“Ugh, God. My back,” I complained. “I feel like an old lady.”
“You’re not too far from looking like one, either,” Ricky commented dully, engrossed in his handheld videogame.
I slapped the thing out of his hands and shot him with eye-daggers. Even though he’d saved my butt from that ridiculous party, I wasn’t going to let him tease me.
“I know sitting in this car for hours can be a bit painful, but we’re ten minutes from home,” Michelle said from the passenger seat.
A vibration from my hand caught my attention. I pulled up my cell phone and checked the alert.
2 New Messages from: Jameyyy Lynnnn Spearzzzz<3333 and Nate-o!
I grinned as I read the nickname James had given himself in my phone. I checked his message first.
Hey babe. Just got back from Colorado and heading back to town. Can’t believe the break’s already over! I miss you like crazy. We need to catch up on some cuddling. Play date at my house after school tomorrow? I’ve got some big news to tell you, so let’s do this ASAP!
Finally! A text from my boyfriend! He’d been on vacation for Thanksgiving break and hadn’t been able to text me during the whole thing. I hit ‘reply’ and started tapping.
Fo sho! I missed you. Got lots to tell ya! See you tomorrow. Love, Em.
I clicked ‘send’ and opened up Nathan’s message.
Em! You get home today, right? I haven’t seen you all break! Let’s hang when you get back home. I’ll swing by to pick you up. We can chill at my house! Sound okay?
The idea of spending the rest of the day with Nate sounded awesome. I needed to be with a friend today. I hit ‘reply’ and quickly typed him a message.
That sounds nice! I’m almost home, so you might want to start driving now.
As soon as I hit ‘send’, we turned onto the Stephens’ drive and headed back to the house. I basically jumped from the car, eager to get inside and see Nathan. I dragged my bag up the porch, waited impatiently for Henry to unlock the front door, and dove inside and straight to my room.
Everything looked to be the same, just tidier since the maids had come for their daily cleaning. I grabbed a brush and tugged it through my hair; it didn’t do too much to help. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and changed out of my sweatpants and into some jeans and a jacket. The temperature had plummeted since Thanksgiving.
“In a hurry?” I heard Ricky say.
I turned around to see him propped up against the doorframe, a questionable look on his face.
“Yeah. I’m meeting with Nathan to go to his house for a while.”
“Oh,” he said, his face dropping. “I was thinking maybe…we could hang out. There’s that new movie out that you’ve been dying to see. What’s it called? Breaking Down?”
“It’s Breaking Dawn, and I already saw it. The midnight premiere, remember?” I busied myself by unpacking my bag.
“Oh, yeah,” Ricky murmured, shot down. “Well, we could always just go for some pizza.”
“I’m sorry, Ricky. But I really want to see Nathan.”
“Fine. Whatever,” he stomped off.
I sighed, not in the mood to deal with him. My phone buzzed, distracting me. That meant Nate was here! I dashed downstairs and straight to the door.
“Where are you off to now, Em?” Michelle called from the kitchen.
“I’m going with Nate to his house. I’ve got my phone and I’ll be back in a bit!” I replied, whipping the door open and slamming it behind me.
“Hey, Emma!” Nate shouted, waving excitedly from his beat-up truck.
I ran towards Nathan, leaping over to him when I was in distance. He stumbled back onto his truck.
“Nate!” I squealed, latching onto him like a koala on a tree branch. “What’s up, buddy?!”
“Nothing much. Just been missing you over Thanksgiving!” he laughed.
“I missed you, too! I’ve got so much to tell you.”
“Well then, let’s get going,” he grinned, setting me back on the ground and opening the passenger door for me.
I climbed inside and Nathan got in seconds later.
Nathan’s truck was very run down and rusty, but I didn’t mind. I liked how old and vintage it was; not many cars around here were like that. The inside of the cab was toasty and comfortable. The leather seats were scratchy and holey and the radio looked like an antique. There was a hula dancer bobble-head on the dashboard, along with sunglasses and candy wrappers.
