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Chapter Thirty Eight// Everything Alright?

"I'm fine Nathan," I lie, trying to control my quivering lower lip. "Everything's alright."

His eyes leave an imprint on mine: his emotions remain in the back of my mind. I am worried, so is he. However I can't break my promise to Josh, the consequences too severe to risk.

"Ok," Nathan steps back with a limp. Josh grips onto my door and swings it close, slamming with a thud. It takes a few hesitate moments before I hear Nathan's footsteps fade down the stairs. As the distance lengthens between us, the stronger my heart aches for him.

***

Nothing more really happened since Nathan left my room. Josh demanded we took things further, but as I told him my mouth is parched, he excuses me to go to the kitchen for some water. In other words, I have escaped- for now at least.

"Paige-"

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhh!" Mirrors Lacy, both of us screaming in unison for no apparent reason. "Why are we screaming?" She asks once we calm down and the room falls back to its original silence.

"Sorry, didn't realise it was you," I confess. Filling up my glass with tap water, I take a sip and swallow. I let it run down my throat, cold and refreshing.

"Who did you think I was?"

"Josh." The moment his name leaves my lips her eyes roll. "Please don't say anything," I plead with a tiresome sigh. "I know I don't know what I'm doing and I know I'm just digging myself into a hole I probably won't get out of."

"Wow, sounds pretty bad," she comments, sympathy washing over her eyes as I stare at her with flat lips and my face dropped.

"It is..." The energy drains from me with every exhausted sigh I let roll off my tongue. She rubs my shoulder then let's her arm drop to her side.

"You must really love Nathan."

"Pardon?" My head shots up and my eyes widen abruptly to the mention of his name.

"Nathan," slightly giggles Lacy, amused to the fact I pay attention at the sound of his name.

"What about him?"

"You're doing all this to protect Nathan, right?"

"Yeah," I clarify with a nod. "To protect him from Josh."

"Well, you must really love him to be enduring whatever Josh is putting you through. I've heard a bit of what was happening upstairs, you are really brave."

"Thanks Lacy," my eyes fall to the floor. "But the way Nathan looked at me before was just heartbreaking," I go onto tell her. "He saw me with Josh and I think he was about to cry."

"Wait!"

"What?" My eyes dart to hers as she jumps up and down on the spot, I thought she was about to start shrieking. "Tell me!" I insist.

"Ok. So Nathan is hurt you're with Josh, but you are trying to protect him, right?"

"R-right."

"So why don't you just dump Josh and date Nathan?" Lacy lashes out for my shoulders and shakes them back and forth. My whole body wobbles as she jerks me in all directions, grinning from ear to ear.