Hey guys!  Here’s chapter 9!  It’s long so be prepared! :)

Chapter 9: “Hit me with your best shot!.....Fire away-eh!”

            RIVYN P.O.V

            “Can you pass the potatoes, please?” Mrs. Daniels asked, her red lips shaped into a smile.

            “Gladly,” I chirped sweetly, passing over the bowl.  The hot steam wafted towards my nose, and I flashed my teeth with a charming look towards Mrs. Daniels.

            Brian scowled at my innocence but I maintained the considerate expression, folding my hands neatly on my lap.

            “This looks lovely, Mrs. Daniels,” I said, throwing in another punch.  Brian frowned, his neck straining slightly.

            Mrs. Daniels blushed and scooped some food.  “Thank you, Rivyn.  You’re such a kind young girl.”

            Brian slipped out a snort, loud of enough for everyone to hear.  “You should see her at school.”

            I gave him a puzzled look.  “What are you talking about?”

            “Yes, Brian.  What are you talking about?  Miss DeLor is a good-natured women,” his mother complimented.  “And Brian, don’t snort at the table.  It’s rude and impolite.”

            I bit back a laugh and nodded my head.  “You mother’s right.  She’s twenty years of beautiful age with incredible cooking abilities,” I glanced at her, “and don’t get me started on intelligence.”

            Brian scowled quietly, giving me hidden death glares. 

            Mrs. Daniels flushed red and couldn’t help but giggle.  “You’re such a peach,” she said, lifting her glass wine. 

            Brian lit up.  “Peach?” he joked, nudging me.  “Guess I’m not the only one who finds you sweet.”

            Everyone stared at us, interested where this was going.  Hec, I don’t want to know where this was going.

            I gulped and smiled weakly at Brian.  “Uh, thanks.” 

            He noticed I was getting uncomfortable so he decided to hit homerun. 

            Reaching for the glass, Brian paused at me and gave me wink.  “You taste fine, like a juicy round peach.  Slimy, wet and delicious,” he winked.

            Mrs. Daniels opened her mouth, revealing a blotch of mashed potatoes.  The broccoli fell from Aunt Darby’s mouth, rolling onto the plate.  Noah eyed Brian enviously, digging the knife into its steak.  Everyone completely gawked at us with pure shock. 

            All except Chris who hit the table with his fist, and stared deeply at Brian.  “Man, you did her already?  I thought you were going to wait until next week?”

            Heat started to form on my cheeks.  I wasn’t sure if it was the anger or embarrassment that made my flush like a tomato.  I was ready to strangle Brian, right there and then, but decided to calm down.  I knew he was joking about the sex thing but man, it almost caught me there.   

            Still very awkward, I stood up, placing my lap napkin onto the table.  “Excuse me, where’s the restroom?”  Not waiting for an answer, I walked out of the dining room and out into the hallway. 

            I could just feel the grin of victory from Brian, staring back at me with triumph.  I can’t believe Chris joked about that!  I can’t even believe Brian thought of that.

             Somehow stumbling upon the bathroom and I closed the door behind me.  Taking out my phone I quickly texted Klaire.

            Help me!

            I leaned my head against the wall and stared myself into the mirror.  Talk about BIG mirror.  I took in my surroundings finding everything big and shiny.  The toilets were squeaked until they were glinting, the shower was pure white and humungous and even the sink was big as my kitchen table back home.

            Ping!  I glanced back down on my phone.

            Srry I can’t text.  My mom is about to ground me so you won’t hear from me until later.  Good luck! <3>

            Sinking to the ground I let a very loud groan. 

            “You sound busy in there.  Don’t tell me you got someone else with you,” teased Brian.

            I glared at the voice, and crossed my arms.  If only I had a chainsaw.  “You can’t come in,” I demanded, quickly getting up and locking the door.

            More shuffling from outside.  Then silence.  Not taking the chance to unlock it, I pressed my ear against the door.  Nothing.

            “Ello?” I called out, trying to make out a noise.

