New Life

Chapter 31

Angelina's POV

Nathaniel and I walked along the water without a word for the next couple of minutes. It wasn't awkward, in fact it was pretty comforting for some reason. A gust of wind hit my body and I shivered. "I'll go grab you a blanket from the car," Nathaniel said as he turned to go run to his car. I nodded and stared at his back as he got further away. I stood digging my foot in the sand as I waited for Nathaniel to return. "Hey there pretty lady," I heard someone slur behind me. I turned around. There were two drunk guys staring me up and down. It didn't help that I was in my short pajama shorts and just a thin cardigan over my tank top. I wrapped my cardigan around my body and turned away ignoring them. "Hey! Don't ignore me," he slurred. I stopped away as he tried to grabbed my butt.

"Don't f*cking touch me," I yelled.

"Ooh, feisty," the other one slurred, "so whatcha doin' here alone so late, baby girl. It's get dangerous 'round here ya know."

"My boyfriend's gonna be back, so I suggest you leave me alone," I said.

"Don't see your boyfriend nowhere," the first guy said, "Come on, why don't ya hang with us til your boyfriend gets back." He tried to grab my hand, and I smacked it away. "You f*ckin b*tch!" He yelled as he grabbed my arm. He tightened his grip on my wrist and I winced.

"Let go," I said, "you're hurting me! Stop!" He started pulling me towards him.

"Let her go!" I heard Nathaniel's voice as I tried to pull away from the guy. Nathaniel grabbed the man's wrist and ripped his hand off of mine.

"Nathaniel," I gasped. He pulled me behind him. I grabbed onto his shirt shaking.

"What the f*ck doing you think you're doing to my girl?" He snarled.

"My bad bro," the guy who grabbed my arm said, "didn't know she was taken." The two guys looked at each other and snickered. Nathaniel grabbed the one who was talking and threw him to the ground. I heard a crack as Nathaniel's fist made contact with the guy's jaw. Nathaniel repeatedly punched until I wrapped my arms around him to make him stop. The guy was knocked unconscious and his face was covered in blood. The other guy helped his friend up and yelled, "I'm gonna call the f*ckin cops, you psycho!" As he dragged the unconscious one away.

"Nathaniel—" before I could finish he turned around and wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "I'm so sorry I left you alone." I hugged him back, tears falling from my face.

"I was so scared," I sobbed. I felt him hug me tighter, and I rested my head in the nook of his neck. "I wanna go home," I whispered. I wrapped the blanket around her and walked her to my car.

Nathaniel's POV

I pulled into Angelina's driveway. Her head was resting against the window, and she was sleeping soundly. I smiled as I watched her, but frowned when I saw the bruise on her wrist. I gently grabbed her wrist and rubbed it softly. She scrunched her eyebrows, I quickly let go hoping I didn't hurt her. Her brows were still furrowed. I rested my thumb between her eyebrows and rubbed gently. Her eyes fluttered open, and I felt my heart skip a beat as her sparkling eyes looked up to meet mine. She stared at me without breaking eye contact. Something flashed in her eyes and she blinked awkwardly looking away. I grabbed her wrist again and placed a kiss on it gently.

"I'm really sorry," I said.

"It's okay. You arrived before anything bad could happen. So thank you for saving me,"she cleared her throat and raised her hand to the handle, "Thank you for the ride."

"You know, you can call me if you ever want to just vent or cry," I said, "I won't leave you alone next time."

"Look, I don't really know if that's a good idea," she replied. She turned back to look at me.

"Angel, really," I pleaded, "I really meant what I said when I made my promise. I promise to make you happy, whether that be as your man, your friend, your acquaintance, or your personal punching bag." She looked down at my hand.

"I think the punching bag was the guy you almost killed today," she laughed as she took off her cardigan and wrapped it around my hand. She gave me a small smile. "Thanks Nath for everything—" I jumped and grabbed her face at her using my nickname.

"Say it again," I said.

"Thanks Nath?" She said confused.

"You're calling me Nath again," I whispered as if it were a secret.

"Uh, yeah," she said brushing her hair back, "Nathaniel is a bit long, so yeah."

"Thank you," I said.

"It's not anything deep or anything," she said, "it's just a nickname."

"Yeah," I replied teasingly, "a nickname only you can call me."

"That's it," she pouted, "I'm leaving."

"Wait," I chuckled, "I'll walk you to your door."

"Oh!" She said, "and thank you for the necklace." I was taken aback a little bit with how comfortable we were with each other.

"You're welcome," I smiled, "I'm really glad you like it."

"Make sure you disinfect your hand before you go to sleep," she said as she opened her door, "and make sure you wrap it afterwards. Seriously, or you'll get an infection."

"Okay," I replied, "I only listen to you, Angel." She pursed her lips and her brows furrowed.

"You better," she said, "alright, good night."

"Good night," I said. She slipped inside and closed the door.