The Nerdiest Bad Boy [UNDERGOING EDITING]

ᏟᎻᎪᏢᎢᎬᎡ ᎢᏔᎬNᎢY-ᎬᏆᏩᎻᎢ | Part 2

Arden squeezed my hand reassuringly. I closed my eyes, letting all of the memories flood back in. "My parents were the greatest people I knew. They were such hardworking, caring, and amazing people. They loved their jobs, but they always put Amanda and I first. My mom and dad were my best friends. I was never one of those kids who were embarrassed of their parents kissing them in public, or bringing their lunches to school when they forgot them, or anything really. They were my heroes. Even in their last moments of living, they were still my heroes."

I subconsciously squeezed Arden's hand tighter. Here came the hard part. "One night, there was a fire. I don't know how it started, but there was one. It was late at night and we were all sleeping, but my parents must've woken up. Amanda had a bunch of her friends over for a sleepover, so my parents woke them all up and quickly took them out of our house. One of our neighbours must've called the firefighters, but they came too late." My voice cracked slightly at the end of my sentence, but that didn't go unnoticed by Arden.

"You don't have to continue," she whispered.

I shook my head. "But I want to." I took in a deep breath before continuing. "In the midst of getting all of Amanda's friends to safety, some of the pillars caught on fire and they fell over. The passage to get inside the house was blocked, but I was still inside. My parents knew that and they weren't going to let me die. They were going to do whatever was in their power to keep me alive. Once they had ensured Amanda and all of her friends were safe, they came back inside for me. It was a risky decision and it didn't guarantee much chance for survival at all, and it wasn't likely they would even find me, but my parents still went inside. Somehow they had managed to come inside without getting injured along the way. They came upstairs and went to my bedroom, where I was hiding under my bed." I let out a humourless laugh. "I always hid under my bed during any unpleasant situation."

I released my grip from Arden's hand and I pulled out the blades of grass from the ground. I knew it was damaging to the grass, but it kept me occupied. So long as I fidgeted with something, I wouldn't cry. "By the time my parents found me, practically the entire house was filled with fire. There was absolutely no chance for escape through the way they came. We heard sirens in the distance and the firefighters arrived. If only they had come a few minutes earlier..." I stopped tugging on the grass. "My entire room was now caught on fire and there was only a small crevice which led to my window. Soon enough, that would've been covered in flames too. My parents realized that, so they ushered me to the window. I didn't want to leave them behind. I remembered how much I was crying. I was begging them to go first, but my mom and dad wouldn't take no for an answer. They made me crawl to my window. Just as I climbed out of my window, one of the firefighters came up on the ladder and she helped me get out of my bedroom. I remembered turning back to look at my parents. The last words they ever said to me was 'I love you' and then, before I could even process what was happening, my bedroom ceiling caved in. I screamed. I screamed, and I screamed, and I..."

My voice trailed off, and without a warning, a whimper escaped my lips. I chomped down on my tongue to prevent myself from crying. That was exactly why I didn't want to talk about my parents. I had gone so long without speaking about them, but just thinking about my parents was enough to make me cry. The more I talked about them, the realer their deaths felt.

"Nicholas," Arden said softly. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around me. I fell into her embrace, holding on to the last bit of strength I had. "You're very strong," she told me.

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Strong isn't the word I'd use."

"Just know that this wasn't your fault. Your parents wanted you to be saved. And truthfully, I'm happy they did," she said.