Page 74 of Heartstruck at Dawn
We parked outside of my apartment building, and Caleb helped us bring some takeout bags up to my place. There were still people moving furniture inside William’s apartment. I could see Alice walking back and forth in the distance, but William was luckily nowhere to be found. I didn’t need any more drama.
I quickly set the table while Nathan unpacked the food. I was still curious to know a few more things about his relationship with Dominique.
“Why didn’t you want to get married? Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad you didn’t,” I said with a nervous laugh. “I just wonder why.”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see it happening. I’m not particularly against marriage. It’s hard to explain, but I was gutted every time I thought about it. I didn’t want to do it just to make her happy. I wanted to feel happy too. And I clearly wasn’t there with her.”
I’d never thought about marriage. It’s one of those things one assumes can or might happen eventually, but that’s when it hit me that Nathan’s previous relationship had been significant, and it scared me to think that we might be in different stages of our lives.
And let’s not get into the whole having kids thing. Terrifying.
“Was she—upset? To see you with someone else?” I needed to know if she was going to be a problem for the relationship. Or if she would try to get in the way somehow.
“Disappointed,” he replied, serving a bunch of food on my plate. “When we broke up, aside from telling her I wasn’t ready for marriage. I said I needed to be alone for a while. That’s what I thought I needed. She wasshockedto see me with someone else so soon. She kept asking about your age too. I think she was rather cross by how young you are.”
My brows lowered into a crease. I hoped Nathan was ready for a relationship after coming out of another one so recently. A serious one, to be exact. One thing is to think you’re ready, and another is tobeready. I didn’t want to get hurt. But he read my face in an instant.
“The day I met you, I was honest with you. I told you how I wasn’t expecting you.” He dropped his chopsticks and cupped my cheek. “You’ve been the best surprise of my life.” He stood up slightly from his chair and reached out to kiss my cheek.
I stared into his pale ashy-green eyes for a few seconds, then smiled with a tinge of shyness. I couldn’t believe the guy sitting in front of me. He was perfect. And I needed to trust him and relax.
After my relationship with Thomas and the few hiccups I went through with William, I thought I’d have difficulty trusting someone new. But that wasn’t the case with Nathan. Every word that came out of his mouth exuded honesty. I could feel it in my bones.
I smiled again and said, “This plate’s crazy.” There was a little of everything he ordered on my plate, which was a lot. Plus, the insanely good-looking miso soup.
Nathan explained what each thing was before I tried it. He loved that place. He kept moaning with pleasure every time he placed something in his mouth, saying over and over again how good the food was. It was very distracting, mind you. I even teased him about it.
“The uni was delicious,” I agreed with him. I couldn’t finish everything on my plate, but I tried it all.
“Glad you liked it. You know, uni is considered an aphrodisiac.” He shot this naughty smile at me, and everything inside me melted.
“Is it now? I don’t think I need any extra motivation.” I laughed. “Seeing you eat your favorite sushi did the trick for me.”
He got up and pushed his chair back, pulling me up from my seat.
“Did it, now?” He carried me in his arms and walked toward my bedroom. “Well, I hadloadsof uni, and I’ve found myself to be rather susceptible to its effects,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m hoping you are too. I just have to make a quick check.”
After he showed me howsusceptiblehe was to uni, I was left with no choice but to add it to my top three favorite foods of all time.
December 3, 2009
IT WAS A FEW MINUTESpast 4:00 p.m., and I had just arrived home from school with Nolan. We were going to work on our final projects together. We stepped out of the elevator and saw Eric sitting on the floor, leaning against William’s door. His forehead rested on his knees.
“Eric?” I called, walking in his direction. “Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Billie,” he replied, with a slight tremble of his lips. His eyes were glazed. I gave Nolan my camera bag and the keys to my apartment and told him I’d join him in a few minutes.
“What’s wrong?” I sat on the floor beside Eric, who was already crying. I hugged him, and he hugged me back. “Please, tell me what’s going on.” I feared someone had died, and he wasn’t telling me who.
“My parents are getting divorced,” he said in between subtle pants. He was devastated. “That’s why I moved in with Tobias.”
So that’s why William moved out?A foolish and vain part of me thought William wanted to be closer to me. But that wasn’t the case. The situation forced him to move out to make room for Eric. I was constantly misjudging William’s actions.
“Oh, Eric. I’m so sorry to hear that.” I broke away from the embrace and placed my hand on his back. “Did you just find out about it?”
“Apparently, I’m the last one to know. I didn’t understand why I was moving in with Tobias. I don’t mind it. I’ve been looking forward to it actually, but my mother didn’t want me to move out until I turned eighteen. I’m turning sixteen next February. That’s why I didn’t get it.”
“But why the need to move out? Can’t you keep living with your mother?”
