UNEDITED
After violating campus rules and committing student misconduct, twenty-three-year-old Warren Ashford is deep trouble and at risk of losing his volleyball scholarship -- the one thing he truly values other than his bad boy reputation, and hi...
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Warren
The drive is dull; mostly music and hardly any talking.
I think Nova is nervous to meet my family – more nervous than she cares to admit.
Even though she's not my legitimate girlfriend, I can understand why she'd be nervous. She's here to make an impression and I know impressions matter to her; she wants my family to like and accept her. It's a normal want, so I'm not judging her.
Although, I do think she's overreacting. My family accepts anyone into their lives. If they believe in a different religion, have a different skin colour, are from a different country – they don't care. We're all people that live in the same world.
When we arrive at my house and I've parked in the driveway, I tell Nova to relax and assure her that my family is going to love her. Which I actually believe to be true because I've had an attitude since I was a kid and Nova seems to be the only girl that's not afraid to shut it down. My parents will love that.
Nova gives me a smile that doesn't meet her eyes and also fails to convince me she believes anything I've said to her.
"Seriously, Novs," I say, resting a hand on her shoulder. I give it a light squeeze. "Everything's gonna be fine." I flash her my best smile.
Now, I've been the victim of many glares from Nova Elliot, but never have I felt so...scared. She looks like a timebomb that's about to blow any second. My own eyes widen the slightest bit as she moves – I'm scared she's going to backhand me for...for whatever I said this time.
Thankfully, she doesn't.
Instead, she leans forward until our faces are only inches apart. "If you ever call me that again, I will tell your parents what the hell is really going on with your love life, and I will leave, Warren," she spits. "And don't think, for one second, that I am joking."
She doesn't give me a chance to consider the threat she's thrown at me; she gets out of the rental vehicle and slams the door behind her. I stare at the now-empty passenger seat, wondering what the hell just happened. All I did was use a nickname. I don't understand what I did wrong. She looked like she wanted to fucking murder me.
I hear the back of the vehicle open, and I look over my shoulder to see her wrestling with the suitcase. After the little exchange that just happened, I feel like I should let her haul the suitcase up the stairs herself. If she thinks she can be a bitch to me and get away with it, she's wrong. But I know I can't let that happen – Mom and Dad would kill me if they saw the girl doing all the work.
I get out of the vehicle and slam the door, partly because I'm pissed at Nova and partly because I know she's not going to explain what I did wrong. I've tried many times to crack her shell, make her tell me about her past, but she continuously shuts me down. But, with this nickname shit, I'm guessing there was once someone that used to call her that. This reaction is somewhat similar to when I questioned her about geocaching.