The truck wheezed to life and we putted down the drive and onto the main road. I reached over to tinker with the radio, but all that came out was static.
“Good luck with that. It only plays AM stations,” Nate said.
“Damn. And I was really wanting to jam out,” I laughed.
“So, tell me about this crazy weekend of yours,” he pressed.
I quickly told him about the lake house, the Jet Skis, Brennan and Markus, the party, the almost-kiss, Ricky saving me, and the nightmare. I conveniently left out the part about Ricky’s island.
“Jesus Christ almighty!” Nate exclaimed when I finished. “And I was thinking maybe you’d been kidnapped and probed by aliens.”
I giggled. “Not this time.”
We drove a bit longer and Nathan told me about his Thanksgiving break. He’d had dinner with his family and worked on homework most of the time. I laughed to myself, thinking about how nerdy he was.
“Emma, I have to tell you something about my house,” he said suddenly.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not as…big as Ricky’s and James’. In fact, it’s really not that impressive at all,” Nate explained, a look of worry on his face.
“That’s okay. I actually don’t like big houses, so you’re in the clear. I’m excited to see what it looks like,” I reassured him.
“That’s a relief,” he smiled. “Because we’re here.”
Nathan pulled into a small driveway next to a cute little house. It was just your average suburban, middle-class house that looked bright and friendly. I instantly fell in love with it as it brought nostalgic memories of my own house to my mind.
I got out of the car and walked towards it. Nate was by my side and he opened the door for me. I stepped inside and took a look around.
The smell of cookies baking in the oven wafted to my nose and I sighed in ecstasy. The scent of fresh baked cookies was one of my all-time favorite smells. The whole house was painted a cheery light yellow color that seemed to make the walls radiate. Down the hall was the kitchen, where I could see a plump lady bustling about. To the left was the dining room and to the right was the living room, where a Christmas tree was already propped up in the corner. A small fire was crackling from the fireplace and a couple of couches were spread out across the room, all circling a small TV. Back in the hallway was a staircase that led upstairs.
“Nathan?” called the woman from the kitchen. “Are you home?”
“Yeah, mom. Emma’s with me,” he called back.
“Oh, goodie!” she trilled, trudging down the hallway to us.
Nathan’s mom was a pudgy little thing. She came off as the type of person who was always happy and willing to do anything you asked. Her hair was the same color of sandy blonde that Nate’s was. She had pretty blue eyes and rosy red cheeks. She was still wearing her apron over her dress.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Cross,” I said.
“Please, call me Louise,” she smiled. “I’m so glad I’m finally meeting you. Nate’s told me so much about you.”
“I hope not too much,” I teased and Louise laughed heartily.
“Will you please tell Michelle I say hello, Emma?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Why don’t we go up to my room, hm?” Nathan gestured, pressing his hand into my back.
“I’m going to get back to cooking. There will be cookies ready to be eaten in a little bit!” Louise called, shuffling back to the kitchen.
“Sorry about my mom,” Nathan whispered into my ear. “She’s easily excited.”
“No, no. I like her,” I smiled.
Nathan guided me up the stairs and to his room. The upstairs was just as friendly as downstairs. There was artwork hanging from the walls and I had a hard time keeping up with Nate, as I wanted to look at each one. We passed by his parent’s bedroom, a hallway bathroom, and a storage closet. Finally, Nate turned to a door and opened it.
“So, this is my room,” he smiled. “Want to come in?”
“Sure,” I smiled, but stayed focused on a closed door down the hallway a bit.
That must’ve been Nathan’s brother’s room. I cringed, feeling a sudden burst of loneliness fill me. It made me think about how lucky I was to have been an only child.
“Emma?” he asked.
“S-sorry. I’m coming,” I quickly turned away and skipped into Nathan’s room.
