Page 89 of Trust Again

My plan was to make a scrapbook for Olivia.

Her birthday was in a week, and after everything Spencer had told me about his sister, I felt like giving her something that came from the heart.

At the library, I’d printed off some color photos of Olivia’s favorite singers and bands, as well as a few pictures of places in Portland that Spencer told me were her favorite. I’d bought colorful paper, glitter, and felt pens so I could write down a few song lyrics in the book. It was a simple project, but I hoped she’d like it and not find it too corny.

I texted Spencer a photo of my efforts and the resulting chaos strewn around the floor, along with a smiley face. His reply appeared quickly.

Did someone break in to your place?

I grinned.

No, I’m making something.

His answer was a photo of his hand with white splotches all over it. He’d probably been working on his sculpture, a big secret project. Then came another image of him standing in front of a wooden table splattered with many colors. Spencer had posed right in front of the sculpture, blocking it from view.

I followed suit and sent him a photo of me sitting in front of the scrapbook; just a tiny corner was visible.

He replied with a photo of himself posed in front of a life-sized sculpture of a man’s backside. He was still grinning and his dimples looked delicious.

Before I could answer him my phone vibrated. I answered it without looking.

“You’re really bad at texting,” I teased, grinning down at my art supplies spread out on the floor. I didn’t really care what Sawyer might think. Frankly, I didn’t care about anything, as long as I could hold on to this feeling. Everything felt light; it was like I was floating.

“Dawn?”

I stopped floating and my heart sank like a stone.

“It’s me, Nate.”

Chapter 31

“What do you want?”

“To talk to you?” He let out a breathless laugh.

It was a familiar laugh. One that I’d loved for years. Now it made me nauseated.

“I wanted to hear your voice.”

“Okay. You’ve heard it. Bye.”

“Don’t hang up.” There was a note of panic in his voice, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Please. Don’t hang up.”

His breathing came through the phone and I fought against the urge to throw it against the wall. With full force.

“I… have to tell you something.”

My teeth were grinding together.

“I miss you, Dawn. I miss what we used to have. You were my best friend, and I want you to know…”

“Oh, shut up.”

“I made a huge mistake. I know that now, and it’s sad that after all this time apart you don’t want to be in my life any more. We were…”

“Stop it, Nate,” I interrupted him again, my voice icy.

I was shivering. From anger or maybe something else. My dinner felt like a brick in my stomach and my limbs were tingling. It felt like thousands of spiders were crawling under my skin.