“Apparently, so,” I tell him. “I mean, if that’s ok with you.”
“Of course, it is,” he tells me before wrestling the serving spoon out of Jesse’s hand. “How have you been?”
“Good. And yourself?” I say, trying to hold back the vomit that threatens to rise in my throat from the amount of food before me.
“I’m starving,” he says with a grin as he scoops his fork off the table and digs in deep.
I look up and scowl at the grin Nate gives me as he proudly dishes up his own dinner. He puts about half on his plate as what he gave me, making me want to launch myself across the table and strangle the dickhead. He picks up his own fork and smirks up at me. “Dig in, Tori,” he says with laughter in his eyes.
I tear my eyes away from him and look down at the plate. Just seeing all that food makes me feel sick. I’ll never get through all of that and I worry that I’ll offend Trish if I don’t eat.
Reluctantly, I pick up my fork and take the first bite. I mean, it’s good. It’s probably the yummiest thing I’ve eaten all month, but I just can’t. I swallow it down and can’t help but wonder how much that one bite is going to add to my hips and stomach.
I dig my fork in again and slowly raise it to my mouth.
It’s just me and the fork that exists at this moment. Not the awkward conversation around me. Not the sound of forks scratching against expensive china. Not the sound of Jesse belching. Just me and the fork.
I can do it.
It’s just food. It will be fine. I’ll swallow it, and then I’ll go for a run in the morning. Simple fix.
I pop the bite into my mouth and my gag reflexes instantly say hello. I stop chewing and cringe while I hold the first bite down.
I can do this. I’m going to make this plate my bitch. I’m going to annihilate it, and I’m going to be proud of it.
Swallow.
Another bite.
Chew.
After the fifth bite, I’ve eaten more in one sitting that I have over the past month and I find myself pushing the food around my plate, staring at it as though I’ve let myself down, though all I can think about is how I want to throw it all up.
“Is something wrong?” I hear Trish ask. I snap my eyes up to meet hers to find every single eye in the room on me. “Do you not like it? I can make you something else.”
“Oh, um-”
“No,” Nate cuts me off as his heavy glare returns to me. “It’s fine. She’ll eat it.”
“Nate,” his mother scolds in horror at the way he’s just spoken to me… if only she knew. She goes to reprimand him but I stop her.
“No,” I say, ripping my eyes away from Nate. “It’s fine. I really like it. I’m just not very hungry.”
Her eyebrows furrow as she looks between me and Nate, trying to figure out whatever secret is clearly hidden between us. “Oh… are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I smile before looking back down at my plate and lifting another forkful to my mouth. “I’m sure.”
I chew the food and the second I swallow it, my stomach churns.
Oh no. I try to take slow deep breaths to hold it down, but the more I do that, the more I smell the food before me.
Shit. It’s coming.
I scramble out of my seat and bolt for the stairs as my hand slaps over my mouth, trying to hold it down before I get to my bathroom.
I race up the stairs, taking two at a time before pushing through the door of my room and slamming into the bathroom door. I only just make it to the toilet before my dinner comes flying up.
I hurl my guts up over the toilet and fall to my knees.
This is not a good start.
After a few minutes, I rest my head against the cool porcelain of the toilet seat, feeling utterly dejected. I know I have a problem, but I’m not ready to admit it.
I’ve been through this once before and got myself healthy, though it was through my mom’s constant nagging and a shit load of therapy. It was months that she would barely leave my side, constantly watching me and forcing me to hold food down. That was at fourteen and now at seventeen, the cycle is beginning again.
A throat clears from the doorway and my head snaps up to see Nate standing before me. He leans against the door frame with a less than impressed frown on his face and his arms crossed over his wide chest.
I wonder how long he’s been standing there but from the disgusted look in his eye, I’d say he’s been here a while.
He shakes his head at me as though I’m the most disappointing creature on earth before turning his back and walking away.
Tears fill my eyes. No one has ever seen me this low. Even last time this happened, I never allowed mom to see it. Not even Brooke knows about it, but having Nate, the one person who has made sure to make my life a living hell, witness the lowest moment in my life, makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
I clean myself up and take myself back into the bedroom where I sit on the end of the bed, staring into oblivion. It’s then I notice my leftover dinner sitting on the bedside table and realize he must have brought it up for me. Though, whether he was planning on shoving it down my throat or thought I might get hungry later, I don’t know. Either way, I know deep down, there was a caring thought in there somewhere. Maybe the old Nate isn’t completely lost.
I let out a sigh when I hear a knock in my open doorway. I turn around to see Trish sticking her head in with a bottle of water and painkillers. “Can I come in?” she questions.
“Of course, you can,” I tell her. “This is your home.”
“Yes, but this is your space,” she tells me before placing the water and painkillers down on the bedside table next to the forgotten dinner. “How are you feeling?” she asks as she takes a seat beside me and presses her hand to my forehead the same way my mother does.
“Better, thank you,” I tell her with a grateful smile.
“I’m so sorry, sweet girl,” she says, wrapping her arm around me and pulling me in. “Had I known you weren’t feeling well, I wouldn’t have called you down for dinner.”
