Tory’s POV
When I woke up this morning, I was horrified when I didn’t find Nate anywhere around the house, Trudy kept sulking and it was clear that she was starting to like Nate as she likes me!
After searching the whole house, I asked Mom where Nate was and she said Nate had already gone through with the detective’s plan. I couldn’t help but feel…. cheated.” What if I’ll never get a chance to say goodbye to him if their plan fails?” I kept asking myself.
The fact that Nate and I have started to get to know each other better is something that I’m not willing to let go of so easily. I don’t want him to lose out on ever being happy and that’s exactly what will happen if the police fail.
I was dying of anxiety the entire time in school as I wondered if Nate was okay. I couldn’t take my mind off the whole matter with Big D, I was so scared because Nate was willing to risk his future to go be with Big D if it meant that our lives would be spared.
” Tory” our biology teacher called making me aware of where I was – SCHOOL Ugh! I felt really bad so I just got up, walked out of the class, and headed straight for the restroom, and threw up.
” Tory?” Rachel said as she stood outside my stall, I came out after flushing it and she stared at me with concern written all over her face.
” What’s wrong?”
” I think I’m losing my mind.”
” Are you still scared about Nate?” She asked in a whisper. I couldn’t lie to her about the whole thing so she knew why I was in such a shitty mood.
” What if he somehow…. dies?”
” Tory, he won’t okay? Be positive” she said with a small smile.
” What are you smiling for?” I asked slightly annoyed as I washed my face in the sink.
” You’re kinda into Nate Tory,” she said with a giggle and I stared at her in shock.
” I’m so not!”
” Then why are you having a total heart attack right now?” She said with a smirk and I blushed hard before I escaped and went back to the class.
” Miss Williams, you shouldn’t have left -”
” I’m sorry Mr. Ryan but I’m not feeling too well”
” Alright, do you wanna go home?”
” No, I’m okay now,” I said as Rachel wiped my face clean with her handkerchief and I sighed and said ” thanks”.
Isabella glared at me for some unknown reason during lunch and I ignored her but being a drama queen, she came to me after lunch as I sat down in Math class.
” Where’s Nate huh?” She said, as she unwrapped her favorite lollipop and licked it.
” I don’t know, why are you asking me?”
” Is he going off to someplace at the end of the Earth ?” Penny asked me with a faint smile.
Isabella cocked a brow at her, while I wondered why Penny was smiling at me. After what I did to her, she’s been avoiding me every chance she gets, and when she couldn’t avoid me she’d pout all through the day.
” First of all, mind your fucking business Penny, Nate is MY BOYFRIEND, not yours!” Isabella threatened while Penny scoffed.
” Everybody knows that Nate never lasts more than a few weeks in a committed relationship with any girl so… Stop deceiving yourself”
” She’s fucking accurate about that,” I said with a smirk that matched Penny’s and Janelle burst out laughing, making me aware of her presence behind me.
” What, are you two friends now?” Isabella asked as Jenna her friend sat beside her.
Penny and I looked at each other and then I said ” pending” and looked at Penny in surprise because she said the same thing, then she laughed.
” Look, I’m really sorry about what I said you know… Was stupid” she said.
” You serious? Cos we all know Penny Wright is always Right! She never apologizes to anyone” Janelle said from behind me and Penny shrugged.
” I met someone better than me at being a bitch, I need to apologize. Plus, I’m tired of avoiding you and all that fake – glaring shit”
” You were fake – glaring?” I asked and when Penny smiled sheepishly, Janelle and I started laughing. I couldn’t laugh for long though because I thought of Nate again, Janelle still kept cracking up.
” Hey! I was thinking that would get me an apology” she said, whining a little. When I saw the priceless look on Isabella’s face, Penny and Janelle seemed to see it too so they started laughing – Janelle taking several photos.
” You’re gonna be a memorable meme!” She said in between hysterics of laughter as she tried to rearrange her now – gold-colored braids.
” You delete that right now!” Isabella growled and her stupid friend Jena got up and tried to grab the phone from Janelle. I set my foot in her path and she fell just as other students started coming in.
They didn’t dare laugh because she was Isabella’s friend, which meant that they’d be offending Nate’s girlfriend’s friend. Damn, the way people feared anything connected to Nate still never gets old. Even though he has fewer friends now – he has no one, yet no one dares to cross him. No one except those unidentified boys who beat him in the locker room.
” How dare you!” Jena said as she got up and glared at me.
” You better sit your ass down or I’ll do worse,” I said in a very irritated tone and she seemed flustered for a while before she masked it with a glare and sat down with Isabella.
” Ignore her Jenny, you’ll get to deal with her when Rex dumps her sorry ass,” Isabella said to Jena, and then I remembered that Rex at school. He texted me a few hours ago, that he was ill, I might have to go see him later today.
I ignored Isabella’s comment and feigned concentration as the Math teacher walked in.
” Good afternoon class!”
” Good afternoon Mrs. Knowles” some chorused back.
” Where were we last time?” She asked and Troas went on to give her the much-needed details. His thumb was starting to get better Nate didn’t do too much damage as I thought.
” Where’s he really? He’s not been taking my calls since his step dad’s death.” Isabella whispered to me and I rolled my eyes and replied as nonchalantly as possible ” Why the hell are you asking me, Isabella, I’m not his friend”
” Because, I noticed you two staring at each other the other day Tory, stay away from my boyfriend Tory!” She said as she glared at me and got up to sit at the back where she belongs.
All I wanted was to know how Nate was so when the bell rang for the close of school after class, I got up and headed straight for our car only to find Toni and Tia waiting for me with a frown on their faces.
” Did you have to sit for ALL the classes?” Toni asked and I rolled my eyes as we entered the car and Mr. Joe drove us back home.
Mom said if everything went fine that Nate would be home before we closed for school.
” I’m so freaking nervous!” I said as he drove.
” Yeah no shit, I feel like he’s my little brother in trouble”
” I should be the one saying that Toni since you’ve slept with him”
Tia said with an eye roll.
” Yeah, that just sounds weird now that you mentioned it,” Toni said cringing a little.
I didn’t join them in their banter, I just waited silently till we got home.
When we got home, we raced inside the house and my heart started beating when I saw my mom and detective Mason, and Bill sitting there with a grim look on their face.
” Mom, Where’s Nate?” Tia asked beating me to it.
” I’m so sorry girls but..” detective Mason started to say then he bowed his head briefly before he looked at the dining room, our heads immediately snapped towards that direction and my heart calmed as we saw Nate smiling faintly as he ate his favorite thing ever – CHICKEN.
He had his headphones on so he didn’t hear us or see us, he was so consumed in his eating. He looked so cute as he ate, I almost didn’t want to disturb his “sacred time with his baby” as he calls it but I couldn’t resist.
I ran towards him and he immediately looked up at me his eyes bearing fear at first probably because he didn’t expect anyone to be running towards him.
” Rya?” He said as he took off his headphone, grinning as he got up and clapped his hands, egging me on as a dad would to his overexcited kid, making everyone laugh.
I jumped on him and he carried me, subtly placing my legs around his waist as I pulled him to a tight embrace.
” Awww” I could hear my sisters say, but I didn’t care. I was just so happy to see that Nate was okay. His hair was a little damp from the afternoon shower I presumed he just had but I didn’t fucking care as my cheeks brushed his damp her.
It didn’t matter.