Torn (35 page)

As soon as I got in the cab, I
sent him a text.

I’m so sorry for making things
worse. I waited as long as I could, but Josh told me you could be hours. I’ll
be home soon, I’ll keep my phone on if you need me. It doesn’t matter what time
it is, ok? I love you, Nate Hudson. You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met.
Your Sky xx

I lay in bed just staring at the
phone, willing it to light up, struggling to keep my eyes open as the clock
spewed out the hours.

When my alarm woke me up at seven
a.m., I squinted one-eyed at my screen as I swiped it to find a solitary text
sent at three twenty-one a.m.

I love you too. Permanently x

Nate

Valentine’s Night

“I told you I was going out
tonight, Ma, and I’m not cancelling my plans, not tonight,” I warned, as she
hurled her dinner plate across the room, the canned chili I’d heated up sliding
down the cream painted wall as the plate shattered.

“You can’t leave me, not
tonight
,”
she howled.

“I can’t let my girlfriend down
on Valentine’s night. I won’t,” I stated firmly. It was bad enough we hadn’t
been able to steal any time together since I’d kicked the door shut on her the
other day. I owed her an apology in person, as well as an honest confession
about how complicated my life really was. It wasn’t fair to try and keep her in
the dark anymore. It affected her too.

“You choose, Nathan. You choose.
Me or her!”

“You need to stop this, Ma. Sky’s
a part of my life, whether you like it or not. I’ll always be here for you, but
I need a life too. I need some happiness out of this house!”

“I’ll die without you, Nathan.
Doesn’t she understand that? I need you more than she does. I’ve lost
everything!”

“No, you haven’t!” I roared, my
last thread of patience finally snapping, making her flinch. “You lost Dad, the
love of your life, and then your brother, and fuck knows I can’t begin to
comprehend how much that hurts. But you’ve still got me and Josh. Two boys who
bend over backward to try and show you their love and support, and what do we
get in return, huh? We get verbally and physically abused! See this?” I yelled,
pointing at my eye, where I had a nasty shiner from her elbow to my face. “
You
did this. You’re so drunk and angry at the world that you don’t even see
that you’re ripping us to shreds.”

“Nathan,” she whimpered, holding
out her hands to me as her bottom lip started to wobble.

“No! Enough. I need a timeout,
and God help you if I come back to find out that you’ve abused Josh while he
tries to take care of you. You do that and I’m gonna sell this house and force
you into rehab, because I can’t do this anymore, Ma. You make a decision and
you make it tonight, because I’m done.” I spun on my heel, clenching my fists
at my side as my body shook with rage. I needed Sky. I needed that peace that I
always felt around her. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and forget about all
the crap. I threw the door open and was about to close it when I heard Ma’s
voice, cold and hard.

“You leave me for her and I’ll
make you regret it, Nathan. Choose, me or that slut that’s stealing you from me.”

“Don’t even go there, Ma,” I
growled without turning to face her. “You’re the one who needs to choose. You
choose right now if you want to start living, because this isn’t living, for
any of us.”

“Nathan,” she cried as I pulled
the door shut. I exhaled heavily, forcing myself to forget about the mess of
her dinner plastered everywhere, and to ignore her sobbing as I walked away.
She could switch on a dime, hard and emotionless one second, a sobbing
emotional mess the next. I didn’t care how many screams and threats she made,
how many tears or pleas she cried, I was done. It was time I faced the fact
that I just wasn’t equipped to help her. She was never going to get better
without professional help, and I couldn’t hold out another week, let alone
until I graduated next year. What if I never made it to the majors? What if I
never earned the money I needed to pay for her care? Somewhere deep inside, I
still loved her in spite of everything she’d put us through, but I couldn’t
carry on like this.

“She’s crying again?” Josh sighed,
as I found him hovering at the end of the hallway.

“Yeah.”

“I’d better go keep her company.”

“No, don’t,” I warned, putting a
hand on his chest as he made a move toward her room. “I gave her an ultimatum
and she needs to sit and think about that on her own. I’d leave her unless you
hear the door or window alarm sound. If she tries to get out, you call me, but
otherwise she needs to stew. I’m done, Josh. I can’t do this anymore. I’m
sorry, I didn’t want to do this, but we might need to sell the house and put
her in care.”

“Don’t think about this tonight,
Nate,” he urged, shoving a hand through his hair. “We’ll sit down this weekend
and consider the options, ok? Sky’s mom is looking into help for people who need
emergency treatment and are on low incomes. Let’s not do anything rash, ok?
You’ve done enough on your own, it’s time you let us all help you. She’s my ma,
too.”

“I know.” I pulled him into an
embrace, slapping his back as I kissed the top of his head. “When did you grow
up, little brother?” I sighed.

“Around the time you did, when our
dad died and you took it all on your shoulders, Nate. I’m strong enough to
share the burden now. Any decisions that need to be made, we make them together.
Now go, don’t keep Sky waiting. She was really upset about what happened the
other night. You should be together tonight, you’re good for each other.”

“Thanks, Josh,” I stated
sincerely. I knew he still liked her, how hard it must be to see us together,
but he never tried to make me feel guilty.

I pulled up on her driveway and
took a deep, calming breath before getting out of the car. I buttoned up my
jacket. I’d dressed up in the outfit I’d gotten for her birthday. Other than my
black suit for team public appearances, it was pretty much the only dressy outfit
I had in my closet. I rang the doorbell and quickly put my hands behind my
back, hiding the single red rose I’d ordered for her and picked up from the
florists on the drive over. I already felt better, just to be that much closer
to her, distancing myself from the crap at home. The door opened and I was
faced with her dad. Great. I knew he had a problem with me and now I’d turned
up with a black eye, but other than giving it a cursory glance, he didn’t seem
to react to it. Maybe Sky had warned them, I knew Josh had told her.

