Page 78 of Your Fault

I walked into the closet and put on a T-shirt, the same one I’d had on the day I moved in there. It was one of the few things that hadn’t made it into my suitcases for when I moved. That T-shirt and a pair of tights I was about to slip on.

I felt him behind me just as I took the towel off my head and my damp hair fell over my shoulders. He turned me around, grabbing me by one arm, so I would look him in the eye.

“Are you okay?” he asked, pushing my hair aside.

“I’m just tired, and I have a hangover,” I said. He looked the opposite of how I felt. In his Levi’s and his white Calvin Klein T-shirt, with his bedhead hair, he was like a runway model.

“I’ll make you some breakfast before I go,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “I wish I could stay here all afternoon with you, maybe watch a movie or something, but I need to work.”

I sighed with relief. I didn’t want him to see me in that state. I wasn’t in the mood for companionship. I’d just end up scaring him.

“Don’t worry. I’m just going to sleep all day.”

I stepped forward and kissed him on the lips, softly, patiently. Our fight on the day of the race was still in my head, the way we’d shouted at each other and he’d reproached me for not trusting him… But what if you didn’t even understand the way you felt? How could I explain to Nick what was going on? I just sensed that something wasn’t right, and I was dying to seek comfort in his arms, but I couldn’t… I was scared of telling him certain things, and I didn’t want him to be disappointed or to judge me.

He left, looking worried, and I tried to force a smile to relax him. I don’t know if it worked.

It had been a long time since I’d vegged out like that in front of the TV, eating chocolate and watchingFriends. Some scientific study or other had said eating chocolate flooded your brain with endorphins, but it wasn’t working for me; it was just making me gain weight.

That day was a dark one, and however much I had wished at first that Nick would just leave for work, now I missed him, and I really needed him to come give me a hug.

I was surprised to see the chaos in the kitchen when I went downstairs for a soda and more chocolate. Mom was in a pretty dress and sandals, even makeup, and Will soon walked in afterward in a dress shirt and work slacks. I knew something was up.

“Are you having someone over for dinner?”

My mother, who was giving instructions to Prett, turned and looked me up and down with a dissatisfied face. “Senator Aiken and his daughter are coming over tonight.”

Senator?

“Just because or for some special reason? Were you not going to tell me?” My mother normally warned me about things like this. Did this mean I wasn’t invited?

“He’s an old friend of Will’s, and they want to start doing business together. Since you didn’t feel good, I assumed you’dwant to stay up in your room,” she said, taking off the apron she had tied around her waist.

Perfect.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind, I’d rather skip dinner than hang out with some old dude and his daughter, thanks,” I said, a little grumpier than I had intended. I was in an awful mood.

My mother gave me a harsh look. I tried to ignore it as best I could.

“I’ll have Prett bring you something.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not hungry.” I turned around and went back to my room. Hesitant, I grabbed the phone to call Nick. I knew he was working the next day and wouldn’t be coming over, but I also knew one phone call was enough to get whatever I needed from him.

“Hey, Freckles,” he greeted me, sounding cheerful.

“Hey. What are you up to?” I asked, feeling him out.

He pulled his phone away from his ear to talk to someone. I heard a girl laughing and then Nick grumbling something about a horrible song.

My body immediately tensed. “Where are you?” I asked, a little cooler than usual, intrigued to know who he was with.

“Right now, I’m walking through the front door.” Just then, I heard a door open slowly.

“Where?”

“What do you mean, where? The same place as you—Dad’s house.”

He was here?