Chapter 27 #2
Nate still looks angry, and I know I need to clear this up. I need to talk to him more about what he’s thinking, because I’m not sure we’re on the same page.
“Rob,” I say. “Can you give us just a minute? I was?—”
“We’re done here,” Nate cuts me off. “I’ll see you later, b—” He stops, and his face goes tight. “ Maisie.”
My eyes widen. He didn’t say my nickname. He used my actual one, and it cuts me like a knife.
“You’re my ride here,” I say, a last-ditch attempt to get him to stay while I tell Rob to never do this again. “We should?—”
“I’ll get you to where you need to go,” Rob says. “Don’t worry about it.”
I shake my head, not taking my eyes off Nate. “No, just give me one second. Nate?—”
He holds his hand up, lips still pursed. “You’re really going to talk it out with him?”
“Well, yes, but it can just be?—”
“Stop. This is a terrible decision, but it’s yours to make, I guess. I just thought ...” He shakes his head. “Whatever.”
“Nate, hang on.”
“No,” he snaps. “I’m not watching you do this. Not again . So, go talk to Rob. I’m going home.”
And then he walks away, not looking back once .
“Wow.” Rob laughs. “That was kind of rude.”
“Don’t,” I hiss. “Just don’t.”
“Okay, I can see you’re tense. And you can act out when you’re mad.” My temper flares once again. “Let’s just go so you can calm down.”
I hate the way he talks to me when I’m angry. It’s why I stopped letting him see me mad. But I just had a fight with Nate , of all people. I’m not in my right mind.
It’s not like Nate and me to not be on the same page. And I don’t understand why he was so upset by me simply talking to Rob.
Rob shoves the bear in my arms, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Here you go, babe.”
“Please don’t call me that,” I say. “And I can’t hold this and my?—”
“I’ve got your bag. Let’s go. ”
My jaw tightens as I follow him. I’m all kinds of unnerved, and I throw the bear into the back seat the second we get to his car.
“Whoa, don’t be so rough with your new buddy.”
I glare. “I didn’t ask for a new buddy.”
“You’re playing hard to get still?” He sighs. “Fine. I can be stubborn.”
“I don’t want you to be stubborn,” I say as I get into the passenger’s seat.
“You say that, but I know you.”
“I don’t think you do.”
Rob’s smile falls for all of one second before he starts the car. “I’m working on it.”
“You don’t have to. Seriously, Rob. Just let it go.”
“No.” He’s serious and I want to bang my head against a wall. “What we have is good, Maisie.”
“We barely talk .” I shake my head. “What kind of relationship is that?”
“We talk.” He laughs. “Of course we talk.”
“Then how do I take my coffee in the morning? What time do I usually get up?”
He blinks. “What is this? A quiz?”
“My point still stands.”
“Listen, I’m here. I got you a very expensive stuffed animal that I can’t return, and I’m not even saying anything about who you took on that cruise. I’m doing all I can here, Maisie.”
“Doing all you can?” I repeat. “This is your best?”
“No one is going to compare to your perfect best friend, Maisie. Although, maybe he isn’t so perfect now. He’s mad at you, isn’t he?”
His words hit me right where he means for them to. Just thinking about how Nate and I left things makes my chest hurt. “He didn’t want me to talk to you.”
“Of course he didn’t. He knows I’m going to win you back.”
“I’m not a prize . You can’t just win me. ”
“Is that not what I’ve done the last decade?”
My jaw drops and I go to argue, but I remember the video Nate showed me. When he talked about marrying me, he mentioned he thought he was winning then too.
Just who was he winning against ?
“Why did you want me, Rob?” I turn to him the best I can. “Because it wasn’t my personality.”
“I mean, look at you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m hot. Whatever. It takes more than that to spend a decade on winning someone.”
“What do you want me to say?” He laughs uncomfortably. “I mean, you’re a good person. You, uh, clean up really well. Speaking of which, those shorts you’re wearing ... Are they new? They’re a little short.”
I’m about to argue with him when I realize he’s changing the subject, which is what he always tries to do when I’m getting close to a conclusion he doesn’t want me to have.
The cracks in our relationship are obvious.
They always have been, but I was too afraid to look into them. I still am, but I survived the water.
I’ll make sure to survive this too.
“Did you see Nate as your competition?” I ask.
Rob jerks back, jaw opening. He thinks about it for a moment and then laughs. “What? Why would you ask me that?”
“Answer the question.”
“Is that an idea he put into your head?”
“No. I can have my own thoughts, you know. I may have forgotten it over the last few years, but it’s still possible.”