            “Missing me already, gorgeous?” he muffled.  I could feel him against the door too, the wooden wall between us yet I could hear him so well.  If only it were a soundproof.

            “What do you want?” I whined.

            “You.”

            I banged onto the door.  “Why?!” I demanded.

            “I need answers.”

            “What answers?”

            Silence.  More movement.  I waited, slowly starting to think what he meant.  Answers?  About what?  I tried to see through the crack but it was useless. 

            “Why did you punch me that night?”

            I stared dumbly at the door.  “What night?”

            “The night.”

            “Which one?”

            He shifted his body.  “There were more?”

            I scowled.  “Many.”  God, that sounded so dirty. 

            “The....” I could hear him gulp.  “Pregnant one.”

            “That one, hm?  Too wasted to remember weren’t you, Brian?  Well, punching you out was the positive side.”  I stared at my hand, the scar still there.  It was like I could re-live the feeling of the shard jabbing into my skin.  The piercing blaze of fire cutting into the layer of flesh I had, and now replaced.  “You got her pregnant.  You didn’t care.  You laughed and drank on.  Afterwards, I left with a bleeding hand.  My friend called me to see how it went.  I told her and she cried.  She dripped out every last inch of tear for weeks, too afraid to tell her parents as she hid under the covers, hiding from the world.  A month later she gave the child away.  She cried some more.  I couldn’t do anything about it except watch her weep and mumble crazy words that I never understood.”

            “Open the door.”

            My eyes darted back to the wooden barrier between us.  “And you know what?  She stayed in her room.  Didn’t continue with school.  Dropped out and locked herself in her room.  Too depressed to live anymore.  Giving away her own child was the mistake, having one in the first place was the other.  All because of you.”

            “Rivyn, open the door.”

            No way, bro.  I was on fire.  “And how bout Jason DeLor?  Do you remember when he went to rehab?  Remember the one that you persuaded to do crystal meth?  Yeah, him.  Well, sorry to drop the bomb but he’s now in jail.  Hitting up behind bars after attempting suicide.”

            “Now!  Open the damn door!”

            I scowled.  “Hell no.  Not after the dinner incident, yeah right.”

            Everything went still.  I rubbed my jeans, waiting for his response.  “Let me see your face,” he whispered.

            “No.”  I pressed my hand on the wood, supporting my weight.  “Why do you want to see me?  Why should I even see you?  After what you’ve done to me?  To my family?  To my friend?  And don’t even get me started on my parents.  Screw you.  I shouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you,” I spat, words digging deep and crackling hate. 

            Brian slammed his fist onto the door, startling me.  “You screwed up my life!  It was you and your stupid families fault!  All because of you, I can’t even think about my own CHILDHOOD!” he yelled back.

            That’s when I couldn’t handle it.  I unlocked the door and swung it open.  Brian stumbled as the door dropped from his face. 

            All in one swift move, I punched him in the face.  Hard.  And it felt good. 

            BRIAN P.O.V

            “You—”

            BAM!  I grunted, holding my eye as I cracked my head in her direction.  Pain shot out, causing me to stagger back. 

            “I can’t believe you did that twice!” I screamed, my mind about to explode.

            “You deserved it!” she scoffed rudely.

            Then I, Brian Daniel’s turned into a bitch.

            Swinging at full speed, I threw my fist at her.  A scream rang out.  It was an agony scream, surprising yet full of rage.  She glanced at me, eyes wide in bewilderment. 

            Rivyn’s hand touched the tip of her cute nose, dark red blood oozed out from the nostrils.  Slowly examining her hand, she snapped her attention right at me.  She flicked her hand, the drops sinking into the carpet.  

            “I can’t believe you just punched me,” she said bewildered.  Her eyes were dazed, flabbergasted that I went that far. 

            Hell, I’m surprised I even went that far.  I was about to apologize until her expression completely changed. 

            Her eyes flickered angrily, her hands straining until her knuckles went white.  “I can’t believe you just hit me,” she repeated.  I took a step forward before anything got out of hand only to dodge her flying fist.

