Babysitting the Bad Boy: Books 1&2

2: 7.

A few weeks later

"Finally. I am free," I remarked as I spread my arms out wide. I stood in front of the hospital with Nathan next to me, and he watched me as I took in a deep breath of fresh air.

"I want to apologize for how I acted a couple weeks back." Nathan stepped forward and I held my hand up, stopping him in his tracks. I turned to him with a small smile on my face.

"It's okay, Nathan. I understand. Ryan gets you infuriated, which infuriates me. He's done nothing wrong, so stop acting so childish." I turned my gaze back to the parking lot in front of me. Silence fell over us and I didn't want our relationship to turn sour. I cleared my throat as I took his hand. "You're still my best friend. And I love every part of you." I told him with a wider smile and he smiled back.

"Okay," he said quietly.

"Yay! Okay, so do you know where Ryan disappeared off to?" I asked him as we walked toward a cab that pulled up in front of us. Nathan opened the door for me.

"I know he said something about Hailey," Nathan answered as I slid into the backseat. Nathan closed the door and then went around the back of the cab and got in on the other side. "So, Ruidoso? I didn't ask him, he told me and since we weren't on good times, and still are, there's no more information that I had about that."

"Don't you think it's taking too long just to get Hailey? What if he died?" I asked as I felt a pain in my chest as I looked over at Nathan. He sighed as he took my hand into his.

"I'm sure Ryan wouldn't die. He has too many people watching out for him," Nathan muttered through his teeth. He referred to me and I rolled my eyes as I averted my gaze to the window.

"Well, don't—" I was cut off my Nathan's cellphone. It was rang loudly and Nathan took his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and his eyes went wide. I tried to peer over at it, but Nathan quickly answered it and held it against his ear, his body slightly turned away from me.

"Sorry, you have the wrong number!" He immediately hung up and slid it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" I asked, tilting my head at him and he just chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Some spam saying that I won some trip on a cruise."

I nodded slowly as I noticed he acted weird. I let it go, thinking nothing of it. "So, you're taking me home?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since you've been home. I figured you'd be missing it. You must be tired from the medication, so go ahead and take a nap and I'll wake you up when we get to the airport."

"Okay." I leaned my head back against the seat, and my body shifted toward the car door. As drowsiness settled in, I noticed Nathan take his phone and again and started texting someone. But, I couldn't get a good glimpse of it as my vision began to get blurry.

***

My eyes opened and I looked around to see that the cab was parked in what seemed to be a dim lit parking garage. I peered out my window to see Nathan talking to someone in a black suit. I couldn't see who the person was because they had sunglasses on, and they were turned to the side. It seemed Nathan was arguing with the person because his hands kept waving everywhere in the air.

Before they could turn to the cab, I immediately shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I hoped that they didn't notice me watching them. I soon heard the sound of a tire screeching and that's when my door opened. Nathan shook me gently and I slowly opened my eyes.

"Hey, we're here at the airport," Nathan informed me and I nodded slowly as I rubbed my eyes. I yawned and then stretched my arms and legs out before getting out of the cab. Nathan talked to the cab driver and gave him some cash, and then took two bags out of the trunk. We both watched as the cab driver took off after Nathan closed the trunk and then I turned to Nathan.

"Where's the rest of my stuff?"

"Your mom took it with her. She left this bag with an extra change of clothes. She told me to tell you that her and Mr. Bradley are going to stay somewhere else for the meantime."

I nodded my head as I felt shame wash over me. "O-Oh.. Okay." I took the bag from Nathan's hand. He walked me out of the garage and to the airport where he checked our luggage in.

"Why do you look so down?" Nathan asked me after a while. I shook my head with a sigh.

"I don't know.."

"Well, cheer up! Things will get better. If you ever want to, let me know and we can just run away together and forget everything that has happened," he told me with a playful tone and a grin on his face. But, something deep down inside told that he wasn't fully joking.

"Ha ha, okay, I'll keep that in mind," I responded back, looking straight at him. We held each other's gaze for a few long seconds, and then we went back to being serious. "Let me know if Ryan ever calls you, even though that seems unlikely right now."

Nathan nods with a sigh as he leads us into a Starbucks inside the airport. "Okay. Would you like anything?" He asked as he pulled out his wallet from his pocket. I shook my head as I took a seat at a small table for two. I watched as he went to the counter and order a coffee and a muffin.

My phone began to ring and I pulled it out. I saw that it was Ryan's caller ID and I immediately answered it. "Ryan?" I answered as I kept my gaze on Nathan who was waiting for his items. He turned to look at me and I gave him a smile.

"Kimberly, it's me. Don't let Nathan know I called you."

"Huh? What are you—"

"I am going to be back soon, and when I do, I'm coming to take you away. I don't care what Nathan says. Do you understand?"

Ryan's tone was dead serious, and he was scaring me. I gulped nervously as I glanced down to the table and then back up at Nathan who was taking his coffee and muffin in a paper bag from one of the baristas. "O-Okay..." I whispered as I hung up the phone, and then cleared my throat.

"Who were you talking to?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow as he took a seat in front of me.

"No one important. Some dude looking for a girl named.. Jessica? I think that was the name he said." I lied to Nathan with a smile on my face as I sat back in my seat. Nathan nodded slowly as he took a sip of his coffee, keeping his gaze on me the whole time. I sighed as I took my phone out and I took a picture of him sipping on his coffee.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked with a grin on his face.

"Admiring how ugly you are," I joked as I stuck my tongue out.

Nathan chuckled as he shook his head at me. I almost let out a long sigh of relief, but I held it in as I watched him eat his muffin. He noticed me staring and gave me a smile, which I smiled in return. I wondered how long I could keep this from Nathan. He could read me easily. I was basically an open book to him ever since we were little.

I really hope I can. For my sake.. and possibly Ryan's.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Hope you guys enjoyed it!

I think it's starting to pick up the pace again. I really am super excited to write the second book, but man, I always get serious cases of Writer's Block!!

Anyways, thank you all for the wonderful support!

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Love you all!!

~Bethany<3