Begin Again 2: RESET || Nate Maloley

{ twelve }

I stood in front of the door, hesitant to knock, but I did. I haven't been here for a long minute and I wish I was here for the same reason I used to be. But this wasn't the case.

I was expecting Andrea to answer the door but it was Jack.

"What do you want," he asked.

"Is Andrea home?"

"Why," he scoffed. "Did Liv dump you so you're backtracking? Get outta here, and tell those thugs you consider friends that I'll be ready to fight if they wanna come back."

"Yo, I don't wanna fuckin' fight you right now. I just need to talk to Andrea."

"Jack," I heard her call out from the back. "Let him in, stop being a jerk."

He moved out the way and let me pass. Andrea was on the couch, watching TV.

"I'm actually surprised you're here," I said, trying to be friendly. "Liv told me you were gonna go back home."

"I did for a bit," she nodded. "But me and my mom didn't see eye to eye. So, what did you...need?"

"I needed to know if you heard from Liv," I spoke while looking down at the floor. "Did she try to call you or..."

"The last time I spoke with her, she was with you. Wanted me to look something up."

"Look what up?"

"That's...none of your business," she grinned.

"Fine," I sighed and reached for the Post-It pad on the end of the breakfast bar along with a marker. "If she calls you or when she comes back into town, I need you to call this number and ask for Jimmy."

"Jimmy," her face scrunched up. "What? Why? Who?"

"He's my boss from the plant nursery. I don't have a phone right now but he's been like an Uncle to me." I handed her the note after writing down the number.

"And why should I help you? Your friends break in and tie up Jack. Then I get a call from my friend Sammy saying one of them broke his arm on purpose. Why would I want my friend to be associated in any way with a guy like you that has friends like that?"

"Wait, why isn't Liv with you?" Jack chimed in. "Is she okay? I swear to God, Maloley."

"She's..." I trailed off. I knew if I told them the truth, they probably wouldn't give her the number. But I knew it was better they hear it from me instead of anywhere else.

I took a deep breath and decided to tell them anyway...the whole story. By the time I was done, there were looks of pure shock on their faces.

"So she's..." Andrea said. "In the hospital..."

"In California," I finished for her.

"Because she got shot," Jack said with disbelief.

"...Yeah," I gulped.

"And you...killed the guy who did it."

I nodded but not with any sense of pride. I looked at both of them, waiting for someone to say something.

"You need to leave," Andrea said, trying not to tear up.

"Andrea, I--"

"Olivia is one of my oldest best friends and you put her in harm's way," her voice raised and she stood up. "You need to get the hell out!"

"You know I would never hurt her!" I shouted back. "Her mom won't let me see her. If she wakes up and I'm not there..."

"I don't give a shit, Nate! You fucked up! She deserves so much more than you've given her."