Page 75 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“She left.” The meaning of those two words seemed to have done a lot of damage. “She went to Stockholm a few weeks ago. I don’t know when she’ll be back, and my father’s working in L.A. all the time. They didn’t want me to be living alone in their apartment. I just hung up with her. She explained everything,” Eric said with a huff. “I’m so pissed at my brothers for not telling me before. Everyone keeps treating me like a fucking child. I’m so over it.”
I took a deep breath because I could relate to that feeling. “So, are you waiting for William to arrive? Or why are you sitting here outside?”
“The four of us are supposed to meet here to talk about this. They should be here any minute now,” he replied, his voice breaking again. My heart was crushed for him. I don’t think anyone wants their parents to have issues and split up, but the younger you are when it happens, the harder it must be to understand.
I asked Eric if he wanted to wait in my apartment. I didn’t like seeing him sitting alone on the floor when I knew he was feeling miserable. Eric came in and asked if he could use the bathroom.
William and Tobias stepped out of the elevator when I was about to close the door to my apartment. I hadn’t talked to William since we agreed never to be friends in this life or any other.
I could hear doors being shut or the faint sound of his guitar, especially at night, so I knew he was officially living beside me, but we hadn’t bumped into each other until now.
“Billie!” Tobias said, walking in my direction.
William approached my door wearing a light crew-neck cream sweater and jeans. He kissed both of my cheeks.Really?Tobias snorted with a faint chuckle as I stood there looking like an out-of-service robot, not knowing how to react to William’s customary way of greeting me. His cologne almost made me fall on my ass, though. It was intoxicating, as expected.
I shook my head a few times in the hopes of snapping back to reality and said, “Eric’s in the bathroom. He was pretty upset when I arrived a few minutes ago. He told me about your parents’ divorce. I’m so sorry. I know how close you all are.” William kept staring at the hoodie I was wearing—analyzing it.
“Yeah, it’s pretty messed up,” Tobias said. “I didn’t see it coming.”
Joel arrived too. He was walking our way when Eric stepped out of the bathroom and scowled at his brothers. His eyes were red-rimmed and irritated, and his pale skin was blotchy from all the crying.
“Hey, Billie.” Joel hugged me. We had become close. Nathan and I saw him and Lily often. His face looked grim once he saw how unhappy Eric looked.
“I’ll see you in the gym in a few hours,” Tobias said to me.
“Oh, I canceled my class today,” I replied. “I have a bunch of homework to get done.”
William took one last look at my hoodie, pursed his lips slightly, and excused himself to unlock his apartment door.What is his problem?
I hugged Eric and said, “Everything’s going to be okay. If you need anything, you know I’m always here for you.” He forced back a smile. Joel turned to look at me and mouthed, “Thank you,”as he grabbed Eric’s shoulders and directed him to William’s apartment.
Nolan had left more than an hour ago when I heard a knock on my door. Nathan was caught up at work, so I knew it wasn’t him. I looked through the peephole—William. He was still wearing the cream sweater that looked so disgustingly good on him.
“Hey, neighbor. Do you need a cup of sugar?” I joked when I opened the door.
Ugh. He didn’t laugh, smile, or gesture. He probably had different varieties of fancy sugar from where to choose from.
He sniffed sharp and fast. Once. “Please take that off,” he said, jerking his chin and looking at my Hammarby hoodie.
“Excuse me?”
“It doesn’t fit you well.” He frowned. “It’s—too big.”
“It’s green. It’s warm and cozy. I like it.” I love green.
I didn’t even know what Hammarby was before meeting Nathan. Yet I loved wearing it. It smelled like him. But William already knew it wasn’t mine, and apparently, that’s what was bothering him—me wearing Nathan’s clothes.
I remember howkeenhe was about having me wear his white t-shirt when I spent the night at the cottage. He didn’t mind it being too big for me then. He actuallylikedthat, if I recall correctly.
“I’m not leaving until you take that off.” He crossed his arms in front of him, and I believed him.
Nathan told me how they were all die-hard Hammarby fans. They’d gotten together to watch a few games, and William would never show up. It saddened me to think he refused to watch a soccer game with his brothers because Nathan was there. I couldn’t help but feel like it was my fault.
“William, come on,” I said with a chuckle. He was being immature. Although, I didn’t know what feelings would boil inside me if he handed out pieces of clothing to some other girl.
Nothing. The answer to that should be nothing. I’d probably hate it in secret, of course. But that wasn’t the point. He knew I was with Nathan. What did he expect?
“I’ll stand here all night if I have to,” he said, leaning against the doorframe with his arms still crossed in front of his chest and an ankle in front of the other—balking.
