“Give it time. We’ll have to figure it out. If you need it, I can give you an assignment that will distract you for a couple of days.”
“Sang’s not going to like this,” he said. A realization hit Nathan so hard, it was like Kota was punching him in the chest again. Things were hard enough for them to figure out, but it felt like he left Sang alone to deal with the aftermath, and on top of everything else...but Sang needed him the most right now.
If she’s witnessing friends splitting apart and families getting upset, then she may call off the entire thing. She’d want to spare them all their families and friends and not be the cause.
If she wanted to back out... It would be his fault. “I don’t want to be too far if Sang can get away. I want to talk to her. I’m sure she’s worried.”
“This is where you’re going to have to trust the rest of us to take care of the situation until you can talk to her.”
The edge of something sharp threaded into Nathan’s heart. Fear of not being able to see her wedged into him. It was all he wanted right now. He had just been next to her, but after all this, he needed to be reassured he didn’t screw the entire thing up by being careless. “I need to talk to her.” He sucked in a breath and then let it out slow until the next part came out in a harsh whisper. “We should have talked about this before. Please. I need to...”
“I know you do,” Mr. Blackbourne said calmly. “Only it might be better for now, if you are going to pretend to be humble and sorry for what you did, to not take the risk and be seen with her right now. If Jessica or Erica or anyone they know sees you and Sang talking alone, or Sang sneaking over to someplace to talk to you, it’ll look bad for Sang and will ruin the fa?ade you’ve created. If we can’t talk to anyone yet about this relationship, then we’ll have to protect Sang’s reputation with the family we do care about. Give it time. Let’s not take that risk. Not right now. I promise, as soon as I’m sure it’s possible without too much risk, I’ll make sure you can talk to her. But you’ll have to give me time.”
Nathan shifted his weight from foot to foot, feeling the tense muscles in his body. Who knew how long this process with Erica and Jessica would take, and how long it might take for Sang to be able to talk to him without risking too much. “What can I do? For now, I mean. I can’t just sit here.”
“How about you take over monitoring the Sorensen house?” he asked. “You’ll never be too far from Sang just in case she can come over and see you.”
It was on the tip of Nathan’s tongue to say no at first. Watching Sang’s stepmother or Marie and paying attention to what went on in that house wasn’t going to be any better for his mood. It’d be a constant reminder.
But he’d be thinking about Sang anyway. At least he’d be helping her out when he couldn’t do anything for her now.
The buzzer for the front doorbell sounded, and Nathan nearly dropped the phone, startled.
“Hang on,” he said into the phone. “Someone’s here.”
“Keep me on the line,” Mr. Blackbourne said.
At first, he thought it might be Sang or Kota, but they probably wouldn’t have bothered with the doorbell. Maybe Jessica? Or Erica to talk to him?
He tucked the phone into his pocket, hoping Mr. Blackbourne could still hear. The he answered the door.
Danielle stood there, jeans, gray sweater, both tight, and fuzzy boots. Her hair was trimmed shorter than he remembered, close to her jawline.
The corner of Danielle’s mouth dipped a little, but she kept her expression neutral. “Your dad isn’t around, is he?”
Nathan breathed out a bit in relief, glad to not have a confrontation with Erica, but at the same time, annoyed by seeing her. “Why are you asking?” he wasn’t quite in the mood for this. Seeing Danielle on his front porch was strange. They used to spend more time together when they were younger. Then one summer...
He suppressed the memory. Ever since one incident a few years ago, he’d distance himself from her. He didn’t even like being alone with her ever. He’d been angry about it, but it was the past now.
Danielle waved toward the Sorenson house, the two-story gray house a couple of homes down from Nathan’s. “I need help with Marie, and I think it would benefit Sang, too. Let me in?”
Nathan couldn’t imagine anything she could offer that would help Sang or Marie. Either way, he needed to get her off the front porch. “Uh, sure.”
Nathan made room, and Daniel walked past him and into the kitchen. Nathan shut the front door and walked around the kitchen’s center island. He leaned against it, looking across at Danielle. Somehow, that barrier between them made him feel better. He put the phone upside down on the island between them, so she wouldn’t see it was on call.
“First thing,” Nathan said, “I don’t want any trouble. The Sorensons are going through enough right now. Whatever you’re thinking of doing, you probably don’t want to do this.”
Danielle smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, making the fabric appear even tighter around her shoulders. It was a wonder how she managed to even move. “I saw the fight,” she said. “I saw the fight with Kota.”
Great. She was the last person who needed to see anything. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“It was something about Sang.”
“It’s none of your business.”
She dropped her haughty smirk. “Listen. I’m not here to give you a hard time. I’m here to help.”
“You say help, but the best way to help is to stay out of it. There’s nothing you can do.”
“You don’t know everything,” Danielle said. “You think you do, but you don’t. Marie and I know about Sang. We know about her real mom.”
Nathan ground his teeth. He probably should have been surprised Marie kept that bit of information to herself for as long as she did. For now, he tried to pretend they were on the same team, to keep Danielle from talking around school or anywhere else. “Exactly how do you think you’re helping?”
“Let Marie and I come over and spend the night tonight.”
Nathan laughed, short and sharply. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“I’m not kidding. I’m going to try to get Marie out of the house tonight. Her mom sleeps pretty heavily, so she probably won’t notice. She sneaks out now sometimes. I know Sang used to do that all the time. Marie told me about it. So don’t act like you’re above it all.”
If Marie knew, she didn’t mention it. He had to give Marie a little credit for that. “Why do you want to stay here?”
Danielle leaned against the counter, looking him in the eyes dead on. “I have an idea. I’ll be telling my parents I’m staying at her house.” She held up a single finger. “Just one night. I’ll explain everything. If you change your mind at that point, that’s up to you. Just hear us out.”
Nathan considered his options. If he said no, she and Marie could go somewhere else. That could make it more difficult to figure out what was going on. However, if he let them spend the night, maybe pretend he was in on it, he could stop them before they did anything stupid. “Okay...” Nathan said. “I guess. But I get to make the final decision before you do anything. Sang’s happier now. And so is Marie. I don’t want to mess that up.”
Danielle put a hand over her heart. “I promise, no tricks.”
Nathan doubted it. He only hoped he wasn’t making the wrong decision.
And he hoped Mr. Blackbourne was still listening. This was a distraction to keep him occupied, but he wasn’t sure if he was just asking for more trouble.
The Truth Among the Lies
Sang
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There were voices floating from the living room. I was pretty sure my name was spoken a few times.
I was afraid to move. Nathan had said to stay, and I trusted him, but I was afraid of what was being said.
Shame filled my senses, not just for Jessica catching us and not knowing the truth, but for leaving Nathan to confront it and not being out there for him.