Saving Nikolai

Chapter 11

I hate doing this, but it's worth a shot. 5 likes for the next chapter, pretty please. Thank you :)

"What are you doing?" Nikolai asked.

He stood at the door, his arms crossed over his chest. Leylani rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror, tying the ends of her braid together.

"I'm getting dressed for school. I already missed a week because of my back."

"You're not going to school anymore."

"I'd like to see you try to stop me."

"Don't tempt me."

"How's your chin?" She grinned as his hand flew to his face.

A healing scab rested at the bottom of his perfectly sculpted jaw. A reminder that Leylani was no longer weak and spineless. She could fight back.

"You're not going, Leylani."

Leylani grabbed the scissors off the dresser and stormed towards him. Nikolai scuttled backwards, his eyes widening in surprise. He tried to evade her, but she was quicker. She pinned him to the wall, holding the scissors against his throat.

"Fuck you, Nikolai. I am going to school. I will graduate. Neither you nor your family will stop me. Trust me, I won't say a word to anyone. It's not like anyone will believe me, anyway."

Nikolai stared down at her, his breath shaky. Underneath her sweaty fingers, Leylani felt his heart drumming in his chest. Though his eyes were swimming with guilt, his lips tilted up, giving her the tiniest of smiles. "As admirable as you look right now, I have to cut your daydream short. You're not going to school, Leylani."

His gaze shot down to her lips. Leylani, knowing it was childish, readied to spit on him, but he covered her mouth. He knocked the scissors out of her hold and threw her on to the bed, pinning her to the silk sheets.

"St–"

Nikolai brought his face down to hers, his lips just an inch away, shutting her up. His breathing was hard, as was hers. Leylani's heart hammered in her chest as his face hovered over hers. His gaze darkened as he took in her features. Leylani's throat went dry as she realized how close he was. His hands held on to her wrists, holding her arms in place. He sat on her abdomen, keeping her still. Leylani's body burned as the heat from his muscular limbs seeped through her body.

"Spit on me again and I won't be shutting you up with my hands," he whispered. His gaze shot down to her lips once again. "You aren't going to school because you're going to be homeschooled. Don't worry, you're still going to graduate."

Oh. "Who's going to teach me?"

"Let's go find out." He released her and held out a hand.

As soon as his body moved away, Leylani felt cold. She wanted to be locked in his embrace. She mentally cursed at herself and pushed past him, heading down to the parlor. Mr. Gotti greeted her, a pleasant smile on his face. Massimo sat across from him, staring out at the sunrise. The golden rays illuminated his enchanting eyes. Leylani couldn't help but stare. His silver eyes reminded her of the moon. Pure, and beautiful. Nikolai squeezed her shoulder, breaking her gawking.

"You've got some drool," he said, pointing to her mouth, his eyes set.

Leylani wiped her mouth, her cheeks blazing.

Nikolai chuckled, though it was emotionless. "Just kidding."

Mr. Gotti cleared his throat. Nikolai's smile fell, and he took a step back from Leylani. His gaze went hard and his jaw set as his father stared him down. Leylani's heart stung as she saw the hold Mr. Gotti had on his son. For a moment, she understood why Nikolai took the measures he did, but then again, her life wasn't perfect by any means and yet, she didn't turn into a monster. So what gave him the right? Shoving her sympathy to the side, she turned to Mr. Gotti.