22

Nico’s Point of View

I didn’t even wait to hear her full answer.

The second I heard her say “Yeah, okay,” my stomach dropped.

It was quiet, soft but loud enough to punch me straight in the chest.

I didn’t stop walking. Couldn’t.

If I stood there one more second watching her smile at him, I might’ve lost it.

I shoved my hands deep into my hoodie pocket, head low, pretending like I didn’t just feel something split inside me.

Why the fuck do I feel like this?

She’s not mine.

She never was.

But God, the way she looked at me sometimes the way she always ran into my arms when she cried, the way I stayed up thinking about her smile when she sang in my car like the world was hers.

That wasn’t nothing.

Right?

I kept walking down the hallway, ignoring the ache crawling through my chest.

I passed the vending machines. Didn’t stop.

Passed my class. Didn’t care.

I needed air.

I needed to get the fuck away from that moment.

From her.

From the way her eyes flickered to mine right before I turned away like she wanted to say something else. Like she regretted it.

But she didn’t stop me.

She didn’t say my name.

She said yes to him.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, slamming the exit door open and stepping into the quiet outside.

I didn’t even realize how fast my heart was beating until the cold air hit my face.

She said yes to Alexander.

So what now?

I guess… I back off.

Let her figure out what she wants.

Even if it’s not me.

Even if it hurts like hell.

I wasn’t even planning on going anywhere specific.

Just needed to drive. Clear my head. Let the streets blur past like none of this shit mattered.

I was halfway to my place, one hand gripping the wheel, the other clenching and unclenching on my thigh. Then I saw him.

Mark.

Her brother.

He was leaning against a car with a few of his friends behind him, still in their practice hoodies.

When he saw me, he pushed off the car and started walking over.

Great.

Just what I fucking needed.

“Nico, right?” he asked, all casual and smiling like we’d been boys for years.

I gave him the driest, most uninterested look I could manage. Didn’t answer. Didn’t need to. He knew who I was.

And honestly? I still didn’t like him.

I didn’t care if he was her brother. He made her cry. Made her run.

And me? I was the one chasing her every damn time.

My jaw tensed.

He made my baby girl cry.

My baby girl.

…Did I just call her that?

Shit.

She’s not mine. Chill out.

But she’s my little angel though. The way she smiles.

The way she curls up beside me when she’s tired. How she hums when she eats.

God.

I love her.

Wait—love?

Love?

Slow the hell down, Nico.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Mark said, cutting into my thoughts, his tone actually kinda respectful.

“She told me how you looked out for her. Said you’ve been helping her through a lot.”

I froze.

She talked about me?

Something fluttered in my chest, but I swallowed it fast.

Don’t blush, Nico.

Don’t fucking blush.

I just gave a stiff nod and looked away, jaw clenched like hell.

“Where is she?” he asked next, voice lighter.

Wrong move.

I could feel my whole body stiffen, like a switch flipped in me.

The storm I was holding back started to swirl again.

“School,” I said, voice flat. “Going on a date with Alexander.”

I said his name like it tasted bitter.

Mark let out a short laugh, amused like it was some joke.

“I thought you didn’t like him,” he said, tilting his head.

“I don’t,” I shot back.

Mark raised both hands like, damn, relax bro.

“You seem real worked up for someone who doesn’t like him,” he said, eyes sharp now.

I looked away, exhaled through my nose. “Whatever.”

“You into her?”

That question hit harder than it should’ve.

I didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to.

Because silence sometimes says more than words ever could.

Mark gave me this half-smirk like he already knew.

“You should tell her.”

I scoffed. “What, so she can run off again? She said yes to him, man. Not me.”

“Yeah, but who does she run to when she’s hurting?”

I looked up.

Right into his eyes.

That’s when I realized. he wasn’t my enemy.

He was her brother.

And maybe, just maybe, he wanted to make sure she ended up with someone who actually gave a fuck about her.

I didn’t say anything.

Just walked back to my car, hands in my pocket, mind spinning.

Mark called out behind me, “Don’t give up on her yet.”

I didn’t turn around.

But I heard it.

And I felt it.

Because I wasn’t planning to.

Not ever.