Page 87 of Fake

Nathan is still and silent for several long moments, and then, “Nick isn’t just a cousin. He’s one of my best friends.”

“The best big brother ever,” I say, remembering the conversation on the boat.

Nathan nods, pressing his lips together in a sad smile. “Nick listens. You know? And he doesn’t judge, and he won’t spread rumors. And he always has good advice. He’s a protector.”

“The kind of man who joins the Marines.”

Pride ripples off Nathan as he settles into silence for another couple minutes. “Uncle Lucas told us not to worry, not to focus on all the what ifs, but it’s hard. My brain won’t put it down.”

“Tell me about him. Focus on everything good about Nick Hutton. Maybe then your brain won’t have a chance to worry.”

Nathan shares several stories of Nick when they were younger. He’s nostalgic. Laughing. Shaking his head as he gets caught up in the memories. He tells me about a man who spent a lifetime protecting the people who matter to him. A friend. A confidant. Someone who always knows exactly what to say. Someone who goes out of his way to take care of everyone else. Someone who’s strong and kind and funny.

Nick sounds a lot like Nathan.

Maybe it’s a Hutton thing.

Eventually he sits up, gesturing and smiling as he shares a few more stories. They sound so close. Cousins, but also the kind of friends I always wished I had when I was younger. The kind who are there no matter what. Someone who knows the worst of you but sees the best and does everything they can to make sure you see it too.

The kind of friend I thought I had in Fallon.

The kind of friend I know I have in Nathan.

I swipe a hand through my hair to brush away thoughts of my so-called friend and that horrible article. They’ll be there, lurking, waiting to pounce when this tragedy is over.

“Once, when we were kids,” Nathan says, “Nick and Angela disappeared for most of a day. They didn't go far. Just down the beach, but they didn’t tell anybody where they were going and we weren’t old enough to be gone that long. Turns out, Angela had a really bad day at school and Nick thought he would give her all the time she needed to get it off her chest. And when they finally came home, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and the two of them just beaming, I felt so left out. They were always close and I wanted that, you know? I was so furious they didn't include me that I wouldn’t speak to them for the rest of the day. This time, I won't be mad when he comes back. I'll wrap that bastard in a hug and thank God he’s okay.”

I want to promise Nick will come home. That they’ll find him and whatever’s happened will be just as easy as the day he took care of Angela.

But Nathan isn’t the kind of man who takes comfort in false hope.

“He sounds like an amazing person,” I say instead.

“If the situation were reversed, he’d be halfway to finding me by now,” Nathan says with a sad smile. He stands, pacing to the window and then back again. “I feel so powerless.”

That makes two of us. I want so desperately to make it better but can’t think of anything to do other than be here, listen, and find a way to take his mind off things once he’s had a chance to process.

“What would Nick tell you to do?” I ask and Nathan pauses, staring at me like he’s had an epiphany. Everything about him softens and for the first time since he knocked on my door, the clouds of sadness lingering over him lift. Just a little. But it’s a start.

“He’d tell me to stop worrying about things I can’t control. Especially when there’s a beautiful woman looking at me the way you are right now.”

The warmth in his voice brings a blush to my cheeks. “And how am I looking at you?”

“Like you’d do anything to make me feel better. Like you understand everything I’m going through. Like you like me. And you’re not just with me for the fun times. You’re with me.”

I sit there, on the couch, stunned into silence by his words.

Everything he said is true.

I don’t just like being with him.

I’m with Nathan West.

With my body.

My mind.

And in my heart.

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