Page 48 of Caged in Flames

Chapter Twenty Two

Watching Nix on stage leaves me speechless. She talks about having a presence like Vixen, but she surpasses it. It's impossible not to fall into her trance. It might be my favorite version of Nix that I've seen so far.

People from all over the festival gravitated to the karaoke booth when her voice rang out across the speakers. Her and Jane had so much energy, it pulsed through the crowd surrounding the booth. This area was practically deserted all day, but the second people heard them, they came to watch.

Seeing her watch her idol on stage is a close second. She's dancing around with Jane and Jasmine, all three of them looking blissed out. If I didn't know better, I'd think they got a hold of something here to help boost the mood.

Nix made it clear that she wants to be sober for today. Part of me wonders if it's because she wants to be sober for tonight. I can't think about that too long right now, there's too many people around to walk around with a constant hard on.

Her hair is wild, the tulle of her skirt falling about as she spins in circles. There’s a flush to her cheeks as she loses herself to the sounds around her. She’s beautiful.

Nix doesn't even seem to notice that her former bullies are staring at her every move. As much as I want to tell them to fuck off, I can't. I don't want to take my eyes off her for a minute. I’m just as hypnotized by her.

Even though I try to avoid the feeling of someone watching me, I look up and meet Sawyer's eyes. For the first time ever, I think I see regret. I refuse to try and decipher his feelings. I've moved past whatever we had this summer.

I have the girl.

This all started with me wanting to at least be her friend, someone she could lean on, but now that I know she wants more? I won't risk it.

Shaking away those thoughts, I focus back on Nix. She's so happy today. When I see a figure approach the girls, I step forward to interfere. When I see its Jude, I almost rush him.

Instead, I take a deep breath. Nix can handle herself, and if she doesn't think so, Jane has her back. I don’t need to rush in on a white horse for her, she can do that all on her own.

He gives them a rare, slow smile and the three girls smile back. He starts to dance in their circle and Nix doesn't seem to mind him joining in. He doesn't push his luck, and only stays for one song.

What shocks me the most is that Charlie steps up to them next. The ladies seem somewhat skeptical, but when he starts to act like he’s grocery shopping, Nix laughs and it’s a beautiful sound.

Charlie made her laugh.

I see how he watches my girl with intensity at school. I don’t like it. That kid is dark and I can't say I like him close to her.

I'm distracted watching the group which means I don't notice Sawyer has come over to my side until he speaks.

"Oh, come on, you can't seriously be fucking jealous of Charlie." He’s chuckling as he says it.

I roll my eyes at him, brushing off the fact that he’s right, but quickly put them back on Nix. "I'm not jealous. I'm concerned."

"None of us have any interest in hurting her again, Gun. You can stop your white knight charade." I hate that his thoughts are similar to my own.

"Fuck off, Sawyer. I'm not letting your petty words mess with my mood. And just because you aren’t interested in hurting her doesn’t mean you aren’t fucking interested in anything else."

His hand rakes through his hair. "Damn it. I can't help it, Gunner. Every time I see you, I want the guy from this summer back. But I'm the jealous one. I don't know how to handle it and I just spit stupid words to try and get something from you.” I notice he doesn’t deny that they want her.

I can’t even blame them. I wonder what she was like before they tried to break her. I wonder if they couldn’t help but be drawn into her orbit. If so, why would they hurt something so beautiful?

Sighing, I go for honesty. "Sawyer, I'm sorry. I really am. As much as I want to hate you for what you did to her, I know that's not the only side to you.”

Staring him straight in the eye, I keep it real. “It’s just that I have no idea which person you are. Part of me knows that you’re not all bad. Everyone has good and evil…”

I trail off, because I don’t want to have a heart to heart with him when Nix is having a great night just a few steps from me. “I'm not trying to hurt you, but I want Nix."

The words don’t seem right, but that’s what I’m supposed to say...right?

Regardless, there’s hurt in his eyes, but he holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright. Fuck, alright. Let's just get back to the fun. Let's go dance with the girls before the show ends."

I appreciate that he’s not making this any harder and nod at his suggestion. For the next hour, we immerse ourselves in the music. We dance, we sing, we play instruments in the air. We all act like teenagers who haven’t been fucked by life.

Sawyer takes both Nix and Jane’s hands and spins them both at the same time.

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