Page 86 of Away We Go

“I’m going to go see if he’s alright.”

Serena nods, gnawing at her lower lip and looking concerned. It’s probably not my place to sit with the number one rival of our team, but it’s just not in me to leave someone alone when they’re clearly not doing okay.

“Hey, Nate?”

His head snaps back as his eyes lock with mine. From my spot this close to him, I can see the shadows under his eyes, how they’re rimmed in red.

“Do you want some company?”

He pats the ground next to him and I sink, resting my back against the wall and wriggling my butt to get comfortable.

“What are you doing here?” he asks in a rough voice.

I shrug. “You look like you could use a friend.”

His laugh is sharp and pained. “Huh. Friends. I seem to lack a few of those these days.”

Wincing at the edge in his voice, I inch closer to him. “Do you want to talk? Or do you want to just sit?”

He smiles at me, but it’s barely a spark compared to his usual megawatt grin. “I guess you know the story.”

“I know what’s being reported,” I offer.

“It’s pretty much all true.” He huffs out a big breath. Feeling for him, I pat his arm, knowing that I’m risking a photographer getting a shot of us together and making it the new headline story. “Victoria broke up with me and got together with him the next day.”

Victoria is his longtime girlfriend, and the ‘him’ is his older brother, George. From where I’m sitting, they’re both despicable people.

“I’m sorry.”

His Adam’s apple bobs. “I mean, who does that?”

“No one good.”

“They must have been carrying on behind my back. Right?”

My lips twitch at the use of the phrase ‘carrying on,’ but I move in closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” I say again because I believe they were probably ‘carrying on’ behind his back. “You don’t deserve this.”

We sink into silence and I scramble to think of something to say to help. When I come up empty, because there’s no getting over this sort of betrayal in a hurry, I stay quiet. What Nate needsnow is support from the people around him and I vow to do whatever I can to be there for him.

“So, I guess you and Nicky are off the hook for now,” Nate says finally, breaking the silence and offering me a whisper of his signature cheeky grin.

“I would say thank you, but in the circumstances…”

He grins properly now, nudging me with his elbow. “How have you been dealing with it all?”

My shrug is nonchalant. I know this because I’ve been practising it in the mirror for whenever this question gets asked. Which is a lot.

“I’m good.”

He raises one dark blond brow.

“I am! It’s been weeks since the incident. My face is finally back to normal, and thanks to you, the media has stopped fixating on me.”

“That’s not what I was referring to.”

I look away from his probing gaze. “It’s been fine.”

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