“Like I said, I could be wrong.” She gave me a small smile, but it faded. “But I know I’m not.”
My head nodded on its own, without my willing it to. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“I know, right? I thought he hated her.”
Her words snapped me out of my momentary trance, and my stomach stopped its gyrations.
“He does hate her! I mean, I don’t know if he hates her, but I know he doesn’t like her. Not like that, anyway.” Another thought hit me and I muttered, “This has his dad written all over it.”
“I actually thought the same thing. But you know what, Jess?” Rachel waited for me to meet her gaze before she continued. “It’s pretty pathetic that he does whatever his dad tells him to. Why doesn’t he just tell him to fuck off? Is he going to follow his dad’s orders for the rest of his life?”
I shrugged. “It’s not that easy for him. I’m sure he’s just trying to get his dad off his back. But, God, why her, of all people? Why won’t she just go away already?”
“I know. It’s like he’s dating your nemesis.”
My nemesis. I groaned. “He has to be doing it for his dad. He has to be,” I said firmly, not sure who I was trying to convince at this point.
“I hope you’re right. Because I’d really hate to see her win,” Rachel added.
My thoughts churning furiously, I glared at the wall. If my eyes had any sort of superpower, they would have burned a hole straight through it.
“Hey.” Her hand grazed my shoulder. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. There’s no way this is real. There’s no way he’s not doing this for his dad.”
Rachel agreed with me; I could tell by the look in her eyes. Even if she hadn’t, she didn’t know Nick and his relationship with his father the way I did. I knew how hard it was for him to stand up to his dad. Even though I hated even thinking about Nick with Carla, I knew there had to be a reason for it.
Nick wouldn’t date her on his own. I was convinced of that.
“You sure you’re all right?” Rachel asked, drawing my attention back to her.
“I’m sure. It’s not like he loves her. I’d bet money on that.”
“I would too,” she said with a confident nod. “I didn’t just set you back, did I?”
“No, I’m fine. Promise.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get under someone else?” Rachel asked with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure. I did it the good old-fashioned way. I used Father Time. He’s super helpful.”
She scooped up some popcorn that I’d all but forgotten about and popped it into her mouth.
I stared absentmindedly at the TV show playing, my mind lost in thoughts of Nick with Carla, my heart aching for him and the position he must be in. I wanted to hug him and punch him at the same time. It felt like now would have been the perfect time to stand up to his dad once and for all and tell him no, but I wondered if Nick would ever be able to do that. He probably wouldn’t, but I acknowledged to myself that that was Nick’s battle to fight and not mine.
“I’m sorry for telling you, but I had to, you know?” Rachel said, her eyes pleading for my forgiveness.
“Don’t apologize. I want to know stuff like that. Thank you.”
“I feel bad because you’ve made so much progress.”
“I would have hated finding this out somewhere down the road, and then learning that you knew the whole time and didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t even think of it like that,” she said, scrunching up her face. “So we’re good?”
I reared back a little in surprise. “Of course we’re good.”
We watched a few more shows before calling it a night. If I was being honest with myself, I was slightly concerned what that night’s sleep might have in store for me, but I woke up in the morning relieved to have had a dreamless night. Rachel was already packing her things when I opened my eyes.
“It takes forever to get back, especially on Sundays.”
“I know,” I said through a stretch as I worked my way out of bed. “Thank you for coming. It’s always better when you’re here.”
“I miss you too.” She smiled and hauled her bag over her shoulder before disappearing through my door. “Call you when I get home. Go back to sleep.”
Falling back into my bed, I did as she asked, still somewhat surprised by how calm I was about this. Of course I didn’t like the idea of Nick with Carla, of all people, but I couldn’t bring myself to give it any real weight. Even after our time apart, I still felt confident that I knew Nick’s heart better than most people did.
It was the only way I could process this crazy information without going crazy myself.
Time continued to fly by. I was acing my classes and still picking up extra hours at the station. I’d even gotten an internship at a local news channel. I had been up against a lot of other applicants, but somehow I had gotten the job.
Things felt like they were falling into place easily, and I wondered if that’s how things happened when they were meant to be. It made me question everything else that had been such a colossal struggle in my life. Maybe when you were on the right path, things simply worked out without the fight.
My phone vibrated where it lay on my mattress, and I reached for it before casting a casual glance at the screen.