Why are you here?" Nathan takes a small step further into the room.
"What are all the suitcases for?" I avoid his question by asking another, one I am in greater need of knowing than his. His eyes narrow.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Why are you asking?"
"Asking what?"
"Why I am here?"
"Why do you want to know why I have suitcases packed to a new school in a new state far away from here?" His voice rose dramatically to reach his height, which seems to grow over a foot more than before. Despite the truth that he has not moved an inch, it feels as if we are face to face, his breath fanning my lips with his rage.
"What happened between us?" my voices comes out barely a whisper, my head shaking with the emotion of why things have become this complicated.
"There never was an us," he replies flatly, scarcely moving his lips as he mumbles. A thick silence suffocates the air around us, making it harder to breathe, my throat choking up. The repetitive ticking of the clock strikes at each second, the only noise generated for the next minute. Deliberately avoiding my eye contact, Nathan glues his eyes on the corner of the room. Whatever is running through his mind at this very moment is a mystery I will never be able to uncover.
"So that's it? You're really leaving?"
His eyes flicker up and catch onto mine. For a second we stare at each other, a second where I could try and work out his emotions. But once that second is over, he migrates over to his bed and lies down, my head turning to watch his every move. "Yes," is his simple reply.
"Why? Why move?"
"Because," he continues, scrapping his hair back with the tug of his finger tips. "I've been offered a full scholarship for a collage out in Washington." The tone in his voice resembles no consideration towards how I am going to react. As my eyes expand, he averts his attention from me, plainly ignoring the fact I am here, and saunters over to his wardrobe and pulls out a hoodie.
"I don't know what to say," I spin around on my heels to face him again.
His hair is all matted at the front from the hoodie brushing over his head. He blinks before responding, a weary sigh mixing with his voice. "You don't have to say anything. My mind's made up."
It feels as if the very core of my heart had been shredded, my body incapable on functioning properly with the stone hard truth that I may never see Nathan again after this day. "When do you leave?"
"Saturday," he says expressionless, his face as blank as a colourless palette. With the wash of my skin draining pale, he doesn't reflect my dismay. "They want me to start straight away."
"Oh." As a result of the open window, a cool breeze circulates the air, sending my hairs on end. Nathan detects my shiver however keeps a passive expression on his face. We stare at the floor for a moment longer, trapped in an uncomfortable silence with none of us knowing what to say or do next.
I don't want Nathan to go!
God, I want to hug and kiss him- at least one more time. My quest to find the real Nathan had been complete. That was, until it all changed by the influence of Josh's dominant behaviour and threats that seemed to unroll to his advantage anyway. My heart is aching for so many uncontrollable reasons: not listening to my heart as much as I could have, letting the one person who made me the happiest I've ever been fade away, not being able to make things right. The list goes on...
"I better go," I say after what felt like an endless awkward silence, ending my visit with a shy glance towards his door.
"Wait," Nathan flinches in front of me, blocking my exit.
"Yes?" A hopeful optimism tints my voice. I try to savour every second his eyes lock with mine. Unfortunately, it doesn't last over five.
"It was nice knowing you," his attention leaves my eyes and focuses on the door. I exhale a breath which carries me to the door and out into the hallway. I plant a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Bye Nathan."
With that said, I let my legs take me to the stairs, my weight heavy as I descend to the bottom. No further call or interjection can be heard from Nathan, indicating he isn't planning on stopping me from leaving. With a long sigh, I leave his house whilst closing the front door on my way out.
I make my way back to my house. The sun dips behind the clouds, casting a large shadow down to earth, decreasing the temperature as well as picking up the wind speed around me. Due to the startling rumble echoing from above, I force myself to walk faster, thunder threatening the sky and the world below. My house is soon in sight.
Thankfully I am able to dodge the downfall of rain, now sliding down the living room window as I kick off my converse. "Mom! I'm home," I announce, all my energy wasted to even talk. I clamber up the stairs and slide tiredly into bed. Unlocking my phone I find three missed calls. My heart sparks with the hope that they are all from Nathan, but my face drops once I realise they were from Lacy. My phones starts to ring.
"Paige! You'll never guess what I just found out!" Her voice is all shaken up, her words merging together.
"What?" A groan slips through my lips, my head throwing backwards onto my pillow. My eyes close and the back of my hand wipes over my forehead.
"Are you ok?"
"Not really, but tell me what's going on."
"Ok," she takes a second to compose herself. I hold my phone tighter towards my ear. "Nathan is moving schools."
There is a pause.
Hearing those words again, processing the truth, having to rethink the situation over once more is just too much.
"Paige are you, are you crying?"
Another sob wells up in my throat, bursting out in a cry from my mouth. Tears sting my eyes then trickle down the length of my face. "Lacy I know. Lacy he's going and I may never see him again," my head hangs, my bottom lip quivering as my whole body shakes. "I went round to his house before and saw the suitcases. It's real Lacy. I don't know what to do anymore."
The other end of the line remains silent, only the intake of her breath audible from my phone. Drying my tears I sit up. "Don't give up-"
"You say that! I've tried. What more can I do? He's travelling half way across the country."
"I don't know what to say," she stutters.
"Can you please come over?" I hiccup, depressed and vulnerable to my untamed emotions, wild and out of control. I curl up into a ball and sob against my knees, sniffling with every tear.
"Of course, will be over as soon as I can." The call ends.
I glance up with red puffy eyes and see my phone screen flash- a new message.
Nathan's name appears with the little red emojicon beside his name.
I'm sorry.
A single tear rolls down my cheek.
I'm sorry too.
A/N-
OK! If you were confused about what was going on before, hopefully this chapter has cleared it all up.
...Nathan's really leaving!
1) Who thinks he'll end up staying?
Or
2) Who thinks he'll really leave Paige behind?
She is really heartbroken. Can Lacy fix that for her? Hummm
Please vote if you enjoyed this chapter, comment any opinions...
More coming soon xx