Page 20 of Catch Me

The air immediately stiffens around us and Nick drops his hand from my face. His body is ice cold, like a blizzard just blew in and froze him to the spot. When I glance up, his eyes have clouded over, an anger blazing like a house fire behind his hard gaze. He just stares at the wall for a moment, but when I continue to watch him, he breaks his stare with a slow blink. He looks over at me, snapping out of his trance and getting to his feet hastily. He rubs his palms on his jeans and them drops to his knees in front of where I sit on the bed.

His hands clasp my cheeks. “I’m going to take care of it,” He presses his forehead to mine and both of our eyes fall closed. “Do you hear me? I’m going to take care of it, this wasn’t your fault ok?”

And before I have a chance to ask what he means, he whips out of my bedroom like a hurricane on a path of destruction. I don’t know where he’s going, but I have an idea he’s heading towards Connor’s dorm and it’s not for a friendly visit. All I can do is wait, so that’s what I do, sit on my bed, picking my nails and trying not to look at the time on my phone every four-seconds.

CHAPTER 11

NICK

My heart is pounding like it never has before and that’s something, considering I play hockey for a living. I don’t even remember driving here, the whole time all I could picture wasLois, scared and vulnerable in a car with some fucking creep who can’t take no for an answer. I slam my car door for good measure, but it does nothing to help sizzle out the fire that’s lit in my stomach, in my chest, fucking everywhere.

By the time I'm smashing my fist against Connor’s door everything in my body is numb to the fire, I feel hot and the rage is bubbly deep inside me. The door creaks open and Connor McLain peers out through the gap, bleary eyed and puzzled as to who is pounding on his door at almost midnight. But I don’t give him a chance to register what’s happening, or come up with some pathetic excuse before I'm bowling through his door with my hand clasped around his throat.

“Woah man, what the fuck?” He coughs, spluttering on his words and clawing at the hand that’s tightening around his neck as I press him against the wall.

“Let’s not pretend you don’t know why I'm here.” I growl, I'm having to focus super hard on not actually strangling this motherfuc—

He wriggles in my grip. “Seriously! I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here!”

I close my eyes and breathe hard, forcing myself to let go of him and take a step back. “You went out with Lois Taylor tonight right?”

His eyebrows scrunch in confusion and he rubs his sore neck. “Yeah, so?”

I huff a laugh, one with zero humour. “You’re really going to pretend like you don’t remember what you did?” I crack my knuckles a little and Connor remains silent, the realisation dawning on him. His eyes cloud over and he swallows hard.

“Oh, you remember now right?” I push him back against the wall, my palm flat against his chest. “Think you’re a big man do you? Forcing yourself on a girl like that?”

Connor’s mouth twists into a devilish smirk. “She wanted it, she might not have told you that, but trust me she—”

My fist cracks against his jaw, the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream and momentarily sending me into a frenzy. His words ‘she wanted it’ make my head spin. I connect with his face against, this time the blood streams from his nose and he winces in pain like a hurt puppy.

I shake my hand, knuckles bloodied and sore. “I suggest you stay away from her if you want to keep all of your fingers attached.” I shove him back against the wall and he crumples like a piece of paper. He’s not a man, just a pathetic little boy who likes to try and dominate anyone who’s weaker than him. I turn to walk away, but it seems he’s not finished. I hear Connor get to his feet and breathe a laugh.

“Don’t let your ego get bruised man, just because she went on a date with me instead of you.” He sneers and I turn back to look at him, his face is covered in blood but he’s still grinning like a fucking psycho. “She chose me,” he says, spitting blood onto the already maroon coloured carpet.

I tilt my head, disbelieving tone colouring my voice. “Did she?” I smirk, shaking my head and leaving his dorm room with a chuckle bubbling in my throat. He’s fucking crazy if he thinks Lois Taylor would ever choose him. She’s mine and I’ll fucking show everyone on this campus who dares to even breathe in her direction.

I take ten minutes to sit in my car and cool off before entering Lois’ dorm room. My stomach is still tight with rage and I have to clench and unclench my fist a few times to release a little of the pent up frustration. I don’t want Lois to see it, even though she’s bound to spot the red sores that are littered across my knuckles the moment I put my hands on her.

When I creep into her darkened bedroom she’s curled up on the bed, eyes closed and breathing evenly. Her dark curls are splayed out all over the bedspread like a splattering of chocolate, pulling me in. Her record player is still spinning silently, the time I’ve been gone has left the disc played and now hushed like the rest of the dorm. I make a conscious effort to be as quiet as possible, hoping not to wake her as I tiptoe over to her desk and pull my jacket and shoes off. But of course she stirs no matter how hard I try to creep around like a mouse, so I drop down beside her and tuck a loose curl behind her ear. She squints up at me, her bright hazel eyes adjusting to the darkness that covers us like a cloak. When she realises it’s me peering down at her, she hooks both arms around my neck and pulls me into a tight hug of relief.

“I didn’t know if you were coming back,” she whispers, her warm embrace sending any lingering anger straight to the pits of hell. I relax into her, letting my body sink into her’s as we both lay tangled in each other on her bed.

“Of course I was coming back,” I leave a kiss against her forehead, “I’ll always come back.”

“Not everyone does,” she squeaks and my heart strangles itself.

I stand up, taking both of her hands and pulling her to her feet with me. The hoodie she wears is draped over her like a much too big hospital gown. Her loose curls are hectic like she’s been for a spin on the waltzers and her eyes are still murky with sleep. But somehow she still manages to be so achingly beautiful it makes my heart tighten so much I almost stop breathing when I look at her too long. I break away from her for a moment, reaching for her record player and dropping the needle back onto the disc. The music weaves through the air, creating a soft melody around us and I take Lois gently by the hand. I put one hand on her lower back and pull her to me, closing the gapbetween our bodies and swaying to the music, so softly we’re barely moving.

Lois titters and peers up at me through long lashes. “What are you doing?”

“Dancing,” I shrug, lifting her hand and gesturing for her to spin. She does with a giggle and I haul her back to me softly. Our eyes lock for a long moment and the laugh falls away from her lips, the intensity of our magnetised gaze electrifies. A shiver rolls down my spine, one that’s filled with longing and desire for her, but that’s not all, there’s something else there. A heavy feeling sinks down into the depths of my chest, like a boulder that’s wedged itself there, never to be dislodged. But it’s a nice feeling, like something I’ve been missing, waiting for and now it’s finally here and it’s here to stay.

Fuck, I think I might be falling in love with her.

CHAPTER 12

LOIS

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