someone else’s leg. “It gets harder and harder to keep from telling them that the easier life option disappeared when my spine snapped.”
Nate sat down across from me on his own bed, reaching for his sneakers. “I get that. They only want to help, but they don’t understand how to do it.”
“Is it the same with you?” I flipped pages in the book, not bothering to look down at them. “With your parents, I mean.”
Nate’s forehead drew together. “Not really. But this has always been my life. My parents have been dealing with all my crap since I was born, so they’re used to it. They know what to expect, usually, and they’re pretty cool. But it can be tough when I want to be real, and they don’t. My mom and dad are the most optimistic people I know. They pretend to believe that the doctors are always going to come up with a solution or a new treatment for me, and it’s all going to be fine. I guess I’d rather be brutally honest. When you don’t have a lot of time left, you don’t want to waste it on bullshit, right?” He bent his head, intent on the shoelaces. “You don’t want to waste any of it.”
I nodded slowly. We’d discussed Nate’s lack of longevity, although neither of us dwelled on it, any more than we did on the hit that had taken away my ability to walk. I didn’t want to go down either road. Not right now.
“You said your girls are coming over tonight?” I changed the subject.
He chuckled as he eased his foot back down to the floor. “Not sure that any of them would like being called ‘my’ girls, but yeah. Quinn, Gia and Zelda are coming over to hang out. If that’s okay, that is.”
“Of course. I mean, I don’t care. It’s your room, too. You can do whatever you want.” I found the spot in my textbook where I needed to read. “I’m just going to be studying, anyway.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.” Nate studied me. “I know you don’t mind Quinn and Gia, but Zelda’s going to be with them.”
My stomach clenched, and a part of me a little further south twitched. “Uh huh. So?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I know you two don’t really get along. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
I scowled down into my book. “Why would you think that? I don’t have anything against Zelda. I don’t even really know her.” I turned the page, even though I hadn’t read a word yet. “She’s not my type. Of friend, I mean.”
“Mmmm.” Nate sounded thoughtful. “She can be a little . . . in your face, I guess. When I first met Zelda at the beginning of the year, I didn’t think I was going to like her. She’s—um, Quinn says she’s brash. And she doesn’t beat around the bush—she tells it like it is. But I can relate to that. I like the honesty. She’s always respectful of Quinn, and she treats me well, too. And she’s scary-smart, too. Did you know she started this year with her associates degree already completed? Quinn says Zelda will graduate with both her bachelors and her masters. She doesn’t seem to study that much, but she just digests the information faster than most of us.” Nate sighed, shaking his head. “She doesn’t make a big deal about it, though. She just is who she is. No apologies. I can appreciate that. So it turns out I guess I do like her, even if I didn’t expect to.”
“That’s great for you. Doesn’t mean I have to feel the same way.” I swallowed, not looking up at Nate. “I appreciate honesty, too. But Zelda . . . she says things for shock value.” I gave a little cough. “From what I hear, she does things for shock value, too.”
“You mean, she sleeps around.” Nate’s matter-of-fact take on the subject surprised me. My roommate wasn’t exactly a prude, but he was also very private about his feelings toward the opposite sex. Of course, it wasn’t like either of us was bed-hopping these days, and the girls weren’t lining up at our door. We didn’t even talk about women very often. I knew that on Nate’s side, that was because he only ever saw one woman, and unfortunately for him, that one girl was fathoms deep in love with their mutual best friend. I’d seen glimpses of the pain Nate suffered from having a