Chapter 44

The One With Bruises

A R I E L L E

My knuckles tap against his front door and I pace nervously, fighting the tears that have begun to well up in my eyes. When he opens the door, my heart leaps from my chest, thrilled to be near his again. I step forward, tears brimming and take his face in my hands, pressing my lips to his.

When I pull away, I notice he shares the same expression I have. His eyes are glossy as he cradles my jaw in his palm, brushing away a tear that runs down my cheek. He kisses me this time and I sigh in content, words unable to describe how good it feels to be with him and to know the truth.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask him when he allows me inside. I don’t miss it when he glances to the street before closing the door and locking it behind me.

It’s dark in the house. The curtains are closed, the lights are off and the only thing illuminating the space is the television stuck on a paused video game.

He, on the other hand, looks tired. Worn out. Not entirely himself. Depressed, dare I say.

The circles are evident under his eyes, making it appear as if he’s spent the last two months somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. As if he hasn’t been able to handle either one without me.

His shoulders sink in defeat. “How much do you know?” He walks towards me and grabs my hands, staring down at them when my fingers lace with his.

“I know that Ezra did something to keep you away from me. Oh, and I know about fuckin’ Langley.” As I say the second part, he looks towards the front of the house again. “Hayes figured it out and told me. He lured Langley away and dropped me off so we can be together and he won’t have any clue.”

Nate stays tight lipped like I expected he would. He’s always been like this. It isn’t in his blood to rat people out, no matter who the person is. I remember when I showed up here and he had a black eye. He wouldn’t tell me who gave it to him, but I eventually figured out myself that it was Hayes. He wouldn’t rat out Hayes and he fucking hates the guy.

“Nate, you can tell me. I’m gonna fix it. Ezra can’t and won’t fuck with me. With us.”

“Arielle, I don’t want you involved.”

When he lifts his head and finds my eyes, I see the faint bruising on his cheek. It’s nearly faded, but it’s still clear that someone probably beat the shit out of him. “Did Ezra do this?” I question, running my hand over the marking.

Nate closes his eyes at my touch, quietly answering me, “No.”

“Langley?”

Silence.

The loudest scream.

I grit my teeth, annoyed with Ezra, Langley, and Vivien for fucking with my life. It wasn’t enough that Vivien and Ezra had to take away my father, now they find it amusing to fuck with those close to me? To fuck up my relationships?

That isn’t going to pass with me.

“Nate, what did Ezra say to you? I can guarantee at least eighty percent of it was utter bullshit. He feeds off paranoia and empty threats.”

He keeps his mouth shut, but I can see the internal struggle he’s having with me. I can tell that he wants to tell me what’s going on and that he wants all of this shit to end, he’s just obviously been scared within an inch of his life.

I’m not surprised that he’s so terrified of my step-father.

I scramble my brain, trying to think of what Ezra could have on Nate. I start just rambling things off, watching his expression, “Did he threaten you with jail time?”

He shakes his head.

“Uh, your house? Your cars?”

Nope.

“Me? Did he say he would hurt me?”

“No, thank fuckin’ God.”

“Then what else—” I pause mid-sentence, all of the puzzle pieces fitting together. “Did he threaten your family?”

Nate swallows hard, eyes closing again.

“Nate, what did he say he’d do to them? Did he hurt anyone? I swear to God if he laid a single finger on anyone in your family, I’ll break all of his fuckin’ fingers.”

“Eva,” he says vaguely and my face goes ghost white.

“W-What?” I feel like his words are wrapped around my throat and I’m suddenly at a loss for air. It feels like I’m fucking suffocating.

“He sat me down in his office,” Nate starts and I listen like I’m sitting on the edge of a seat, even though I’m standing. “He told me to leave you alone. I told him to fuck off so he pulled out a laptop and showed me a live feed of Eva, at school.”

My heart sinks in my chest.

“When I refused a second time, he picked up the phone and told some guy to go after her.” He exhales shakily, consumed with several emotions at the memory. “I could see him on the laptop as he started walking towards her. I caved Arielle. I fuckin’ caved. I don’t know what the fuck he’d do to my baby sister, but I couldn’t do that to her.”

Tears have welled up in his eyes again and he sniffs. “Nate, “ I begin, squeezing his hands, “You did the right thing.”

He stares at me with so many words hidden in his eyes, but none on his lips.

“You don’t know how hard it was for me to break things off with you.”

“Believe it or not, I get it. I was fuckin’’ miserable ‘cause I couldn’t understand why you did it. But now that I know what Ezra did to you, I get that you didn’t have any other choice.”

“That night when I saw you,” he says, referring to the party, “I couldn’t help myself. I missed you and I was angry at myself that I drove you into QuickDraw’s arms.”

“Is that why Langley beat you up?” I inquire, running my hand over the bruises. “Did he see us?”

He shakes his head. “After Ezra threatened me away from you, I guess he sent Langley to follow me. That night when you led me to the alley? You accidentally caused me to lose Langley’s tail. He lost me and he showed up here the next day, absolutely mad.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.” I whisper, realizing it’s all my fault that this has happened to him.

“For what? You never did anything to me, babe.”

“If you weren’t with me ... If my fucked up family didn’t exist—”

He presses his lips to mine, effectively shutting me up. “Don’t,” he hushes, hands on either side of my face. He kisses me again, backing me up until my back hits the drywall with a soft thud and he’s trapped me against it. “Don’t you dare think that you’re the reason for any of this. You’re the reason for so many things in my life, but none of it is fuckin’ bad. I can promise that.”

My fingers reacquaint themselves with his soft locks, fighting the urge to cry. I never fucking cry, yet this man has me a puddle of emotions before him. The immediate warmth from his body makes me tingle from my head right down to my toes.

“You know I love you, yeah?” He asks in a low husk, lips pressed to the skin below my ear. My heart fucking thumps hard in my chest, surely bruising my rib cage and this sudden wave of emotion passes over me when his big eyes find mine.

I do. Part of me has known for a while, I think. I just didn’t admit it to myself.

Unable to form words, I nod my head and he smiles, kissing me passionately. “Good,” he starts and he picks me up in his strong arms, eliciting an excited squeal from me, “‘Cause I’m about to fuck you like I don’t.”

My legs wrap around his waist—which causes my sandals to fall off my feet and to the floor—while my arms loop around his neck and I grin, crashing my lips against his in response. He whispers my name, almost as if he’s drunk off my kiss.

“We need to make up for lost time,” I muse, giggling as he carries me to his bedroom while I press kisses to his jawline and his new tattoos.

“Fuck yes, we do.”