Just Kissing

30.

Song: Kindly calm me down - Meghan Trainor

........................................

Hailey

I was surprised the red marks remained in my wrist as minutes went by. This Ryan guy hadn't really hurt me that bad, shouldn't they be gone by now? Were they gonna leave bruises?

"How is it?" Nate stood before me in a second and took my hand from me, frowning at the faint unwilling to disappear red spots. "Fucking idiot." he put the cold can he just took from the fridge over it and I almost hissed at the coldness, but held it down afraid he might mistake it for pain. It was such a tense environment already. "I'm gonna kill him."

My heart pounded harder, "I told you I'm fine." I sighed, taking the can from him and sliding out his hold, immediately missing the warmth of his palms on my skin. But considering our current situation... "I can't even feel it." which was true as much as he refused to believe it the first five times I'd said it.

The can was a treatment Nate'd insisted on. Not really necessary, but it seemed to matter to him so...

I was touched he cared, and couldn't deny that my heart fluttered at his concern, but at the same time it was awkward that our first encounter after the 'discussion' started with me being nursed on Trish's Palmer's kitchen, sitting on the marble counter and with the baffling beat of the party around us and a group of hammered schoolmates not that far -they were busy playing spin the bottle or something like that but still.

"Who was that?" I mumbled curiously, also not sure how to approach the other topics hanging over us with so much weight I might choke just mentioning them. I mean, I'd came with the idea of opening up or whatever... but not anymore. So I took the easiest one and met his gaze just in time to see his jaw ticking.

"Ryan..." he started rigidly and shook his head, stopping himself from further information.

I furrowed my brows at the rather vague answer. "But how do you know him?"

I moved the can to see the light marks finally fading now. Nate took my arm again, extra carefully and after frowning at it, he lifted it to press his lips there. Hot against my fresh skin and making my heart jolt at the unexpected sweet action.

"He's no good, Hailey. Stay away."

"I-I would have." I rushed out, taken aback by the aggressiveness in his tone, contradicting his actions, and lowered my gaze again. "But he was making Kimberly uncomfortable and-"

"I know. Just... Don't mess with him, okay?"

I nodded, not really knowing what to do next and I hated it. It was as if all the confidence I'd been having lately with Nate was now all gone. At once. Not even at the start of the course when we made the interview I felt this conflicted about him, this nervous. And majorly I think it was because even back then, with all my anger, I knew what to feel for him. Anger, displeasure, whatever. But then we started this deal and now... Now I didn't know what I was supposed to feel.