Hard to Hold On (16 page)

Reaching my arm out, I grab my phone and check the time. It’s eight in the morning and I know I should be getting ready to go
and meet Brittany at Starbucks at ten but I don’t want to leave Nolan’s side. She called last night and said she wanted to talk to me about Tyler. I found it odd but I told her I would meet up with her anyway. I wasn’t sure what she had to say about him but I was definitely going to find out.

I don’t know what Nolan will say once he
’s awake. I don’t know how he will react once he notices that he’s in my bedroom and not drunk out of his mind anymore. He told me last night he was sorry and he loved me but what was he so sorry about? When I asked him if he’d cheated on me, I really wanted an answer but I knew I wasn’t going to get one because he was fighting his sleep.

Sighing, I pull away from him slowly and climb out of bed. I get the cleaner from beneath the sink and clean off the
toilet and the floors and then start the shower. The water feels nice and for some reason I’m satisfied with having Nolan near me. I’m glad he’s in my bed—glad I can step out and look at his face once again.

After I’m ou
t of the shower, I hurry out the bathroom and go for some clothes. My phone buzzes, interrupting my scramble through my drawer and I go for it, assuming it’s Brittany.

Of course I’m wrong.

Tyler: I guess we have something to talk about tonight. Didn’t get my call from you.

I s
igh, reading over his text again before calling Brittany. She answers in a chipper tone, the background extremely loud.

“Hi, Brittany.
We should meet earlier,” I tell her.

“Oh yes, please,” she says loudly. “I’m at Jordan’s garage and he’s practicing with a few band members. They’re giving me a migraine!
I’ll be there in twenty!”

“Okay. I’ll see you in twenty.”

I hang up, hurrying to put some clothes on. After I’m dressed, I look over my shoulder at Nolan who has turned on his side but is still snoring. Hopefully he’s still here when I get back. I don’t want him to leave. It’s time to talk and settle our differences.

****

I nibble at my bottom lip, waiting for Brittany to arrive.

I
t isn’t until ten minutes after our planned time when I finally spot her walking between the tables to get to me with a wide smile on her lips. I force one back as she removes her purse from her shoulder and places it in her lap.

“Hey girly,” she breathes.
“Sorry I’m late. Got caught up with my mom and she wants to go out to eat in a bit so I’m now on a slight time crunch.”

“Hey—yeah, i
t’s fine.”

“So, w
hat’d you get?” she asks, looking at my cup.

“Oh, an iced latte
with extra caramel. It’s pretty good. Would you like one?”

“No thank you
,” she says, shaking her head and folding her fingers on top of the table. Her green eyes scan the area quickly before meeting mine again, her chipper mood immediately evaporating. “Okay,” she sighs, her voice shaky. “I just want you to know Tyler Stokes used to be my ex-boyfriend,” she starts. “He’s the one who broke my heart . . . in more ways than one.”

“How?
What did he do?” I ask nervously, slightly taken off guard.

“What
didn’t
he do?” she retorts sarcastically. “Tyler was sweet at first. I really liked him. I was told by one of my friends that he hadn’t dated a girl since tenth grade but then I saw him with another girl at the park. Everyone used to tell me how he enjoyed being single and if he ever asked a girl out, they were lucky because it was rare. I’m going to be honest here. That’s bullshit.”

I swallow as she
stares right through me. “So, you guys dated and then he cheated on you? Then what?”

“Not only did h
e cheat on me, but he had a house party one night last year. The house party happened right before he started ignoring me. He asked me to join him and I did but that night I felt kind of strange. I was head over heels for Tyler but this party happened before I found out he’d cheated on me. I began to get woozy, lightheaded. I don’t remember much but I do remember Tyler taking me upstairs and after that, everything went blank. The next morning I woke up sore everywhere and even had a broken pinky.” She lifts her pinky up and I gasp, noticing that it’s slightly crooked.

“What?” I
hiss, lowering my head. “You think Tyler did that to you?”

“
I don’t know,” she sighs. “I called him the next day, he didn’t answer. I called that whole next week, still no answer. It wasn’t until two weeks after when he finally called me and said he went out of town for a family trip and that he didn’t have his phone with him. I used to fall for the dumb lies. I believed everything he told me. I was so gullible that I’m embarrassed by it.

“But t
hen I met Jordan. Jordan treats me like a queen—way better than Tyler ever treated me. I began to drift from Tyler and he noticed. He showed up at my doorstep one day and begged for me to take him back. I kept asking him what happened to me at the party but he wouldn’t say much other than, “I don’t know. You probably partied too hard, Britt.” Something made me think he may have had something to do with what happened to me so after that night I left him alone for good. It was hard tearing myself away from him because I liked him a lot. He was the first guy I’d met when I first moved here. I never wanted to figure it out because I was afraid of the truth—shit, I still am. I didn’t want Tyler to be some kind of bad guy.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper, staring
at her in complete disbelief. She presses her lips but my gaze finally drops down to my latte. “Why didn’t you ever get a real answer from him, Brittany?”

She shrugs. “
I kind of gave up on it. I tried to stop caring about it but every time I see him, I always relive what we went through and it hurts to think about. I don’t like hurting.”

“Well I can’t let him come to my house after hearing this from you.”

“I’m just saying,” she whispers
. “Tyler—I just don’t want you to get hurt by someone like him. He’s a sweet guy but he’s not completely trust worthy. I’m not sure if something happened between you and Nolan but I hope it works out because you deserve better than Tyler. I’m sorry I couldn’t have warned you sooner and I hate that I will never know what happened to me while he was around. I guess it’s something I have to let go of. You’re the first person I’ve told this to.”

