Chapter 16 #2
I follow their gaze, catching the brief flash of headlights slicing through the dark. They linger for a moment, washing over the walls, then vanish as the car disappears into the garage.
Ezra straightens, his hand instinctively moving toward his waistband. “He knows the code?”
Koen shrugs. “It’s not like we’ve changed it in the last few years.”
“Fucking irresponsible,” Ezra mutters under his breath.
“Yep,” Levi clips.
Koen tries to defend him. “It’s Nicholas. He wouldn’t—”
“Save it,” Ezra snaps.
The sound of the door to the garage closing cuts through the awkward silence, and moments later, Nicholas strides into the living room. His expression is closed off, but a storm is brewing behind his eyes.
Levi’s lips twist into a smirk that’s anything but friendly. “Well, hello there, asshole.”
The jab lands like a lit match on dry tinder. Nicholas’s composure cracks, and he erupts. “Who’s the asshole here, huh? You want to compare notes, Levi?”
The tension skyrockets as they step closer to each other, and I instinctively move between them, planting my hands against their chests.
“No. This shit stops now. All of it. If we’re going to do this, if we’re going to work together, we do it together.
No more picking fights. No more taking sides. Got it?”
Levi glares past me at Nicholas. “He fucking started it!”
“When did I fucking start it, huh?” Nicholas throws his arms out. “I just got here, dammit!”
Koen grips my upper arm gently and pulls me out from between them, whispering, “C’mere, Little Thief.”
Levi scoffs. “You started it thirteen years ago.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Paste?” Nicholas’s laugh is harsh, bitter. “I did not start it.”
“You hurt me!” Levi pushes his hair away from his temple, jabbing a finger at the faint scar there. “I needed stitches because of you. This is because of you!”
“I already told you I was sorry for that the moment it happened.” Nicholas crosses his arms, his jaw tight. “But honestly, you fucking deserved it.”
“Nico—” Koen starts, but Nicholas cuts him off.
“No! You’re the fucking same, Koen. You dropped me like a hot potato after that night. You never even asked what he did or why I reacted the way I did. Fucking great best friend you are.”
“What did he do?” I ask, and the room falls into a thick silence as all eyes turn to me. I glance around, then back at Nicholas. “What? Let’s get it all out in the open and finally bury that dumb fight.”
“It’s not a dumb fight—” Levi starts, but I cut him off, my eyes still on Nicholas.
“You said you didn’t start it. What did he do? Why did you lash out?”
“All I did was find him alone because I wanted to ask him out.” Levi throws up his hands, turning back to Nicholas. “You didn’t have to push me off and yell at me that you’re not fucking gay.” His voice cracks as he adds, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Nicholas stares at him, his lips parted slightly as a disbelieving laugh escapes him. “You think I pushed you because of that?”
“Yeah.” Levi nods, his hurt evident. “That’s exactly what it was.”
Nicholas huffs another bitter laugh, shaking his head. “No, it’s fucking not.”
Koen furrows his brows. “Then what happened, Nico?”
Nicholas’s gaze darts between them before settling back on Levi. “I thought you came to make fun of me, to finish what you started.”
“What?” Levi blinks.
“I’d been bullied for weeks at that point. Don’t you remember the sneers and laughter every time I walked down the hallway at school?”
Koen answers first. “I do.”
Nicholas nods. “And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
It was constant. Word got around that I liked flowers and that I was gay.
Guys pushed me around, pulled my pants down in front of girls, and told them they could take a good look because I was gay anyway.
Constant terror.” He swallows hard. “They called Veronica. Told her I was whoring around with guys. She threw a paperweight at me for ‘tainting the Harrington reputation.’”
Koen’s head jerks up at that, his eyes widening. “The slit in your eyebrow? You said you knocked your head.”
“She knocked it for me,” Nicholas bites out.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Koen asks, a hint of desperation in his voice. “I would have—”
“You would have what?” Nicholas cuts him off with a bitter laugh. “You showed me exactly what you’d do. You chose him over me without a second thought.”
“I did it because you hurt him!” Koen argues. “If you came to me and told me about—”
“About what?” Nicholas snaps. “How your twin was making my life a living hell?”
“Why me?” Levi looks stunned. “I wasn’t the one bullying you!”
“But you were the one spreading the rumors!” Nicholas fires back.
“I… what?” Levi stammers, his defensiveness giving way to confusion.
“You went around telling people how I liked flowers, how I’d never had a girlfriend, how you were sure I was gay. You asked guys if I’d hit on them or if I ever tried to kiss them!”
Levi’s eyes widen. “Fuck, that was… I didn’t do that to spread rumors. I was asking for myself! I was trying to figure out if there was a chance you might be into me too.”
