Dear Nate {Dear #1}

-Chapter 16-

            “Um, it’s kind of a long story,” I mumble before telling my dad the whole story. I know he’ll probably think I’m crazy, but he’ll also appreciate what I’ve done.

            “Mmm,” Dad murmurs after my long speech about my situation with Alison. “She seems like a nice girl. After she comes out of her coma maybe we can have her and her family over for dinner.”

            “That’s if she’s fine with me when she wakes up. I don’t know how she’ll react to me reading her journal.”

            Mom rubs my back, trying to keep me calm. “If she is upset about it, just give her time. Let her brother explain why he gave you her journal. He didn’t know if she was going to pull through or not.”

            Before I can respond, the front door bursts open and Scott walks in with a smile on his face. We turn to watch him as he walks in. Once he sees us, his smile disappears. “No! No pouty faces Nate,” he says, coming and dragging me to my feet. “This will be a kickas—kick butt trip,” he corrects himself once he realizes my parents are still in the room. “So cheer up!”

            “Listen to Scott,” Dad says. “Only for this time.”

            “Awe, I sure have missed you,” Scott says before throwing his arms around my dad and hugging him. My dad always had this love-hate relationship with Scott. Scott, however, doesn’t take anything my dad says seriously—the bad and the good stuff.

            Dad awkwardly pats his back as Scott hugs him; however, a smile appears on my dad’s face. “Okay, Scott, that’s enough.”

            Scott shakes his head. “I have a lot of time to make up for.”

            “Don’t you have a trip to get to?”

            “Oh, yeah!” Scott leans away from my dad, turning to me. “Are you ready?”

            I nod. “Yup.” I hug my mom and dad goodbye before grabbing my suitcase and walking out to Scott’s car. I put my suitcase in the truck before taking the passenger seat. “You didn’t bring Eliza?”

            Scott shakes his head, pulling out of the driveway to Mitch’s house before picking up Patrick last. “Nah. She understands I need a guy’s weekend.”

            “Can you survive without her?”

            Scott laughs humorlessly. “Very funny.” He pulls into Mitch’s driveway and puts the car in park, honking the horn once. “How was last night with your dad?”

            “It was good. It felt nice having dinner with the whole family you know?”

            He nods. “I’m happy he’s back. Do you know when he’s going back?”