The Peacemaker

Chapter 9: The Fight

"But what if Joshua has a good reason? What if Nicolas is just as bad? Or worse?"

"If you don't want him, can I have him?" Aria smiles.

"I'm serious! I want to talk to Joshua and find out what's going on, but that temper scares me. What if that is who he really is?" I groan and lay my head on the table. "Why did I have to go and get a social life?" Just then my phone chimes. I ignore it. It's probably Joshua. I'm not ready to talk to him yet.

"Unknown number, 'Olá bela flor'." Aria reads it to me. My head pops up and I grab the phone before I'm even thinking.

"It's Nicolas!"

"Text him back!"

I start to reply, but then think about Joshua's warning. "But what if he's right? What if I should stay away."

"He's probably just angry because it's someone he knows and doesn't like. Answer the text or I'll do it for you." She grabs for my phone but I pull it away.

"Okay, I'm doing it!" My fingers hesitate over the screen. "What should I say?"

"Oh, give it here!" She rips it out of my hands and types a reply before I can stop her. She hands the phone back to me and I read her reply. "Hello, sexy."

"Aria!"

"Well he is."

Ping!

I want to see you again. When can we meet?

I'm free any time, well except for school.

Now?

Uh,..........[delete]

"What do I say?"

"Yes, stupid. You say yes."

Okay. I'm at my friend's house. Can you pick me up here?

Yes.

I send him her address then glance at myself in the mirror hanging above an accent table. My heart stops. I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans, my hair is a mess and my eyes are puffy and red.

"Aria. He's coming to pick me up!"

"Good thing we're already at my place then! Let's get you ready!"

Aria is a miracle worker. It takes her only fifteen minutes to fix my face and find a decent outfit. She puts me in a tight white top and a dark green sweater that hangs off of one shoulder. A black leather miniskirt and ankle boots complete the ensemble. She kept the make-up more natural, but put a serum on my eyes to bring down the puffiness.

"Wow, Aria, you are amazing." I say, turning to look at myself in her bedroom mirror.

"I am, aren't I?" She smiles. The door bell rings and we glance at each other then bolt down the stairs. We stop at the door to do some last minute adjustments then I pull it open.

Nicolas' eyes travel up and down my body, as he smiles. "I like that skirt on you, bela flor."

 I pull down on the leather miniskirt. "It-its a little short." I glance at Aria, she just smiles and nods, giving me a face that says 'its suppose to be'.

Just then, the revving of a motorcycle draws our attention outside. We walk into the yard and see a black Harley screech to a stop at the end of the drive way. Joshua pulls off his helmet and stalks angrily toward us. Aria and I back up, hiding behind the smiling Nicolas.

For the first time ever, I saw Joshua throw a punch. And not just throw a punch, but the first punch. I've never seen him start a fight before. Aria and I back up until our backs are against the front door as the fight ensues.

I say fight, but honestly it was mostly just Joshua beating the living shit out of Nicolas. But Nicolas never dropped his smile. In fact, he was laughing, even after Joshua knocked him to the ground.

He wasn't going to stop! Joshua was just going to beat him until he was unconscious and Nicolas wasn't fighting back! I had to do something!

I rushed forward grabbing Joshua's arm. "Stop! You're going to kill him!"

Joshua shoved me back, continuing his barrage of hits. Then something flashed in Nicolas' hand. He hit Joshua in the stomach three times and he fell back, clutching at the wound.

"Joshua! You're bleeding!" I shout, as if he didn't already know, and run to him.

"Get back, Maggie!"

Nicolas stands, walking over to us then leans over close to Joshua's ear. "Father sends his regards."

After that he is gone.

I turn to Aria about to shout for her to call 911 but she is already on the phone. So instead I turn back to Joshua. I don't know what to say, so I just lay his head in my lap and cry as he loses consciousness.

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoyed Chapter 9. What's going to happen? What kind of History does Joshua have with Nicolas? Nobody knows! But we will find out in the next installment of The Peacemaker.

Don't forget to vote! And Share the story with your friends! Please? I need more readers.