Untimely Love (Book 3)

♠Chapter 46♠

This was not the time for Nate to walk in on a critical conversation. I couldn't deal with this right now, on top of what my mother just told me.

I was sitting on the floor when Nate rounded the kitchen island to stare down at me. I didn't look up at him, but his bare feet were in my periphery and I knew he was staring because I felt it. Like two laser beams boring into my head.

Mom took control of the situation. I hardly heard what she said to my friend over the loudness of my thoughts.

High school sucked. Yes, I had friends who made it easy to bear, but that didn't change the fact—it was the worst place to exist, especially for someone who'd had to endure what Ariana did. And if things couldn't get worse, having that announced to a bunch of teenagers...

They would not be kind to her and that was the only thing I could focus on. Ariana already despised that place more than anyone I'd known, so I knew this would be one of the worst things to happen to her. There were certain things she never had to tell me and one of them was that she'd been having a hard time. This would wreck her. This wasn't something she wanted people to know. It's why it never went beyond us and our parents. I wasn't even sure Renard knew. I didn't even tell my dad because we weren't always close.

I wasn't even sure I wanted to talk about it to anyone outside the small circle who knew. My mother never asked and I never brought it up. Ariana and I had spoken months ago about the surface of things—mostly exchanged apologies at the time—but I knew it was still a conversation to be had, one to cover everything.

I could never pretend like this affected me the same way it did her because I wasn't there. I wasn't there when she found out, when she had to heal from it physically and emotionally, when she shut down from everyone—I just wasn't there. But that didn't mean I was unaffected by it or her pain.

I needed to be there. Even if I was eons late and she might hate me for seeing her vulnerable. I wanted to be there.

I felt sick as I stood, cutting off whatever Mom had been saying to Nate. She sounded like she was threatening him but I didn't care to be sure. "I have to come with you," I demanded. I glanced down at my joggers and crushed T-Shirt, brushing at them frantically in attempt to look more presentable. It would have to do.

Mom turned to me with a sigh. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Latoya said Ariana's having a really hard time-"

"That's why I'm coming," I cut her off, grabbing the basket by its handle and lifting it off the counter. "Let's go."

"Let's go?" Nate retorted, his voice rising. "What the hell, Chris? You never said anything!"

I was almost out of the room and had to force myself to turn back to him with a grimace. "And I don't have time to talk about it right now— but you can't tell anyone about this, Nate."

He threw his hands up. "How many secrets am I supposed to keep for you? Chris, this isn't something as tiny as you and Ari hooking up." Nate didn't get mad. Not often. I could count on one hand how many times he got seriously angry in the years we'd known each other. This was the angriest he's been since we became teens.

Guilt wormed into my head and stole its way to my chest. "I know. And that's why I'm asking you not to say anything. I just need to talk to her. Its... complicated."

His disappointment was strong enough to make me hesitate for a moment. Nate shook his head. "It always is, isn't it?" He looked like he wanted to say something else, but didn't. He turned his back on me instead, heading to the fridge.

I still hung back only because my mother took her time crossing the room. I watched Nate stare into the large cold box without grabbing anything. He just stood there.