“Hello, Mr. Torres. I’m here for
Sky, is she ready?”

“She’ll be a few minutes. You’re
early,” he observed. I was. I was usually right on time, but tonight I was too
impatient.

“I’ll go and wait in the car for
her then.” I gave him a polite smile and went to leave, but he coughed and
spoke.

“Nate, why don’t you … why don’t
you come in and wait,” he suggested.

“Are you sure?” I asked, giving
him a puzzled look.

“I know I haven’t exactly been
the greatest supporter of this … relationship, but it’s clear to me that she
loves you, and I think you feel the same?”

“I do, sir,” I nodded, not a
fraction embarrassed to admit it.

“Then it’s time I tried to get on
board, but I still stand by my original warning. You even think about breaking
her heart and you’ll have me to answer to, son. Are we clear?”

“Perfectly, sir,” I nodded.

“Very well, lecture over. Come on
in.” He stepped back and gestured for me to enter. I stepped inside, and he
shut the door and led me into the large open-plan room I’d only seen the once.
Jesus. Compared to my little house, this was like a rock star’s mansion.

“Nate,” exclaimed Mrs. Torres, as
she put down whatever she was doing in the kitchen and wiped her hands on her
apron before removing it. “How lovely to see you. How are you?”

“Good, thank you,” I nodded,
telling a small white lie. I wouldn’t be good until I saw my girl. Mrs. Torres
surprised me by pulling me into a warm embrace.

“Sky shouldn’t be long. She’s
having an outfit crisis, wanting to make sure she looks pretty for you tonight.”

“She doesn’t need to try,” I
replied as Sky’s mom let me go.

“Good looking and smooth talking,
I can see why she’s fallen for you,” she laughed.

“Nate?”

Sky’s surprised voice made me
spin around, and I felt like I’d just been punched in the chest. God, my girl
wasn’t just pretty, she was stunning. Her long hair was pulled up into that
sexy mussed-up knot that I loved, showing off her slender neck that I wanted to
bite and mark. Her eyes had been done in black and gray, and she had on that
soft pink lip-gloss that reminded me of her nipples. She was wearing a loose-fit,
chunky cream cable dress that stopped mid-thigh, with a pair of sexy-as-hell black
knee-high socks and suede ankle boots. She’d slung a black coat over her arm
and was clutching a cream felt purse.
Don’t react, please don’t react,
I
warned my cock as I tried to fight my sexual need for her. That last thing I
needed, when her dad seemed to be coming around, was for me to spring an
erection in his presence.

“This is for you.” I stayed where
I was, not sure if kissing her was inappropriate in front of her parents, as I
held out the rose. She burst into a radiant smile and dumped her coat and
purse, then ran over to me, taking it from me before flinging her arms around
my neck and planting her lips on mine. I reacted instinctively and lifted her
up off the floor as I gave her a kiss back, gently setting her down when I
heard her dad’s sharp cough in the background.

“It’s beautiful, I love it,” she
exclaimed, her glossy chocolate eyes shining with happiness. “Let me put it in
water and we can get going.” She let go of me and went with her mom into the
kitchen to find a vase, and I cocked my head as I checked out her ass and that
strip of bare skin at the back of her thighs. I heard Mr. Torres clearing his
throat again and looked up to find him raising his eyebrows at me. Shit.
Great
way to make a good impression, Nate
. I felt my cheeks color up, something
they never did, but to be honest, he kind of intimated me. Without his approval,
our relationship wouldn’t be easy. “Ok, I’m ready,” Sky beamed as she came and
slipped her hand into mine.

“Midnight, Sky,” her dad warned.

“Yeah, yeah, sing another tune,
Pops,” she laughed. “Enjoy your romantic night in.”

“Night, Mr. and Mrs. Torres,” I
called over my shoulder, as Sky grabbed her coat and purse.

“Have fun,” her mom smiled. I
could have sworn I heard her dad mutter “Not too much fun.”

I led Sky to the car and pressed
her up against it as I clasped her face and just gazed at her, needing to drink
her in, to drown in her eyes for a while and find myself again.

“What’s wrong? You look so sad.”

“Rough night again with Ma,” I
sighed. “Come on, we have dinner reservations.” I planted a soft kiss on her
forehead, knowing where I’d want it to lead if I kissed her lips, and we’d
never make dinner.

“Nate.” She captured my chin and
ran her thumb over my lips as she cocked her head. “We don’t have to go to
dinner.”

“It’s Valentine’s night,” I
reminded her.

“So? As long as I’m with you, I’m
happy. Don’t do what you think I want, stop putting everyone else first. For
once tell me what you want.”

“I want to be selfish, Sky. I
just want to be with you, up on JT’s roof, in our place. I don’t want to share
our night with anyone else, or make small talk, or pretend to enjoy pretentious
food. I just wanna be with you, to switch off and be at peace.” I let out a
deep breath, my eyes whispering an apology to her.

“So that’s what we’ll do.” She
smiled as she rubbed my lower lip again, and I pursed my lips and kissed it.

“Sky,” I protested. “I can’t not
take you out tonight.”

“You are taking me out, to
somewhere that means a lot to me. Valentine’s is about celebrating love, Nate,
reminding us that it exists and how important it is. It’s not about grand
romantic gestures or extravagance. You look like you have the weight of the
world on your shoulders tonight. So we’re going to go to our place, snuggle up
on that bed with the fur blankets, and you’re going to talk to me until you
feel better. Let me take care of you for once.”