Rob glances at me. Instead of the guy he’s been playing, I see a glimpse of the man he really is. His jaw is tight and his eyes narrow into a glare. He doesn’t like me fighting back. He doesn’t like this side of me at all.
That’s why he got rid of it.
“One little vacation and you’re very different. I should have known. He makes you this way.”
“ I make myself this way. This is who I am, and I guess it’s someone you hate.”
He shakes his head. He doesn’t say anything in response and I scoff, realizing now he’s avoiding the conversation entirely. For the first time during the drive, I look out the window and focus on the road. Once I’m home, I’m going after Nate.
But the only things I see are tall buildings. We’re pulling through a gate, one that leads to a high-rise I know all too well.
“Rob, why the hell did you bring me here?” I ask. “You said you would take me home.”
“I said I would get you to where you need to go. This is it. You need space from Nate. And I have a delicious dinner waiting on us. After, you can use my tub and?—”
I go for the handle of the door. The car is too stuffy and I need to breathe .
“This isn’t what I want!” I yell as I turn to him. “God, do you not understand the word no?”
“Maisie, calm down. You’re acting?—”
“Take me to my fucking house, Rob!”
“No!” he snaps as he climbs out. “I’m not letting you have another second with that man. Not after he turned you against me!”
“You did that yourself! You won’t listen to me, you don’t even know me, and the only reason you want me is because you think you can take me away from the man who actually cares about me!”
“I can take you away from him. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.”
“Not this time,” I say. “I’m not going into your apartment. I’m not getting back with you.”
“Yes, you are! You said it yourself, you’re giving me a chance!”
“A chance to talk , not get back together.”
“What else are we going to talk about, Maisie? A friendship? I don’t want that from you.”
“Wow, thanks for letting me know after all this time.” I shake my head in disbelief. “And besides, I just want to be civil for tomorrow.”
“Too fucking bad. I want you, and you’re at my place. So come inside and let me undo ... this.” He gestures to me and I shake my head.
“You’re unreasonable. Empty purchases and dinners aren’t gonna make up for what you did.”
“What? Hating you? Or finally putting my foot down about you and Nate?”
I take a step back. I know which one it is.
“I should’ve known.” He starts to pace. “I should have seen that you’d always choose him. Even after everything ...”
“After everything? Like leaving me alone for weeks at a time? Like trying to override who I am so I suit you?”
“I tried to make it work!”
“This isn’t how it works!” I snap.
“And you would know, huh? Because of Nate?”
“I would.”
“Fine then. Go find him. I bet he’ll love to hear you out after he walked away from you.”
I flinch at the words. I’m still struggling to understand why he walked away at all. “Nate and I are none of your business.”
“Oh, I made it my business. I’ve watched that lovesick puppy follow you around for years. And that? Him walking away? That’s a first.”
It is. I know it is. “Whatever.” I pull out my phone to call a ride, but it’s almost dead. I’d forgotten to charge it the night before because I was busy with Nate.
God, will I get that again? Last night alone feels like a different world.
In a rush, I put in my location and Nate’s address. I need to talk to him. Now.
“You know what I think?”
“I-I don’t care what you think. ”
“I have a feeling he thought you two were finally heading toward being something more. I have a feeling he got his hopes up. I mean, why wouldn’t he? You look like this , and you’re single. And then you get back to the airport and you give me a chance.” He laughs. “And you broke his heart.”
“The chance was to talk, which you ruined, by the way.”
“Yeah, and I bet you made that very clear, judging by the way he reacted.”
“I— no , he would know ...” I trail off, thinking about what I’ve said and done over the last few days. Us being physical was new. Did we ever talk about the future?
All I’d said was I’d take what he would give me.
Fuck , I never said the words.
“That’s right,” Rob said cruelly. “You messed it up.”
“Fuck off,” I snap.
“You know, I thought it was fun when I was dating you, but this is actually better. You burned your bridge with him. I should’ve let you vacation with him a long time ago.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“But I’m your asshole. When Nate continues to ignore you and you’re alone, come find me. I’ll tell you I was right, but maybe I’ll take a little pity on you.”
With one last laugh, he steps away and goes into his apartment complex. I’m left heaving, wondering if he’s right. I check my phone to see if my ride is close, and then go to call Nate.
It dies before I can.
“No,” I hiss. “Fuck.”
Running my hands through my hair, I pace. I need to get to Nate. I need to explain .
I’m considering hot-wiring Rob’s car when my ride finally arrives. The drive to Nate’s apartment is spent with me either begging the driver to ignore all the laws or trying to figure out what to tell him.