“Are you kidding me? I can’t stay calm, Nate. You helped her cheat.” My head is about to explode. Who is this man? Is anything that he has ever told me the truth? Suddenly, I feel like I don’t know him at all.
“It was wrong of me, but he’s an asshole. He doesn’t care about her.”
“Nate, that doesn’t make it right. I went through that shit with Alex, and it’s the worst feeling in the world. It’s a horrible thing to do to another person and you condoned it. Think about how he feels, finding out what she’d been doing.”
“I know, but this guy is clearly off his fucking rocker. He found out where she met me today and smashed my car with a fucking baseball bat. That’s why I said I was glad you weren’t there. It kept you safe.”
My heart drops. He did what? What kind of Jerry Springer shitstorm did I just stumble right in the middle of? I knew from the beginning that being with Nate was a risk. But I never imagined this.
“Talk to me, El. What are you thinking?”
“I’m just confused. Who are you?”
“You know who I am. Everything I’ve ever told you is the truth. I ended things with her before you and I got together. You’ve changed me. You make me feel.”
“I have a hard time believing that.”
He shakes his head and grabs my hand. “Please don’t doubt me, or what I feel for you.” Taking my hand in his, he places it over his chest. His heart beats profoundly, it’s so strong. His eyes are pleading for me to forgive him.
“See this, that’s not a lie. It’s the truth and how I feel for you, so strongly that I can’t control it.”
“What are you gonna do going forward?” I ask, wondering if he has a plan.
“I’m going to do everything I can so you know that you mean the world to me.”
A small smile breaks out, and I say, “No, I mean about this girl and her boyfriend.”
“Well, I told her about you, so I have a feeling she’ll respect that and really leave me alone this time. Regarding her boyfriend, I’m hoping that today he only followed her there and this will be the end of it, now that he’s gotten his payback.”
“What if it isn’t?”
“I’d rather not go there.”
“But you have to. You don’t know who this guy is or what he’s capable of.”
I let out a deep breath that seems I’ve been holding forever. I can’t believe that this happened. Everything that I thought I knew about him I am now questioning. Looking into his dark eyes, what I once was so sure of, now I don’t know at all.
“Are we gonna be okay?” he asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, Nate, you tell me.”
I sign the receipt for the new window that was just installed in my car and hope this is the last of the Andrea debacle. I filed a police report earlier today and want nothing more than to focus on the future with Elania. I’ve now been one hundred percent honest with her and want us to get back to that really good place we were at. I hate myself for doing this to us. Just when her walls were coming down, I ruined it all. But she seems to be moving past it, letting me rebuild her trust, even though I really don’t deserve it.
The guy hands me my copy of the receipt and I thank him, then look over his work as he gets in his van. It looks damn good to me. I toss the receipt in my car and pull my phone out right as it begins to ring. It’s Elania.
“Hey, baby,” I answer, leaning on the bumper of my car, wanting to do everything right going forward.
“I like it when you call me that,” she says.
“I know.”
She giggles before proceeding; she’s in a really good mood today. “So I got a hold of the selling agent regarding the property for Mechanical 2.”
That’s why – business makes her happy.
“And?” I ask, basically cutting her off.
“Well, he’s serious about selling and since you guys are paying in cash, he’s willing to make a deal on price and everything you’ve asked for.”
“Let’s make a deal, babe.”
“That’s what I told him. Well, not exactly, but you get my point. Could I swing by the gym and go over this with you and Nash?”
“Nash is out of town, so I can come to your office,” I tease, knowing that she is working from home today.
“Nate!”
“What?”
“I’ll come to you, see you soon,” she says and hangs up.
I smirk and head inside. The gym is pretty slow today, but that’s normal for a weekday at ten in the morning. I check in with the new guy working the counter before heading back into the office.
Signing back into the computer system, I notice an email from my dad. It’s been so long since I’ve talked to him, but I’ve been so consumed with Elania and my mom and he works all the time.
To: Nate Wilcox
From: Jeffrey Wilcox
June 5, 2015 9:53am
Hello Nate,