury. “The hell I can’t. And I don’t know what’s going on here, but it ends right now!”
“No!” Kennedy screamed. “I’m not ending anything.”
“Yes, you are,” Nix insisted.
“No, I’m not. I love him.”
My head snapped to her and she smiled. “I do. I love you, too.”
My momentary joy was destroyed when Nix cracked his knuckles.
“I don’t know what he’s told you, or what he’s said to you, but I can guarantee it was all done to get in your pants.”
Nix might as well have stabbed me in the back. A knife going through my flesh would probably hurt less. Other than Kennedy, Nix was all I had. He wasn’t just my best friend; he was my family. I knew he was protective of his sister, knew this wouldn’t play outright, but I thought he’d beat me to a pulp and be done with it. I didn’t expect him to declare the one thing I always felt in my heart. I wasn’t good enough for Kennedy.
Kennedy shook her head. “No, that’s not true. He’s been nothing but honest with me.”
“Really?” Nix exclaimed, and I knew that what he was about to say would ruin everything. “Did he tell you why he transferred?”
My heart sunk.
Kennedy’s lips parted, but no words came out.
“If he’s been nothing but honest with you, then you would know the reason he transferred is because…”
“Don’t,” I pleaded.
Nix narrowed his eyes at me as blood dripped into my own. My vision blurred, but I didn’t even bother wiping the blood away. I didn’t want to see Kennedy’s face when Nix finished with what he was about to say.
“Fuck you,” Nix said then turned back to Kennedy. “He transferred because…”
“I don’t care,” Kennedy said.
“You don’t?” Nix questioned, and, for a second, I thought I might survive this, but then his lips parted, and I knew no matter how much begging and pleading I did, Kennedy would never talk to me again.
Nix’s lip curled in disgust. “He knocked someone up.”
Chapter 14
Kennedy
My brain couldn’t comprehend what Nix had said. I’d been trying for hours to make sense of it, but no matter how many times I told myself that Beckham, the man I loved, knocked up another girl, and probably had a kid out there somewhere without their father, I just couldn’t process it.
The look on Beckham’s face though, the way his body slumped in defeat as Nix blurted out his secret, there was no way he could deny it. And there was no way I could deny it any longer either. I always knew Beckham was a player. Fucked girls with a no strings attached understanding, but this… even if it was a mistake, why wouldn’t he want to make it right? Be the man he’s capable of being? The Beckham I thought I knew would’ve stepped up, and did the right thing. But I guess it just proved… I didn’t know him at all.
My eyes were puffy from crying and my throat was hoarse. I crawled under my comforter and blocked out the world. Erica was out, and I was grateful for it. The last thing I wanted to do was explain the shit storm that was my life. I’d rather just hide and try to forget the last twenty-four hours.
There was a knock on the door, and I should’ve known that my comforter couldn’t keep me hidden for long.
“Go away,” I yelled, refusing to even look to see who it was I just prayed it wasn’t Beckham. I couldn’t face him. Not now, and maybe not ever. He wasn’t the sweet man I fell in love with. He was a cold-hearted person who ran out on a child. His child.
“Open the damn door, Kennedy,” Nixon said on the other side, and gave it a hard knock for good measure.
He was the last person I wanted to see. Maybe not the last. Beckham held that title, but Nixon was a close second. I swear he found sick pleasure in watching my world crumble around me. He was so overprotective, and I bet it killed him that I was dating someone without his approval.
I ignored him, but pounded on the door. Afraid he would knock the door down, which wouldn’t surprise me, I dragged myself from the comfort of my hiding place, and opened the door.
“What do you want, Nix?”
He laughed and rubbed at the dark stubble on his chin. “You ran out of Beckham’s so fast. We didn’t have time to catch up.”
“That is not why you’re here, and we both know it, so c
ut to the damn chase. I’m not in the mood for games.”
He shrugged. “Fine. Have it your way then. What I want to know is how you could be so fucking stupid?”
His blue eyes that should’ve been mine—I was the blonde in the family dammit. Instead, I wound up with boring brown—narrowed in at me. “I’m waiting.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “What do you want me to tell you? You want the truth. I love him.”
“You’re a child. You don’t know what love is,” he spat.