“It’s fine,” I tell her. “It’s probably just food poisoning,” I say, hating the lie as it leaves my lips. “I’ll be ok.”
“Are you sure? I brought you some painkillers and some water to wash them down. Do you need anything else?”
“No, thank you,” I tell her. “I might just lay down for a while with my Kindle.”
“Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten how much you love to read,” she says with a fond smile. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“Thanks,” I say again, feeling like the biggest piece of shit on the face of the planet.
Trish walks out the door before pausing in the doorway. She looks back at me and then across to the plate of food. “Do you want me to take that away?”
I give her yet another grateful smile and nod. “Yes, please,” I say.
She gives me a sympathetic smile before leaning over and grabbing the plate. Within the blink of an eye, she walks out the door and pulls it closed behind her, leaving me to my peace and quiet.
I fall back onto my bed and grab my Kindle. I open it up to find a new release by one of my favorite authors and can’t help but dive straight in.
I get myself comfortable amongst the hundreds of pillows on the bed and get lost in the world of my book.
I must get halfway through when I realize I’ve been reading non-stop all night. I reach across for a drink of water only to find the bottle completely empty and the clock staring back at me telling me it’s past midnight.
The need to read just one more chapter flies through me but with school tomorrow, I’m going to have to call it quits for the night.
Still needing a drink, I slide my Kindle onto the bedside table and slip out the door. I step out into the hallway to see a bright light coming from Nate’s room and find my eyes raising into his room.
It’s exactly as I remember it, only the Batman bed sheet
s have been upgraded for plain black ones. I tear my eyes away and head down the stairs.
I search through the dark kitchen until I find a cup before filling it up with ice cubes and water. I bring the chilly water to my lips and close my eyes as the water travels down my throat and soothes the soreness from my earlier meeting with the toilet bowl.
A noise draws my attention and I furrow my eyebrows. It almost sounds as though someone is down here with me. Though, that couldn’t be right. All the lights are off down here… but then, Nate’s door was open with the lights on, and I know I was only peeking for a moment, but I was sure he wasn’t in there.
With my glass of water in hand, I go exploring. Both the kitchen and dining room are empty so I go searching through the formal dining and living rooms. They’re also empty. So, assuming the hallway closets and bathrooms are clear, I head for the den where the boys have basically transformed the informal living area into the ultimate man cave and I have to admit, the room is awesome.
I walk around the corner and notice the lights in the room are dimmed right down, then come to a screeching halt as I find Nate, shirtless on the couch with a girl naked as the day she was born grinding down on his lap. It’s not hard to tell that from her long dark hair, this girl is definitely not Ashley.
His hands squeeze into her waist as she thrusts her tits into his face. He takes advantage of the situation and sucks her nipple into his mouth. I gasp at the sight and find myself staring. I should be scrambling away like an idiot, but instead, I’m glued to the floor, watching the show before me.
Nate turns his head and locks his eyes on me before smirking and turning back to the girl. He gets on with what he was doing and my mouth pops open. I mean, the girl clearly has no idea that I’m here, but apparently, Nate is more than happy to have me watch the show. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked me to join, and honestly, from the absolute pleasure the girl looks to be in, I might even consider it.
The girl throws her head back and moans as Nate works his tongue over her nipple and I snap back to reality. I tear my eyes away and turn my back before scurrying away like I should have done in the first place.
I hear his soft chuckle behind me and I do my best to tune it out before I dash up the stairs for the second time tonight, again with a need to throw up.
I close my door behind me and make sure to lock it before I put the glass of water down and dive under the covers, desperate to get that image of Nate out of my head.
He’s the guy I’m supposed to hate, instead, watching him like that… well, it was hot and I find myself desperate for a taste.
Shit.
Nate is an asshole. Nate is an asshole. Nate is an asshole.
But the way he worked his tongue over her nipple. Far out. That girl was in ecstasy. I can only imagine how good he’d be at everything else. I mean, the guy certainly has a reputation.
I pull the blanket right up over my head and completely cover myself in darkness before grabbing my Kindle and trying to lose myself in the book, only my mind keeps taking me back to him and ruining the story for me. Which sucks as I’ve been waiting for the release of this book forever and now it’s being ruined by Nate.
Damn it.
I shut off my Kindle and clench my eyes closed, begging the images to leave my mind so I start thinking about anything and everything else.
I think about kittens. I think about my classes. I think about Josh’s sloppy kisses. And then I think about that scene in ‘Paranormal Activity’ where the blanket is lifted. And then I shudder.
Just great. All I’ve managed to do is freak myself out in a home that is not mine. I need to turn the light on, but now all I can think about is something grabbing my feet when I dash across the room. So, I reach over and turn the side lamp on as there’s no way in hell I’ll be sleeping in the dark tonight.
Maybe I’m better off thinking about Nate’s body all over me than the images that haunt me from ‘Paranormal Activity’.
Just as I start to tune everything out and my mind finally begins to ease, I hear him on the stairs, only he’s not alone. The girl giggles and a moment later, his door is closed followed by the sounds of her loud moans.