            “Rivyn, calm down,” I soothed, reaching for her shoulder.  She was huffing in anger, making me slip out a chuckle.

            Big mistake.   With me off guard, I found myself get a kick in the gut.

            A blast of air knocked the wind out of me, backing me onto the wall.  I choked out a gasp of pain and managed to see the satisfaction mixed with pain on Rivyn’s face.  I grabbed her shoulder, ready to knee her until a shout came from behind.

            “OH MY GOD!  BRAIN!  LET GO OF HER THIS INSTANT!”  

            My arms fell and I turned around to see my mother ghost white.  She was speechless and shaken.

            Hell, I would have been to if my son punched a girl and was about to knee her in the ribs.

            Oooooh, right.  I just punched a girl didn’t I?  Guess revenge isn’t that sweet.

            “I can’t believe you!  You’re so-so-so unbelievable!  Hitting our guests!  Fighting our guests!  Jesus Christ, what am I going to do with you?!”  Her hands were shaking and her neck was strained.  She was blown away, I can tell you that much.

            Gripping my ribs and eye, I glanced at Rivyn wiping her nose, still unsure for the fact that she did get punched.

            Yeah, I, Brian Daniels, am officially a bitch.

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LATER ON

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            RIVYN P.O.V.

            The shot hurt, but the after-pain... Yikes!  I clutched the tissue as half of wipe was up my nose.  Every few seconds I would exchange with the new one, being soaked with blood.  The explosion throbbed as soon as I stuck one in and then relief settled, leaving shocks of uneasy waves.   Finally, it began to stop, leaving me to hold onto one tissue.

            “Better, honey?” asked Aunt Darby as she sat on the counter.  I scooted beside her, coming closer. 

            “Kinda,” I said.  She looked very concerned and worried as her face searched mine.

            “Why’d you two fight? And Jesus,” she examined my nose, “why did he hit you?”

            I sighed and leaned on the kitchen cabinet.  “He was pissing me off!  He asked for me to recap the memory of when Jane got pregnant.  The feeling of frustration flooded into me and I just couldn’t handle it.  He said that I ruined his life or something and it all spun so it was hard to remember what happened.  Words tumbled out and next thing I knew, the roof blew and I punched him,” I spluttered. 

            Instead of supporting me with a pat on the back, Darby shook her head and gave me a ‘tsk, tsk’ disapproval.  “Sugar cakes, you should have maintained your cool.  Keep’n it low and stood calm.  If I’m going to be honest, which I will be, this one was your fault,” she confessed, poking my chest.

            I squirmed as she poked me but took what she said into consideration.  She was right, I exploded way to fast and I couldn’t control it.  All my anger was soaked up for so long, it splashed out, whipping like a wet towel rug right under my feet.  And I hit the cold floor. 

            With a bloody nose.

            “You’re right, Aunt Darby,” I said, hopping off of the counter.  “And I think I know exactly what to do.”

            She winked and kissed me on the forehead.  “I knew you would, fuzzy!  Now go get’m!”

            I saluted like a solider and climbed up the stairs, not really caring which room Brian was him.  I had to apologize, one way or another.  Hopping out the stairs, I shoved the tissue in my pocket and fluffed my hair.  Woah.  Was I actually primping for Brian?  I quickly nuzzled my hair, trying to make it look like that I didn’t do anything with it. 

            Deep inside though, I knew it didn’t look like that at all.  Probably a bird’s nest kind of hairstyle.  

            The hallway was stretched out, all full of rooms that were lit.  I sighed.  This was going to harder than I thought.  It’s not like I could just barge into any room and start yelling.  I had to be smart. 

            Pausing for a moment I picked the seventh room.  My lucky number is seven after all.   Wiping the sweat from my palms onto my jeans, I opened the door.

            “Hey Brian, I—”

            Noah spun away from his computer and looked at me, just as surprised as I was.  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” I said, a worried look written on my face.

            He chuckled, fully turning to me.  “No it’s fine.  You didn’t bother me at all.”

