18. Chapter Eighteen ~ Mia
Chapter Eighteen ~ Mia
“Hey sleepyhead, wake up.”
I felt a light nudge on my shoulder and rolled over to see who was there. It was Brayden. Apparently, I slept throughout the night and had until late the next morning, and he was there to wake me up. Without breakfast.
“At least wake me with breakfast in bed or something,” I groaned. “What’s up?”
“We can stop and get something on the way. I think I might know where Nick is. So, get up and get dressed and meet me at your car.”
At the sound of that, I was instantly alert. I had no idea how he knew where Nick might have been, but I was eager to find out if he was right. The last thing I wanted was for Nick to get himself into trouble, so finding him was something high on my to-do list.
It didn’t take me long to get ready. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and threw on a pair of sweats for the road. I didn’t bother getting dolled up that day, because there was no telling what the day would consist of.
“That was the fastest I've ever witnessed you get ready,” Brayden teased. “Not bad timing.”
“Yeah well, I'm just eager to find Nick. Maybe slap him upside the head a few times for running off like that.”
Although my focus was on finding Nick, I couldn’t ignore how sexy Brayden was that morning. He was sexy every day, but that morning he was extra sexy to me. I thought it was because of how attentive he was toward my little brother, and the sleeveless t-shirt he wore to show off his guns.
I tried my hardest to keep my eyes focused on the road as I drove in the direction he gave me, but every so often I gazed over to steal a look at him. He was focused. His gaze was straight ahead, and his eyes were very serious, making him all the more attractive.
“Why so serious?” I asked. “You look like the joker sitting over there.”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’m just enjoying the ride.”
“If you wanted to go on a ride, you could have woken me up last night.”
I wouldn’t have minded taking him on a cruise, but I was glad he didn’t wake me. I needed that time to rest and recollect my mind before Nick, my mom, and Trent, made me lose all of my senses.
“We’re going on one now,” he said. “I figured you needed your beauty rest last night. It doesn't look like it this morning though,” he teased. “you’re dressed like you're about to go into a fight or something.”
“Oh, shut up,” I laughed. “You never know with Nick. He was so pissed at me last night; he might start a fight today. He’s like Trent in a lot of ways; doesn't know how to let go of his anger for the greater good of things.”
On the way to find Nick, Brayden gave me the rundown on the guys he liked to hang out with. From the interaction I had with them at the pizza parlor, I knew what he said was true. They weren’t good kids. They didn’t go to school, didn’t work, or have parents who cared to know what they were up to half the time.
I didn’t want Nick hanging out with kids like that. I wanted him to have goals. I wanted him to know that he could be whatever he wanted to be in life, except for a bad kid. Hearing what I heard from Brayden didn’t make me feel like Nick cared about any of that at all.
“I’ve tried to step in and guide Nick, you know?” Brayden said. “I felt like it was kind of my duty since Trent’s gone and you moved away.”
“Really?” I asked, feeling slighted. “That’s very kind of you. Not many guys would stick their necks out for someone else's problem child.”
“He’s not a bad kid, he’s just got some straightening out to do. Nick is actually pretty smart, and very good with his hands. I talked to him about joining the fire academy at one point, but he backed away from it when he started hanging out with those knuckleheads.”
I thought being a fireman would have been awesome for Nick. It was something Trent wanted to do when he was free, so I thought Nick might’ve been good at it too. He liked helping people, that was for sure. Something like that would have been right up his alley.
“We’re almost there,” Brayden said. “When we get here, don’t go in all tough and talking crap. We don’t need any trouble with these kids right now.”
He knew me too well. Brayden knew the minute I saw Nick, I would let him have it. His buddy’s too. He was my little brother and I refused to see him throw his life away because he wanted to be a cool kid.
“I’m chill,” I lied. “As long as none of those punks come at me for protecting my brother, I'll be fine. Nick won’t like what I have to say, but it’s something he needs to hear.”
“Mia, I’m serious. Now isn’t the time to play macho. Those are some pretty bad kids, and they’ll do whatever they feel is necessary to get their point across. Trust me, I've been out here a dozen times and each time, it’s never a good outcome.”
Brayden lectured me until we got to the old, abandoned house near the waterhole. It was rundown and raggedy, but it reminded me of hanging out at the cabin when we were young. Of course, it was a lot nicer than the hellhole we pulled up to, but the vibe was almost the same.
“Do you think he’s in there?” I asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Brayden said.
