“I’m fine, I just have to piss and this twat drank too much and is now ruining my morning,” she screams through the door.
“Mads, look around. I think everyone drank too much. Granted, there are a few of us that can handle it better than others.”
“True. So did you decide to go home early?”
“Yeah, I was able to change my flight with Monica so we are gonna leave after breakfast.”
“Okay. How’s Nate?”
“Not too well. I think it will be good to get home and take care of him.”
“I do too.”
Kassy finally unlocks the bathroom door and comes stumbling out. She almost misses the bed, falling face first onto the plush white comforter.
I hug Mads before she flies in. Then pack up everything into my suitcase. My phone chimes with a text from Nate.
I miss you, El.
I miss you more, Nate. Get some rest.
After we all somehow manage to eat, Monica and I make our way to the airport. Monica is rambling on and on about her husband and son. Don’t get me wrong, I love to hear how happy she is, but inside I wonder if I will ever have what she has, and if so…will it be with Nate?
I want nothing more, but in my past something has always screwed up what I’ve wanted. Especially when things seem to be going well. Now I’m scared to hope for things to go my way. I have to remind myself to not let my past dictate my future. And I hold faith that it won’t happen with Nate, that we will have a future just like Monica does. A future I’ve always dreamed of.
“How are you holding up?” Andrea asks me.
I shake my head, completely disgusted with myself. If Elania had any idea that Andrea was at my house right now, she would never talk to me again. But when Andrea called again, hysterical and afraid, I regretted saying I was available to her for the weekend, but I couldn’t leave her to die either. She was sobbing so hard I could barely make out the words and her voice trembled with obvious terror after that asshole threatened to kill her. I couldn’t turn her away. Especially because she is in this situation because of me. Me and my stupid dick.
“Has he stopped texting you?” I ask her.
“Yeah, for now.”
“What are you thinking you’re gonna do?”
“I called my aunt in Oregon, and she said I can come stay with her, so I was gonna take a bus.”
“That’s crazy; I’ll pay for a flight.”
She rests her chin atop her knee and stares out my back window. “No, Nate, you’ve done enough. I already feel terrible being here.”
My phone chimes with a text from El, I hope you’re sleeping well, I’m going to the pool with the girls. I’ll call you later.
Have fun, baby, I miss you, I text her back with a heavy heart.
“I’m sorry to put you in this situation and that we can’t go to the cops.”
“It’s all right. Getting you out of here safely is what matters to me at this point.”
“Thanks. Hey, Nate?”
“Yeah?” I ask staring at Elania’s text.
“I’m happy for you.”
Looking over at Andrea, I realize I’m smiling at my phone. “Thanks.”
Grabbing my iPad, I pass it to her, “Here, find yourself a flight and I’ll pay for it.”
She doesn’t argue. She knows that she needs to leave town quickly for her safety. She also knows that I have to get El from the airport tonight and she’s got to be gone. I’m not trying to justify Andrea being here, but she doesn’t want to make things worse and I appreciate that right now.
“Do you want more coffee?” I ask her.
She nods her head, her hair sheeting around her face just like Arion’s and I remember why I liked her, what seems to be so long ago. I cannot believe how time changes our perspective on things. Thinking back on where I was just a few short months ago, it honestly doesn’t seem like my life. From reeling in the pain of losing Arion and thinking that I could never move on to dulling the pain with Andrea, and using her in every wrong way possible. Then out of the blue, Elania, my El.
I pass Andrea her coffee and ask, “Did you find anything?”
“There’s a flight that leaves at one o’clock today.”
“That’s great, book it.”
“You didn’t even ask how much it is.”
“Doesn’t matter, not one bit, as long as you’re safe and as far away from that asshole as possible.”
“Thank you, Nate. That’s all that I want too.” Her expression is genuine, and with that, I get up to grab my wallet. I notice her phone vibrating on the counter. It’s Ronnie, and my rage rises so fast that I answer it without thinking.
“What the fuck do you want?”
He laughs in his high-pitched tone. “So she’s with you?”
“Is that a problem? From what I heard, you beat the shit out of her and left her bleeding on the bathroom floor.”
“Is that what she said? Did she tell you why?”
I laugh out loud. “There’s no excuse, bitch. Only a coward would hit a woman.”
“Call me what you want, you one-legged freak. You’d do the same thing if she pulled the shit with you that she did with me.”
“Watch your mouth, asshole.”
“Or what?” he challenges.