Nate’s room was painted a light green. Things were cluttered and strewn across the floor. Two twins beds were pushed up against the back wall, one slept in and the other untouched. A matching desk was to the left of the beds, where an old computer and a pile of books sat. There was a chest of drawers on the other side. A couple of picture frames and some stale food were on top of it.
I strolled over to the chest of drawers, examining the pictures frames. There was one of Nathan and his mom at the state fair and another with him and a dog at a farm. One more picture frame was among the others, but this one was turned over and pushed back. I picked it up and took in the photo.
A younger looking Nathan sat on a tree branch a few feet up off the ground, barefoot and covered in mud from head to toe. A small boy sat next to Nathan, just as dirty and barefoot. Both had giant grins plastered across their faces and they had their arms wrapped around each other.
I suddenly realized who this was. It was Nate and his younger brother. The picture frame felt hot in my hands and the feeling that I’d done something wrong swept over me.
“So, you found the picture. It didn’t take you long, either,” Nate’s soft voice came from behind me. I jumped, dropping the picture. It smacked back onto the dresser, the photo facing upwards.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go snooping,” I put my hands up, surrendering.
“Trevor was everything to me,” he whispered, his head ducking from my view. “My whole world revolved around his. I would have done anything for him.”
“Nathan,” I breathed, resting my hand on his shoulder. “I want you to tell me what happened to him.”
“I…I can’t,” he nudged away from me and towards his bed.
I followed.
“Yes, you can. You can’t keep it inside,” I said slowly.
Nate took a shaky breath.
“It was about a year ago. Trevor had been coming home from soccer practice. My mom had been unable to pick him up because she was working, so he took a ride home with his friend. They were just two blocks away and some car ran a stop sign. It only hit Trevor’s side of the car. He was the only one injured. He died hours later.”
I hugged Nathan close to me. He shook in my arms and I rubbed his back. I felt horrible, not knowing how to comfort him. I would never know what it was like to lose a sibling. But I did know what it was like to lose people that were important.
“It gets better, you know,” I whispered. “If you just surround yourself with people you love and care about, then the pain goes away.”
He looked up, teary eyed. “Is that why you’re here?”
I paused, surprised by Nate’s question. Maybe it was why I was here. I did care about Nathan; I felt like I’d known him my whole life and that he was the perfect friend for me. It was a shame I hadn’t befriended him earlier in life.
“I guess so,” I smiled.
Suddenly, I felt my heart quicken. Nate moved slightly to face me and I sucked in a deep breath.
No, no, no, no. This isn’t happening. Not again. Please tell me he’s not about to do what I think he is.
“I…love you,” he mouthed and kissed me gently.
This time, Nathan’s kiss wasn’t as hasty as before. It was slower and surer. The sweet bubblegum flavor of his lips played on my tongue and I felt his hands slide down to rest on my hips.
“Nate, Nate,” I broke the kiss, reeling.
“I can’t. I’m dating James.”
“I know,” Nate said. “I was just hoping you’d changed your mind. I don’t know how to make you see that we’re perfect for each other.”
“I want to be friends. It’s all I want. I wish you would understand that,” I frowned. “I don’t want to lose our friendship by getting romantically involved.”
He sighed. “I can understand that.”
“Good,” I ran my fingers through his hair. “But, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”
“And that’s all that matters,” he took my hand in his. “C’mon, let’s stop having a pity party and go eat some cookies.”
“Deal,” I grinned. “I bet I can eat more than you.”
“Ch’yeah right!” Nate scoffed. “Game on, Hark.”
The mention of my last name made me tingle inside. I’d thought that the word had been banished to the back of my mind, only to be pulled back to reminisce on bad times. It seemed almost like a dirty word that no one wanted to speak of. But, Nathan had used it so easily. And that gave me hope.
Hope that I hadn’t forgotten my past. Because remembering your past, the good and the bad, was part of living a full life. And I wouldn’t want to forget any of it.
Please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors. I rushed a bit to get this online! Just for you!! <3