“Still, you were the one who spread them.” Nicholas looks down at his feet, clenching his fists.
Holy shit.
The realization hits me the same time it does Levi, and I watch as his defensiveness surges even before he opens his mouth again. “Well, you could have still not acted like a fucking asshole and hurt me. We could have just talked it out. Shows what kind of person you are.”
“What kind of person I am?” Nicholas looks up at Levi again and steps closer, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You took my family away from me. Koen, Oscar. You ruined my life!”
Ezra steps in, shoving Nicholas back with a force that makes him stumble, and Koen reaches out to grip Nicholas’s upper arm to keep him from falling on his ass.
“Don’t you dare touch him,” Ezra growls. “Lay a finger on him one more time, and I’ll cut it off.”
“Ezy, stop.” Levi tries to pull him back by the elbow, but Ezra shrugs him off.
“No! I held you for months after what he did to you. You still have nightmares because of this dickhead.”
Fuck, this is escalating fast.
I shoot a glance at Sylus and Ace, who both look tense as well.
Nicholas looks like he wants to take another step closer, but Koen holds him back. “Easy, Snickers.”
“Oh, and Levi’s some fucking angel, huh?” Nicholas yells at Ezra. “He’s never done anything wrong?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Ezra shouts.
“Ezy—” Levi tries again, but Ezra turns and grabs his face in both hands, then kisses him hard. The room falls completely silent except for the collective gasps of Koen and Sylus.
When Ezra pulls back, he keeps his hands on Levi’s face, looking directly into his eyes as he promises, “Nobody will ever hurt you again, love. Not even me.”
Levi looks dazed, his eyes wide, his lips parted as he stares at Ezra. He nods, a tiny movement before Ezra takes his hand and leads him out of the room while we all turn to watch them go.
Hell, yes!
Koen clears his throat, his gaze bouncing between Nicholas and the door Ezra and his twin disappeared through. “Well, that was unexpected.”
Ace leans against the counter. “Was it, though?”
I notice the little smug sheen in his eyes I know so well and have to suppress a laugh.
After a few more moments of silence, Koen breaks it. “I’m sorry, Nico. I saw what was going on, and I should have acted. I just… I didn’t know it was that bad.”
Nicholas exhales sharply, his shoulders dropping as he lets himself sink onto the couch. “You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want you to know. I was ashamed.”
Koen moves closer, guilt etched into every line of his face. “Ashamed of what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Nicholas shakes his head, his gaze fixed on the floor. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
He looks smaller, somehow, like the fight has been drained out of him. I’m not sure what to say. How do you fix something that’s been broken for so long? But the silence feels worse, a gap that’ll swallow him whole if someone doesn’t reach out.
So, I do. I sit down beside him, placing a hand on his knee. “You okay?”
“Sure,” he says, but his voice carries none of the conviction it needs to be believable as he pulls his knee out from under my touch.
Ouch.
Sylus drops down onto the couch beside me. “Why are you even here, Harrington?”
“I don’t know.” Nicholas sighs, his frustration bleeding through his words. “To fucking debrief that dinner from hell? Make a plan?”
Sylus leans back, crossing his arms. “We have a plan.”
“Then share with the class?” Nicholas arches a brow.
Sylus huffs, but before he can retort, I chime in, “Yeah, share with the class. I’m still not sure what this amazing plan is supposed to be. Nico and I are at least as smart as you, so I’m pretty sure we can keep up.”
Nicholas lets out a soft laugh, the tension in his shoulders slightly easing.
It’s not much, but I count it as a win.
I smile at him, but then Sylus hooks his arm around my waist and tugs me into his lap, his hold possessive as he presses a kiss to my throat. “Stop trying to soothe the dickhead.”
“Insecure much, Walker?” Nicholas asks.
“At least it doesn’t slip out when I fuck her, and she leans forward to kiss me.”
“I haven’t slept with her.”
“Notice how he didn’t deny having a small dick?” Sylus chuckles against the side of my head, his breath stirring my hair.
“Guys.” I sigh.
“Again,” Nicholas states. “I didn’t start it.”
“You’re right.” I nod at him, then turn to Sylus. “Sylus?”
“Yes, baby?” he replies, all faux innocence.
“Shut up.”
He snickers but doesn’t push it further, pressing a series of light kisses to my throat and nibbling playfully.
“All right,” Koen cuts in, dropping into the armchair opposite the couch. He tilts his head toward Ace, who settles into the other chair. “Let’s talk about the plan.”
“Should we wait for Ezra and Levi?” I ask, looking over to the door they disappeared through.”