“I guess so.”
I got out of the car first. Brayden was on his way out, but I told him to stay inside, I'd only be a minute. His legs still weren’t strong enough to fight anyone off, if need be, so I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt again. Besides, Nick was my little brother. Ultimately, he was my reasonability.
Brayden wasn’t excited about staying in the car while I went to search for Nick, but he did it to appease me. Normally, I would have loved for him to come with me everywhere like he was my bodyguard. But in that situation, safety came first.
“Who are you, fine lady?”
A young bull sat on the porch with a joint in one hand and a beer in the other. There were a few girls scattered around him, waiting for their turn to take a hit, while he glared at me like fresh meat. He was tall and skinny, shaggy haired and dingy. Much like a teenager would be. If it were any other day I might have entertained his shenanigans, but I was there for one reason only.
“Is Nick here?” I asked forcefully.
“Nick?” He squinted like he was thinking really hard on an answer. “Who’s asking?”
“Me. I'm asking,” I said. “Is he here or not?”
When he didn’t answer me, I took it upon myself to push past him and enter the house. I wasn’t afraid of some snotty kids who didn’t know their own asses from a can of paint.
“Jesus!” I scoffed and covered my nose from the stench of the place. “It’s filthy here.”
The house was dark and there was loud music playing from a huge Bluetooth speaker resting on an old broken chair. There were boys and girls walking about, laughing, drinking, and smoking. The smoke was so thick in the air, I could barely see anything.
“Nick?” I called out. “Is Nick here? Does anybody know Nick Norway?”
No one answered me. They all ignored me and continued doing what they were doing. When I got to the back of the house, there was still no sign of him.
“Excuse me,” I stopped a girl in passing, “do you know Nick? He's a little taller than me, brown skin, low haircut?”
“Nick,” she chuckled. “Yeah, I know Nick. What do you want with him?”
Her tone was snarky like she had a crush on him or something and I was an intruder trying to sweep in and steal her prize. I didn’t blame her. Nick was a handsome kid, and I was the same way with Brayden when we dated.
“I’m his sister,” I said. “I’m just trying to make sure he’s okay. Do you know where he is?”
Before she could answer me, a huge guy emerged from what felt like thin air. He nudged her out of the way and stood nearly chest to chest with me. The guy was so large, I was afraid to look up for a moment but when I did, I felt like I was looking at the devil himself.
“You’re looking for Nick?”
His voice was so deep I could hardly make out what he said.
“Yeah,” I gulped. “Is he here?”
He looked me up and down before tilting his head and giving me a smirk. When he stepped closer to me, pressing his midsection against my much smaller frame, I backed away and got ready to run out of the house. But suddenly, Nick showed up.
“Mia?” he frowned. “What are you doing here? Hey, chill, this is my sister.”
He stepped in between me and his friend and I felt an instant sense of relief. Nick might have been younger than me, but he had way more heart and I knew he would do anything to protect me.
“I came here to find you. What are you doing here, in a place like this?”
I could sense that I offended his large friend. If Nick hadn’t stepped in between us, there was no telling what he might have done to me. Instead of answering my question though, Nick ushered me out the door to safety.
“You shouldn’t have come here, Mia,” he said under his breath. “This isn’t a place for somebody like you.”
“It’s not a place for you either,” I said.
The minute we got outside, we bumped into Brayden. He'd gathered the strength to get out of the car and come searching for me. Nick was surprised to see him, but there was a certain level of respect in his eyes when they looked at each other.
“You brought your bodyguard too huh?” he scoffed as he helped me get Brayden back to the car. “What did you think I was up to? Fighting a war or something?”
I was so happy to get away from that place, I barely shut my door all the way before I was already pulling off. Nick was in the backseat shaking his head at the stunt Brayden and I pulled, while Brayden glared at me ready to scold me for not listening to him.
“I’m never going to hear the end of this,” Nick said.
“Good,” I said. “You shouldn’t have run off like that, Nick, and you don’t need to be hanging out with those kinds of people. They all look like nothing but trouble.”
“Don’t be so quick to judge,” he said. “Those people have looked out for me a lot more than my own family has.”
I had no comeback for that. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and drove the distance back to the cabin. There was so much I wanted to say to Nick, but I didn’t have the heart to after his comment. It made me feel low; like I really had abandoned him. Brayden must have sensed the heaviness in my heart because out of nowhere, he rested his hand on mine and squeezed a little.