you. Nothing should really change. Just don’t push it with him. When my grandma died, it was the hardest thing to deal with for a while. I hated when people would ask me if I was going to be okay every day or if everything was alright. I grew up with my grandmother so losing her wasn’t easy. I just wanted time alone to cope with it and eventually I became at peace with it.”
I nod in agreement. She stands from the bed and makes her way towards the door. “I’ll go get my laptop and we can book the flight.” She forces a smile before hurrying out of my room to get to her bedroom.
With a sigh, I flop backwards and stretch my arms out. Without even thinking, I reach for my phone and send Nolan a text saying everything will be alright and that I love him. Harper comes back into the room and boots her laptop up and I help her find the cheapest flight for Monday.
While we book the flight, I can’t help but steal glances at my phone. Nolan hasn’t been the type to hold off on texting me back. He’s most likely not doing anything important so to know thirty minutes have passed and I haven’t received anything makes me worry.
It makes me doubt, and I don’t need the doubt. I need him.
Chapter Four
Nolan
As the sun peeks through my curtains, I groan heavily. My head throbs with each sudden movement and I collapse against my bed again, feeling the urge to just fall back to sleep. To just give up.
Last night was awful.
After I’d told Mills the bad news, he left without a word. He didn’t say anything and it freaked me out until he arrived home again, but with two bottles of Jack Daniels. I figured, why the hell not? I wanted to forget just as much as he did. I didn’t want to think about anything at all but I’m sure the drinking made it worse.
My eyes are tight which means I had ended up crying sometime between. I hate crying but I know the tears were released. It was hard to control after having so much liquor in my system. Twisting my head, I glare at my phone that’s sitting on the night stand. I got a text from Natalie last night. She told me everything was going to be okay but it’s bullshit. She said she loved me as well but that caused even more pain to my troubled emotions.
I love Natalie to death but I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do when she arrives. I’ll need her help in getting things together. I’m going to be more than glad to hold her in my arms because it’s been four months. I’ve wanted to make love to her for what seems like decades but with my mother passing, it won’t feel right . . . especially while I’m still living in her home.
I continue my stare at my phone, figuring it’s too late to text back. I could start the day off with a “Good morning” text but right now I want time to myself. I don’t want to do shit but sleep but I have to work. Knowing I can’t miss out on the money, I hike myself up against my headboard with a heavy groan. As I press the soles of my feet on the floor, I hear scrambling in the kitchen. After being so accustomed to her early morning ramblings in the kitchen, the first thought is it’s my mother but the thought fades in almost an instant.
I shuffle through my drawer for a pair of shorts, slide them on, and then head for the kitchen. When I round the corner, I see Mills slouching over the sink. His head seems practically hidden beneath his large shoulders but once I catch a glimpse of something sharp and silver in his hand I rush for him.
“Mills, what the hell are you doing?” He doesn’t answer. He continues squeezing the knife between his palm and fingers and I watch as his blood drips into the sink. “Mills . . . stop. It’s alright.”
Grunting, he drops the knife into the sink to look at me. He glares into my eyes, his nostrils flaring. He’s not taking the bad news lightly. I can see it all over his face; the purple bruises beneath his eyes and his dry lips. “It’s not alright, Nolan,” he snarls through his teeth,