Chapter 51
Elijah ordered something with peanut butter and chocolate chips, and Nate ordered strawberry cheesecake.
When they walked out of the shop, it was almost fully dark, the sky overhead a deep shade of indigo. The sun had sunk below the horizon now, but there was a half-moon rising in its place, casting a silver glow over the sidewalk.
They walked a few blocks in silence, licking their cones as they went. And then they found themselves in a small park, the grass green and lush beneath their feet.
“Thanks for the ice cream,” Elijah said finally, breaking the silence between them.
Nate glanced at him in surprise, but then nodded. “Of course.”
“It really is good for the soul,” Elijah added with a small smile.
Nate smiled back at him. “It’s good for something,” he agreed.
He still didn’t know exactly what he meant by that-
But he knew Elijah understood him in a way that no one else ever had.
Elijah tossed the remains of his cone in the trash, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight.
“Let’s keep walking,” he said suddenly.
Nate studied him for a second-and then shrugged. Why not.
“Okay,” he agreed.
They walked for another block before Elijah finally spoke again, his gaze fixed on the buildings as they passed.
“There’s a lot more to me than you know,” he said suddenly. “A lot more to my art.”
Nate felt something twist in his gut at the words, and he didn’t reply.
He didn’t need to. Elijah seemed to know he was listening-
“A lot of people think I’m just some crazy artist with an attitude problem,” he continued. “They think I do everything for show, just to get attention.”
Nate had thought that too-but now he wasn’t sure.
Elijah glanced over at him. “Is that what you think?”
Nate shook his head, swallowing hard. “No,” he muttered. “I don’t.”
Elijah’s eyes locked onto his face, his mouth tilting upward into a small smile. “You’re probably one of the only people who doesn’t.”
Nate shrugged. He didn’t know why he didn’t believe it-
It was just a feeling he had.
“I know why you’re involved in all this,” Elijah said, his voice dropping lower. “Why you’re always so uptight, why you always say yes when you want to say no-”
“Why?” Nate demanded, his heart pounding in his chest. “How do you know why?”
Elijah shrugged. “Because it’s how I would feel.”
Nate felt another twist in his gut, a sense of understanding that he couldn’t ignore-
“Your parents,” Elijah said simply.
Nate swallowed. “What about them?”
“You don’t have to say it,” Elijah murmured. “I know. They’re the reason you never say no. The reason you always put everyone else first-”
Nate opened his mouth to argue, but he didn’t know how to defend himself. Because Elijah wasn’t wrong-
He was just the first person to ever point it out.
“What about your parents?” he muttered finally.
Elijah cocked his head, studying him. “What about my parents?” he repeated.
Nate shifted on his feet. “How can you read me so easily, and I can’t read you at all?”
Elijah smiled, his eyes glinting in the dark.
“Maybe you haven’t tried hard enough,” he said softly.
And then he reached out and brushed a strand of hair off Nate’s forehead, his fingers lingering against his skin.
Nate felt everything inside him go still-his breath caught in his throat, his entire body frozen in place.
Elijah didn’t move either, his fingers still resting against Nate’s forehead. And for a moment, they just stood there-
And then Elijah’s hand dropped away, his fingers curling into a fist. “Maybe,” he repeated softly. “Or maybe you’ve just been looking for the wrong thing.”
Nate swallowed hard, his heart still pounding in his ears. He didn’t even know what Elijah meant by that-
But somehow, it made sense.
Elijah turned on his heel and walked off down the sidewalk, leaving Nate standing there alone. And Nate watched him go for a moment-
He didn’t know what had just happened.
But he did know one thing-
He needed to try again tomorrow. He needed to keep fighting this ridiculous battle until he finally got the answers he needed-
The answers that would finally help him make sense of everything-
Of Elijah Reyes, and all the strange things he did to Nate’s soul. His heart, his gut-
Everything that had ever felt numb, everything that had ever felt dead-
It all came alive around Elijah. Came alive in ways that made no sense at all-
In ways that Nate could no longer ignore. No longer pretend he didn’t feel-
Because he did. He felt too much. And he had no idea what to do with all of it. With the fact that he wanted-
That he wanted Elijah’s lips on him, his hands, his body-
Nate shook himself, cursing softly under his breath. He couldn’t think about that right now. He needed to focus on the situation at hand-
Not on the ridiculous way he felt-
Because there were no answers there. None at all.
Nate sat in his office the next day, staring out the window. It was a bright, sunny day-but all he could see was the storm that had hit last night.
It had rolled in sometime after he’d dropped Elijah off, the clouds blackening the sky and the rain pouring down in sheets. It had been so heavy that he hadn’t even been able to see the road-
But now it was gone, and the sun was shining brightly through his window. It felt like it should be a peaceful day-
But Nate was too restless. He’d been like that all morning, unable to focus on anything at all. All he could think about were the paintings, and their conversation last night-
And what Elijah had said about his parents.
He was right. Nate didn’t even deny it.
But he wished he did. He wished it wasn’t true-
Because it meant he was still living by his parents’ rules. That he was letting them dictate his life-
That he was allowing them to decide when he said no-
Nate cursed softly to himself. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t-
But he knew it was true. And he knew there was only one way to change it-
And he needed to do that. He needed to stop letting his parents control him. He needed to start making his own choices-
He needed to start saying no when he wanted to say no-
Nate glanced up as the door opened, a knock preceding it.
“Hey,” his secretary said brightly. “Do you have a minute?”
Nate shrugged, glancing back out the window. “Maybe.”
She snorted, walking into the room anyway. “Well, I have news.” She grinned. “Remember that girl we talked to yesterday? The one who got arrested at the protest?”
Nate nodded absently, not really listening. But then her words finally registered.
“What about her?” he demanded.
The secretary smiled again. “I just talked to her on the phone. She said they offered her a plea bargain-she’d serve three years instead of fifteen.”
Nate’s heart dropped in his chest. Three years instead of fifteen-
That didn’t sound like a better deal at all.
“I told her she should call you,” his secretary added.
And then she turned on her heel and left.
Nate sat there for a moment longer, his heart pounding against his chest.
Three years instead of fifteen-
He couldn’t let that happen. He just couldn’t-
He picked up his phone and dialed the number quickly, his heart in his throat.
But there was no answer.
Nate cursed loudly, slamming the phone down. He couldn’t let her plead guilty to a crime she didn’t commit. He had to call the DA-
Nate dialed another number, but just got a voicemail.
And then his phone started ringing.
“Hello?” he muttered.
“Hello,” a deep voice replied. “Nate?”
Nate stiffened. Elijah. Why was he calling-
“I’m still at the gallery,” the other man said without waiting for Nate’s response. “Are you coming back?”
Nate paused for a moment, and then shook his head.
“No,” he muttered. “But I think I know a way to help your friend.”
Elijah paused for a second. “What kind of way?”
“I can’t explain it over the phone,” Nate said finally. “I need to see you in person.”
“Fine,” Elijah muttered after a moment. “I’ll meet you there in an hour.”