Strength |✔️

ten

Alisha

The hot water splashes on my back, causing my whole body to feel warmth. I turn around and see my tattoo in the small shower mirror; it looks so bold, brave, and belligerent. I am so proud to have it, to represent my Mom as well.

I think of Neil. I think of the way he showed up shirtless and how he hugged me, shirtless. Not speaking of his chiseled abs and formed muscles, of course, but the way how he cared about me, even though he had no idea I was out here... it's just a mystery, why he would care about me that much.

I also think of his sweet personality. Like other hot guys, they would play with your heart and wrench it out. Neil, on the other hand, he is not likely to do that. He cares about me, even though we've known each other for almost a month, but it seems like he's going to be one of the closest people to me. And he's hot as hell, so that's 10 bonus points right there.

I quickly wear my clothes and dab some makeup on and burst out the door. Immediately, I see Faith and a guy making out on her bed. I gasp and they turn around, shocked. Faith immediately shoots up in the air and says, "Hey, Ali."

"Hey," I say, smirking. "So, uh, what were you guys doing here, huh?"

"Uh, nothing much," Faith spits out. I laugh and wink at her. She throws a pillow at me and I quickly dodge it. The poor guy looks so confused. I walk out and say, "Continue on!"

I laugh as they continue making out and close the door. Once I close it, I turn around and see Neil standing there, awkwardly holding an ice pack to his jaw. What happened to him? But the way he showed up to my dorm room so unexpectedly is just so cute.

I frown at the ice pack on his jaw. "What happened to you?"

I take the ice pack from his jaw and wince as I see a huge bruise. He frowns and says, "A friend of mine punched me. No big deal."

I laugh. "No big deal? Neil, you got freaking punched!"

Neil smiles slowly. "It's cute to see you freak out over me."

I look at him sarcastically. "Thanks. Anyways, what are you doing?"

He shrugs. "I thought you would want to walk to class with me?" He nervous bites his lip as his soft brown eyes are placed on me. He's wearing a maroon colored shirt that makes his muscles stand out, and there are veins all over his arm. He stands a couple inches taller than me, but he's not a giant compared to me. His dimple increases as he bites his lip.

I think I need an inhaler.

I take a deep breath. "Sure. Of course we can."

He grins. "Okay."

I start to walk in front of him, but then he catches up to my pace. "And I also wanted to ask you something," he asks slowly.

I look at him curiously as we walk. "What is it?"

Neil clears his throat. "Well, I have a football game this weekend and I was wondering if you'd like to come to it. And then after that... I was thinking that maybe I can take you on a date." He looks at me as his eyes frantically search mine for an answer.

Before I can think what I'm about to say, I blurt out, "Of course, I would love to go on a date with you."

**********

That evening, me and Faith go on another jog. This time, I wear a tank top and shorts. The cool, fall air rushes against us. Then, I start to feel a little cold and curse at myself for my poor clothing choice. After three miles we burst on the park bench, breathing rapidly.

"Damn, we really need to get in shape," Faith says, groaning.

I laugh tiredly. "You betcha."

Faith sits up. I smirk and say, "So, you need to tell me the details about your make out session with that guy, and who he is." Faith reddens and clears her throat. "He's just a really, sweet guy that I met at a party that I went to couple of days ago. We got each other's numbers and he showed up at my dorm and we... well you know what happened."

I chuckle. "Are you sure he's different than the other 100 guys you dated?"

She laughs sarcastically. "Very funny, Ali. But yes... I have made a decision. I am not going to sleep around with random guys nor am I going to mess with them AS MUCH, the key words are 'as much,'" she smiles.

I chuckle and say, "I'm proud of you, Faith. That is a very good decision to make."

She smiles back. "Thanks, Ali. You're a good friend." She sighs and stands up, gleaming. "So, how's your love life going, Ali?"

I scoff. "Can't talk about one if I don't even have one."

Faith laughs. "Well, who is this hot Indian guy I always see you hanging out with, huh?" She wriggles her eyebrows. "Neil Shah, huh? You snatched up a hot one, Ali."

I laugh. "How do you know who he is?"

Faith rolls her eyes. "Everyone knows who Neil Shah is. He's this hot Indian guy who's an amazing football player and always gets the girls, even though he's never had a girlfriend." Why am I feeling relief?

"But," she says, "things might change. You know... you might be his future girlfriend, Ali."

"Psh, like that's ever gonna happen."

"You never know Ali. Unexpected things happen at the most unexpected times."

I bite my lip as I think about what she says. An hour later, it gets dark. She leaves and I stay, because I want to do more rounds around the park. I start to run but a notification comes on my phone. I stop running and pull it out, looking at the text notification. It shows up as an unknown number.

Unknown number: Meet me at the Alley in five minutes. I want to meet you, Alisha.

What the hell? Who is this? How does this person know my damn name? My heart frantically beats. I know this is risky, but I'm not going to let this slide. I need to face my fears and use my strength.

I walk to the alley way near me. It is dark and narrow, a pathway leading in front of me. I follow the pathway. I make a right turn and see a shadowy figure that is hard to figure out who it is. Squinting, I walk even closer and slower. Then, I can make out who the figure is.

I recognize the bulky figure that I was so scared of. I recognize the dark eyes that stared down at me in hatred. I recognize the strong hands that pulled the trigger on my Mom.

******************************************************************************

A/N:

Hey y'all! Sorry about the difficulties with this chapter. I work on my drafts on wattpad on my phone and my computer, and it sometimes doesn't sync up. So, I first started writing for chapter 10 on my phone, but then I went on my computer and it immediately updated so I continued writing the whole thing on my computer and published it. Turns out, it didn't show up on my phone because it didn't sync! So, me being a total dumbass, I deleted it and thought that MAYBE it would show up the actual version that I published on my computer.

Turns out, it didn't.

So, again, sorry about those difficulties. Ya can't really trust technology, can ya? But anyways, hope you guys enjoyed 10! Alisha not only gets invited by Neil to go to his football game, BUT to go on a date as well. And a guy like Neil, Alisha is hella happy.

I would be too, HAHA!

But anyways, stay tuned for future chapters, guys!

- ru <3