Page 61 of Martyr

Nix collected his things and went to do just that without another word, listening to West’s laughter even after he’d shut and locked the bathroom door.

* * *

He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he couldn’t control his breathing. Nix had his forearm draped over his eyes, blocking out the harsh overhead lighting of the gym. He was lying on the black mat in the ring, West having disappeared a moment prior.

He’d always believed himself to be in decent shape, but even light sparring against West had proven him wrong. Tomorrow, there was little doubt in his mind he was going to wake up achy and bruised. His limbs were already sore, and he was trying to think up the best way to convince West to give him a massage when something wet and cold was suddenly pressed against the side of his neck.

Yelping, Nix pulled away, glaring up at West.

The Demon was leaning over him, the water bottle he’d just pressed to Nix’s skin in his hand. He offered it up and then plopped down, twisting the top of his own bottle and taking a deep chug.

Nix had some of his and then slumped onto his back a second time. “I should just stick with you when there’s trouble.”

“Admitting defeat already?” West clicked his tongue. “Weak.”

“I’d challenge you to a hacking competition since that’s my forte, but something tells me you’d beat me there as well.”

“I would.” West pursed his lips and then said, “I’m not the best swimmer though.”

“Oh, I could definitely take you there then.” It’d been a while since the last time Nix had been in a pool, but he was confident in his skills in that department.

“Why did you quit?”

He shrugged. “It was fun in high school, but I wasn’t going to go pro, so I decided to focus more of my energy on things that could benefit my future.”

“Were you good enough to go pro though?”

“My coaches all thought so. My parents too. I was invited to the Water Kick tryouts. Branwen called me crazy when I told I wasn’t going.”

“Your cousin had a point. Sounds like she really cared about you.”

“Yeah.” Had she though? Really?

“Lake is a good swimmer,” West said.

“So even if I can out swim you I can’t get away from him, that what you’re trying to say?” Nix snorted. “It’s not necessary. I don’t plan on running—or swimming—away.”

“Because we’d catch you even if you tried?”

“That’s part of it.” West’s honesty was rubbing off on him. The more time he spent with this particular Demon, the more he was around someone so open and upfront, the guiltier he felt about what he’d done. He was keeping two secrets. It’d be too risky to reveal who Branwen was to them, but the other one…

Nix sighed and sat up. “I have a confession to make.”

The water bottle on its way to West’s mouth froze. “That so?”

“Hopefully you’ve beat me up enough for one day not to be too mad.” Yeah, this seemed like the perfect time to come clean. “I broke into your computer.”

West stared at him for a moment, unblinkingly.

“Um…” Nix shifted in place. “I—”

“Copied some of Iris’s files,” West filled in for him. “What? Did you really think I don’t have security measures in place? There are cameras in my room, Nixie. They’re always on.”

“What?!”

“Just curious,” West tipped his head, “are you more nervous about the fact I’ve known all this time, or that I just told you I’ve got us fucking on video?”

“The last one—no,” he shook his head, “the first one.”

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