            “It doesn’t matter though, I’ll just be on my way…”

            “Woah, wait!”  I slowly turned around and came face to face with him.  “Let me see you’re nose,” he said, reaching over.

            “No, no.  Its fine,” I suggested, throwing a hint of pleading into my voice.

            He ignored me and took my cheek into his hand.  Instead of staring at my dry bloody nose, he looked into my eyes.  His were same as mine, dark chocolate brown.  His arched eyebrows went perfectly with his cute cheekbones and soft lips.  Heat rushed up to my hands, then slowly to my cheeks.  Hold it Rivyn.  You do not have a thing for Noah.  Isn’t it Brian you want? 

            I mean--- what?  You have a thing for no one.  You don’t want anyone, Rivyn.  You’re a single lady, girl!  Get it right!

            Coming to my senses, I realized that in about second from now, he was going to actually kiss me. Not sure what to do, I glanced away and pretended a sneeze was coming up.

            “Ah…ah…..ah…..” I plugged my nose with my hand and faked a sigh. 

            Noah laughed.  “That was a close one,” he said, handing me a tissue just in case.  I took it and blew in it anyways, getting off the dried blood.

            “You have no idea,” I quietly mumbled into the wipe.  Finishing up my business, I threw it in the garbage can a few meters away.  Score!

            “Nice shot,” he complimented.

            “Thanks,” I said and reached for the door. 

            “Have a good night!” he called. 

            Turning around, I smiled.  “You too.”  Closing the door, I walked an ear shot of a distance, making sure he wouldn’t hear my huge sigh of relief.  That was a close one.  Yet, a small part of me felt.... sad?  No, that can’t be.

            Suddenly, a familiar humming noise came from the last door.  Music was playing softly in the background, almost too significant to hear.  I crept over to the room and listened for a moment.  Bingo.  Ready to let out a huge apology, I slowly took in a deep breathe and opened the door.

            “Hey Brian.  I’m so sorry ab---” 

            Woah.  The first thing I did was drop my jaw.  Allllll the way down. 

            My heart skipping a beat, I never thought, in a million years, that I would be in this position.

            There stood Brian who turned around from his closet, and faced me.  Too scared to move and curiosity getting the best of me I...well...looked.

            I took in his whole manly figure.  From head to toe.  Gorgeous smooth tanned chest.  His beautiful hair wet from a shower.  His manly six pack.  Muscular thighs.  His er….yeah.

            Mother Teresa, he was naked.  Full on exposed to nothing but skin.

            “Rivyn, love, close your mouth,” he winked.  “I know you really want me but for your own good, I’m going to have to pass on your offer, if you know what I mean.”

            I immediately came back to earth, and clamped my mouth shut.  Bewilderment finally coming to my senses, I spun around, hiding with the wall.  I shielded my burned eyes and tried to block out the image.  “OH MY GOD BRIAN!  YOU JUST FREAK’N SCARRED ME FOR LIFE!  GO PUT SOME GOD DAMN CLOTHES ON NOW!" 

            I could hear him bursting out laughing, howling with amusement.  I cradled up to the wall, hopefully wishing for someone to kill me now.  I could have left the room if I wanted to but I was determined to apologize.  I know, I’m stubborn.

            “This is why you don’t barge into people’s rooms,” he joked.  His footsteps came closer to me.  I peeked open a little bit only to find him still naked.

            “Brian!  Put some clothes on!” I shrieked, covering my eyes.

            I heard him shuffle somewhere and then come back.  Daring to glance up, I saw him cover his private parts with a pillow. 

            I groaned.  “Really?  You couldn’t have just put on some boxers?”

            He shrugged.  “Too much work.”  He slowly began to slip off the white cushion, “unless you want me to change right now....”

            “Brian!”

            He laughed and I couldn’t help but realize the black eye that I gave him on his face.  A minor bruise marked on his stomach, near his rib cage was also quite noticeable.  Those pain markings were by yours truly, and I for some reason didn’t feel bad about it. 

            Brian went into his bathroom, hopefully going to put on some boxers.

