My shoulders fall. “Please, can you just?—”
“He’s not here, kid.”
I pause. “What?”
“He’s not been here for a week. I would know because I always listen for him. He’s very fun to talk to.”
“B-but he said he would be here.”
“He must’ve lied. I would know if he came back, and he hasn’t.”
“Fuck,” I say to myself.
“Language,” she mutters. “Jeez, have some respect for old ears. You’ll offend Mr. Fluff here.”
One of her dogs, a tiny ball of fur that doesn’t look like it’s capable of thought, runs right into a wall.
“Anyway, have fun hunting down your boyfriend. If I stay here any longer, Mr. Fluff might think you’re a fire hydrant.”
She walks away without saying anything else, but I’m too busyreplaying her words. She said Nate didn’t come home, but where the hell would he be?
Out of habit, I take my phone out to check his location. But my phone is still dead, refusing to turn on for even a second.
“Fuck,” I mutter. I need to get to a charger, but I left my luggage with Rob. And I don’t have my extra key to Nate’s place.
Not that I should go in anyway.
My only option is to go home and let my phone charge, then continue tracking him down.
Technically, Nate lives close enough to walk. It’s not the safest thing, but it’s my only option. Heaving a sigh, I get up and pocket my phone, setting out to my house.
The second I step out from the staircase, it starts raining again.
“Are you serious!” I yell at the sky. “I get it, I fucked up! You don’t have to keep punishing me!”
The rain keeps falling.
With one more curse at the sky, I break out into a jog. The sooner I get home, the sooner I can plug in my phone and then find Nate.
I round the corner to my neighborhood and I push myself even harder. The second my house is in sight, I try to go even faster.
I’m pulling out my keys as I start to head up my driveway, but I’m stopped when arms wrap around me. My heart lurches and I let out a scream as I try to get away.
It would be my fucking luck that I would get robbed right on my own property.
“Wait, berry!” a voice breaks through my panic. “It’s me. It’s Nate.”
I blink against the water in my eyes. Pushing my soaked hair off my forehead, I finally see him. He’s not as wet as I am, but it’s definitely Nate.
He’s staring at me like I’velost my mind.
“Wh-what?”
“Why are you running at night in the rain? Where the hell is Rob?”
My jaw is still open as I try to catch my breath. I’m not sure if this is a dream or if I fell and hit my head on mile two. Nate checks me over before shaking his head.
“All right, I’ll murder him for this later. Let’s just get inside and get you dry.” He goes to grab at me, but I step away as I shake my head.
