All Chapters of Falling For My Bully: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

Nicholas’s POVBy the time Thanksgiving finally arrived, we had already been in London for a week. The Copper townhouse in Kensington was exactly as I remembered it from childhood—grand chandeliers, portraits of stiff-faced ancestors glaring down from the walls, polished wood floors that echoed with every step. Everything about it screamed old money. I hadn’t been here much after Mom and Dad got divorced. It used to be Mom’s thing to bring us here while Dad worked and joined us later, but that stopped once they ended things.Zack fit in here easily. He carried himself with that calm confidence that made people respect him without question. Mom, on the other hand, was a different story. She hated this place and only put up with all of it because of my father. Every time she crossed paths with my grandmother, I could see the hate and frustration in her eyes, her polite smile strained. They tolerated each other for Dad’s memory, but the air between them was cold.Before dinner, I slipped

I heard a knock at the door. My heart skipped. He’s here.The sound was soft, almost hesitant. I wheeled myself toward the entrance, my palms clammy against the handles. When I opened the door, there he was—Andrew—standing in front of me in a gray top, black jacket, worn blue jeans, and a brown coat that framed his shoulders perfectly. “Hey,” he said, that lopsided smile tugging at his lips. It was the kind of smile that always made me feel like maybe the world wasn’t so cruel after all.“Hey,” I answered, trying to keep my voice steady. Outside was bitterly cold; I could feel it even from inside.“Come in,” I said quickly. “You must be freezing.” I gestured for him to come in, glancing over my shoulder like a criminal sneaking someone past guards. “We’re good—Zack’s probably with his girlfriend, and my mom… I don’t know. She just left. Didn’t say where.”He stepped in with a faint smile, closing the door gently behind him. The chill clung to him, trailing in with the night air. With

My trip from London to Texas didn’t take so long. Immediately I arrived, I was driven straight to Andrew’s home to apologize.When I got there, I knocked on the door, but there was no reply. Instead, I met Steve.“Hi Steve, where’s Andrew?” I asked. He could probably see how awkward I felt asking about his cousin.“Nicholas, you don’t have to feel weird, okay?” Steve said. “Yeah, I mean, it’s weird that my cousin Andrew is, you know, bi. But you’re cool. We’re cool. We haven’t had that talk before, but I’m telling you now.”“Okay… so where is he?”“He went to a party. He was pissed this morning, then he went to hang out with the Bloodlines.”“He was that pissed?”“Yeah, dude was, oof. And yeah, I think it’s at Dave’s party. I’m heading there right now — you could just tag along with me.”“Oh. Yeah,” I said.“Bro, Cilia’s gonna be stunned that you’re back this early.”“Cilia? Seriously? You guys have spoken about me?”“Uh—oh shit. You’re not supposed to know that. But you guys should f