Page 11 of The Right Kind of Wrong

“Don't judge me,” I muttered.

He chuckled, taking a seat next to me and munching on another cookie.

“You were always a night owl,” I said, nudging him with my elbow.

“Sleep is hard to come across these days.” Nathan pressed his lips together as if trying to hold back what he wanted to say. Knowing I couldn't necessarily ask if what was wrong had something to do with my sister, I opted for the safest route.

“Is everything okay? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Nathan tilted his head thoughtfully but ended up wrapping his arm over my shoulders, making me giggle. “Nope. No annoying problems will be talked about tonight. How are you liking being back?”

“You said no annoying problems,” I teased.

“Uh. That bad, huh?” Though a joke, the words held truth. Being back only emphasized the truth of my family's situation and it wasn't one I was really fond of. Not wanting to elaborate or make him feel bad, I simply nodded.

Nathan squeezed my shoulder, removing his arm from around me. “I really am sorry you got dragged into this…hell.”

Shrugging I replied, “I was born into it.”

We stayed silent for a while longer, chewing on the cookies that were basically gone. I pouted at the thought of them disappearing forever but didn't hesitate to take the last bite.

All good things must come to an end, right?

“Your birthday is coming up.”

Usually, I would have been excited. Hell, I was going to be two decades old. I should have been ecstatic. However, it was clear none of my birthday wishes would be coming true.

“I see you haven't forgotten,” I said.

“How could I?” Nathan paused, scratching his stubble-covered chin. “Is there anything you'd like?”

My only wish was to have my family together. My parents to come home from wherever they were, forget about work for at least one day. My sister to pretend to care about me. Nana to be happy. It was impossible, though. Everyone’s priorities were different. No chance of us all getting together.

So instead, I simply shook my head no.

“Do you still talk to that friend of yours? Karla?”

I smiled at his attention to detail. I hadn't mentioned her often, but she was the closest friend I had in Florida and I missed her dearly. It had always been easy to talk to her. “Yeah, we still text every day.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Yeah,” I said, lowering my gaze. I missed healthy interactions. Those didn't exist here.

Nathan didn't look away, drowning in his own thoughts until I yawned, rubbing my eyes with sleep.

“Let's get you to bed,” he said, helping me up.

His arm was wrapped around my shoulders as we walked back upstairs. We stopped in front of my room and he didn’t even glance over to my sister's room.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked quietly, placing a strand of my crazy curly hair behind my ear.

“I am, actually. Thanks for the talk and the cookies.”

“Of course.”

I leaned my head against the door frame, watching him quietly. Though the essence of him was the same, I could tell he was stressed. He wasn't happy. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, one that he couldn't hide.

I settled for asking the question I had been holding back for the past few days. “Will you two be okay?”

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