Page 40 of Outside Looking In

Liam heard the faint baaa’s of his sheep. He tried focusing on their sounds rather than the words of his own brother.

“Think about it, Piglet.”

Nathan

While Liam was talking on the phone, Nathan’s own phone buzzed unexpectedly. Most of the field was a dead zone, but there were tiny pockets of good reception that Nathan happened to stumble into by accident.

Just got home from Hawaii. Are you still on holiday?

Nathan and his parents treated their apartment like they were all guests in a hotel who came and went as they pleased. Nathan would go out partying for a weekend and come back two days with nary a peep from his dad or stepmum. It surprised him that his dad considered his whereabouts.

But Nathan didn’t dare tell him the truth.

I’m visiting friends in Lisbon. Hope you had a nice trip.

He thought that was the end of things, but the three text bubbles jiggled at the bottom of his screen.

When will you be back?

“What the hell is going on?” Nathan said to the screen. Did his dad get hypnotized at a luau?

I don’t know. Is everything okay?

Yes. I wanted to make sure you were doing all right and staying “on the wagon.”

Nathan rolled his eyes at the quotation marks around that phrase, but he couldn’t deny a weird emotion blooming in his chest.

I’ve been thinking about you.Maybe when you get home, we could talk, his dad texted.

It was most alarming to Nathan, and if anything, it made him extra grateful to be a few oceans away from his father. Nathan had watched cute father/son scenes in television shows. He didn’t need them in his real life.And what made him start thinking about me now?he thought.

Sure,Nathan texted. He wanted things as vague as possible.

See you in a few days?

Probably a few weeks.

Liam returned to the hoof house, and Nathan welcomed the distraction and the dead zone.

“Everything good?” Nathan asked him.

“Yeah. That was…” Liam nodded behind him at the house. “That was nothing. Someone trying to sell me something I didn’t need. You good?”

Nathan tucked his phone back in his pocket. “Couldn’t be better.”

Chapter 14

Nathan

The next morning, Nathan was up early. He beat his alarm clock by fifteen minutes. And it wasn’t because he was hung over or going through withdrawal or some other type of turmoil. His biological clock had shifted back a few hours. He might never wake up after nine again.What have I become?

He went to the barn and checked on Tilly. A thought had sat on his mind all night and he had to get it out. Fortunately, Tilly was always in the same spot. Like any quality therapist, she was always available. No absconding to Brighton for a beach vacation without telling her clients.

“Tilly, y’alright?” Tilly lay on her side. She only acknowledged Nathan with a head turn. “You’re trying to conserve your energy. I get it.”

Nathan put a fresh clump of hay under her head. “I’m glad I didn’t wake you. Can we chat?”

She let out a baaaa then turned her head to look at the wall. Nathan figured that was a green light. He petted her wool softly, letting it bristle through his fingers.