A/N: “Ne” means “No”.

*****

Tyson POV

It was still dark when I woke up, with just enough light for me to realize I wasn’t in my room. I looked around and noticing Alex’s sleeping form it all came back to me: the Ring, the fight with the twins and a couple of their friends afterwards, the gun, how the girl found me in the park, brought me here to her place and tended to my wounds.

She wasn’t kidding before when she said she was good at it!

Suddenly I heard her move and mutter something. I looked at her face and froze: she looked absolutely frantic.

“Ne.” She raised her voice. “Ne, ne, ne!” Her voice was getting louder and louder and sounded more panicked by the second.

“Boris, ne! Ne! Ne! Ne! Ne! Boris! Ne!” She started screaming and trashing around, falling off the bean bag and on to the ground. But she still didn’t wake up. “Boris! Boris! Ne! Ne!”

“Alex, open your eyes!” I shook her roughly. I couldn’t even remember getting off the bed and coming to her side. Now I was the one loosing my nerve. “Alex! WAKE UP!”

“Ne, ne, Boris! Ne… NEEEE!” With one final shout she shot up to a sitting position and opened her eyes. Her gaze was distant as if she still wasn’t in touch with reality.

“Alex…” I was surprised at how my voice sounded both worried and gentle at the same time.

“Tyson?” She turned to face me. She looked so… crushed.

Next thing I knew, I held her tightly in my arms, rocketing her gently back and forth, while running my hands soothingly over her back.

“Tyson…” She called tiredly after we had stayed like that for only God knows how long. “Tyson, you’re injured. You should rest.”

“I’m fine, Alex!” I didn’t want to let her go; she seemed so fragile right now that if I did, she’d probably break.

“No, you’re not! Go back to bed!”

“Only if you come with me.”

“I’m fine here. I don’t think I would be able to sleep anymore anyway…”

“Alex…”

“Tyson,” she cut me off, “just go and rest. I’ll be…”

But before Alex could finish, I lifted her up and carried her to bed, ignoring my body’s painful protest. I knew I’d need to take it easy for quite a while in order to have my wounds heal properly, but I couldn’t care less about that right now. I carefully placed the girl’s small, shivering body on the bed then lay down next to her, hugging her close once more. She didn’t try to break free from my grasp as I expected her to. Instead, she snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around me as well.

“Sweet dreams, Tyson!” She wished me quietly.

“Dreamless night, Alex!”

And I kissed her on the top of her head.

*****

Alex POV

I woke up securely wrapped in Tyson’s arms. I felt so ashamed! I had let him see me at my weakest. It was hard enough to control the thoughts about my brother when I was awake, but it was completely impossible to do so when I was dreaming. It all came back full force then.

I sighed.

I shouldn’t have fallen asleep! Especially not in the same room as Tyson. But I was worried about him and wanted to be around. And now he would despise me. I knew I did. I hated being so frail… so helpless whenever I thought about Boris.

I felt Tyson shift and turned to him just in time to see him opening his eyes. Two differently tinted orbs - one bright blue and one silvery-grey, both still filled with sleep, were looking at me, the emotions they held – unreadable.

“Hey!” The boy greeted softly... cautiously.

Oh, no! It was worse than I thought: he didn’t despise me; he pitied me! I would choose him sneering at me any time over this!

“How are your wounds?” I queried, not wanting to talk about me.

“Much better. You’re really good at this.”

“Lots of practice,” I announced rather coolly. I had decided I was going to pretend that last night didn’t happen in hopes of him dropping the matter of my nightmares all together. “Do you want some breakfast?” I questioned getting off the bed.

“I wouldn’t say no to some.” He got up as well albeit slowly because of his injuries. He seemed to have picked up on my reluctance to talk because he was back to his usual distant demeanor.

“I’ll go make us something. Why don’t you take a shower in the mean time? I have some clean clothes you can borrow.”

The boy started to laugh, but then immediately grimaced rubbing his ribs.

That must have hurt!

“I doubt anything you have will fit me, Alex.”

“I still got your shirt.” I had come home with it from his place.

“Keep it! It’s too small for me now. Plus, it looks really good on you.”

I didn’t know why but I felt myself blush at his comment.

“Well, I could still lend you something. I have some boy clothes here as well.”

His face darkened at my words. A humorless smile graced it.

“You want me to wear the clothes that guys you fucked forgot here? How many of those do you have exactly? Could they fill a wardrobe?” For some reason he sounded bitter.

“Actually, they are all Kevin’s clothes. I bought them so he wouldn’t have to carry too much luggage when he visits.”

There was a glimmer of recognition in Tyson’s eyes at Kevin’s name. Have I mentioned him before?

“So, this guy Kevin…” He started slowly and gulped. What was with him today? “Is he… your boyfriend?”

“No!” I answered disgusted.

“‘Cause you mentioned him before… When I woke you up at my place. You called me Kevin.”

“That’s because I used to live with him.”

“You used to live with a guy?!” He sounded incredulous. “Alex, you’re only seventeen!”

