Her Lost Identity

Her Lost Identity [9] ~ Lunch from Hell

A/N: Hey guys! I'm not gonna prat on; enjoy your read! 

Chapter 9

Nathan hugging me was something I could and would never forget. I inhaled his cologne as he embraced me warmly. It was like we belonged in ways not even I could understand. After Nathan and I were sat on that bench hugging for quite some time, we decided to head back to his place. I texted Jess if she wanted to come with but she said she wanted to stay with Jake. Had she really not been there when I was? Jesus. In fact, she said she wasn’t up for being around Nathan since he punched Jake but seriously? Who’s done worse here? If it was down to me, I’d choose Jake. I hadn’t really liked him from when I first met him, he seemed like a pig.

Once we arrived at Loral’s, she already had lunch ready for us as Nathan messaged her before hand to notify her that I’d be joining. I sat down in a seat opposite Loral and beside Nathan. In front of Nathan sat Brant, Nathan’s father. As far as I remember, we got on quite well however he wasn’t around much; he always had work and had to fly around to world for business deals. It’s glad to see that he’s around; it used to really get to Nathan him not being there. We all dug in to our lunch at the same time and by the looks of it; they were all as hungry as I was.

“So, Lilian, it’s nice to see you back in the neighbourhood,” Brant told me as he sprinkled vinegar on to his salad. My mouth was full so instead of replying, I waited until his eyes met mine and as he did so, I smiled briefly as I nodded. “I mean, we all know what your mother did, it’s pretty damn naive of you to have come back.”

Our eye contact broke as he dug his fork in to his salad. Did he seriously just say that? I uncomfortably shifted in my chair a little as I looked toward Nathan whose eyes threw daggers to his dad.

“Brant,” Nathan’s mum let out as she gulped down the contents of her mouth. “Don’t start. Can we please just get through this lunch without any aggro?”

“What? I mean, come on! It’s not like it didn’t happen. She made it pretty damn clear she didn’t want Lilian around,” he said it as if I weren’t even there. I felt my heart sink at his heartless words. Why was he being so horrible? I could feel tears forming in my eyes so I forced them shut so they wouldn’t fall.

“Dad!” Nathan exclaimed as he banged his fist on the table causing my eyes to shot open. I winced at the anger showed in his eyes as he made eye contact with his father.

“Don’t raise your voice at me you little-” Brant started off with a deep, strong voice as he came to his feet with his fist in the air however I cut him off.

“Stop! Please, all of you just stop! I’ll go, I’m sorry to have caused any problems between you,” tears came rolling down my cheeks as I thanked Loral for the wonderful lunch despite the disaster of it. I stood up from the table and made my way out the door. Walking a few steps from their house, I realised that I would have to walk miles before I reached home. Lucky or possibly unluckily for me, Nathan came to the rescue.

“Look, I’m sorry about that...” Nathan apologised as he reached up and scratched the back of his neck. I wiped my tears with my sleeve causing the pink to turn black from my mascara. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied. He gave me a look as if to say ‘are you sure?’ and that’s when I broke down. Tears came flooding down my face and I shook my head as if changing my mind.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home,” he told me as he scooped me under his arm and lead me to the car that was parked on the side road right before Nathan’s house. It was probably not right outside his house because Loral doesn’t know his dad let him. As we got around the corner, Nathan pressed the button on the car keys causing the lights to flash.

“If you think you’re driving my car you’ve got something coming,” Brant said out of nowhere. He launched over to Nathan and snatched the keys out of his hand. The tears began to fall harder than before.

“Give me those back, if you don’t, you’ll lose everything in your name except this car in a flash,” Nathan laid out a threat as his father was walking away. What could Nathan possibly do to make Brant lose everything? At the moment, I was to upset and shattered to ask why. I’d ask later, if anything. Surprisingly, Brant sprung back, throwing the keys on the floor directly in front of Nathan. He gave Nathan a look that sent shivers down my spine, and then I jumped as his eyes shifted to mine. Once Brant had disappeared, Nathan walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for me. What a gentlemen. I stepped inside the car and Nathan slammed the door behind me before making his way over to the driver’s door.

“I’m so sorry, Lily. I should have known he would have acted like a total ass,” Nathan admitted as guilt covered his face.

“What if he’s right?” I managed to ask. “Should I really have come here? As much as I pretend that what happened didn’t, we all know it did,” Nathan looked over to me and sighed. He swerved around the corner and parked up on a side street. Nathan unfastened his seatbelt as he turned to me.

“Yes, it did but I’ll tell you something, your mum thinks the world of you! She may have made mistakes in the past, everyone has. My dad doesn’t quite understand her like I do. She really did have her reasons; she didn’t do it to hurt you. Yeah, she went the wrong way about it, but she had good intensions. She goes on about you every day, she feels terrible for what she did. She made a big mistake, but she’s only human. Don’t let my dad go against her like that, she’s been through a lot,” Nathan told me. A thought passed my mind that maybe they were dating, I don’t know why though. It left my mind quick as I knew that couldn’t possibly happen. Mum had always been fond of Nathan, ever since we were little. “Don’t get me wrong, it was hard for you too. I just want you to know she means well. She loves you. And heck, I love you too,” my frown cracked in to a smile as I pulled Nathan in for a hug. It was like before, but better in many ways. My tears stopped falling but Nathan’s shirt got damp from my cheeks. I don’t think he noticed, though.

“Ugh, you’ve no idea how much I love you,” I told him as I wiped my cheeks and letting out a chuckle at the same time. I looked back at Nathan whose eyes were laid in to mine. He was smiling but only slightly, yet no sadness appeared in his eyes. Nathan cupped my face in his hands as he stretched out of his seat and leaned forward so that our faces were almost touching.

“I’m not sure how it happened but I love you in a way I don’t recognise and I’m not quite sure your love is the same as mine but I can only wish it is,” he whispered slowly, his eyes still locked on to mine. His lips pressed on to mine somehow forcing my eyes shut. His lips left mine as swiftly as they came. Nathan started up the engine and then zoomed off down the road. My head was filled with thoughts. Did Nathan just say he loved me? I know he said it before but that was different. He said it was a different way of love. Could he possibly mean love, love? Well, it would explain the kiss from yesterday and the one from just a few seconds ago...

Oh snap, he loved me! Did I love him back? That was something I wasn’t quite sure of. I bit my lip and creased my eyebrows. How would I know if I loved him even if I did? Of course, I’ve had boyfriends. But they were lust, I’m sure of that. I wouldn't know love if it slapped me in my face; I've never experienced such a thing. Sure, I felt something for Nathan, that – I know. But was it lust or love? Did it matter? I don’t know. All I knew was that our kiss just then hadn’t lasted as long as I would have liked it to. I mean, sure, Nathan makes me happy when I’m sad but isn’t that also what friends have?

“It’s still early and Jess probably won’t be back at yours ‘til later so... could I take you somewhere?” Nathan asked me, giving me a look that made me think that he thought I would say no. “I mean, you don’t-”

“I’d love to,” I assured him with a smile as I picked up his free hand and entwined my fingers with his. I’m not sure why I did it but it just felt right. This felt right.

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