CROSSFIRE

Episode 4

Nia's POV

I didn't know what to do, but I knew I didn't want to cry in front of Knox.

I wanted to….

God, I wanted to… so badly my chest physically hurt from holding it in, but pride was the only thing I had left, and I refused to let it shatter at Carter's front door or in front of his brother.

So I let Knox lead me under the weak glow of the streetlamp, holding in my tears, my hands clenched so tightly at my side that my nails bit into my palm..

Knox was still in front of me, broad and tense, one hand flexing at his side like he was one bad thought away from storming back into that house and dragging Carter out by the throat.

“I’m going to kill him,” he said and I was stunned.

A broken chuckle escaped from my lips. “No,” I whispered, wiping under my eyes before any tear could fall. “Don’t.”

His jaw tightened. “He had no right to humiliate you in front of his friends.

He was right. Carter had humiliated me. Two days ago, if someone had told me that Carter's behavior would drastically change, I wouldn't have believed.

And even though I had ignored the red flags when it was clear he was leading me on .

He f*****g led me on when he knew he didn't want me and I wasn't his type. He made me feel special and I hadn't thought about it when he asked our relationship to be private.

He had never been protecting us. There had never been an *us*.

I saw it now, painfully, clearly, horribly. Carter hadn’t been careful with me because I was special. He had been careful because he wanted access without responsibility.

He wanted my devotion without a label, my loyalty without commitment, my body when he was ready, my heart whenever it was convenient and all this f*****g time, I had let him.

A fresh wave of humiliation rose so fast it made my stomach twist.

I looked away from Knox and swallowed hard, forcing every ugly feeling back down before it could spill over.

If I started crying now, I didn’t know if I’d stop and I wouldn’t give Carter that.

“I was so stupid,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Knox’s expression changed instantly. “No.”

I laughed again, but there was nothing amused about it. “I was. Everyone probably saw it except me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Blame yourself for him being a piece of shit.”

I looked at him. He was angry—furious, actually—but not at me. His face was hard, his shoulders tight, and his gaze kept drifting back toward the house like he was still deciding whether violence would be worth the consequences.

And somehow, that made my chest ache in a different way, because Knox had warned me. I couldn't believe he had told me the night before that Carter doesn't care, but I had shun him off.

Cruelly, yes, but honestly. And Carter?

Carter had smiled in my face while turning me into a joke behind my back.

I inhaled slowly, then exhaled through the burn in my lungs.“No,” I said again, this time stronger. “I’m done crying over him.”

Knox watched me, slightly taken aback. “Okay?”

I looked back at Carter's house, with the warm lights glowing behind the windows. I thought about the laughter we always shared and things we had planned for our future.

His voice kept ringing in my head. “She's not good enough to stand beside me like that.”

I stared at Knox and he gave me a knowing smile before I broke this news to him. “I changed my mind.

One dark brow lifted. “About what?”

“Your deal.”

His expression went still.

The night air felt colder now, like the whole world had narrowed to this one moment standing between us.

“I’ll tutor you,” I said.

Knox stared at me for a beat, then another. “That easy?”

“It’s not easy.”

My voice came out like a whisper as I stood in front of Knox. “I’ll tutor you. I’ll fix your grades. I’ll help you become the top student in your department.” I held his gaze. “I’ll help you take Carter’s place.”