Nate was glad that he could take his own car that morning, leave at his own time and not needing to listen to aunt Judy's annoying squeaky voice in the morning, although he despised when anyone else mentioned that it was horrid.
He did feel guilty when she continuously asked what Dante wanted from him, to which he replied that he was disallowed from telling her or else it could result in the death of both of them and he would do anything to prevent that. She promised she would not speak to a single soul, keep it to herself and never speak of it in her entire life. Even though he did trust her, its risks were much too great for him and he kept his lips sealed, shaking his head until she sighed and brushed off the conversation.
However, the entire night, all Nate could think about was how Dante's entire body had been lingering with moist, droplets of sweat in certain crevices and he couldn't help but wonder how his skin felt. He didn't want to have to slap him every time or hit him with nasty jabs; he wanted to feel something on his end as well. It didn't have to be romanticized at all, and of course he wasn't entirely a fan of Dante, but if it meant pleasing one, then Nate thought considering his own pleasure may be something to ask.
Besides, Dante was exactly his preference; mysterious and menacing but vulnerable and open to only him. Protective but slightly toxic at the same time; the only thing he was worried about was if Dante was even capable of loving someone. The moment the word love spread across his mind, he began wondering about Dante's past partners, if he had ever been in love, if he loved women and men or only men, if he ever tried hiring someone to perform this role. He wanted to know more about this reserved man, why he begged to be beaten and humiliated and why that satisfied him.
And maybe then he'd understand why he wasn't allowed to soothingly touch Dante.
Nate shook hands with Tyler when he sat beside her in class. When she asked if anything happened between him and Jake, he rubbed his palms together. "They jumped me outside of the school," he quietly said nonchalantly, as if it was a normal daily occurrence.
Tyler's eyes widened and she leaned forward, examining his face and attempting to find any type of injury or wound. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he assured with a smile. "They didn't have enough time since I had help." The moment that sentence slipped out, Nate wanted to slam his forehead against the desk, a loud curse exploding in his thoughts. He wanted to dodge any mention of Dante, but at this rate, it was practically impossible to avoid it if he kept digging himself into a hole.
As he had predicted, Tyler furrowed her brows and asked,
"Who helped you?"
He scratched the side of his face, eyeing the class as he attempted to find any excuse as to who could have possibly helped him. "Umm..." he gulped, avoiding Tyler's burning gaze, "some random students in the school."
Tyler rapidly shook her head. "Not a chance; no one steps to Jake since every one knows he's apart of a group of really bad people." She stayed quiet for a second before exhaling a sharp breath. "He has some sort of boss that has literally killed people before," she whispered in a hushed tone, glancing around to make sure no one could hear her mention this. "You didn't hit him, did you?"
Well, he thought, I wasn't the one who hit him.
Nate bit his bottom lip, knowing exactly who she was referring to and not wanting that reputation similar to Jake. Besides, it hadn't been his choice to be apart of Dante's life, he needed to in order to survive. The longer he maintained his silence, the more her face stretched into a grimace, the worst possible thoughts running through her mind, even one imagination that Nate had beat up Jake and now was going to be killed, along with anyone associated with him.
Her breath was shaky when she asked again, even quieter this time. "Y-You..." she stammered, swallowing hard, "...you didn't hit him, right?"
"No, I didn't," Nate answered truthfully, glancing away from her. She exhaled a long breath of relief, even placing her palm on her chest, her heartbeat slowly starting to calm itself.
"That would've been bad," she breathed.
Nate furrowed his brows; she seemed to know a lot about Dante, evidently much more than she did. He didn't even know where Dante came from or other family members he had. He wanted to learn about things he had done and why everyone feared him, mostly about his family and how they began known around town.
That was why he asked, "What do you know about Dante?" At first, she snickered and tilted her head to the side, her eyes falling into a daze as if she was falling entranced in memories. But suddenly, her eyes widened and she turned towards Nate, swallowing hard as the colours drained from her face. He raised an eyebrow, exhaling a few uneasy chuckled. "What? Why are you looking at me this way?"
"How do you know his name?"
He hadn't really thought of that. At first, he waved his hand dismissively, trying to play it off. "Everyone knows his na—"
"No," Tyler interrupted him instantly, rapidly shaking her head. "He doesn't reveal his name to most people...unless your apart of his group..." After a few seconds, Nate flinched when she sharply turned her head to face him, leaning forward with her arms folded across her chest. "How do you know his name, Nate?"
Nate sighed; he had dug himself into a hole and there was no valid excuse for him to know his name. His aunt had told him his name and Dante had introduced himself, but he had assumed he did tell his name to anyone he came across.
Until a thought crossed his mind and his eyes narrowed; this conversation was a two way street.
He turned back to Tyler, raising an eyebrow. "I'll tell you if you tell me how you know his name too."
Tyler's face tightened, her lips squeezing into a line. It was as if she was contemplating admitting her truth as well, but after a few seconds, she scoffed and turned away from him.
"Forget it."
That made Nate furrow his brows even more; it seemed as if everyone here had something to hide. It was clear that Tyler knew Dante, but how did she know him? Was she involved with them too?
It made Nate's mind ponder even more; how the hell did his aunt know his name?