“I am not a child. I’m only two years younger than you.”
“But you’ve been coddled your whole life. So, those two years could be twenty as far as I’m concerned.”
“And who’s the one who coddled me? You don’t let me do shit. For fuck’s sake, you had Beckham be my goddamn babysitter. I’m eighteen years old. It’s time you treat me like an adult.”
“An adult? You?” He laughed, and I wanted to slap him. “Look at the mess you’re in now. Fucking a guy who knocked someone up and left her behind to come here and prey on a child.”
“I am NOT a child!” I screamed. “Stop calling me one.”
“How are your classes going? I hope Beckham didn’t distract you from that 4.0 Mom and Dad expect of you.”
I went to yell at him to mind his own fucking business, but the words got stuck in my throat. Nix was right. I had cut class for Beckham. I had skipped out on a few assignments. Somehow, I had let Beckham consume my life, and schoolwork was no longer a priority. My parents were going to kill me.
“That’s what I thought,” he sneered. “Good job, sis.”
“Shut up.”
“Why? You’re an adult. You should be able to handle the truth.”
“Get the fuck out,” I demanded, and pointed to the door. “Out!”
“The conversation was just getting good and we haven’t even got to the good stuff. Like I hope you weren’t stupid like that girl Becks left behind. Hope you were using protection. Could you imagine going home and telling Mom and Dad that their princess was knocked up? Now, that would be epic.”
“I said, get out.” Nix was notorious for kicking me when I was down. I didn’t know if it was his way of trying to teach me a lesson, or if he seriously found joy in making me feel like shit. Either way, I wasn’t going to take it. Not anymore.
I shoved his chest. I didn’t care how big and strong he was. As far as I was concerned, the more muscle he got, the bigger dick he became. I urged him toward the door. He held his hands up and laughed. “Hit a nerve?” he asked, and I pushed him again. When he was on the other side of the threshold, I gave him one last look before slamming the door in his face.
I listened to him laugh as he walked down the hallway. I got in my bed, and crawled back under my comforter, hiding from the world, and every word that came out of my brother’s mouth.
Chapter 15
Beckham
What a fucking mess… Nix might not have cut my dick off, but it was worse. I lost my best friend, and the only girl I ever loved in the matter of minutes. Talk about a shit show. I needed a plan. Something. I had to fix this, or go down trying.
The truth was all I could think to do. It had to work. It was all I had. The problem was, I doubted I could get Kennedy to hear me out. Doubted she would even believe the truth at this point. But I had to try. What else did I have? Nothing. And, to be honest, I had nothing left to lose.
Still, I knew Kennedy. She needed time to cool down. To process everything that Nix told her. So, I would put my tail in between my legs, find Nix, and pray to all that was holy that he’d find it in his heart to forgive me for falling in love with his baby sister.
He flew into town for a fight, and I knew that was where I’d find him. I hadn’t seen him since he stormed out of my place right after Kennedy did.
I headed down to the only place I knew where they held UFC matches. There was a flyer outside the door announcing a fight that night at eight. I glanced over the information and nearly shit myself when I saw who Nix was going up against.
I didn’t know about much in the UFC world, but I had heard the name Brian ‘Bricks’ Johnson. The guy was set to be the next big thing in the ring. Bets were made on him constantly because he had yet to lose a single match. They called him Bricks because, according to one fighter, getting hit by Brian Johnson was like hitting a brick wall.
Nix was out of his fucking mind. I went into the gym, hoping maybe Nix was in there practicing, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Hey, Becks,” a girl at the front desk said.
I moved a little closer, and realized it was Chrissy, a girl I had slept with my first week here. I hadn’t seen her since, either. It was like the world was conspiring to tell me how much of an asshole I was.
“Hey, Chrissy,” I said, as I approached the desk.
“Looking to sign up? Have to admit, you’d look pretty damn hot in that ring. And by the looks of it can take a good hit.” I went to run a hand over my face then thought better about it. It fucking hurt like a bitch.
My lip lifted at the compliment though. “Thanks, but no. I’m actually looking for someone. Nixon Bennett? Has he been in here?”
