Kissed by a Bullet

Chapter 46 ~ A smirk a day, keeps the cowards away

Song of chapter: Salute by Little Mix

What could I do to make this better?

Nothing.

Can I get through this?

Hell yes.

Does this define you, and who you are now versus who you were then?

Yes and no

What does pain, heartbreak, and betrayal turn into?

Strength.

"Now repeat this one last time. Pain and strength made Wild side. Wild side formed who I am today. Warrior of the dark, and savior of the day." Nikki says to me slowly and I take a deep breathe, finally getting my tears at bay.

"Pain and strength made Wild side. Wild side form who I am today. Warrior of the dark, and savior of the day." I repeat slowly. Sniffing as I said it, and trying to wipe away the rest of my tears.

"Do I need to go through all of it again? I'm not letting you leave until you understand. That you are tough and that the monster you see is a warrior looking back. You gave up your teenage years to grow up at 13, you started making money at 14. Why? All to save your house, try to pay back what your mother had spent on alcohol, and you gave up all of the college funds that your parent saved up so far, to save your brother's college money. They don't know what's been going on, because you knew how to hide everything. How you managed to hide the fact that your wrist was broken is beyond me." He chuckles for second and then counties as I look at the floor listen to every word.

"You have the up most respect from everyone that is fighting and training here. No one questions your judgement, they always questions Dewayne's. When they see you, they see the fighter, the skills, the brains, the smart mouth, and they see the goodness in you. You always wonder why Johnson choose you over Dewayne. I never understood that, because as you wondered why, Raven, Kevin, Dewayne-even though he never admitted he knows why, -and me. Johnson never failed to miss a leader, like Po from Kung Fu Panda, they didn't make mistake with him and they didn't make mistake with you." He says to me and I chuckle at his reference, looks like he has been watching some movies with his daughter.

"As for Jace we will figure it out, we always figure it out. I know you are concerned about Dewayne as well, he called me before I came in here, after you told me about wanting to go back into fighting, he called and told me that you told him. I understand now your reasoning for wanting to get back in to this." Nikki adds on trying to make me feel better. He sits on the floor across from me watching, like he's trying to guess what I'm about to say before I say it. Like always, then he wonders why he got his  Nickname.

I nod my head, looking up at him from my bloody knuckles. "I-" I cut myself off and take a deep breathe, trying not to break down again.

"I want my future, I want to go to California." I tell him and Nikki's smile is full blown. "But I want to teach Dewayne a lesson." I add on, his smile fades from his face as it forms into a thinking one.

"Dewayne doesn't know this added detail, so why don't we just keep pretending like it's true?" Nikki sends me a smirk and I send one back.

"Okay, this will be just like the time a kid at school swore I was Wild Side, and declared me to a fight and ended up 'hitting' me in stomach. I dramatically fell to the ground like I was actually in pain." I say and Nikki laughs. The truth in the matter is I've always watched people form and the eyes are a big tell, so before he could hit me I already knew what he was aiming for and jumped back, he only grazed my stomach but he never has to know that.