Better If He Goes (Always You #1) - Allie Everhart Page 0,42
on time. She forgets to buy food. And when she's really upset, she takes pills. One time she took so many pills she ended up in the hospital."
"None of that is your responsibility. You're her daughter, not her mom. She's supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around."
I storm to the door and swing it open. "I think you should leave."
"Why? Because I'm telling you stuff you don't want to hear?" He meets me at the door. "Maybe I'm wrong about you and your mom, but I'm not wrong about you and Nate. That relationship is too one-sided and probably always has been. He gets to be happy and you don't."
"That's not his fault," I say.
"I didn't say it was. You want to keep doing this? Great, but you'll never be happy." He walks off.
"I AM happy!" I yell after him.
I slam the door as he drives off. Who the hell does he think he is talking to me that way? He doesn't know anything about me. Even though I spent all last week with him, that's not enough time for him to make judgments about me or know who I am.
Going to get my phone, I check to see if I have any texts. There's a few from April, and Giada sent me a cute puppy video, but that's it. Nothing from Nate.
A text dings and I quickly look down at my phone. Here's another one! OMG isn't he cute?
It's Giada, sending me another dog video. She loves dogs, especially those little tiny ones that fit in a purse.
Wait—wasn't Giada supposed to be out with Brad tonight? I check her earlier text. It was sent at eight. Did they even go on a date? If they did, it was really short.
I text her back. Aren't you supposed to be out with Brad?
Didn't work out, she texts back.
What happened?
Nothing. So I left. I think he has a girlfriend.
I call her.
She knows it's me and answers, "Hey, did you see the video of the dancing chihuahua?"
"Yeah. Adorable. So why do you think Brad has a girlfriend?"
"Because he didn't look at me. Not to sound full of myself, but guys usually can't take their eyes off me. But Brad barely noticed me. He was all distracted by whatever was going on around us, and he kept looking at his phone."
"Maybe he was checking the time."
"Or checking for texts from his girlfriend."
"Brad doesn't have a girlfriend."
"Then I don't know what his problem was. Maybe he sees me more as a friend."
"That's probably it."
"How was your night out with Nate?"
"How'd you know about that?"
"Brad told me during drinks. We didn't even make it to dinner. I told him just to take me home."
"What else did he tell you?"
"Not much. He talked a little about his family."
"What'd he say about Nate and me? Did he call it a date?"
"No. Why? Is that what it was? Are you dating Nate?"
"No. I'm not even sure he's talking to me anymore."
"Why? What happened?"
I tell her the story, then make her promise not to tell anyone. Gossip spreads fast at the pool and I don't want everyone there knowing, although they might figure it out on their own if Nate gives me the silent treatment at work.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Giada says. "He'll get over it."
"I'm not so sure about that. Nate doesn't get over stuff easily."
"He just needs time. The same thing happened to me my junior year of college, except I'd actually been dating the guy a few months. He was a senior, and the day after graduation he told me how much he loved me and then gave me a ring."
"He proposed?"
"Yeah. I was shocked. Up until then I thought we were just casually dating. I had no idea he was planning a future with me."
"So what'd you do?"
"Told him I didn't feel the same way. He was hurt and didn't talk to me for a few weeks, but then one day he called to tell me he got a job and we were back to being friends. So just give Nate some time."
"It's just hard because I'm so used to talking to him or texting him and now I feel like I can't. He won't even talk to Brad."
"He's just upset. Right now he just wants to be left alone. That's totally normal, especially for a guy."
"Maybe you're right. I just need to give him some time."
She yawns. "I'm really tired. Those kids wore me out."