Straight Laced (9 page)

Chapter 19

A few weeks
of regular hospital visits went by until I finally received a text from Brent letting me know that they were going to be releasing Nate from the hospital. Since he wasn’t going to be able to work and his family wasn’t in the picture, Lynn was letting him move into their guest bedroom until he was able to get back on his feet again.

His release came just in time. My parents finally came to terms with the fact that I wasn’t planning to go to school this fall and they agreed that I was no long
er “cut off.” I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do since this whole thing happened with Nate, but I wasn’t about to tell them that.

I had been visiting Nate every
day and things seemed to be going great. His smile still put butterflies in my stomach and his kiss still sent chills up my spine. The newness of the relationship had yet to wear off, for me, anyway. The fact that he could have lost his life but could still crack jokes and make me laugh like nothing had happened made me love—no,
like
him that much more. I’m not ready to use that word
love
yet. I mean I really, really like him and the way he makes me feel, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to love someone yet.

I went to Tori’s house the next morning. They were going to be moving things from Nate’s house to their house and the storage unit all day
, so I told them I would make sure Nate got food and anything else he needed. Plus, it would be nice to have a little alone time with him, without doctors and nurses coming in and out of his room all day.

I was surprised when I pulled into their driveway and
saw a little red sedan sitting in the spot where I usually parked. I pulled up behind it. It must belong to someone that was helping them move Nate’s stuff. I grabbed the food I picked up from Nate’s favorite taco place, the one we had our little meeting at, and walked up to the front door of the house. Tori told me it would be open since Nate was here, so I pushed the door open. I closed it quietly behind me. I didn’t want to wake him if he was sleeping. I set my purse on the small bench in the entry way and walked back to the guestroom.

The door was closed so I figured he must be sleeping. I pushed the door open slowly
and was surprised by what I saw. The girl from the night of the barn party was kneeling next to the bed. Her face was probably two inches from Nate’s. Her hand was on Nate’s bicep and his was wrapped around her, resting on her lower back. When they noticed I’d opened the door, they turned their heads towards me but didn’t move away from each other.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize you had com
pany.” I tried to hide the anger in my voice. I could feel the heat rising in my stomach. If I wouldn’t have walked in when I did, who knows what might have happened.

Nate pulled his arm back to his side and the girl looked at him
, confused. He obviously hadn’t told her about me. “Cici, this is Tori’s friend Summer. Summer, this is Cici.”

Tori’s friend? Is that really how he’s going to introduce me? I mean I guess he can’t be like “this is Summer, the girl I’ve been making out with for the past month.” But he couldn’t even bother to say
my
friend, he says
Tori’s
friend. Nice.

Cici looked me up and down. I could tell she wasn’t very happy and she was probably wondering what the hell
Tori’s
friend was doing here.

“Tori just wanted me to drop these off
for you.” I looked at Nate and threw the bag of tacos on the bed. He knew that I wasn’t happy and he knew he’d screwed up. I gave him a minute to say something but, as usual, he didn’t. I looked over at Cici, who was still staring at me and still had her hand resting on Nate’s bicep. Her grip tightened when she saw me looking at her hand. This girl had some serious territorial problems. “You two have fun.” I smiled at him and shook my head as I turned around and walked out the door.

I
couldn’t believe I actually thought he liked me. I didn’t know what I was thinking. What I didn’t understand was how could he be so friendly with her when she was nowhere to be found the whole time he was in the hospital? I went from being upset to being angry in a matter of minutes. I was by his side this whole time and yet he still let that skank come back into his life whenever she sees fit.

I grabbed my purse and stomped out to my car. I got in and slammed my door shut. I knew he couldn’t hear it but it made me feel better. I put the car in reverse and backed up,
just missing the bushes behind me. I threw the car in drive and peeled out. I knew he would hear that. If he didn’t realize I was pissed before, which he’d be stupid not to, he’d know I was pissed now. Rocks spewed in all directions. I was hoping a few of them hit the red sedan that I now knew belonged to Cici. What kind of name was Cici, anyway?

I glanced back in my rearview mirror and watched the dust trail from my tires fill the air. It was a great representation of my life right now. Everything seemed so clear before Nate left the hospital.
I thought I knew exactly where our relationship was going. I mean, I didn’t picture the white dress and a house with a white picket fence by any means, but I felt secure. Now, my vision was cloudy and I could no longer see what I thought was my future.

Chapter 20

A few hours had passed before my phone rang.
I picked it up off my bed and looked at the screen. It was Nate. I was somewhat shocked since he’s never called me. He’ll usually text or avoid the situation altogether until I confront him, so I was immediately sent into a panic. I wasn’t sure whether I should pick it up or send him to voicemail. But my dilemma took too long; just when I decided to answer, the phone stopped ringing. I waited a few seconds to see if I would get a notification that he left a message, but I didn’t.

I
was preparing myself to call him back when my screen lit up. A picture of Tori and I at the lake popped up. I tapped the bottom of the screen.

“Hello?”

“Where’d you go? I thought you were going to stay and eat dinner with us when we got home?” I could hear her chewing on the other end of the line.

“
Yeah, there was a change in plans.”

She sighed. “Are you and Nate fighting already?”

“Not exactly…was anyone other than Nate there when you got home?”

“No. Why?”
She sounded confused.

“Whe
n I went to take Nate lunch, that girl from the party was there.”

“That
skank
was in my house? Gross!”