I burst out laughing at the face he made.

“Ty, Kevin is my cousin. He lives in London because his mother is from there, but he stays at my family’s house when he comes to Bulgaria. And this apartment belongs to his father. My uncle doesn’t use it anymore, but Kevin often visits… Mainly to check on me, if I have to be honest. So you can relax! You won’t be wearing my ex’s things. Actually, some of the clothes are brand new; my cousin hasn’t even worn them yet. They won’t be a perfect fit though ‘cause he’s a bit taller and bulkier than you.”

“Oh!”

He seemed relieved at my words.

“Come on, let’s get you something to wear!”

*****

Ty was still in the shower and I was making fried steak for breakfast. Yes, that classified as breakfast for me. Just as I took the last piece of meat out of the frying pan, I heard footsteps so I lifted my head.

Tyson came in dressed in light blue jeans and a black singlet. Still towel-drying his long damp hair, he looked at me puzzled.

“Steak? We’re having fried steak for breakfast?”

“Even better: we’re having steak sandwiches for breakfast!” I answered enthusiastically.

“Huh?”

“You’ll see! But first: take off your clothes!”

“What?!”

“Take off your singlet; I have to take care of your wounds.”

“Oh… That…”

He looked to the side in order to avoid my gaze, making me smirk; I knew what he must’ve thought about when I ordered him to take his clothes off.

“Where should I put this?” He waved the towel.

“Anywhere you like; I’ll take care of it later.”

Tyson sat himself down on a stool and placed the towel on another. He slowly took his singlet off, wincing slightly due to the pain. The majority of wounds were on his torso, but he had one on the left of his jaw, a split lip, as well as a black eye. I noticed the bruises had gotten a bluish hue during the night. I put on some ointment on them, aiming to be as gentle as possible, and then concentrated on the gunshot wound. I let out a relieved breath as it didn’t seem to have gotten inflamed during the night.

The whole procedure of mending Tyson took about fifteen minutes. After that, I put away the medicine and focused on resuming making our breakfast.

“Ready to try out my steak sandwiches?” I asked, washing my hands.

“Okay…” He drawled, putting the borrowed singlet back on. The boy sounded more than a little suspicious of my cooking abilities. I had no idea why; I was a really good cook.

I began preparing our meal. I took out bread, mayo, potato chips and placed them on the counter. My sandwiches consisted of this: I’d take two slices of bread and put mayo on them. I’d smash the potato chips into little crumb-like pieces (sometimes I used cornflakes instead) and I’d place that on top of the mayo. I’d put a thin slice of steak on slice of bred number one and cover the whole thing with slice of bread number two and - Ta-da! – I’d have me a sandwich!

Tyson looked skeptically at my creation.

“Hey!” I exclaimed a little offended by the boy’s evident lack of enthusiasm. “At least try it before giving me that face!” I passed him one of the sandwiches. He still looked unwilling to give it a go. “What’s the matter, Ty?” I questioned him sweetly. “Do you want me to cut out the crusts for you?”

He snorted and took a single reluctant bite, which he chewed slowly. Then he took another - bigger one. Then another and another. In a minute the sandwich was all gone.

“Have any more of those?” He asked hopefully.

“Knew you’d like it!” I grinned, giving him one more and taking one for myself.

For a while we just munched on our food, keeping quiet. Unfortunately that gave me time to think about last night. My meal seemed to have lost its taste and I knew I was no longer smiling.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” Concern was clear in the boy’s voice.

“It was none of your business, Tyson!” I said firmly. “Just forget about what you saw last night, okay?”

He didn’t answer and just stared at me with a blank expression. He absentmindedly chewed on his meal. Once the food was gone, he took a big gulp from the glass of water I’d placed before him. I watched him, noticing the thin lines that had formed on his forehead. The boy was obviously contemplating on something. But what?

“Alex…” He started in a quiet tone. “Who’s Boris?”

I felt my eyes widen. Have I been talking in my sleep again? What did he hear? But I would usually speak Bulgarian… So even if Tyson had heard me, he wouldn’t understand.

“He was my brother,” I said in a low, even voice. I was surprised I’d answered; I rarely spoke about him with anyone but Kevin.

“Was?”

“He died when we were children.”

Why was I still talking?

“I was about five and he wasn’t even eight yet. We were at the store when an armed man came in. He pointed his gun at the cashier and demanded the money. He was so out of it, he didn’t even see me standing there alone; Boris was at the back of the store. The man behind the counter knew about me though. And his worried gaze fell on me. He didn’t mean to give me away; it was an instinct, I guess. But the robber saw that and looked behind him. I must have startled him because he pointed the gun at me. All of a sudden Boris came up slowly from behind me, asking the man to lower his gun and telling him I was just a five year old girl; I couldn’t hurt him. But what we didn’t know at the time was that the guy was on drugs. He was shaking and he wasn’t thinking clearly. So he fired a single shot at me…” I was surprised how steady my voice still was as I was confessing all this to Tyson. “The bullet grazed my left shoulder. I remember the pain that overtook me. But soon I no longer cared. Because I heard something heavy fall on the floor and when I turned around I saw it was Boris. The same bullet that sliced my skin went to his chest. He was still alive but barely breathing. He didn’t make it. He was gone before the ambulance even came. I remember crying. And all I felt afterwards was emptiness. I can’t even begin to describe how much we loved each other… how much we cared for each other. He was the most important person in my life. I haven’t shed a single tear since that day. I learned to remember the good things about him; he wouldn’t want me to be sad, I know that but… but sometimes at night… I just can’t help it! When I dream of him dying again…” I laughed bitterly. “God, I’m pathetic!”

