Point Of View 2 [*Do not read until you've read the same chapter of ATW]

Chapter 5 All Fucked Up

*Trisha*

"You're all sorts of fucked up." Elliott rubs his bald head on our very unproductive zoom meeting. Did he really think today would be productive? Nate has barely been home 24 hours.  Give the guy a break. 

But that's not really Elliott's doing. He's just the messenger trying to get Richard off his back.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the last thing Nate wants to hear right now, given the circumstances, Elliott." I retort. This is overwhelming and for the first time in a long time, I'm starting to get emotional in the middle of our call.

"Show some compassion, Elliott! The only reason you are a millionaire is for this man right here. Don't you ever fucking forget it." I mean, this is ridiculous.

"It's not me. Miss Banks..."

"I know it's not you, but you have pull. You know that. This is out of our hands. Nate is not well. He did nothing wrong. He wasn't binge drinking. He was making fucking low calorie fish on the grille with vegetables. He's been taking care of himself and doing everything right. Even the doctors said so. So why don't you-"

Nate saves me the embarrassment and grabs the phone, shaking his head at me. He sees I'm all worked up and for his reason. But we both know I can't show that in a meeting like this.

"I'm sorry." I whisper. Nate texts me what to say and I do. I say what needs to be said and put Elliott in his place. Then we end the call.

[Good job. Thanks angel.]

Nate texts since he's not allowed to use his voice. I plop down on the bed next to him and lay flat on by back and text Nate to talk.

[Who knew being Nate Hollan's personal assistant would be so fucking stressful.]

I send my message and watch Nate read it and begin to reply.

[Management can suck it. Don't let em get to you.  We will be on our private jet in no time. Doing what we love.]

[I hope we still have fun on tour.... even with everything going on and all the extra people]

[You mean Julia]
Nate rolls to his side and watches me text, then delete, then text again.

Then delete.

I face Nate and shrug.

"I just want you to have a good time on tour. You've been looking forward to this for so long. I know a lot has happened these last few months, I just wanna make sure you enjoy this.  It should be fun not stressful." I push his hair off his forehead and then kiss it. Just once. Nothing sexual about it.

He nods and puts his phone down, closing his eyes for a few minutes.  He must be exhausted. Being Nate Hollan is extremely hard sometimes. Now all this medical stuff to boot. It's all overwhelming. I'm gonna do whatever I can to make the next year amazing for Nate. He deserves it more than anyone else I know. I want to see him happy. Because I love him.

****
*James*

"They gave you a free pass to skip your Avalon sessions today, but to rest, Julia. What's going on? He has cleaners to do all that shit." Jonah watches Julia clean out the fridge. She spirals out but keeps her back turned to everyone. My dog is sitting right next to her and begins to lick the side of Julia's face. That means she's crying. I kneel down next to Maggie and pet her for a moment while talking softly to Julia.