Need Him (BxB)

CHAPTER THIRTY

-•PRESLEY•-

It was Monday and on my way to visit Mrs. Dean in the nurses office, I stumbled into Ross. I swallowed the urge to run the other way.

I remembered the boss's command to stay away from Ross for the time being, but it would look too out of character on my part if I avoided him. It was best to act like nothing was wrong.

It was best to act like Ross wasn't accused of being part of the gang that wanted to kidnap me.

"Hey, Pres," he smiled down at me, charmingly.

I glanced around quickly. "Hi," I said, mustering a smile.

"You okay?," he asked, reaching out to touch me, looking concerned.

I maneuvered out of his reach with a nervous laugh.

I didn't know what Nathan and I were, if he was truly my...boyfriend. But it felt wrong for Ross to touch me, it felt like I would be betraying Nathan.

"I'm fine, Ross," I laughed lightheartedly.

Ross shook his head and replaced his look of concern with a smile. "You're right, sorry. I guess I'm the one that's not okay."

It was my turn to be concerned. "What's wrong?"

He adjusted his backpack. "Just some stuff at home, it'll be fine though," he gave a small, nervous laugh. "I shouldn't have told you that."

My soft heart ached for him. He was always so closed off, he must've been dealing with deep-rooted issues that hid behind that dazzling smile.

"Is there anything I could do?," I asked softly.

I could already picture Nathan's annoyed expression if he saw me sympathizing for the boy in front of me. I couldn't be like him though, I couldn't turn a blind eye to a person who was hurting...even if the person was a potential threat to me. Not that Nathan was heartless, he just knew his boundaries and he set them well.

Ross smiled lazily. "Let me look at you."

I looked at the ground. "You can't say things like that, remember? We're friends."

"Are we?," he asked, and I turned my attention back to his face. "We don't talk anymore, Pres."

I sighed. "I've been...busy. But we're talking now, right?"

He leaned against the lockers and scanned my face. "You're right. So talk."

No more talking, the boss would demand. He would go into cardiac arrest if he knew I was still having a conversation with Ross. The thought made me jittery.

Just as I was about to respond, the sound of a phone ringing filled the empty hallway. Ross looked annoyed as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. When he looked at the caller identification, his jaw tightened.

"I have to go, Pres," he said hastily. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

No, I'm not supposed to talk to you. I'm being too nice, too compassionate, too soft-hearted.

I nodded. "Yes."

He flashed me a grin, then answered the phone, keeping his voice low. Once he was out of sight, I resumed my route to Mrs. Dean's office. She said she had some 'quick news' for me. When I reached her office, she was typing ferociously on her laptop.

"Mrs. Dean?," I announced quietly as I poked my head through her door.

She turned to me with wide eyes. Mrs. Dean waved her hand for me to come in. She looked eager. I shut the door behind me and sat down on a chair opposite her.

"Did you already run out of the elixirs? I can make more, I just nee-," I began, but she shook her head.

"No, Presley," she said, smiling. "That's not why I wanted to see you," she pulled out a large envelop and handed it to me.

I looked at it skeptically. "What is it? Who is it from?," I asked.

She squealed. "Open it!"

"Okay," I said cautiously as I pulled out the various papers within the envelope. As my eyes scanned the words of the first paper, my heart sunk and my eyes welled with tears, tears that weren't from fear. Tears that weren't from sadness. Tears that weren't from pain. No, these were tears of easy joy.

"I-," I sobbed into my hand. "I got in?"

Mrs. Dean wiped a few tears of her own. "Presley Flint, my beautiful healer, you're going to the University of Portland. You're going to college. There was no doubt in my mind that they wouldn't want you."
                          •••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I was going to college.

I had a future.

I remembered months ago, when I was living with Robert, college never seemed within reach. Robert had retained me from the idea that I could ever have what I wanted. Now, the acceptance letter in my hand proved him wrong.

"Fuck yeah, kid," Red said.

Haley squeezed my hand, Ally grinned at me and Alvin applauded.

"We need to have a party or something!," Red exclaimed. It was evening and we were in the dining hall.

"Hell yeah," Alvin said, then he looked over at Ally and pursed his lips. "Or we should just lay low for a while."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like I'm a delicate little orphan, I'm fine," she turned to me with a smile. "If Presley wants us to throw him a party, then we'll have one."

I sighed. "No parties. Every party I've been too, I've almost been killed," sounds of agreement went around the table. I shrugged. "It's not a big deal anyway," I said bashfully.

Haley scoffed. "Yes, it is!," she surveyed the groups of gang members eating at the dining tables. "None of our people have ever gotten into college, Presley," she took a sip of her soda. "It's the hugest deal."

"Didn't Kyle get into college?," Ally asked.

Red snorted. "Yeah, but he'd kill you if you repeated it."

Alvin laughed. "True."

"So are we having a party or not?," Red asked. "If we are, I need to make some arrangements."

I giggled. "No, Red. We're not having a party."

Red sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, kid. Be boring. That's okay."

Ally dismissed Reds comment and turned to me with a serious look. "Does this mean you're going to leave us next year?"

I looked down at my hands. College would be time consuming but I would still have time for the gang, and if I didn't, I would make time. That was the decision I would make, not because someone else wanted me to, or I felt obligated to, it was because I wanted to. I felt safe at the gang and safety was one thing that I hadn't felt in a long time. I wasn't just going to trade that. Not even for my dream university.

When I turned back to face Ally, all eyes were on me eagerly. Nervously. 

I chuckled. "My bed here is too comfortable, I can't just give that up!"

The tension seemed to wash away as everyone burst out of in laughter.