“You’re not.” The boy contradicted in a low voice.

“We both know I am, Tyson!” I snarled in irritation. “But I don’t need your pity!”

“I don’t pity you, Alex.”

“Yeah, right!” I retorted, lowering my head; I couldn’t even look at him.

“I’m serious, Alexandra!” He raised his voice. “All you’ve been through… and at such a young age… But you didn’t let that bring you down. No. You used it to become stronger.” He caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger lifting my head up. He captured my gaze with his and I could see the sincerity in those mismatched eyes. “Alex, you have no idea how much I admire you for that!”

I wanted to hug him. I wanted it so badly, to just embrace him like I did last night and to stay like that. I remembered the comfort it had brought me. But I didn’t do it. I was done with my weak behavior. He’d seen too much already. So I settled for a nod and a small smile instead.

“Thank you! You know, you’re nothing like…” I caught myself before I could finish.

“Nothing like who?” Tyson asked, tilting his head to the side and observing me with curiosity.

Should I answer him? He’d already heard some of my confessions… Why not go all the way? I didn’t really want to share that with him, but something told me this boy wouldn’t let it drop.

“Like Stefan,” I sighed in defeat. “Back when we were kids Kevin used to live in Bulgaria so the four of us – him, me, Boris and Stefan, were always together. The boys used to take care of me because I was the only girl and the youngest in our little group. Well, Stefan is only a few months older but still… they were all very protective of me. But Boris died, Kevin moved to England and Stefan and I were left on our own. He was the one who thought me how to fight. But now he’s… different.” I had no desire to elaborate on that matter. “When I first met you, I thought you two were the same: cocky alfa males, both good fighters, both stuck up self-centered assholes… But I’m glad to say I was wrong about that; you might be alike but you’re not the same. You should remember this moment, Ty; I’m very rarely mistaken.” I heard him snicker at my comment. “Anyway, to make a long story short: Stefan and I aren’t the best of pals now. I just couldn’t take his attitude any more. Especially after I broke up with him…”

“You used to date the guy? I thought you said he was a prick?”

“I didn’t use that word but it’s a pretty accurate description.” I laughed. “He wasn’t always like that around me though so… yeah… we dated for a while.”

“And then you dumped his sorry ass?”

“Yep. I dumped his sorry ass and came here to start anew. Away from him and his gang and away from trouble.”

A crease formed on his forehead again.

“So that’s why you were afraid to be seen fighting at school,” he muttered. “Because fighting reminded you of him and the problems you used to have.”

“Pretty much. Although, fighting you is just too tempting; I can’t really help myself. You seem to be the only person around here to have that effect on me; to bring back bad girl Alex,” I admitted a bit reluctantly.

Tyson fell silent once more. He looked thoughtful. After some time he slowly nodded. Whatever the boy had been contemplating on, he seemed to have finally reached some sort of decision.

“Thank you for the clothes and the breakfast, Alex,” he said somehow estranged and got up. “I should get going.”

“Oh…Yeah… sure!” I got up and I walked him to the door. I was confused by his sudden mood swing. What had caused it? Should I ask him that or let it go?

“Bye, Ty!”

He just nodded curtly and I closed the door behind him.

What had just happened? One minute he seemed attentive and empathetic and the next he was back to his old cold, not caring self.

Maybe that’s what he was pondering about when he kept silent; if he really cared or not.

Obviously, he decided that he didn’t.

I had finally opened up to someone and they didn’t really care. Yes, I was pathetic! I should’ve just kept quiet about the whole thing. I’d always done that, so why had I felt the sudden urge to confide in someone? Why in Tyson? How was I to face him tomorrow at school?

I guess it was best to avoid the boy and pretend the last couple of days just didn’t happen!

*****

Tyson POV

Too close to home.

Everything I represented was too close to home for Alex. Too painful. I had just reminded her of her dead brother and brought back her nightmares; I still somewhat reminded her of her ex; and I seem to be the only one to bring her back to her not so old habits by tempting her to fight me. And she’d come here to make a fresh start! That wouldn’t happen if I was around her. So I made a decision: I would distance myself from the girl and let her be. Let her start anew and forget about her past.

Yes, I would avoid Alex the best I could; it was for her own good!

*****

A/N: I know that I’ve been writing some serious and dramatic chapters lately, but don’t worry: next few will be humorous.