I sat my phone down, heading toward the front door after I heard the bell ring, and swung it open to find Nash. Even though Justin wasn’t too happy about us hanging out, he understood that I was going to do what I wanted, and he would just have to trust me to be a big girl.
“Hey, Della.” He grinned, showing me that boyish charm that I loved about him, and gave me a one armed hug. “You ready for some fun? Feel like playing some pool?”
“I don’t know. Do you feel like getting your ass beat?” I groaned, and then left him there while I ran inside to grab my phone and purse. He gave me a knowing smirk as I stepped out onto the porch and then ushered me to his truck.
We went to a dive bar that I had never heard of before, but apparently, everyone and their mom knew Nash there. After about his third beer in under thirty minutes, I was guessing it was because this was his new hangout. He was definitely dealing with his situation in totally the wrong way. Sure, I was the last person that needed to be judging anyone, but I couldn’t just stand by while he drank his problems away.
“Don’t you think you should slow down a bit?” I tipped my head toward the glass that was raised to his lips and he rolled his eyes, taking a long drink before slamming it down on the table and reaching over to grab one of my fries. “We’re just having fun, Della. I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. I’m not an alcoholic; it just helps me to relax a little bit. If I have a problem, you’ll be the first to know about it.”
“If you say so.”
We played a couple more rounds of pool and it reminded me how much fun I had with Nash whenever we were together. When we were kids we were so comfortable around each other, it felt like we were almost family. But tonight was a little different, because alcohol was added into the mix.
“Okay, I think it’s about time we head back.” I sat my pool stick down and held out a hand, waiting expectantly. Nash groaned loudly, draining another mug of beer before reaching into his pocket and placing his keys in my hands.
“Such a buzz kill, Della.” He stumbled slightly as he took a step toward me and I looped my arm through his, trying to keep him somewhat upright. With my luck, he would probably end up pulling me down with him when he fell.
“You’re really ready to go home? We could go hit up a couple bars downtown.” He made an attempt at winking, but instead looked like he had a tick. He couldn’t even wink at me. Really?
Somehow, we made it back to his truck in one piece and without any mishaps. I helped him get into the passenger side before running around to get behind the wheel. Nash was in no shape to drive. Luckily, since he moved back in with his roommates last week, he only lived a couple of blocks from the house. I could easily walk home after I dropped him and his truck off.
“You sure you don’t want to go somewhere else?” he muttered, barely opening his eyes.
I reached over, brushing the shaggy hair away from his face. “No, and I think you need to stop going out so much. It’s not going to solve anything, it’ll just mask the pain.”
He snorted loudly, grabbing onto my wrist. “When did you get so serious about shit?”
“Nash, I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I just know from experience what it feels like to go through something like that and I spiraled out of control. I don’t want you to do the same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing. I had an actual baby in my arms that I thought was mine. You killed yours.”
It felt like all the air was sucked from my lungs. I gripped the steering wheel trying to stay focused on actually driving, but it felt like Nash just slapped me across the face. Repeatedly. And then stomped all over my chest. No one had ever come right out and said something like that to me. Sure, my mom wasn’t exactly nice about the whole situation, but this was Nash. Yes, it could be partially blamed on the alcohol, but he wasn’t that far gone.
“You know? You’re a real jackass.” I swiped at a tear that rolled down my cheek and he let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Della. I just—”
“Just stop.” I held up a hand as I parked in his driveway, and then got out of the truck, quickly heading down the sidewalk in the direction of my house. I just wanted to get home.
“Della, wait.” Nash grabbed onto my elbow, twisting my body around and I struggled to get out of his hold. “Just stop fighting me. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m sorry.” He pulled me against him and I let myself go limp, collapsing into his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again into my hair and I shook my head against him, sniffing loudly before pushing away.
“Whatever, Nash. I’m going home. I’ll see you later.”
“I can’t just let you leave all upset and walk home by yourself.” He grabbed onto my arm once again and drew me back into him, smoothing my hair behind my ear.