The Best Mistake

"What the fuck, Nash?" Levi asked me, mouth agape. "Do you have any idea how big those guys are? Holy shit!"

"Chill the fuck out," I growled. "My head is killing me."

"Yeah? Well it'll be overly buff Russian guys killing you soon!" he snapped.

"Fuck you, Levi," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's my life that's in danger, not yours. I don't know what the fuck's up your ass, but get it out or go the hell away."

His jaw clenched and he glared at me, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Jas walked in. "Levi..." she said in a warning tone, before turning to me with a sympathetic smile. I fought the urge to snort. I didn't need pity. "Nash, how're you feeling?"

"Fine and dandy," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Nash," Levi growled.

Jas smiled, putting her hand on his arm. "It's fine," she said. "I shouldn't have asked a dumb question."

I rolled my eyes. "You two the only ones here?" I asked.

"My mom is," Levi answered. "She's the one who will be able to get you out of here. How? I don't know." I nodded. I didn't really mind being here. "Ashlyn's friend Jenn is here, too."

"Why?" I'd only met her once, why the hell would she be here?

"We asked her to come so we'd have immediate updates if Ashlyn called, asking what happened," he explained.

I snorted. "I highly doubt that. She'll be busy-" I stopped myself. I almost made a comment about her playing tonsil hockey with that guy or something, but I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.

"Yeah, I don't think so," he said.

"She called?"

"She's here, Nash," Jas explained, a nervous look on her face.

Ashlyn.

I sat in the waiting room, chewing on my thumb nail. Jas had gone into Nash's room once she heard yelling, Jenn had left for work since she didn't have a reason to be here anymore and Dayna- Levi's mom- left to the cafeteria after a few minutes of incredibly awkward silence.

How could they actually blame this entire ordeal on me? I mean, I know what I did set him off but still- it isn't my fault he got beat up. But no matter how many times I told myself, every time I thought about why he was laying in that hospital bed, guilt tugged at my heart.

When Levi and Jas walked out, I immediately stood up. "How is he? Is he okay?" I asked.
Levi nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I mean, he's irritable but it's Nash, so nothing really changed there."

I sighed in relief. "That's good," I said.

Levi gave me a skeptical look before sighing. "Look, he doesn't wanna see you. He's really pissed off right now," he said. "But I think you should go in there. You should explain things to him, even if he doesn't forgive you right away, he'll listen."

I shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, he just woke up and all, so maybe I should wait until he's doped up on meds or something..." I trailed. Levi gave me a blank look. "Okay, okay. I'll go." I walked passed them and walked down the hall, standing next to Nash's door for a couple seconds. I had to give myself a pep talk that he wouldn't throw things at me or lash out. Or tell myself that if he did, at least I'm in a hospital.

Taking a deep breath, I walked through the door. Nash turned his head to look at me and I gasped. His left cheekbone had a bruise on it while there were stitches at the top of his forehead, making his black eye- that never seemed to get the chance to completely go away- look like nothing. His arms were covered in bruises and I could only imagine what had happened on the inside of his body.

"Did you hear me?" Nash's harsh voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said, go away," he repeated. "I don't want you here."

"I know you don't, but I have to explain what happ-"

"I don't care. There's nothing to explain, Ashlyn." The way he spit my name made me wish he'd call me princess instead. "We're not dating, there are no strings- there's nothing going on between us. So I really couldn't give a shit about who you fuck even if I wanted to."

"Obviously there is something to explain if you know what I was talking about," I said, rolling my eyes. "Last night I got really drunk. And I know that's not an excuse whatsoever, but it's the truth. Plus, I was pissed off at you. I used to have a... thing with that guy and he was there and things just sort of... happened."

"I said I didn't care."

I was getting frustrated now. "I know you do though!" I exclaimed. "You've got to. I don't know why you keep denying it!" Nash stared at me through narrowed eyes, before he ripped the IV out of his hand and stood up, walking over to me. He was maybe two inches away from my face and his glare didn’t soften even a little. But I stood my ground and returned his stare. “What are you so scared of?”

He scoffed, his breath hitting my face. “I’m not scared of anything, princess,” he said.

“You’re scared of me,” I said, narrowing my eyes slightly. “You’re scared of your feelings for me, which is why you keep denying them.”

He chuckled lowly. “Scared of you? Maybe when you first wake up in the morning and resemble a caveman,” he said. “And I can’t deny what isn’t there.” My glare hardened and I stared at him, looking for any sign of lying on his face. But while his face didn’t hold the truth, there was no sign of him lying, which only pissed me off further. How could somebody comfortably block out their emotions like this?

The more I thought about it, the more angry I got. Without my consent, my hand raised and I slapped him hard across his face as I completely forgot of how bad of a shape he was currently in. But I was so pissed off; I doubt I’d care anyway.

I heard him take in a deep breath, staring at me with a clenched jaw. Oh, this couldn’t be good.