Page 99 of I Wish You All the Best

“I’ll see you two later.” I keep myself from running toward Nathan and out to his car.

“Well, hold on.” Mom grabs her purse and starts following me. “I’d like to meet this boy.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

But it’s already too late. Mom manages to get ahead of me, stopping Nathan right at the door. “Hello there!” She sticks out a hand. “I’m Brenda De Backer, Ben’s mother.”

Nathan grins, eyes bright as he shakes her hand. “I’m Nathan.”

“Are you a friend of Ben’s?”

Nathan looks to me for approval, but what else can we really do? Pretend my mother’s shaking hands with a person I don’t know? I’m not going to lie, that would be kind of funny, but there’s really no use. I give Nathan a little nod.

“Yeah, we go to North Wake together. He asked me for a ride.”

Mom gives me a look. “Well, isn’t that nice? We were just meeting to talk about some things.”

“Are you ready to go, Nathan?” I ask. I need to get the hell out of here.

“Yeah.” Nathan digs around in his pocket. “I’m sorry, Mrs. De Backer, but we’re meeting some friends downtown, and we’re already pretty late,” he lies.

Bless Nathan Allan.

“Oh, well.” Mom’s still all smiles. “We’ll talk soon, Ben.” I nod, and Mom looks back at Nathan. “It was so nice to meet you. I’m glad Ben’s found friends.”

“Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” Nathan holds the door open for me, and we race toward his car, not looking back.

“Roof?” Nathan asks. We’ve been sitting in his driveway for a while now, no music, no talking. He turned the car off at first, but after a few seconds of just sitting there, he rolled down the windows to let in the cool night air.

Eventually I glance over at him. “Sure.”

Ryder gives me a hug, and I rub him behind the ears, but I don’t have much in me now. It’s like I’m running on empty. I feel exhausted, even though all we did was talk.

Nathan opens the window and helps me out this time, taking my hand and pulling me through the gap. At least this time, with better-fitting pants, I don’t almost fall to my death.

It’s actually breezy for April, but the sun is shining, so it’s more than enough to keep warm.

“So,” Nathan says, making his way to our normal spot. “She seemed nice, your mom.”

“Hmm.” I sit down next to him. I’d be shocked, but that’s the normal reaction when it comes to Mom and Dad. They put on that mask for strangers or family friends. Slipping in a backhanded comment about me here or there.

“What did they say to you?” he asks.

“They wanted me to come home.” Even to me, my voice sounds empty.

“Wow.” Nathan runs a hand along the top of his hair. “That’s …”

“Yeah.”

“Fucked up.” Nathan pulls his knees in close.

I look down at his hand, settled so close to mine, and I can’t resist. My own hand settles around his. That warmth, it’s so much different from Mom’s. I want this kind. I feel like I need it. To ground me if nothing else. I feel the dry skin of his palm; and, still looking forward, Nathan wraps his fingers around mine. The rest of the skin I trace with my thumb is smooth, and for a half a second, I wonder if this is how he feels all over.

“Thank you, for going with me. I know it wasn’t really fair …”

“I didn’t mind,” he says.

“I don’t want you to have to be my protector. That’s not fair to you.”