I lay in bed, wide awake, listening to the whole thing. The beginning, the long, drawn out repetition of the middle, and then finally, the explosive end.
It’s damn lucky his parents sleep way over the other side of this big house as I can’t image Trish and Cade being particularly thrilled about finding a random girl in his room in the middle of the night. But at least this gives me something for when he threatens to tell my secret as I now have something on him. Something that could destroy his relationship with Ashley and something that would finally open his mother’s eyes to the fact that her baby is not the good little boy he makes himself out to be.
Chapter 6
My phone ringing in the dead of the night has me bolting upright in bed to realize it's not actually the dead of night, but first thing in the morning. Jesus. How is it morning already? After the night I had, I’d do just about anything to sleep for another century, maybe that might help to take the images of Nate out of my head.
I glance around to remember that I'm not in the safety of my own home but being held hostage as Nate's personal punching bag. My phone continues yelling at me and I reach across and rip it off its charger
I smile down at the caller ID and hit accept. "Hey, mom," I say on a yawn. "How're things going over there?"
"Hi, baby. We’re good. It’s been a hard few days so far, but we’re holding up," she says in a tone that tells me she’s worried. "Listen, I know it’s early at home, but it’s getting pretty late here and I’m exhausted. So, I wanted to catch you before school,” she explains before letting out a breath. “I got a call from Trish earlier saying you're at her place. Is everything ok, honey? She mentioned you were sick at dinner."
Shit.
"Yeah, mom. Everything is fine," I lie. "It was just a little lonely at home by myself and Trish cooks better than I can. She said it was ok that I stay."
"Oh, yes," she says. "I'm not worried about that. I'm more concerned about you being sick at dinner. You're not throwing up again, are you? I thought we were past that."
I cringe, hating to lie to my mother. "I'm ok," I tell her. "Really. I think it was something I ate yesterday at lunch. Maybe food poisoning. But I feel good now, it must be gone."
She’s silent for a short while as she considers my explanation. "You're sure?" she questions.
"Yeah, mom. Promise. I'm fine now. I'm feeling much better this morning."
She lets out a relieved sigh. "Ok. I was worried there. I don't think I could handle you being sick again, not with everything that's going on with your Nanna."
"How is she?" I question, happy to change the topic and have the spotlight off me.
"It's not looking good, sweetie," she says in a pained voice. “I think this might be the end of the road for Nanna, but she’s putting up a tough fight. You should prepare yourself.”
“Really?” I question with a heavy heart as my eyes grow watery. “Do you think I could maybe video chat with her? Or maybe I could make her a video for you to play for her.”
“I think that would be lovely,” mom says with a heavy sadness. “She’d love to see you. She’s been asking for you.”
“Really?” I ask again.
“Yeah, sweetie,” she chuckles. “I’ve already shown her all the pictures on my phone twice.”
“Oh, geez,” I laugh. “I have a free period today. I’ll make her a video and send you some more things to show her.”
“That would be wonderful, darling,” mom says. “I better go, it’s getting late and we have an early start tomorrow with the doctor appointments.”
“Alright, mom. I love you. Let Nanna know I love her too.”
“I love you too, Tori. Be a good girl for Trish,” she reminds me before ending the call.
I put the phone back down on my bedside table and cl
ose my eyes. It’s only seven in the morning so I can still sleep a few hours before having to get up and get ready for school, but then, I’m so out of my comfort zone being here that finding sleep again is going to be impossible.
Instead, I get myself up out of bed and lay down on the floor. I go through my morning ritual of performing all my sit ups and push ups before adding a few squats and finishing on a good stretch.
I head into my personal bathroom and get myself showered and ready for the day before heading downstairs and grabbing a banana out of the fruit bowl. I pass Jesse in the kitchen who has made himself at least eight pieces of toast, a bowl of porridge, and a fruit salad.
Jesse sits on the kitchen counter in nothing but a pair of sweat pants, annihilating his breakfast when he sees me walking past. He grins and winks, a trait I’m sure he’s picked up from his brother. “How’d you sleep, princess?” he asks as his eyes roam up and down my body like a predator. “Were you lonely in that big bed by yourself?”
I roll my eyes and scoff as I continue walking. I don’t know what happened to these boys. They used to be so sweet and now they’re… well, them.
With still another hour left before I need to leave, I try picking back up on the book I was reading last night and just as I had hoped, I get pulled right in.
When I glance at the clock, I realize I’m late.
“Shit,” I grunt as I throw my Kindle in my bag and dash out of my room. I hurry downstairs and search out the boys, only I can’t find them anywhere. Crap. I bet they’ve left without me. That prick. He knows I don’t have a car here. I should have expected this.
I make my way back upstairs, grumbling under my breath about dickheads when I see Nate’s room is still closed without a sound coming from within. I march right up to his door and bang my fist into it over and over again until he responds. “What the fuck do you want?” he groans from inside.
“Are you seriously still sleeping?” I demand through the door. “School starts in ten minutes. You need to get your lazy ass up and drive me. I can’t be late today,” I tell him. “I have a test first period.”
Broken Hill High: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 1) Page 5