Her head lowers shamefully but I shake my
head, gripping her hand that’s on the table. “It’s okay, Brittany. Don’t blame yourself for the way he is.”

She nods and checks
her watch quickly, grabs her purse, and then stands. “Well I have to get going. Jordan and I are going out for brunch with my parents . . . but I’m serious, Natalie. Be careful. Call me tonight and let me know how it goes.”

“I will,” I sigh as she pushes her chair
beneath the table.

With a quick nod, she spins around and rushes out of the
coffee shop. I sigh heavily, leaning against my seat and staring out of the window. The pedestrians pass by and with each step they take, the speed of my heart picks up. I’m so nervous. I really want to just move back to South Carolina with my parents if it means I will be safe. This isn’t worth it. I should have known Tyler wasn’t the complete sweetheart I thought he was. I should have ignored him like I had the first few times I had run into him.

“Are y
ou Natalie?” an airy voice asks from beside me, interrupting my thoughts.

My head whips and I look up, taking in the blonde with the perky breasts, clear green eyes, and the plump lips. Her purple dress is tight and revealing
a little too much skin and on her feet are the highest black heels I’ve ever seen in my life. Grabbing the chair, she sits down across from me but I scowl at her as she primps herself, fluffs her hair, and then folds her fingers in her lap all while looking at me. “By your silence, I assume I’m correct,” she says with too much confidence.

My eyebrows knit.
“Um . . . I’m sorry. Who the hell are you?”

Smiling, she tilts her head
, her eyes narrowing at me. “I’m Sharon, Nolan’s ex. I thought it’d be nice to introduce myself to the girl he obviously can’t get enough of.” She looks me over and I grimace as she studies my faded jeans and blue V-neck T-shirt. “I honestly don’t see what he’s so wound up about.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nolan

I wake up to the feeling of a million needles pricking at my brain. It’s painful and the sunlight from the curtains doesn’t make it any better. I stare at the white curtains for a brief moment, noticing they aren’t mine. This room isn’t mine. I sit up quickly and look around, taking in the familiar room and then the personal scent of Natalie with a mix of rich, warm vanilla.

How the hell did I get here? I push on
my hands to get out of the bed, staggering a bit. My mouth is dry, my head feels like it weighs a million pounds, and my legs are weak. Nothing seems to be functioning correctly.
What the fuck happened?

“
It’s about time you woke your drunk ass up,” Dawson says. I look up quickly at him and he’s staring at me, his head cocked as he leans against Natalie’s door frame with a sandwich in his hand.

“What happened?” I
wince as I take a step forward, hating the sun.

“Well you came here like the idiot you are and threw up everywhere from your bad case of alcohol poisoning. Natalie stayed up all night with you while you spilled your guts in her toilet and all over her bathroom floor.”

I blink slowly, staring back at him. “Shit, is she still here?”

“Nah. I heard her tell Harp
she was going to meet that Brittany chick. Man, we seriously need to talk. You don’t drink like that unless something’s bothering you.”

Groaning, I step
past him to get to the kitchen. “Where is Harper?” I ask, aiming to avoid the conversation.

“School.”

I pull down a glass from the cabinet and drown it with water. I gulp it down, not bothering to stop. I turn slowly just as Dawson finishes his sandwich but his eyes don’t drift from me. “Tell me, damn it,” he says with a mouthful of food.

“We broke up,” I mutter
. “Does that help?”

“Why? What did you do?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why do you assume it’s my fault?”

“Hmm . . . maybe because you’re the one that always seems to fuck up with the ladies. She wouldn’t leave you. She doesn’t have it in her.”

“Whatever.” I fill my cup to the rim again.

“So, what exactly h
appened? Harper told me Natalie paid a visit to you in Cali after Ms. Iris died . . . I’m sorry about that . . . by the way.”

“
It’s the past,” I sigh, staring down at my glass of water.

“I know how much she meant to you and Mills,” he says,
raking a hand through his long, sandy hair. “I know it’s been hell for you.”

“It is like hell and
my dumbass yelled at Natalie for my pain. I told her I wanted some space but I didn’t expect her to want to continue giving it to me.”

Dawson chuckles, leaning
against the fridge. “Natalie’s kind of different. Harper says you cheated on her?”

I frown at him after finishing my second cup of water. “Dawso
n, I swear to you this time I didn’t cheat on Natalie. Sharon kept popping up and my manager Tike accidentally told her she was with me. He even told her Sharon was my ex which was stupid on his part.”

Dawson laughs,
his dark eyes lifting a bit as he jumps up to sit on the counter. “That’s hilarious.”

“It’s not.
I think she’s really done with me.”

“Nah.” He hops from the counter and pulls his hair back into a ponytail. “By the way she was worried last night and how late she
stayed up just to make sure you were well taken care of, I would say she’s far from done. I would say she’s actually just starting to know it’s not the same without you. I guess your stunt last night hit her soft spot.”

I laugh, placing the glass in the sink. “I didn’t do it for attention. I don’t even remember half of it. I just remember walking here. After that, it’s blank.”

“You’ve got to be in love to walk from your apartment just for her. She must really be your match.”

I shrug. “I love her
.”

Keys jingle from a distance and we both spin around as the door
creaks open. It takes Natalie only two seconds to step into the kitchen and for her eyes to immediately meet mine. I don’t think she even notices Dawson standing near the fridge. “Nolan,” she breathes, placing her keys on the counter. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

“Just woke up, Bunny.”

“I can see that,” she says, biting on a smile as she observes me in my blue boxers. I stifle a laugh, adjusting myself to seem a bit more confident.

“Well, let me head out. Har
p and I are going for lunch after her class,” Dawson says, pulling his keys out of his cargo pants.