Page 29 of Until Now
After a moment, Lee finally said what the rest of us were thinking, “Teag, what the fuck?”
“Well, it’s true!” Teagan shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Sometimes, you need to just stay quiet.” Lee guided her from the kitchen towards the stairs leaving behind the still-steaming cup of coffee.
“But, I—”
“No, you don’t. We’re leaving.”
“Oh. My. God.” Eileen said once they had left.
“Well, now that we’re all awake. Who’s hungry?” Kai suggested, but neither Nick nor I seemed interested in the idea.
“Babe, didn’t your dad ask you to bring some logs in for Diana later? Why don’t you do that and we’ll figure out something to do for lunch,” Eileen ushered Kai towards the stairs. Once he was gone, she turned to us. “You guys not hungry?”
“I’m good,” Nick said and slipped his phone into his back pocket.
“Nin?” But, I just shook my head. “Well, if you change your mind, call me.”
I tried to make a quick exit with Eileen, but Nick stopped me. In the moments after we kissed, I ran inside and locked myself in the bathroom. I took my time showering and getting ready, making sure he wasn’t there when I finished. “We need to talk, Dee.”
“Can’t, gotta go.”
“Where are we going?”
“Not we,me. I’m going to town with my dad.”
“We need to talk about this when you get back.”
“Nick, nothing happened.”
“Nina, come on.”
“We’re not… We shouldn’t do this. Okay? Just, leave it alone.”
Nick held his ground for another moment, arms crossed firmly against his chest. He wanted to make me stay, to talk about it, but I’m not sure it would have helped. Finally, he stepped to the side.
Now, we are face-to-face again and all I can think about is finishing what we started earlier.
“What happened to you?” Nick asks following me into our room.
“Kai pushed me in the pool.” I wrung my hair into a towel and tossed my cardigan onto the laundry room floor. I can see the ghost of a smirk on his lips. “Where’d you go?”
“For a run.”
I pull out a clean pair of leggings and a tank top in desperate need to get out of these wet clothes. Without thinking, I pull my wet shirt over my head, but stop. Nick is still in the room. “Um,” I look back at him. “I just need to change, then the bathroom is all yours.” Nick half nods, his attention on the text he is sending. I change quickly and throw my wet clothes into the washer when he slams the bathroom door. Taking my book, I settle on the balcony under the blanket ready to take my mind off the events of the day.
But, before I get too deep, I see him in the doorway from my peripheral vision. “Are you coming to dinner?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Look, Nina…”
“Nick, it’s been a long day.” I can only hope my voice matches how exhausted I feel. “Can we please not do this, right now?”
He contemplates whether it’s worth the fight, but decides to let it go, for now. I’m grateful when he leaves to join the rest of the family upstairs, but I can’t help wonder what excuse he’ll come up with when they ask why I’m not there.
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