Going For The Bad Boy | completed

Chapter Twenty Six

I wake up with arms wrapped around me. What the hell? I mean, I knew it was obviously Chad's arms around me. Who else would it be? Malcolm? Ew, no. I notice that we were in his room, not the guest room. Damn horny boy, did he sneak in here? "Chad, wake up." I slap his face knowing that nudging him probably wouldn't do.

"Why did you slap me? What the hell?"

"Why are you here? Did you sneak in or something?"

"No, actually. Funny story, well..not really." He sits up and pulls me towards his chest and keeping his arms wrapped around me. "You woke me up in the middle of the night, told me you were scared. At first, I didn't know why you were scared or what you had to be scared of so I asked you. I think you were probably still asleep, so probably sleep talking." I don't sleep talk, do I? "You mentioned his name again, and burst into tears." Crap.

"Who's name?" I hesitantly ask.

"Tyson." My muscles tense, and I knew he felt it. "It's okay, I'm here," he said, holding me tighter. "You cried in my arms for a bit until I calmed you down. You then fell asleep and I took you back to here but then when I was leaving, you asked me to stay. You seemed really scared and I didn't wanna leave you in that state so here I am." Is he making this up? About me asking him to stay? "Look, I know you probably think I'm making this up but I'm not." Can he read minds too now?! "If you weren't in that state, I wouldn't have stayed. I may be a player and all, but I respect women." Damn, didn't expect that. "And if they didn't want me to join or I knew they wouldn't be comfortable, I wouldn't have done it. But you wanted me there and you were so scared. I couldn't just leave you, could I?"

"Thank you," I mumble, smiling. Dang, he's so sweet..

"Now, are you going to tell me who this Tyson bloke is and why you're so scared of him?" No.. Telling Ryan didn't help. He just wanted to tell mum and dad. What could Chad do anyway?

"I..I don't know."

"I know he hurt you."

"W-what?" How the hell does he know?

"That day I scared you. I figured something like that went down, but then last night you confirmed my suspicions. Like I said, you spoke in your sleep."

"What did I say?"

"You told me how you didn't want him to come back and hurt you again. Again, Riley. How many times?"

"I don't know.."

"You told me how you visited him in prison. Are you crazy? Why would you do that?" Damn, remind me never to plan a surprise party for someone.

"I had to know why he was doing it. I kind of wanted closure, but I didn't get it. I got a death threat instead and got scared out of my mind. I don't know why I went to see him. It was stupid, I know. But I had to know why.. I should have gone to the police in the first place, then that girl wouldn't be dead.. She would've been okay, lived a happy life. I mean, what if he killed some other girl too that we don't know about?" Chad turns me around to I was facing him.

"You're overthinking things, stop." But I can't. I could've helped prevent all of this.. "Riley, please don't do this to yourself."

"I'm scared, Chad. I've had boyfriends in the past, I've slept with them, I've done stuff couples do. But I'm scared, I always broke it off. I got scared they'd end up like him. Then there was Emmett, he was only trying to get into my pants but Parker scared him off. Why can't I pick the right guy?"

"You don't have to be scared anymore, I'm here. I'll protect you."

"You can't, though! You don't understand."

"Then tell me, princess."

I hesitated a bit but when I looked him in the eyes, I saw the concern. I saw the genuine concern in his eyes. Why? Why does he care? "You can't protect me from my nightmares," I whisper.

"I can help you get through them, though. I can be there for you.."

"Why do you care?" I ask, looking down at my fingers.

I feel him lift up my chin with his index finger, "I don't need a reason to care about you, princess." At that point, my heart was doing all sorts of cartwheels. Am I having a heart attack? I hope not..

"Why is it that there's that one girl that changes the bad boy? What makes her so special? I don't get it, I never have."

"That one girl can be the one to help him see things in a different light, help him see things in a better light. She also makes him want to be a better person. Not for himself, but for her. Feelings are a weird thing." I suddenly felt weird. I felt like he was going to drop this bombshell on me. A bombshell I wasn't ready for. I quickly push myself off of him and get out the bed.

"Do you think my clothes have finished washing and drying? I mean, you did put them up to wash didn't you?" He frowned slightly but sighed.

"Yeah, I'll go get them." He walked out the room, and I went and sat on the bed. I picked up my phone and stared at it. I had a few missed calls.. Thank goodness I keep my phone on silent when I sleep.. I felt lucky, I didn't have a class today. I guess that's kind of why I also agreed to stay. I looked at the number that had called me a few times, but I didn't recognise it. It was weird, who could it be? I mean..it wasn't Chad, was it?

Just as I heard Chad coming up the stairs, my phone started to ring again. Guess who.. It was the number I didn't recognise. "Are you calling me on my phone, Chad?" I ask Chad, who appeared in the doorway.

"No? Why would I? I'm right here." I shrug and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Did you miss me, babe?" My eyes widen and I drop my phone.

"No.." I whisper. It can't be. Chad picks up the phone, looks at the caller ID and answers it.

"Who is this?" Chad's expression changed entirely. "How the hell did you get her num- none of your damn business who I am! What do you want?" Chad looked angry, but I didn't care. He knows my number..how? "You better stay the hell away from her, and don't you dare call this number again." Chad threw my phone at the wall. My phone.. He immediately crawled onto the bed where I was, and brought me into a hug. "It's okay, princess. Don't worry, it's okay. He was just calling from the prison, okay? I recognise the caller ID. He won't get to you."

"He knows my number..how?"

"Shh, it's okay." He kisses my forehead and continues to hug me, slightly cradling me a bit. "I won't let him get to you. I promise."