“Not yet. Though we’re all waiting to see him. Most people have to be out of their minds to go up against Bricks. And this Nixon has been swearing he can take him. Some people say he has a death wish.”
“No death wish. Just a huge fucking ego,” I mumbled. For as long as I’d known Nix, he was always trying to prove himself. Trying to be faster and stronger and smarter. Everything was a competition with him. I think that’s why we got along so well. He always wanted to win, and I never wanted to try. He always got the victory, and I never had to put any effort into anything.
“Hopefully he can back up that mouth.” She gathered her brown hair into a ponytail.
Nix could fight. There was no denying that, but I had no idea if he had what it took to take down a man with the nickname Bricks. Then again, with the way my face felt, Nix could probably punch through a brick wall.
“I hope so,” I said to Chrissy, then grabbed a pen from a cup, and wrote my number down on a Post it note she had in front of her. “If you see him, don’t tell him I’m looking for him. Just give me a call.”
She took the yellow piece of paper from me and smiled. “You got it.”
“Thanks,” I said, and headed for the door. Just as I was about to go out, I glanced to my left, and saw who, I assumed, was Bricks. He was beating on some poor guy covered in pads, and all I could think was, I hope Nix knew what he was getting himself into.
Finding Nix was a bust, and it was time to face the one person I’d been avoiding. I needed to find Kennedy. And, if I knew her as well as I thought I did, I knew exactly where I would find her. But first, I had to make a few stops. I couldn’t just show up without any peace offerings.
An hour later, I knocked on her dorm door, holding a cup of coffee, and a plastic bag with a bottle of orange soda, and Baked Lays potato chips. She couldn’t resist her favorites. I hoped.
I knocked again. She didn’t answer. Didn’t as much as call out. It was all quiet on the other end. I could’ve walked away, and accepted defeat, but I knew her, and I knew for a fact she was in there.
“Kenny, please talk to me. Let me in. Five minutes. That’s all I ask.”
Still no response. I knocked one final time as if that was the secret to getting me past the wood blocking me from her. It wasn’t.
I rested my peace offerings against the wall and pressed my forehead to the door. “Kenny,” I said to the door, imagining her curled up in her bed, her blonde hair covering her face, and her beautiful brown eyes, staring at the door. “I’m sorry.”
There were so many things I could’ve said, but I didn’t want to speak to the door. I didn’t even know if she was in there. And, if she was, if she could even hear me. I’d already given enough of a show to the people on this floor. So, after a minute, I pushed off the door, and walked aw
ay.
The only time I looked back, was when I got outside. I glanced up to her window, third one up and fourth over, and for the slightest of seconds almost fast enough to make me think I was imagining it, I saw her looking back at me.
I blinked and she was gone.
Chapter 16
Beckham
Without having Kennedy around, I didn’t know what do with myself. Pathetic really. Before she showed up on campus, I had a pretty active social life. But then she walked into my life, and suddenly the only thing I cared about was spending time with her.
Nix was still MIA. I tried calling him a bunch of times, but he kept ignoring my calls. I even called Chrissy a few times to see if he had come in, but he hadn’t. I thought for sure that he would have showed up early to practice before the big match.
So, for the next three hours, I sat in McGuire’s nursing a beer. By the end of the third hour, Max and Tripp showed up.
“I think it’s a mirage,” Tripp said, as he and Max tiptoed toward me like a bunch of fools. When they reached me, Tripp poked me in the arm and then declared, “He’s real!”
I laughed, even though it was the last thing I felt like doing.
“Trish called us. Said you were in here moping,” Max said, as he waved down the bartender and ordered a beer.
“I’m not moping,” I protested.
Max pointed to the glass in front of me. “How long have you been drinking that beer?”
“Long enough.”
“Let me guess, girl troubles?” Max asked.
I shrugged, and Tripp turned with his finger out, and a big doofy smile on his face. “Nix found out!” he guessed then drew his hands to his mouth like a giddy school kid.
“Yup,” was all I said, but it was enough to send Tripp into a laughing fit. Max joined him soon after, but gathered himself together much quicker.
“Oh, man, how’d he take it?” Max asked.
I turned to let them see the cut on my eyebrow, and the nice black and blue mark that was forming around my eye.