“Yeah. Apparently her name is Cici.”

“Cici? Really? That sounds like the name of a stripper…that fits her well. I bet she died when Nate introduced you guys.”

“Not really, but probably because he introd
uced me as ‘Tori’s friend.’”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.”

“Wow! The nerve!
”

“That’s what I thought.
”

“
So you just left him alone with her?”

“Yeah, I didn’t have much of a choice. I wasn’t about to hang out
with them. It didn’t look like she had any intentions of leaving anytime soon and since he introduced me as your friend, he probably wasn’t planning on asking her to leave.”

“Have you talked to him since?”

“No, he called, though. I was just getting ready to call him back.”

“Wow, he actually called you? That’s a first.”

“I know, right?”

“Al
l right. Well, keep me updated.”

“I will. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

I hung up the ph
one and scrolled through my contacts until I reached Nate’s name and tapped on it. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey.”

“Hey…”
I decided to let him take the lead on this one.

“Can I call you back in a little bit? Everyone just got back here and we’re getting ready to eat.”
Oh duh!
I thought. Tori just told me that.

“Sure.”

“All right. Bye.” I heard the phone click. Wow. That was fast.

I
ran downstairs to make myself a quick dinner, hoping it would help curb the anticipation of our upcoming conversation. When I got back up to my room, I paced around aimlessly. I wanted to hurry up and get this phone call over with, or at least get it started. I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand—it’d been forty minutes since I called him. The wait was killing me. I thought about calling him again or maybe just texting him, but I didn’t want him to feel like I was bugging him.

A
fter I thought about it, I realized I had every right to be bugging the shit out of him. I wanted to know what the hell was going on with him and Cici. Or at least what the hell was going on with us.

I picked up my phone and click
ed on his name. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail. So I hung up and texted him.

We need to talk ASAP.

I waited for his reply. After a few minutes, he texted me back.

I’m exhausted. You think we can talk tomorrow?

Again, I was pissed. He had to know how upset I was and yet he was blowing me off like it was nothing. Maybe it was nothing? Maybe I was just overreacting? I was half tempted to text him back and tell him not to bother. But how could he be exhausted from spending the day with his ex-girlfriend? Or who knows, maybe she’s still his girlfriend. Well, whatever she was, hearing that he was exhausted after spending the day with another girl was not something I wanted to hear and it sent pictures through my head that I did
not
want to think about.

O
nce again I decided to take the lead on this even though I didn’t really even know where to start or if I was prepared for what I was going to hear. But I didn’t want to waste anymore time playing these games. Not only that, how did I know he wasn’t just blowing me off so he could hang out with Cici again tonight?

No. I would rather we talk tonight.

I’m coming over.

I jumped off my bed, grabbed my purse
, and went out to my car. My parents weren’t home. They had dinner plans with some of my dad’s co-workers tonight. I had plenty of time to get over there, get this all worked out, and be home by curfew. I hoped, anyway.

When I got
to Tori’s I walked in the front door and could hear the TV on in the living room, so I knew Tori’s mom and dad were still up. I knew they wouldn’t mind that I walked in without knocking, I did it all the time. But I still made sure to keep quiet because even though Lynn knew we were together, I don’t think she would like Nate and I alone in his room together.

I walked down the hallway to Nate’s room and
knocked quietly on the door. I didn’t hear him say anything, so I pushed it open slowly. His light was on but he was passed out on the bed. I walked over and sat down next to him. I looked at the dark circles under his eyes. He’d been through a lot the past month, with the accident, having to stay in the hospital, and having to move out of his place. Maybe this could have waited until morning.

I grabbed the blanket folded at the foot
of the bed and pulled it over him. I noticed an empty glass on the nightstand next to him so I picked it up and took it to the kitchen to refill. I didn’t hear the TV from the living room anymore. Tori’s parents must’ve gone to bed. I was a bit relieved because I didn’t know how this was going to end, and if it didn’t go well and they saw me, I didn’t want to have to explain everything to them. When I went back into Nate’s room, he was awake.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I set the water back down on the nightstand.

“Thanks.” He patted the bed next to him. I sat down. “What’s up?”

“I think you already know what’s up. I wasn’t exactly happy about what I walked in on today.”

“With Cici?”

“Yeah with Cici!” The sound of her name alone set me off.

“Summer
…” He placed his hand on my thigh. “You have nothing to worry about. We’re just good friends. She’s going through some stuff and needed someone to talk to. That’s all.”

“No
, that’s not all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw you guys together at the party and I know you guys were more than just friends and have been for awhile.”

“
That was before I met you.”

“Nate, I’m not stupid. I
saw the way she looked at you!” Then I remembered the one thing the pissed me off most of all. “And if you’re just friends, then why the hell did you introduce me as Tori’s friend?”

“She’s having a hard time right now. I didn’t want to throw her over the edge. She do
esn’t need that kind of stress right now. I’m just trying to be a good friend.”

“Well
, having her come over here and being up close and personal with her is not exactly going to send her the right message.”

He pulled me down to him and brought me in for a kiss. I loved the feeling of his soft lips on mine
. I thought about pulling away for a second, but I wanted that kiss, no matter how mad I was at him. I pulled away slowly.

“That’s not going to get you off the hook
, you know.”

“It was wor
th a shot.” He smiled at me and my stomach fluttered. Between that and the kiss I almost forgot what I was there for…almost.