I stopped, again. Nate’s very persistent hand was on my arm again, stopping me from leaving.
“Adrianna…” he said, his voice small and scared again. “Please don’t go. You know I don’t like the darkness.”
I sighed, but for some reason, a very tiny part of me kind of rejoiced. I didn’t have to leave him. I sat back down on his bed.
“Nate,” I said, softly. “You have to tell me. Why are you afraid of the darkness?”
He turned his head away, his brown eyes suddenly falling into shadows. Nate’s hazel pupils looked almost black in the darkness. I bit my lip, and waited. It was hard to read his expression, but I guessed he was thinking it over.
“You don’t have to tell me now,” I blurted out, trying to ease the sudden, almost unbearable tension. “I just thought we were getting close, you know. It’s fine if you don’t tell me. I mean, it’s –”
“No,” Nate said, looking straight at me again. My heart leapt against my chest. God, he was intense. “I’ll tell you. The real reason is because –”
My phone rang, bursting through the tension. Nate had looked away, but I sent a quick apologetic smile towards his direction. I picked up.
“Hello?” I said.
“Adrianna? It’s me.”
“Noah?” I gasped. Nate’s eyes snapped to mine immediately. I looked back at him, helplessly.
“I forgot to tell you something,” Noah said, down the phone. In the background I could hear car noises. He was still driving. “Next week, I’m coming back into town for a couple days. I’ve asked for a break from University because Mom said they were away on some trip, and they’d be gone for a month, so I thought I could keep my baby brother company. I haven’t even told Nate, yet. Tell him, for me?”
Nate was still glaring at me. I turned away from him, unnerved.
“Uh, sure,” I said. “I’ll tell him. Was that all?”
“Well, sort of. I was wondering...when I get back…do you want to go to the beach party with me? We could drive down…”
“Oh,” I said, my eyes widening with surprise. He was asking me out. “Sure, I’d love to come! Great. Talk to you later. Bye.”
I hung up, and met Nate’s accusing eyes.
“What?” I snapped, suddenly feeling really annoyed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing.”
It was clearly not nothing. I pocketed the phone, feeling even angrier towards Noah. He’d completely ruined the moment. There was no way I could get up the guts to ask Nate about his phobia again.
“See you tomorrow…” Nate muttered. “It’s our last shift at the club. Have you got enough money?”
My eyes widened. Crap. I’d forgotten to ask Noah. I would’ve never gotten the guts, anyway. There was something just so crass about asking Noah for money. My pride wouldn’t allow it. Okay, I was lying. I have no moral fibre. I’d just forgotten. Oh, God. What the hell am I meant to do now?
“Yes,” I lied. “I’ve got the money. See you tomorrow.”
Nate looked away, dismissing me. He’d gone from warm, to sweet, to open, to cold in the matter of minutes. I didn’t really get guys. Sighing, my fingertips brushed against the handle.
“I’m going,” I announced.
This time, he didn’t stop me.
***
