I laughed.
We stepped off to the side and I looked for Turner. I would probably walk back with him as long as he didn’t try to kill Nash before we left.
“Hey,” Turner said when he finally arrived. “Nash.”
“Turner.”
The two looked at each other but no words were thrown. The air crackled with tension. Other kids pushed past us, completely unaware of the scene in front of them. They wanted to get as far away from the class room as much as I did.
“Did you love my sister?” Turner asked suddenly.
I shrugged as Nash’s eyes slid towards me and then the two of us stared at Turner.
“Yes man,” Nash said and it seemed like he was being honest. He sounded the same way he did when he and I talked the night of the concert. “I wanted her to be happy.”
“So then why were you trying to fuck her?”
“We both wanted to be together. It was a mutual thing. You had to have known that, Turner. It’s not like I raped her.”
The word stung my ears…
“What I know is what I saw and what I saw was you taking advantage of my baby sister.”
“I told you she meant the world to me.”
“Like hell she did,” Turner snapped.
“Fuck you Turner.” Nash’s words began to have a hard edge. “You don’t know because we didn’t tell you. It was our business, hers and mine. Get over it. You’re becoming annoying.”
“Fuck you. I had every right to interfere. I was trying to keep her safe.”
“She was fine!”
“You were using her.”
“You’re sister cared about me more than you and that’s why you’re pissed.”
Suddenly Turner’s fist swung out and hit Nash squarely in the jaw. Nash fell to the floor, clutching his mouth, and I yelped. Turner was shaking his hand and hopping from foot to foot.
“What the hell did you do?” I cried.
I looked around but thankfully no one else was there to witness it. Seeing this would surly get the two expelled.
“Turner what the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to get expelled or even arrested? You can’t go around and punch people.”
“Take that you pussy,” Turner hissed. “You self-centered asshole.”
He turned on his heel and walked briskly away from Nash and I. I watched Turner go, torn between following and making sure he was okay or staying with Nash.
I chose Nash…
Grabbing his arm, I pulled Nash up to a standing position. Blood trickled down his mouth and to his chin where Nash wiped it with his bare hand.
“I tried to tell him,” Nash said as we watched Turner’s retreating form. “What a fucking baby.”
“He’s just in shock,” I said. “Are you okay?”
I pulled Nash’s hand from his mouth and wiped away the blood with a tissue I had in my bag. He had nothing but a busted lip, not even requiring stitches. A bruise was already blossoming on his jaw.
“Do you want to go to the infirmary to take care of this?”
“No, I’ll take care of it myself. I took a beating from my brothers all the time so no big deal.”
“Let me come with you, maybe I can help.”
Nash smiled and then winced.
“Want to go back to my place?”
I tried not to ask why it was his ‘place’ and not his dorm.
“Sure…”
Nash touched his face tenderly.
“Damn! I forgot how wicked his right hooks were.”
“This isn't the first time this has happened?”
“No, we used to get in fights all the time. That shit happens though. It's just part of growing up and having lots of disagreements. We were guys hanging out with each other all the time so it was bound to happen.”
“I just don't get guys sometimes. I can never imagine fighting with any of my friends. Then again, I didn't have many close ones anyway.”
“You didn't have many friends? Well, that is strange.”
“I guess if you want to call it that.”
Chapter Eight
When we got to his house I hesitated at the door. I was nervous and terrified to be alone with him. It wasn't that he had done anything specific to be afraid of him but I was scared of being alone with any guy because of my past. I knew I had to get over it though and I just needed to be cautious instead of holding myself back all the time.
“Are you okay?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.
The door was wide open and he was standing inside on the rug. He smiled and waved me in.
“Yeah, I'll be okay,” I said, slowly walking inside.
I sat him down and began to tend to his mouth. The bleeding clotted and I gently wiped away the dried blood. His lip was swollen, not unexpected, and on his jaw there was a nice flourishing bruise. He winced as I cleaned him up but not once did he complain or tell me to stop.
Finally, when I was finished, Nash took my hand and led me around the house. We were ending our tour with his bedroom.
“And this is the bedroom. This is where I do all of my best thinking and creating.”
“Nice,” I said as I took a tentative step inside.
The last time I was near a bedroom with Nash, he wanted to join me. The room was painted a deep blue with white checkered curtains and lamps in each corner. There was a queen bed against one wall and a desk on the other side. In the corner was a guitar and a stand. Clothes littered the floor but the closet was closed.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite places,” he said, pushing the clothes out of the way and patting the bed. “Sit down for a bit.”
“Nah, I’m okay,” I responded, eyeing the bed. “I don’t need to sit, I’m not tired.”
“Lily, sit down,” Nash said as he patted the bed again. “I’m not going to try and fuck you here.”
I cocked an eyebrow and Nash chuckled.
“Okay, I’ll try not to... I can’t make any promises, though.”
That’s what I was afraid of.
After hesitating a moment, I sat next to Nash on the bed. He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
“Thanks for taking care of me. You didn’t have to come home with me or make sure I was okay.”
“It’s fine,” I said as I waved away his thank you. “What kind of person would I be if I let you go home by yourself? You looked half dazed when I pulled you up off the floor. I’m not sure you would have been able to make it here by yourself, honestly.”
“Well, I appreciate it either way.”
Nash dropped my hand and stared around his room.
“So what kind of greatness happens in here? And don’t say sex,” I said, smiling.
He laughed.
“Well, do you know how many songs I wrote in this room? How many times I paced back and forth, thinking of the best words to use or a new verse? I play my guitar for hours in here, sitting on the bed, until my fingers are raw and my body is stiff.”
“So you’re passionate about your writing. You’re passionate about your music.”
“Yeah, I always have been. Music is my life; it has been since I learned how to play the guitar when I was kid. It was an escape from everything.”
“An escape?” I asked. “An escape from what?”
“Life… Reality… You know, just everything. Writing and playing music has been my way to dealing with growing up and the people around me. It helps me figure stuff out.”
“Life couldn't have been too hard for you considering you are so popular.”
“I was anything but popular. Everyone looked at me like I was just the guy in a rock band. It was nothing like how it has been in college. I had a couple of friends that were in a band with me and that was it. No one else.”
I was surprised. After going to the party and seeing all the girls that wanted his attention I never suspected that it was any different when he was in high school. It felt good to be around someone that felt alone in high school just like I did. Going to college has been good for him and it is already pointing towards it being good for me too.