            I stood up and observed his room.  It was four times bigger than mine.  A king size bed was on the left and two walk-in closets full of clothes were on the right.  “Why were you walking around naked, anyway?” I said, taking in the grand wall of photos that laid ahead of me.

            The tap turned on in the bathroom.  “I like the breeze,” he joked.  I rolled my eyes and smiled.

            “You’re disgusting,” I scowled, hiding my grin.  I walked up to the photo wall, glancing at the one in the center.  It was a picture of Brian, Noah, his mom and another man, which I was guessing was his father.   I squinted closer and found the similar attributes.  He had the same blonde hair and cute dimples as Brian and the dark brown eyes as Noah, them both sharing the flicks of hazel and blue in the pupils.  They all looked so happy.  Where was his father?

            “Satisfied?”

            I jumped startled and turned around.  My guilty female instinct made my eyes linger down, relief settling as I noticed he was wearing boxers.  “Completely,” I said and looked back to the wall.  I touched the frame of the picture, the wooden border had several cracks in it like it was really old. “This your dad?” 

            He shook his hair, which was still wet, and looked to where I was talking about.  “Yeah.  He is.” 

            I could tell by his voice that Brian didn’t really want to chat about his dad so I decided to tackle the point of why I was here. 

            “Look Brian, the whole reason why I wanted to come see you was because I just wanted to say sorry about the whole fighting thing earlier.  It was my fault that I didn’t control my feelings and I apologize.”

            BRIAN’S P.O.V

            Wait, she didn’t recall the part when I said she screwed up my life?  Too much has been going over her head when she was twisted with anger.  A look of sincere was written on Rivyn’s face.  I could tell she was telling the truth by the tone in her voice and the look on her beautiful, smooth skinned, perfect hot lips that made me flip every single time they moved----

            Brian!  Get a hold of yourself!  Rivyn is the stuck-up bitch that ruined your life!  She took away your childhood.  Kneed you in the ribs and hated your guts ever since she first saw you. 

            I need a solution.  I need to get her off of my mind.   I can’t possibly like Rivyn.  That’s impossible.  I’ve never liked anyone and I never will.

            Ugh.  I could really go for a bottle of vodka right now.

            RIVYN’S P.O.V

            Brian’s face went soft for a moment, like the time where I left him at the back of the restaurant.  He appeared to be in a different world, mesmerized by something distracting. 

            As I was about to ask what was going on, his expression changed into an evil grin.  The bad-ass player that I’ve always known.  No more sweet Brian.

            “You better get going now,” he ushered, pushing me out. 

            “W-w-what?  Why?”  His hard hands pressed on my back, above my bra clippings. 

            “I wish you could stay, I terribly do but you must go.”

            “Brian!” He opened the door, slowly pushing me out.

            “Don’t let the bed bugs bite!  You’re room is across from mine, close as I could get you.  Try not to dream me naked would you?  I have a rep for triggering dirty thoughts at night when women think of me.”

            “Brian!” I scolded, hitting him in the chest.  His black eye really looked sexy in a...weird way. 

            He finally pushed me out, and shot me his famous charming grin.   He nuzzled his knuckle into my hair and kissed the top of my head.  “Goodnight, love,” with that, he closed the door in my face, leaving me mouth opened again.

            “Love, I’m really starting to think twice about that offer you’re handing.” 

            I gasped and quickly shut my mouth.  Brian slammed the door again leaving me speechless. 

            “Love, my ass,” I mumbled, annoyed.

            Still unsure with what just happened, I turned around only to witness the sound of his door opening.

            Suddenly, I felt a swift slap on my ass.  I spun around and found Brian step back into his room and shot me a wink before slamming the door in my face, for the third time.           

            “You might want to get moving, love!” he hollered between the wooden barrier.

            I banged onto the door with my fist.  “I am not your love!  Stop calling me that!”

            “Sorry, love.  I’m busy right now.  Can you come back later?”

            I let out a big groan and stomped my foot angrily.  “You’re such a douche bag!”

            “Love you too!”

            Screw you Brian Daniels.

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