Saving Nikolai

Chapter 2

Floral printed bandages invaded Leylani's vision. She blinked, coming back to reality. Nikolai's fist held out something to her. Leylani looked up in question. She gasped, taking a step back at the urgency in his eyes.

"You dropped this," Nikolai said.

Leylani couldn't bring herself to move. The intensity in his eyes had locked her limbs. He grabbed her hand and shoved the item into her palm, then wrapped her fingers around it. He met her gaze once more.

"Be careful, Leylani. If you get caught with that, they'll lock you up," he said, then left, leaving her breathless.

When he turned the corner, Leylani sighed. The dream she had about him last night didn't help. Quarters, icy blue eyes, and switchblades flashed in her mind all night. Speaking of switchblades, Leylani turned the item over. Fear shot through her spine when she saw her switchblade was in her hand.

She shoved the weapon into her backpack before anyone could see. How did Nikolai have it? She turned her backpack over. There was a small hole at the bottom right. That's how.

A wave of gratitude washed over her. Nikolai had saved her once again. She owed him. Again. She hoped this wouldn't become a regular occurrence. Leylani hated the idea of being indebted to someone. The bell rang, summoning her to class. The day flew by her. She couldn't bring herself to focus on her work. Her mind kept drifting to Nikolai. No one ever notices her and yet in the blink of an eye, Mr. Popular, Nikolai Gotti, not only notices her but saves her. Twice.

The odds of that were astronomical and yet here she sat, being protected by the most sought out boy in school. So lost in her daydreams, Leylani failed to notice the raging woman before her.

"I thought I told you to stay away from Nikolai,"

"Huh?" Leylani looked up. Uh oh. Kiera's eyes shone with rage. She punched Leylani in the stomach. Pain shot through her abdomen. Leylani doubled over as the pain brought her to her knees. She groaned, blinking away the invading spots. Through her blurred vision, Leylani saw Kiera destroying her backpack, throwing her belongings all over the hallway. The hall was empty aside from the two. A blurred figure stood at the end of the hall but made no move to come forward.

Kiera grabbed Leylani's collar. The fabric bit into her healing wound. Leylani clawed at her hand. Tears sprung to her eyes. "Please," she begged, too weak to fight back. Kiera scoffed.

"This is your last warning. Stay away from Nikolai,"

Leylani nodded, whimpering. Kiera dropped her and stormed down the hall. Leylani took a deep breath, tracing the wound on her neck. Blood dripped down her throat. The cuts had reopened. She took the first aid kit out of her locker and patched up her injury. Tears streamed down her face as she traced the gauze around her neck. She wished the coin had flipped to tails rather than heads.

The bell rang, summoning her to the library for tutoring. Leylani shoved her belongings into her locker and threw out her backpack. Kiera had ripped it to shreds. She would in the time being use a plastic bag. There wasn't any money to spare to buy a new backpack. Leylani trudged to the library. She wasn't in the mood to socialize after today's events, but she knew she needed to keep her grades up. Today she would focus on English. She loved reading and writing, but knew nothing about grammar.

Her tutor kept stealing glances at her neck throughout their session. Leylani sighed, feeling a headache coming on. What was Kiera's problem? It's not like Leylani stood a real chance against her anyway, so why the insecurity? Leylani had never had a friend, let alone a boyfriend. Pursuing Nikolai was out of the question. Kiera had no reason to fear and yet she attacked Leylani every time Nikolai came near her. The answer was simple. In order to protect herself, Leylani would stay away from Nikolai. With him being her locker buddy, it wouldn't be easy to stay away from him.