Chapter Twenty-Four
My heart stops.
A silence wraps around us and I can’t even look at him. His dad passed away? Is that why he hasn’t been around? Was he with his family this whole time?
I don’t even know what to say. What can I say?
Nash clears his throat, making me look up. He brings his hand up to wipe away something from my cheek - a tear? I didn’t even notice that I was crying.
“Hey. Don’t cry,” he says in a hushed tone. “I’m okay.”
“Okay?” I say, my voice breaking. “How can you be okay when your father just passed away?”
How can anyone just be okay when a parent passes away? The death of a parent is heart wrenching. You feel as if a part of you has died. When they pass, there is no one left to love and care for you. You are left all alone.
“Because…” he sighs, looking away from me, “because he and I weren’t close. We never had a father-son bond, or whatever sh*t that is.”
“But he taught you-”
He cuts me off, saying in a sharp whisper, “That was before everything.”
“I don’t understand, Nash,” I say, barely above a whisper.
Nash’s jaw locks, a dark look now etched onto his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so exacerbated and bitter.
“I don’t think you ever will, Addy.”
My brows scrunch in confusion, “What are you not telling me?”
He scoots away from me, leaning against the edge of the couch and abruptly says, “Nothing.”
“So, you weren’t performing?” I ask softly, wanting to change the subject and erase the tension forming in the room.
Nash shakes his head, “At first I went up to New York. I needed to leave town - get away from… everything. I was offered to play at a bar up there, and I took it. Next thing I know, I get a call saying my dad’s in the hospital. And that’s where I’ve been these past weeks.”
“What happened to him?”
“He had liver cancer. Doctor said that he only had a few days from when I finally got there.”
I turn to face him, “And your mom? How is she?”
“She’s managing. It’s been about a week…”
“Have you had the service yet?”
“Yeah,” he says with a nod, “the service was a few days ago.”
Another silence settles around us and I let out a breath. I know that a person who mourns doesn’t want to hear these next words, but I feel like I need to say them.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I know that you and your dad weren’t close, but I just wanted to tell you that I do understand how it feels.”
“How what feels?”
I hesitate for a second before I clear my throat, “Being alone. Having no one.”
An emotion flashes across his face, disappearing as fast as it comes as he looks down. My mind drifts over to something that has bothered me for a while.
“Nash?”
He looks up at me, “Yeah?”
“You told me something - the night of my birthday. Something about you having a tough childhood. Did something happen?”
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Reckless (Reckless #1)
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