Sweetheart

13

Lizzie
August 2020

I wake up to a hand brushing my head.

I smile sleepily, shifting a little under those fingers with a sigh. It's clearly a man's hand. It follows the line of my spine along my neck, gently and delicately.

"Hey, Liz." Nate. I mean, duh. Who else was I expecting?

With my eyes still closed, I reply, "Hi."

I feel warm lips on my forehead. "Breakfast is ready downstairs," he whispers on my skin. "Wanna eat?"

I hum, turning on my back and stretching my body, not caring that my shirt rides up my thighs and almost exposes my underwear. "Yeah," I tell him, sitting up. "Give me a sec to get ready."

"All right." He gets up from my bed and exits the room.

As I start getting ready, I realize that Nate and I aren't exactly doing good at the moment. I still haven't forgotten what happened with Logan. Nate has to apologize.

I put on some shorts and walk downstairs, picking up Fat-Cat Milo. "Hello, little boy," I tell him, kissing his head. He purrs.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I set him free, entering the kitchen. Grace is sitting at the table, reading a book. She looks at me and smiles brightly. "Lizzie, hi! Come, join us," she greets me, pointing at the chair next to her.

I sit down and grab a couple of pancakes, watching Nate sitting in front of us. "Did you sleep well?" he asks, taking a bite of bacon and eggs.

"Yep." My last nightmare was three days ago. "Slept like a babe."

I don't ask about the missing family member. "Lizzie," Grace starts, "I know I haven't exactly been around lately. With the new school year about to start... Ugh, it's always a mess. But I'd like to spend more time with you," she tells me. "Some girl-time, you know?"

"I would love that, Grace. All this testosterone is starting to get to me," I joke, making her giggle, while Nate snorts.

"Yeah, it can be tough. At least I have you now," she replies, and I couldn't agree more. "Oh, and also, you could ask Cam and Davina to stay over tonight. I haven't seen them in a while now."

That's actually a good idea. I have never had a sleepover. "Sure! I'll ask them. Thank you."

"All right, well, I have to go now. Henry is going to be here any minute to pick me up," Grace informs us, getting up from the table and picking up her stuff.

Nate asks her, "Mom, when are you gonna go on a date with the poor man?" I remember thinking something about his mom and Mr. Holloway being together. When I'd confronted Nate about it, he said he agreed.

Grace hushes him. "Henry is a family friend. And he's your teacher," she points out, cleaning the dish she used.

With a sigh, Nate rolls his eyes. "He wants to be with you, Mom. Everyone can see that. Give him a chance," he says with a tone that makes him sound like he's said this thing a million times.

"Nate. Mind your business," she scolds him. He doesn't say anything else. When she's done with the dishes, she smiles at us. She drops a quick kiss on Nate's head, before saying, "I'll see you later. Love you!"

"Bye," we both say.

We eat our breakfast quietly and with little talking. "Look," he eventually starts, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry about what I said to Logan, okay?"

I raise my gaze to him. I fold my arms in front of my chest and lean back in my chair. "You should tell him, not me." He scoffs like I've made a joke. "I'm serious, Nate. Apologize to him."