Page 97 of Until Now
Chapter Fifty-Four
I pull abottle of water from the fridge and turn on the TV. I have less than thirteen hours before I need to leave again. I could go for a run — I wasn’t able to get one in earlier because of how hectic today has been. And after this afternoon, I could use it. I could just work out here, then I don’t have to leave the house again… But, some fresh air sounds amazing. I’ll just go to the trail not too far away — the one on the other side of the lake.
In case you haven’t figured out by now, I didn’t make the flight to Denver. I got the call from Daddy about fifteen minutes from the airport that they were leaving, Andrew would be back in the morning to pick me up.Don’t be late this time.His tone joking, but I know he was serious. We have a lunch meeting I cannot afford to miss.
I change into a pair of teal-colored leggings and a black sweater pulling my hair into a high bun. Pouring the rest of my water into a bottle I can carry on the trail, I listen as two news anchors go back and forth about something that happened in Congress today. Same shit, different day. The sun is going to be setting soon which means I need to get moving unless I want to be running in the dark. Switching the TV off, I head for the door and—
Shit.
Running back to the kitchen, I grab my phone off the counter. Okay, now I’m ready.
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Hot puffs of air form a cloud around me as I crest the hill. Wiping the sweat from my face, my pace slows seeing someone up ahead on the trail. Why is someone just now getting started? The sun has practically set below the horizon, there’s no way they can hike this trail in the dark. Hearing me, they freeze and I’ve come face to face with the last person I expect to see here. “Nick?”
As if my voice unglues his feet, he races towards me pulling me into a soul-crushing hug. His chest heaves with a sigh of relief. “Nina, thank God.”
“Nick, what’s going on?” I ask when he refuses to let go. “Is it your dad? Did something happen?”
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I went for a run.”
“Where’s your phone?”
“It died.” I dig my phone out of my leggings pocket, hands trembling as my adrenaline continues to course through my body even though I’m not running anymore. Something is wrong, I can see it on his face.
“You didn’t go to Denver?”
“I missed the flight.” Deep in my heart, I think I know what he is about to tell me, but I don’t want to believe it. Hot tears burn my eyes, but I refuse them. Not when I don’t even know for sure what’s happening. My throat thickens, “Nick, what’s going on?”
His face contorts into a pained expression, eyes glassy as he stares at me. I’ve never seen him like this before and it scares the shit out of me. He takes a deep breath and I see a single tear roll down his cheek. “Dee, there was an accident.” I shake my head. “The plane…” His words falter and another tear falls. “The plane… They don’t know what happened, but the plane…it went down.”
I shake my head, unable to accept the words. That cannot be true. “Nick, no. You’re wrong. This has to be a mistake.”
“Your dad… Your dad’s gone, Dee.”
I furiously wipe the single tear that falls down my cheek. “No. Nick, no. I just talked to him. He’s fine. I’m flying to Denver tomorrow.”
Nick shakes his head, but I can’t believe it because that means… That means my dad is gone. He can’t be gone — I just talked to him. His lip trembles when I meet his stare again and a sob racks my chest. “I’m sorry, Dee.” Nick catches me before I hit the ground and I cling to him. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He holds me for dear life, trying to hold me together as my world falls apart.
Chapter Fifty-Five
“Nina!” Nick reachesfor me across the center console of my Jeep, but I’ve already slammed the passenger door. I don’t want to hear whatever excuse he is about to give. There is no excuse. Looking over my shoulder, I glare at his Mustang as it pulls further up my driveway, more specifically at the two people inside the Mustang. “Nina, it’s nothing,” Nick says standing in front of me. He bends down so he is eye level with me and forces me to look at him.
“You brought her to tell me that my dad just died, Nick! How is that nothing?”
“Because!”
“That’s not a reason!”
“I needed someone to be there if I found you. I just spent hours looking for you. Why do you think I did that? It wasn’t for shits and giggles, Davina.”
“Fuck you, Nick.” He refuses to let me walk away. “Let go of me.” And, he does because he isn’t going to force me to stay. “Get the fuck off my property.”
“Nina—”
“Go.” It’s harsh, probably too harsh, but I don’t wantherhere. And if Nick is here, that means she is here. “I don’t want you here.” He takes a shaky breath trying to contain his composure, but it’s slipping.