𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐁𝐎𝐑

42

the loud clash of bowling balls striking the pins along with the cheering from players and the theme tunes from the arcade area was filling the bowling alley- all sounds mixing well together. hollywood bowl is the best bowling alley in los angeles.
it's where all the celebrities come because of the no paparazzi rule which means they can hang it with friends with full privacy.

"how did you manage to get a reservation here nessa?" mr. richards asks as he ties up his bowling shoes. even those are fancy.

nessa finishes tying up her own before moving her brown locks of hair out of her face with a small smile on her lips. "my manager cass knows the owner and because of josh and i's social media presence, they let us book a slot". she explains, standing up.

josh still hadn't arrived yet and his mom was worrying. she kept trying to call his cell phone but he wasn't answering. nessa tried to distract herself with his siblings, showing them how to bowl and teaching william how to use the kiddy ramp even though he insists he doesn't need it but when he tried to swing without it, he almost dropped the heavy balll on olivias foot.

when picking teams, william was adamant that nessa and his big brother be on his so olivia and their parents were in one and josh, nessa and william were in another and even though their team was a man down, they still led by 10 points

"nessa i'm getting concerned, he still hasn't shown up and i've tried calling i don't know how many times, his friends haven't seen h-"

"patty i'll find him it's okay. you just stay here with the kids and even out the teams till i get back. he's going to be fine" nessa reassures her but even she felt that something was off.

patty goes back to the kids and mr.richards while nessa grabs her bag and leaves the busy building. she stands outside, her car keys in her hand. she thinks hard about where he could be and mentally slaps herself for being so clueless. sarah's. just as the annoyed brunette starts to walk towards her car, she feels her phone buzz against her leg. fishing it out of her small bag, nessa reads the text from the gone boy himself.

___________

joshua 🖤

in the bowling restroom
i need your help

_______

"josh? open up it's me".

while the door is being unlocked, nessa glances around- making sure that nobody is lurking. the door opens and she silently slips inside, closing it behind her. josh stands, his hands leaning on the sink. The water is running and his hood is up, hiding his face.

"josh whats going on?" nessa asks quietly, stepping towards him slowly.

when josh doesn't respond, nessa quickens her pace until shes standing next to him. josh shifts a little so he's slightly facing her but with his head still hanging low to the ground. gently, nessa reaches her hand up and pulls his hood down. she gasps loudly upon seeing his dark- bruised black eye and the dry blood on various parts of his face.

nessa takes a step back, both her hands covering her mouth while she starts to cry.

"nessa please dont- hey look at me-ness I'm okay come here" josh fusses, pulling the brunette into his arms and holding her tight.

  nessa breaks away from him slightly, her eyes rescanning his broken face. it's hurts her in more ways that one to see him like this. she wants answers and she wants them now. who did this to him? why? where? how? the million racing thoughts were deafening.

   "look i'm okay, just a couple of idiots jumped me on my way here okay? it's fine, i'm fine" he reassures her, pulling her closer to his chest.

  nessa shakes her head, wiping away the tears with her sleeve. "no joshua this is not okay, we need to call the police you have to see a doctor" she rambles in protest.

    josh sighs, he knew she wouldn't take this so lightly and make a huge deal out of it. if he told her the truth there's no telling what she'd have done to sarah and it's not her that josh is protecting, its nessa.

    "ba-nessa please just trust me. i need to spend some time with my family. can you cover this up?" he asks, pointing to his cut up face.

   if this were anybody else, nessa would be calling the police straight away but it's josh. he's asked her to trust him and she does. she'll take him to the hospital later but for now she knows all he wants is to be normal and have fun with his family who he hasn't seen in forever and she knows how much it would worry josh's parents so instead of arguing back, nessa nods her head before rummaging through her bag.

    josh let's nessa wipe away the blood gently with him only wincing a few times.

    "hey, i'm getting better at this don't you think?" she laughs softly.

    josh smiles, tilting his head.

    "better at what?".

   "stitching you up in bathrooms. i mean- considering all the times i've had to do it already" she teases, josh mock gasping in response.

    they sit in silence while nessa covers his bruises with her concealer, blending it in so it looks as natural as possible. she smiles at her work, glad that she could help. the small girl starts to put her things away as josh gets tidied up.

   "hey, you know what else is tradition for us in bathrooms?" josh asks, taking nessa's hand.

   she swallows her spit as they come closer together. without having to think, she knows the answer. josh leans down- she leans up. they connect their lips slowly. nessa can feel the storm of butterflies fighting against the waves of excitement in her stomach. she wraps her arms around josh's neck and deepens the kiss.

     "wait! what about sarah? we can't do this to her again" nessa frowns, her forehead resting against josh's.

    he smiles at her, surprising the girl.

   "it's over. we broke up earlier" he confirms.

  and with that, a smile breaks out onto nessa's face as she cups the taller boys face, grinning with glee before bringing him closer to her. they kiss again like they haven't before. it's passionate. it's loving. it's powerful.

could this finally be it? their happy ending? is everyone coming together as it should be, at last?

_________________

hmm idk could it be? depends what kinda mood i'm in when i write the next chapter :))

ANYWAYS : first chapter of life unexpected is up right now! go ! read! tell me how much o suck at writing 🧽

this book IS coming to an end really soon tho :/ enjoy these last few chapters ❤️