Page 90 of Heartstruck at Dawn
Nathan kissed my hair and said, “Everything’sperfect.”
February 5, 2010
IT WAS THE COLDEST DAY EVER.I’d just arrived from school and changed into my gym clothes. I refused to go for a run. I was freezing and tired, but I made myself go.
I stepped out of my apartment, and Caleb was stationed outside my door.
“Hey! What’s up?” I asked with a smile.
“I’ll walk you to the gym.”
Weird.
Once inside the apartment building, I was usually free to roam around by myself as long as I texted them about my whereabouts.
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course.” He tried smiling, but it wasn’t genuine.
“Caleb.”
“You know how your father gets these—wavesof apprehension when he travels. He wants us to tighten security for a few days. That’s all. Everything’s okay, Red.”
It all sounded like a bunch ofbollocksto me.
I loved it when Nathan used that word and how he said it. He was leaving the next day to Miami for the Super Bowl. I was excited for him, although I knew I was going to miss him.
We did see each other almost every day, but it was usually for a little while. Our real quality time was during the weekends—they were sacred. And even so, there would be times when he had to show up at the office on a Saturday, which was super annoying.
It was odd to think that Nathan and William were going to have to coexist in Miami. But things had been quiet and calm with William gone. Empty, almost. I could feel the void emanating from his vacant apartment—a peaceful torture.
My relationship with Nathan was going great because of that, too. I thought I could learn to get used to William not being around.
Caleb walked me to the gym and stood right outside the glass door with his bodyguard stance firmly in place.
I quickly realized I wasn’t in the mood for running, so I switched to a brisk walk instead. “Caleb!” He immediately came inside and stood next to my treadmill.
“Yes, Miss Murphy?” He smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m bored,” I said with a chuckle, “and I forgot my cell phone.”
“I can ask Aaron to go get it,” he said, bringing his finger up to his earpiece.
“No, it’s okay. I thought we could just—chat. It’s been a while since we had time to talk. Or is the gym a threat big enough for you to get distracted?”
“We can talk.” He leaned in against the treadmill’s handrail.
“Okay. Entertain me then.”
I missed Caleb. He was one of my best friends, but he behaved differently now that I was with Nathan. With Thomas, Caleb felt like he needed to keep close tabs on me. With good reason. I’d been too blind to see Thomas for who he was.
I guess he felt I was in good hands with Nathan. That’s why he distanced himself from me more than usual. I wasn’t a fan of that.
We talked about school, his family, and how they were all doing. And, of course, Paris. We always talked about Paris. It was our happy place. The stories were the same every time, but oh, how we loved going over them again and again.
We walked out of the gym, and the floor was wet as it had just been mopped. Caleb walked ahead of me, trying to summon the elevator, but he slipped and fell on his ass, just like the story about the poor chef in Paris he loved making fun of.
He cursed in Hebrew and jumped up to his feet in a second. I burst out laughing, and he couldn’t help but laugh too. “Karma,” I sang, laughing again.
